As someone who writes about cars on the internet for a living, I see a lot of Fox body Ford Mustang hate. Why? Don’t get all rational on me, either. I don’t care that they were slow or clumsy in the corners; I care about the look. And as it turns out, it’s even better as a wagon. Comedian Dax Shepard just showed off his online and now that I’ve seen it, I want one pretty bad.
It’s actually a 1980 Mercury Zephyr wagon at its core. Still, the Zephyr rode on the Fox platform and much of it was the same as the polarizing pony car. Shepard has owned his fair share of fixed-up cars in the past, including a 700-horsepower Buick Roadmaster that stands out in my mind, and he figured his next one should be a four-eyed Ford just like this. He said it’s “by far the dumbest” and best project he’s taken on.
What’s on the outside is obvious. The Zephyr’s front end has been transformed with a Mustang fascia that looks pretty standard from a head-on POV. It’s not until you start walking to either side that you notice this isn’t a regular old ‘Stang. The paint is white and the wheels are gold Rotiforms, with a red Mustang interior. I think they nailed the styling with the flared arches to match the wide rollers, not to mention the killer finishing work all around.
What’s underneath is just as slick. There’s a Gen 3 5.0-liter Coyote V8 in place of the anemic inline engine that used to power the car, and from the looks of it, Shepard left it stock. That still puts it around 460 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque at the crank. There’s a six-speed manual with a cue ball shifter inside and even a golden drift brake to match the wheels. The suspension is far from stock, too, with adjustable coilovers and Mustang Cobra IRS. All of that pretty much fixes the biggest gripes about the Fox body Mustang so I don’t wanna hear nothin’ from you guys who only have somethin’ negative to say.
Shepard gives props to Tyler Loguzzo as the builder, and he’s the one who shared most of the build details on his Instagram. Along with the engine swap, Loguzzo says they went with a tubular K-member to cut weight and allow room for the Coyote’s long-tube headers. The A-arms are tubular as well, complimenting the upgraded suspension package. Braking wasn’t neglected either as it runs 14-inch Wilwood rotors with six-piston calipers up front.
All in all, this seems like a super polished build. So many others we see on celebrity Instagram pages are really just slap-dash jobs built for clout. This isn’t that, and huge kudos to Shepard and Loguzzo for making it happen.
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