"philip"
Jeremy & Leslie Dover's '88 LX
When I talk with owners about having their car featured on the website, I explain that the story is what truly makes the feature. Sure the car has to be worthy, but it is the story that makes the articles worth reading. One thing that has held true for me over the years, is every car has a story (unless of course we are talking about your '99 Camry).
The first time I saw this car, I knew it was going to be a killer ride, but I hadn't heard the back story. The car had just returned from paint, was lacking any interior, and hadn't been fired. The pictures of what the car looked like when Jeremy picked it up were enough to make me appreciate how far it had already come. Sitting basically in the woods, for nearly a year, it needed nothing less than a complete tear down. "The car was essentially a squirrel nest" recalls Jeremy.
““On May 2nd 2017 (Philips 43rd birthday) I registered the car. Project Philip is now just known as Philip””
This car belonged to Philip Goslee, Jeremy's wifes, cousin. On 8/22/2015, Philip suffered a heart attack, and passed away at the age of 41. Philip was a U.S Navy veteran, huge car guy, and known to most as someone who would do anything, for anyone. The funeral director counted over 500 friends that came to pay their respects, at his funeral.
A year after his passing, Philip's father began the painful task of sorting his personal effects, and selling, donating, or giving away his belongings. After coming across Jeremy's business card, they called inquiring if Jeremy was interested in buying Philip's '88 LX. Jeremy was of course interested, and they headed for Missouri to take a look at the car. After looking over the car, Jeremy knew this would be a huge project, but the sentimental value was worth it to him. After making a promise to Philip's father that the car would always remain in the family, they loaded it up, and headed back to Tennessee.
Jeremy set out with a unique goal for this build. Already owning several other foxes, including a Florida SSP car with a Dart based 434 stroker, and rather large turbo; this build would go the other direction. He wanted this car to be for his wife Leslie to enjoy, and a nice car to take on trips, as well as cruise. To make this a reality, the car had to be an auto, but also had to be fun, as well as reliable. The natural choice, was a coyote swap. Making over 400 horsepower to the ground, and stock reliability, Jeremy was sold.
After doing some research, and talking with Frank from Power By the Hour Performance, he settled on their brand new 6R80 control pack, to manage the six speed auto trans. Until that point, Jeremy was a bit lost about which trans to run behind the coyote, and how he would control it. The advent of the Ford 6R80 trans, and PBH Performance making a plug & play kit to run it, made this an easy choice. Scoring a complete 2011 5.0L engine from an F150, as well as the 6R80 trans; the drivetrain was complete.
Jeremy then stripped the car down to basically a shell, and sent it off for a fresh coat of Oxford White paint. While the car was away, a complete '04 Cobra upholstery kit was ordered from TMI products, as well as Maximum Motorsports coilovers, AJE k member, ARH 1 3/4 longtube headers, and Flowmaster 50 series mufflers all piled up in the shop.
Over the next ten months, Jeremy spent every evening, and weekend in the shop, making this build a reality. Being his first coyote build, he had his hands full figuring it all out. Leaning heavily on the PBH Performance tech line, he got the engine in a plumbed without much trouble. Using the PBH Performance front engine dress brackets, and 2000 model Mustang GT hydroboost lines, and a/c lines; the build wasn't nearly as complex as he thought.
Moving on to the interior, Jeremy converted it all to black, added a Dakota Digital cluster, a custom stereo system, the TMI upholstery, and custom three spoke steering wheel. Relocating the HVAC dials to the lower portion of the center stack, Jeremy installed a large touchscreen radio, complete with GPS and navigation. The stereo alone is a work of art, with the amplifiers and wiring all hidden in the spare tire well, only the three 6.5" JL Audio subs are visible in the trunk.
On the exterior, the mods are minimal. All factory body panels remain, including the stock hood. Wanting to do something different, Jeremy picked up a set of "Riddler" wheels, which measure 17x7 in the front, and 18x9.5 in the rear. Peeking out from behind the wheels are Cobra brakes, with 13" rotors in the front and rear. Hauling down the coyote from speed, is not an issue.
Being his first experience with a coyote swapped foxbody, Jeremy was not sure what to expect when he took the car out for the first time. The engine is untouched from the F150, and aside from the headers, JLT cold air intake, and tune from PBH performance; there aren't any performance upgrades. "Driving normally, the car is smooth, quiet, and docile" says Jeremy. "Things change very quickly once the loud pedal is pressed, and you just hold on as the tach passes 7k RPM" explains Jeremy. Having ridden in the car, and driven the car personally; I must say I was shocked how quick it was. There simply is no denying how impressive these engines are.
Now that Philip is done, Jeremy has completed four other coyote swaps, and is currently the point man on the Road Warrior swap. What is really awesome, however, is that Philip started it all, and hopefully is proud of how his car came out. CR
