"DECH coupe"
Chris Savard's '93 LX
Article by: Caleb Richards
““My first coupe back in the ‘90s was a DECH coupe, I wanted to build one like I dreamed of doing back then, when I didn’t have the money to do it””
I know I am not the only one who used to dream of how I would build a car, if I had the funds to do it. Back when I was 18 years old, basically broke, and didn't know much about a fox; all I did was dream. I had a black '90 GT with gray interior, that aside from the obligatory "weld-in-flows" and a K&N clamp-on filter was basically stock. I would pour over the magazines reading all of the features, looking at the ads, and building up the car in my mind.
I wanted a nasty 347 stroker, with the just-released TFS heads, a big thumping Vortech supercharger, and of course a set of Weld draglites to get me down the track just a bit faster. What was rather sad about the whole thing was I could barely afford the insurance on the car, being that I was 18, it cost me over $200 a month which was big money for me back in 1997. I saved as much as I could to buy parts, but most of the time I just had to be happy that I actually owned my dream car, and that had to be good enough. Seeing all of the built cars at cruises didn't help, all the HCI topped foxes, the blowers, nitrous kits, and so on. That was just salt in the wounds for me, but damn I loved seeing them pull out of the Sonic drive in and roast the tires.
Chris Savard of Toronto, Ontario led much the same life. Back in the early 90s he owned a '90 model notch, with a now defunct DECH body kit, which was all the rage back then. After letting the car go, and moving on through several other cars, Chris began to hatch a plan to build another fox. Not just a random build, however. Chris wanted to build a fox the way he wished he could have built his '90 model. Starting to see a trend here? Now that he was older, and more financially stable, we wanted his dreams to come to fruition, in the form of another DECH equipped notchback, and the hunt was on.
The search began in late 2015, and took several months of scouring the web for the perfect car. "It had to be silver, and had to have black interior" recalls Chris. Diligent in his search, Chris managed to find the perfect car. With just 12k miles on the clock, and a meticulously documented history. To top all of this off, the car had already graced not one, but two magazines! The owner took fanatical care of the car, and it showed in spades. The paint, interior, quarter glasses, etc were far beyond what Chris was hoping for.
Once the car was safely in his possession, Chris set to work building the car exactly to his specs. Another plus to his recent purchase, the car already had several tasteful mods, that were also things that worked well with what Chris had planned. The included mods were a Crane cam, FRPP X307 heads, 1.70 roller rockers, GT40 intake, classic Pro-M 77 MAF with the ultra rare shield, shorty headers, a dry NOS kit, full exhaust, and Accel ignition system. Suspesion wise, she wore BBK springs, Kenny Brown g-load brace & strut tower brace, SSM lift bars, and full length subframe connectors. Other mods include a Pro 5.0 shifter, Cobra grill insert, 93 style limited edition spoiler, aluminum driveshaft, and all of the factory parts came with the sale (why can't I find a deal like this).
The project started with Chris installing the ultra rare DECH body kit, which was a process all on its own. Chris wanted the kit to fit perfectly, but also be removable should he ever choose to put the car back to stock. Several months of trimming and test fitting went into the get it exactly right, which it is. Once all the mock up was complete, the kit was sent off to paint. After getting the kit back from the painter, Chris spent several more hours installing the kit, making sure all of the lines matched perfectly. This process is not for the impatient, but the results are a beautiful fit.
Next on the docket for his build was an air ride suspension from Ride Tech. Chris admittedly loves low, and impractical cars. However, not wanting to scratch the bumpers and damage the fenders, he went with the Ride Tech kit to give him the flexibility of raising and lowering the car at the push of a button. With all of the switches and gauges tucked away in the console, no one is the wiser of the elaborate suspension system.
Next on the list was the rolling stock, and brakes. His last fox had the famous ROH wheels, which were the hot ticket all through the 90s, and some of the best looking wheels ever bolted up to a fox. These, however, would be a custom 3 piece design ROH Modena, that add a seriously custom look to the car, as well as an upscale feel. Peeking out from behind the wheels simply couldn't be anything other than impressive. Not only that, but the stock brakes are out of their league from the go. A complete SSBC "big brake" kit was employed to haul the little notch down, and look phenomenal to boot.
While this is an ongoing project, Chris is loving the results so far. The classic 90s foxbody look, the memories of his past foxes, and the amazing history that this car already has; makes this a very special notch. I must admit, having seen the old ads for ROH and DECH in the magazines, from the mid nineties; I definitely get that nostalgia feeling. CR
