"Beguiled"

Mark Dellacqua's '93 LX 

   The reason I never get bored writing about these fox body Mustangs is not a hard concept, every car I see is unique in so many ways. When I go to car shows, it always seems like the same old thing, Camaros with a 350 engine and 350 trans, blah blah blah. Personally I would just assume not even bother seeing more of the same. To date we have featured over 70 foxes here, and none of them are even remotely the same. From big inch strokers, to mod motors, turbo, superchargers, carbed & EFI. The level of versatility is truly what sets the fox body Mustang apart from all of the other ho-hum hot rods out there. If you scroll through our past features, the variety is amazing, and that is exactly what I was shooting for. 

    Mark Dellacqua has another perfect example of this. Other than a slightly lowered stance, you would not think much was going on here. It even rides on the original pony wheels! Sure the one year only Reef Blue paint is flawless, but what's the big deal? 

     Back in '98 when Mark picked up this pristine '93, she was near stock, but in excellent shape due to being only five years old. Mark planned from the get go to build the car, and knew exactly how he wanted it to look. Not one to give away the farm when people see the car, his evil plan was to keep the car looking as original as possible on the exterior, and pack it chock full of go fast goodies under the hood. The satisfaction that comes from having a car that looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor, yet makes more than triple the power, is plenty intriguing. Now granted we have written about the sleeper theory before, but Mark's '93 takes it a step farther with no visible clues as to what this car is made of. No wings, racing seats, no fancy wheels, nothing!  

    The deception begins with a stock block 331 and forged DSS rotating assembly. The heads are TFS 185cc units, with a stage III cnc port job. Actuating those valves is a custom ground blower cam from Comp, and funneling the air in the heads is a Holley Systemax intake. The compressed atmosphere comes from a Vortech S trim supercharger, and the Maxflow power cooler cools the air charge, allowing Mark to run more timing safely. A full Aeromotive fuel system feeds the hungry beast, and MSD was contacted to keep those candles lit under pressure.  

    Knowing that the original T5 transmission was far out of its league now, Mark put in a call to Tremec regarding one of their TKO600 units. The TKO600 was an easy upgrade, and could handle the abuse. Clutch duties were also critical, and the final nod was given to a Centerforce DFX unit. The original 8.8 was beefed up a bit, with a FRP HD traction lock unit, and 31 spline axles. Drivetrain, done!

    Inside, Mark wanted the interior to look as original as possible, but with the safety of a roll bar, and gauges to monitor the vitals. To start, the front and rear seats received fresh upholstery. Next up new carpet, map pockets, headliner, and seat foam. The results are exactly what he set out for; you hardly even notice the roll bar is there.

    After 19 long years of ownership, Mark has his fox body Mustang looking and running exactly the way he planned. Looking bone stock, with nearly 600 horsepower under the hood, he leaves everyone totally beguiled.  CR