Fox Facelift (frontend Swaps)

Beau Granbois

Active Member
Oct 9, 2012
39
4
29
NE Montana
Now I know this can be a touchy subject with a lot of fox owners, but I figure its your vehicle and you can do with it as you wish.
I read a lot about people taking four eye foxs and swapping out to the aero front ends and on one forum, which I'm not gona mention (FEP), they will boot you for just uttering those words. My first vehicle was an '84 LX coupe that took me everywhere in highschool and was passed down to my lil sister when I got a new car. So I don't know maybe that made me partial to the four eyes.
Now I've had the itch for a Mustang for the last couple of years and was looking into the sn95s but there is way to many of them around here. So, one day I got a response to my CL ad for a fox mustang. The guys has a 91 Mark VII with a supercharged Cobra engine. So I picked it up.
A month later I picked up a '90 Mustang LX Convertible 4cyl, but I knew everything from the Mark would fit the Mustang. This is going to be my first total build and I'm planning on doing what I want with the car. I like the four eyes a lot more than the aeros so I'm planning on converting mine the other way. The newer foxs have a nicer, modernized interior and a few more benefits. Now what I'm wondering is what everyone else thinks about doing the reverse and putting the four eye front on the aero era car? Ive already got an 86 LX front bumper so Ive already started collecting the parts to make the swap. Thanks for listening to my rant and wasting some of your time.
 
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I'm all for it, I hate seeing good 4 eye's converted due to the limited numbers. But the other way sround is cool. save all the pieces in case you ever wanna swap again. Good luck with the project post some pics along the way.
 
For the record here, lets make it clear that you are in fact asking for opinions, so when this thread goes straight to hell don't get bent out of shape.

My opinion is, there are plenty of 4 eyes out there if you want one. Put in the effort and find a real one. If you were swapping the other direction, I'd be calling a hitman (kidding) but no serious I'd pay to have you killed (again, kidding). Really though.

On the other hand, there will come a day when these cars become harder and harder to find, and I think this swap will become much more common. You will always have to deal with people who don't like it though. I've gotten a lot of crap over the nose I put on my car, even though it's still a 4 eye but just a few years older version, but as you said it's your car do what you want with it, but you better get thick skin if you're going to ask for peoples' opinions because they won't all be friendly.
 
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Ive had a couple people that like the idea of swapping it that way and Ive had some say why dont you just buy a real four eye or just get mad cuz I guess they figure I'm taking the limited parts. But I searched for a decent early fox but couldnt find one, or they was outa the price range or just too far away. I live in rural Montana and its hard to find them around here. Had to drive 12 hours to get the '90. Thanks for the support. I'll make sure to post some pics as I work on it.
 
For the record here, lets make it clear that you are in fact asking for opinions, so when this thread goes straight to hell don't get bent out of shape.

My opinion is, there are plenty of 4 eyes out there if you want one. Put in the effort and find a real one. If you were swapping the other direction, I'd be calling a hitman (kidding) but no serious I'd pay to have you killed (again, kidding). Really though.

On the other hand, there will come a day when these cars become harder and harder to find, and I think this swap will become much more common. You will always have to deal with people who don't like it though. I've gotten a lot of crap over the nose I put on my car, even though it's still a 4 eye but just a few years older version, but as you said it's your car do what you want with it, but you better get thick skin if you're going to ask for peoples' opinions because they won't all be friendly.

I'm a former Marine, so the thick skin is no problem. N a lil conflict is good from time to time, it shows that people are passionate about these cars. Its just that I see people talking about doing the four eye to aero swap but havent found any of people swapping the other way and just wanted to see how the other half is. Personally I would never do a 4 eye to aero swap, I just like the 4 eyes too much.
 
I'm a former Marine, so the thick skin is no problem. N a lil conflict is good from time to time, it shows that people are passionate about these cars. Its just that I see people talking about doing the four eye to aero swap but havent found any of people swapping the other way and just wanted to see how the other half is. Personally I would never do a 4 eye to aero swap, I just like the 4 eyes too much.


There was a thread over on FEP not long ago about a guy who did the swap you're doing, and believe it or not he wasn't chastised too much. I posted the same thing in that thread, someday if you wanna build a 4 eye this is going to be one of the only ways to do it because the 4 eye stuff is drying up pretty fast. Another 20 years and I bet most of them will either be collector cars or just plain old gone.

The swap I did was a '79 pace car nose on a coupe. In my mind, I was building something that Ford never built and that I could never actually find and buy because it didn't exist. Of course, I started with an '85 so it stayed a 4 eye. Back in '03 when I first did it, I got SO much crap from those guys that I stopped posting over there for quite a few years, and I don't post a lot over there now as it is. Then, a couple years ago some guy built the "Coupri" which was a Mustang coupe with Capri fenders and the same front end as mine, it made it's rounds in all the magazines and all of a sudden these swaps are coming out left and right and everyone loves them. I've had mine for 10 years and while I know for sure that I'm not the first one to do it, I was definitely one of the first and probably one of the longest lasting cars that didn't end up in a junkyard later.

So, in the end just do what makes you happy. I'm still torn, I would rather see a person find and build the real thing, but in the end at least it does help to keep the 4 eyes alive.
 
Wait, you want to put a 4-eye front clip on a more modern (for it's time) aero nose, with it's nicer interior, better front brakes, trans, exhaust, etc. :eek:

















....I'm all for it. :nice:

I sure do miss my '83.
 
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Now I know this can be a touchy subject with a lot of fox owners, but I figure its your vehicle and you can do with it as you wish.
I read a lot about people taking four eye foxs and swapping out to the aero front ends and on one forum, which I'm not gona mention (FEP), they will boot you for just uttering those words. My first vehicle was an '84 LX coupe that took me everywhere in highschool and was passed down to my lil sister when I got a new car. So I don't know maybe that made me partial to the four eyes.
Now I've had the itch for a Mustang for the last couple of years and was looking into the sn95s but there is way to many of them around here. So, one day I got a response to my CL ad for a fox mustang. The guys has a 91 Mark VII with a supercharged Cobra engine. So I picked it up.
A month later I picked up a '90 Mustang LX Convertible 4cyl, but I knew everything from the Mark would fit the Mustang. This is going to be my first total build and I'm planning on doing what I want with the car. I like the four eyes a lot more than the aeros so I'm planning on converting mine the other way. The newer foxs have a nicer, modernized interior and a few more benefits. Now what I'm wondering is what everyone else thinks about doing the reverse and putting the four eye front on the aero era car? Ive already got an 86 LX front bumper so Ive already started collecting the parts to make the swap. Thanks for listening to my rant and wasting some of your time.
I say its your car. Do it up the way you want it.
 
I'd say you'd be improving the looks of the car.

It's a little known fact,..but if you do some research,..you'll find that after 1987,..all Mustangs came w/a prescription for anti-depressants, to keep the new owners from lapsing into a state of "walking coma" as a result of having such a boring front end.

It actually got so bad, in 1993 Ford included a copy of "How not to be a boring butthead" by Irving R. Levine, to minimize the pending litigation from anticipated defendants w/ the condition: lack of individuality-ititis.

Change it....before you become another mindless Zombie.:banana:
 
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When the '82 Mustang GT came out is when I fell in love with the Fox Body Mustang. My Buddy had a '82 GT, my Dad had an '84 GT. Although I waited till the "aero" nose '87 Mustang came out before I bought my 5.0 LX, I still remember my first Fox 5.0 Mustang love, the "4 eyed" 5.0. So you will get no hate here!
It's your Mustang, and the 4 eye style is what you like, I say rock with it.
 
Go for it. I would swap to the earlier interior as well if it were mine. Call me crazy, but I like that interior better. I miss my '86. That instrument cluster...
 
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I think its great idea. I too like the '87-93 dash better, but the front end of the '86. In fact, my '86 had the '87-'93 rear quarter windows as well, although that was done before I bought the car. Go for it and post pics.
 
If you do the nose, do the quarter windows too. If it's easy enough, do the quarter windows anyway. I never thought the flush rear glass on the '87 up looked right with the door glass not being as flush.
Be prepared with some wiring harness mods to get the lights to work. That might be the biggest pain. I'd at least start with both light harnesses.
 
If you do the nose, do the quarter windows too. If it's easy enough, do the quarter windows anyway. I never thought the flush rear glass on the '87 up looked right with the door glass not being as flush.
Be prepared with some wiring harness mods to get the lights to work. That might be the biggest pain. I'd at least start with both light harnesses.
The car is a convertible so I'm not too concerned about the quarter glass. The wiring is my biggest worry are now thou
 
Go for it. I would swap to the earlier interior as well if it were mine. Call me crazy, but I like that interior better. I miss my '86. That instrument cluster...

Not crazy, the aero dash is just too "not Mustang" for me. I don't know what else to call it, it doesn't resemble any of the previous Mustang interiors at all and to me just lacks character. The 4 eye interiors look worse when they're ragged out, but a clean 4 eye interior is a thing of beauty.
 
I love my four eye stang.... upgraded the lights to halogens... nice blue likebthe new hid kits out there now. Best decision i made so far. in the process of doing the car up right now. Everyone around me has an areo front... i like to be different.
 
My 3rd Fox was a 4 eyed, 84 Gt350 that I bought for $75 off a teacher because one of his students poked a hole in his oil filter (punk kids) We spent Christmas brake swapping the engine and intake manifold from the 88 hatch I rolled. Loved that car. With that being said I can appreciate a clean Fox regardless of the front end.