Ford Restores Fox Body for Man Who Sold it to Treat Wife’s Cancer
Heart-warming story about a man’s love for his Fox Body takes an even more unexpected turn.
Last year, we reported on this story for our sister website, Mustang Forums. A man named Wesley Ryan sacrificed his beloved 1993 Foxbody Mustang to pay for his wife’s cancer treatment. At the end of the day, your family’s health come first. 17 years later, his wife remains cancer-free. Wesley’s kids thought of something special they could do for their father considering his dedication to their family.
Wesley’s son, Jake, decided to begin looking for the Mustang to see if he could buy it back. When Jake saw the car pop on Craigslist for a second time, he knew he had to buy the car back for his father. Later they revealed the surprise to their dad and it brought him to tears. Jake’s plan was to fix up the now worn-out Fox Body Mustang with his father, but Ford Executive Chairman, Bill Ford, had other plans. According to a My San Antonio article on the subject, the story was so captivating that Bill decided to do something about it. This is that story.
He knew that Jake was planning on fixing up the car with his dad, but Bill wanted to take that just a couple steps forward. To help with the project, he enlisted the assistance of John Hennessey, owner of the legendary Hennessey Performance. John was more than happy to help out. As you might imagine, Hennessey wasn’t just going to do an oil change and call it good, they went the extra mile and then some.
According to John, he stated that the previous owner was in the process of stripping the Fox Body, because it had no air conditioning or radio. So, he decided to finish the process and have the car completely stripped, the body fixed from the bare metal and repainted completely. John was just getting started. The next upgrade was to throw in a 5.0-liter Coyote V8 crate engine making around 500 HP and a new six-speed transmission from the latest Mustang GT.
However, you need some more things to support that power, so they also upgraded the Mustang via the Ford Performance catalog with a new flywheel, clutch, and limited-slip differential along with other driveline mods to support the power. Coilovers, a big brake kit, and SVT Cobra wheels finished off the car, while having a completely brand new interior.
Now that Wesley finally has the Mustang of his dreams, he can finally take a cruise with his beloved wife for a night on the town. The kids wouldn’t be able to fit in the back anyway. What do you guys think of this heart-warming story? Let us know in the comments below.
Photos: Hennessey
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