Fox Body Mustang Looks & Sounds Killer as a Terminator Cobra

Enthusiast goes the extra mile with his car by combining the looks of a Fox body with the guts and grunt of the supercharged New Edge Cobra.

What do the Jeep Wrangler and the Ford Mustang have in common? If you see one out on the road, there’s a 99 percent certainty it’s been modified in some way. Some mods are as simple as a different air filter. Others are purely cosmetic, such as a different shift knob or a sticker showing Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes urinating on a Chevrolet bow tie. Then there are Mustangs like this Fox body, which is on a completely different level of custom.

Like many other Mustangs out there, this 1992 Fox sports its share of visual upgrades, which David Patterson (aka ThatDudeinBlue) shows in his recent review of it. Its bulging hood is held in place with a pair of hood pins. Fresh headlight casings flank the blue oval in the grille. And the whole package sits nice and low on top of aftermarket wheels and tires.

As cool as this Mustang looks on the outside, it’s what’s inside that makes this build truly special – and we’re not just talking about what’s in the engine bay.

Instead of keeping the motor stock or dumping money into power adders, the owner of this black beast, Jonathan Whitaker, decided to take a completely different route. He got his hands on the supercharged 4.6-liter V8 and 6-speed manual gearbox from a New Edge “Terminator” Cobra and put them in his car. Whitaker went a step further by tossing out the stock blower and replacing it with a VMP Gen 3 TVS supercharger. He also made the whole setup E85 compatible. Output is up from the OEM Cobra’s 390 horsepower to more than 700, which helps Whitaker’s Mustang run 10-second quarter miles. Patterson says, “It’s nothing to be messed around with.” We have to agree.

Whitaker could’ve just stopped there and had himself a badass modified Mustang. He didn’t. As Patterson puts it, “This interior is rad because it has the Terminator interior.” Yep, you read that right. Whitaker yanked out the stock steering wheel, dashboard, seats, and trim, and installed the same kind of hardware from a New Edge Cobra. While he was at it, he also put in some Corbeau racing seats, hardnesses, and, of course, a different shift knob. What custom Mustang would be complete without one?

Putting a Terminator Cobra engine in almost any car would make it more fun. When you put it in a Fox body that only weighs 3,100 pounds, you make it into what Patterson calls “a Terminator on steroids” that wants to spin its rear tires at highway speeds. Whitaker’s Mustang may not be 100 percent Terminator Cobra, but it’s loud and angry and goes like hell so it’s still 100 percent Mustang.

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Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.