Anyone remembering the wild 1980s and crazy 1990s has probably listened to Vanilla Ice. Car aficionados will also remember he featured a very white Ford Mustang 5.0 “Fox Body” with a custom license plate that read “Go Ice” in one of his videos. What does all that have to do with Ken Block and his surprise gift for his daughter Lia? You’ll find out in a moment – and prepare your boombox references, because Vanilla is making a cameo.
So, the story in the video is about Ken Block’s hidden decision to have a special gift for Lia’s upcoming 14th birthday. Thus, he sets out with Zac Mertens, his “Chop Daddy,” to find a proper Ford Mustang 5.0 of the Fox Body variety.
Why that specific model – it's not necessarily because they share Vanilla’s love for it, but mostly because Ken and Lia have a running joke of how much she despises the car, so every time she visits the shop her daddy teases her with getting exactly such a 'Stang for when she’s old enough to legally drive.
Well, the reason they’re doing this right now – when she’s only 14 – is because she’s a chip off the old block (pun intended) and already showed her up and coming drift skills in Ken’s notoriously difficult to handle Mk.2 Escort. Meaning he’s now ready to get her to the next level, with her own special drift ride to hoon and learn all the secrets of the sideways art.
Once they find a proper beat-down ‘Stang somewhere in Colorado and bring it back to Salt Lake City, get some actual hooning in it without even breaking it, the transformation begins. Hold on, we said something about Vanilla popping up, right? Well, ahead of the actual restoration and customization, Block enrolls the artist to show up for Lia and say a few words about his Fox Body Mustang.
Check him out talking about the 1990s and the ‘Stang from the 3:20 mark onwards, and you could even find out what car he owned before the Fox Body, and why he did the switch. Anyways, from the 6:55 mark you can see as the team gets on with the actual restoration and all the modifications done to the ride.
Just the way we like it, the Fox Body Mustang gets a new lease of life in just a few minutes, as the fast forward option is always great when you want to compress three works of hard work in a social media-manageable time format.
The great thing is that build enthusiasts get to see and read about the modifications (big-letter captioning rules) that include numerous parts from Maximum Motorsports, a nice vintage set of Rotiform Wheels, a meaty Borla exhaust, and the logical Scottidi Angle Kit, among others.
We really love the genuine surprise showcased by Lia when she sees the car – her feelings have a wide range (happy for the present, dismay that her fears were true, and she did get a Fox Body!). Fortunately for her, the car will not be her actual present, as in she only gets to learn how to drift in it and then someone else will get to buy the car... And, best of all, her teacher will be none other than Vaughn Gittin Jr.!
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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