Featured Foureye - Alejandro Manglano's '79 Mustang Turbo

Automotive restoration is an addiction. Restoring or modifying any car is a time consuming, often heartbreaking process that typically ends up costing too much money and taking too much time. But the appeal is unexplainable, a very rewarding experience indeed. And unlike those who pay to have a car restored, one can take a certain amount of pride in the fact that you can boast that you did all the work yourself.

Such is the case with Alejandro Manglano and his 1979 Mustang. Alejandro and his wife were on a mission to replace his wrecked BMW with a Mustang. They did a lot of looking around until they found a mint 1980 Ghia V6. Alejandro and his wife decided that this would be the one they would purchase.

The very next day, Alejandro was on his way to purchase the '80 with his friend when he spotted a brown '79 coupe that appeared to have seen better days. It sat motionless with a flat tire, no brakes to speak of, a ratted out interior, torn up suspension, and a rather dented up body from an apparent accident.

Alejandro saw past the sad state the fox was in and saw a large amount of potential in the little turbo coupe. He immediately changed his mind and decided to forgo the perfect '80 for the ratty '79. To compound matters further, the little couple wouldn't start or run so he and his friend had to load it up on a trailer and tow it home.

Alejandro arrived home to pretty much the same reaction that we all get at some point and time from his wife. All she wanted to know was "where is that pretty green car we looked at yesterday?" (Editors note: the reaction I got when I drove my '83 home was much worse than this). Alejandro explained to her that the '79 was a great project to begin with, and that it wouldn't take long since it was a solid, rust free car.

The restoration took 5 years. The mangled body was straightened out and covered with layers of tan/gold pearl. The ol' four banger was rebuilt and freshened up for the time being, Alejandro has future plans of completely going through it. Brake were upgraded with escort calipers and disks in the rear. Wheels are 15x7 American Racing Outlaws with Sumitomo tires all around.

The interior was completely restored from dash to console to upholstery. The steering wheel and shifter knob are custom units that have been painted to match the body color.

Now that Alejandro's foxbody is finished, it's being used in a TV show. How's that for having your car work for you? And instead of tooling around in a car that was perfect from the get go, Alejandro has a ride that's both unique and has history. That's what this hobby is all about.

AmericanMuscle.com has all the Mustang Parts you will need to spice up your 'Stang.

You can view the pictures of the restoration here.