It’s a familiar tale when life gets in the way and a beloved project car gets sidelined. Sometimes these cars end up for sale, or worse yet, on the scrap heap. Fortunately, some have a happier ending, like James Bingham Jr.’s 1987 Mustang GT, which once served as a street warrior but fell by the wayside when family commitments came calling.

I was inspired to use the car as a showpiece for my work. I really wanted it to be everything I love about cars —  a race car, a show car, and a street car! — James Bingham Jr.

Family took priority for Bingham, which is not a surprise, as he acquired his appreciation for fast cars at a young age. He wasn’t just around them passively, as his Dad was fixing them, he wished he was behind the wheel, standing on the loud pedal.

James Bingham bought this 1987 Mustang GT back in 1992, and it served as his daily driver, pizza delivery vessel, and sometime street racer until life got in the way. At the urging of his family, he brought it back to life in style with a custom paint job based on House of Kolors Voodoo Violet. Bingham did the body work, and Nath Specialty Paints in Alvarado, Texas, sprayed the custom hue. “My family and I are planning to travel more with the car. I’m hoping to attend some events out of state,” Bingham added. “I would also like to race it some just to see what it is capable of. As far as the build itself, I don’t think it will ever be truly finished. I am always brainstorming and looking for new ideas.” (Photo Credit: Courtesy of James Bingham Jr.)

“My father was a mechanic, so I learned about cars at a very young age. I grew to love American muscle cars and supercars,” Bingham said. “My family nicknamed me, ‘HotRod,’ because I would pretend to drive the cars while my dad was working on them, and I always tried to get him to race everyone on the road.”

Getting to the point that he could own a fast car of his own would take time, of course. And, when that time came, it was the heart of the Fox Mustang era, so starting his stable with the pony car of the moment was a natural progression.

“Growing up, I always wanted a sports car, and when the time came, the Mustang was the most affordable and the easiest to modify and make my own,” Bingham said. “The Mustang can be whatever you want it to be. The possibilities for customization in performance and its looks are excellent.”

Fast Delivery

It didn’t hurt that he had up-close and personal experience with a classic, four-eyed Fox right in his family’s garage.

“My first experience with Mustangs was my Mom’s 1985 Jalapeno Red T-top Fox-body. My dad was a car nut since he was a teenager. I have a lot of his stuff from childhood that he made: drawings of cars, projects for school, etc., that are all hot rod car-related,” Bingham recalled. “He passed when I was in high school from cancer, and I really wish he were here for all the things I have done with cars. Together, we could have accomplished even greater things…”

There is no better example of the Mustang’s affordability (at the time) and adaptability than those built on the storied Fox platform. Those cars ignited aftermarket support for Blue Oval machines, and they continue to thrive as everything from drag racers and drifters to street machines and show cars. Bingham is an OG Fox fan, as he picked up this car during the heyday of this generation, but its comeback was quite an accomplishment.

“I bought this car in 1992. I used to deliver pizza in it while working through college. I scraped up the money for performance parts first, and then purple paint with white racing stripes. It has always been important to me that a car not just perform well but look good too,” he explained.

Back then, some pizza chains offered a “pizza in 30 minutes or it’s free,” before safety concerns put a damper on that offer. It’s safe to say, however, that Bingham wasn’t responsible for any free pizzas back in the day, as his chariot was capable of a speedy delivery on and off duty.

Family Affair

“I did a lot of street racing back in the ’90s and early 2000s, where it was known as ‘The Purple Car.’ When the time came to settle down and start a family, I sold the motor to get the money for a down payment on a house,” Bingham said. “After that, the car sat out in a field for years. The paint faded, and the metal began to rust. It was in really sad shape! I debated for a long time about taking it to a scrapyard, but with my family’s encouragement, I decided to rebuild the car.”

Another Fox could easily have been sold or rotted into further disrepair. In this case, there was no chance either of those outcomes would happen. His immediate family loves Ford’s pony car, and they wouldn’t let him give up on the dream, so ‘The Purple Car’ became known as ‘Voodoo’ in deference to its new hue.

Planting four digits of blown Coyote power is a rear suspension rooted in JRC upper and lower torque boxes and featuring Baseline Suspensions Outlaw upper control arms; custom, double-adjustable lower arms; Strange shocks and coilovers; and a Racecraft Wishbone arrangement.

“In high school, I met a girl whose dream car was a ’65 Mustang convertible. I didn’t know at the time, but this was the beginning of what would eventually grow into an all-Mustang family. Over the years, we have owned close to two dozen Mustangs,” Bingham said. “In addition to ‘Voodoo,’ I currently have a Competition Orange 2015 Mustang GT, my wife has a Canary Yellow 1993 Summer Edition Fox-body for fun and daily drives a black-over-red, two-tone 2015 Mustang GT, my son drives a White 2008 California Special, and my daughter drives a 2007 Mustang with custom Fuchsia paint. I guess you could say it’s in our blood.”

Bringing his first Fox back to life could have easily followed a path to becoming a pure competition vehicle. However, despite its straight-line history, Bingham’s ride also saw plenty of street duty as his driver.

“Initially, we planned to build the car for the family to drag race. When I pulled it out of the field and actually started to work on it, my vision took a different direction,” Bingham said. “I was inspired to use the car as a showpiece for my work. I really wanted it to be everything I love about cars —  a race car, a show car, and a street car!”

Coyote Beautiful

The challenge of building a triple-threat Fox Rod means that you can’t compromise in any area. That is especially true if you want to live up to the show-car part of the bargain. As such, Bingham wanted to make a statement with the car’s new hue.

“Of course, the color was a no-brainer. It had to be purple again. Only this time it had to be over the top,” he explained. “We sprayed at least 15 different test panels. I chose a custom mix based on the House of Kolors Voodoo Violet (hence the nickname…). I really love the depth you can achieve with candy paint. At night, it looks black, but on a sunny day, it really pops with an almost Magenta hue.”

The paint is what draws bystanders in, but to hold up the performance end of the bargain, the selection of the new powertrain was pivotal to the build. There are plenty of Blue Oval options to consider, from classic pushrod setups to modern overhead-cam combos. However, it’s hard to argue with the current 5.0-liter V8 when it comes to balancing performance and driveability.

“I chose the Coyote platform because it is arguably the best engine Ford ever made,” Bingham flatly stated. “It is so easy to make power while still being reliable for street duty.”

Ultimately, he selected a Gen 3 Coyote 5.0-liter engine, which pumps out 460 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 420 lb-ft of torque at 4,600 rpm in factory form. To push that engine past four digits, he enhanced it with a Plazmaman billet intake ingesting ample boost from a Vortech YSi supercharger. The combo is fed by Injector Dynamics 1,050cc fuel injectors and breathes out through custom 308 stainless steel headers, with 308 stainless steel oval exhaust built by Bingham.

Let’s Go

The blown Coyote sends its thrust to a 10R80 10-speed automatic and a custom driveshaft by The Driveshaft Shop to an 8.8-inch rearend that Bingham narrowed, braced, and fitted with 9-inch housing ends. Its 3.55 gears spin Strange 35-spline street axles connected to Billet Specialties wheels with a custom coating by Top Koat in Fort Worth, Texas. Those beautiful hoops are wrapped in Mickey Thompson rubber, 26×6.0-inch Sportsman S/Rs in front and 295/55-15 ET Streets out back.

The result is a classic Fox with explosive acceleration and streetable manners, which follows the plan set out for its revitalization.

“Driving the car feels like sitting behind a loaded gun that is cocked and ready,” he enthused. “The car says, ‘Pull the trigger and let’s go!’”

“I have always wanted to go to Mustang Week in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,” Bingham shared of the car that took multiple awards at the show. “When I found out Mustang Week was coming to my home state, I could not miss it,” Bingham said. “…The car was really well received. The color gets people’s attention, but when they come closer, they notice all the customization. I had several in-depth conversations with fellow Mustang enthusiasts.

He did just that and brought this beauty out to  Mustang Week Texas presented by Ford and LMR, where we immediately spotted it in the Car Show presented by LMR. We even had fellow Fox fans coming up to this scribe and saying that we had to check it out — and, as you can see, we did.

As such, it earned a spot in the Ford Muscle Texas 10, a single-eliminator contest voted for on the Ford Muscle Facebook and Instagram pages. So, keep an eye out for stories on the other Texas 10 contestants, and be sure to vote for your favorites.

The Mustang that emerges victorious will be crowned the Ford Muscle Texas 10 Champion and receive a custom piece of wall art featuring their winning ride — an epic badge of honor for any Mustang enthusiast.