Depending on where you live, and how old your Fox body Mustang is, it could already technically be deemed a “classic”. Yup, it has been quite some time since Ford built Fox body Mustangs, and there is renewed interest in restoring these popular pony cars. Hence why there are now mint-condition 5.0 Mustang Cobras on eBay going for $50,000 or more. That’s a little rich for our blood, but what about something a little more…common?

Restoration shop Eastwood has purchased a 1989 Fox body Mustang LX with more than 130,000 miles on the odometer in hopes of restoring it to its former glory. An easy project with an unlimited budget, but most of us have a very limited budget. That is why Eastwood has given themselves just $7,000, and a goal of finishing the project by the middle of this year.

Like most Mustangs of this era, this one was driven hard, and has plenty of wear-and-tear to prove it. Everywhere has some kind of damage, and there is bodywork aplenty to do. Thankfully, an engine leakdown test revealed that all the cylinders were holding the right amount of pressure, which means the engine should be good to go.

That said, the engine and transmission have already come out, and the entire front end has been removed to make working on this beat-old Mustang much easier. The $7,000 budget means Eastwood has to pick and choose its battles, and one could easily spend double or triple that restoring a project has hit as their chosen Mustang. It’ll be fun to watch this project come together, and to see if they can really stay under that self-imposed $7,000 budget. Do you think they can do it?