In 1979, Ford introduced the world to the Fox-body Mustang, based on an all-new, cutting edge lightweight chassis. While the Mustang made the Fox-chassis famous, Ford actually used it on a number of 1980s cars, including the Thunderbird, Mercury Cougar, and the oft-forgotten Ford Fairmont, a classy mid-size sedan that only lasted a single generation.

But the Fairmont has a small-yet-devoted following of fans who still modify this old sedan, including some of the guys at LateModelRestoration.com. They took a 1979 vintage Fairmont two-door sedan and dropped one of Ford Racing’s 4.6 liter mod motor V-8s under its long hood. This video gives us a small taste of what this wicked combo is capable of.

But since the Ford 4.6 wasn’t even available in the same decade as Fairmont sales, surely this must have been a difficult swap, right? Well thanks to Ford’s new standalone ECU system on their “hot rod” 3-valve 4.6 liter V8 crate engine, dropping this engine between the frame rails was a relatively simple affair.

A simplified harness from Ford Racing allowed for the setup to run in just about any 12-volt electrical system, and minus a fuel system and transmission, the motor came with everything necessary to get this ride on the road. LateModelRestoration.com added a BBK X-pipe and Mac Long Tube headers, but this motor makes plenty of power as-is. Besides, this build is from 2009, before the new Coyote engine had hit the streets.

The Fairmont is not a car that gets a lot of love, but with the 3-valve hot rod motor, it screams down the track, pulling high-11s and putting 322 horsepower to the wheels. While we love the use of the 4.6 mod motor, we’d really like to see a new Coyote 5.0 setup in a Fairmont. Can you imagine how fast that boxy sedan would go with one of those engines up front? We think the Fairmont is due for an engine upgrade, don’t you agree?