- Owner: Mike Ferl
- Location: DFW, Texas, USA
- Year: 1978
- Model: Coupe
- Engine: 5.0L
- Transmission: C4 Auto
- Email me

I've owned my '78 since 1990, as a senior in high school. I bought it non-running from a classmate for $275. It was a Ghia with faded pale yellow paint, a torn white vinyl 1/2 top, small opera rear windows, and a white interior. I got it running on the old engine while building a new 302 for the car that I swapped in before graduating. I drove the car daily through the end of high school, all through college, and into marriage. It has been cosmetically restored a couple of times, going from yellow to blue, to red. The 302 mechanically tweaked continuously over the years. I retired it as a daily driver in 1998 after racking up 170k miles. I began its full resto-mod in 1999, to finally build the car like I always wanted. Six years, three jobs, two kids and a mortgage later, I finally finished reassembling the car in 2005.

Here are some current specs as of May 2005:
Power train:
'78 302. ARP fasteners throughout.
Keith Black Hypereutectic pistons.
Edelbrock Performer RPM heads w/ 2.1" intake valves.
Edelbrock Performer RPM intake.
Carter AFB 625 CFM carb.
Eagle full-length headers.
Elgin ProStock cam.
Edelbrock Performer-Link
Timing Chain.
Mallory Hyfire
VIA ignition box.
Mallory Promaster Coil.
Accel Street Billet Distributor.
Proform Roller Rockers.
C4 Auto with B&M Shift Kit and Super Cooler.
2500 RPM stall converter.
8" Rear with 3.40:1 gears.

Chassis:
SSM Lift Bars.
Subframe connectors.
1/2 coils cut from front springs to drop approx 1-1/2".
Rear dropped 1".
Upgraded 1" front sway bar.
Rear sway bar from Cobra II.
KYB Shocks all around.
15x7 Centerline Autodrags.
235/60-15s rear.
205/60-15s front.
Dual 2-1/2" exhaust with X-pipe and Flowmaster Super 40 mufflers.

Body and Interior
Painted Ford 'E4' red.
Most emblems and trim shaved.
Front bumper trimmed and recessed 1-1/2".
Cobra II hoodscoop made functional with aluminum grill fabricated for the opening.
Old JC Whitney fiberglass rear spoiler (no longer available), sectioned and re-glassed to fit better.
Original AC converted to R134A.
Late model Trans Am/Formula cloth seats adapted to fit (front and rear).
Old white interior pieces dyed and/or replaced with black.
Aluminum dash inserts.
Ghia opera side windows replaced with full size coupe windows.