Family Values: How Jim Keown Inspired His Sons With A Fast Fox Body

Photos by StangTV Editor, Don Creason

Let’s face it, having a family means making huge sacrifices. Sometimes the car guy’s beloved must take a backseat to the endless amount of duties that involve being a parent. In some families, wrenching time becomes a thing of the past, with the car collecting dust in the garage or some barn or shed in the backyard. Barn finds seem to are growing more common stemming from situations such as this, and most seem to be a project long gone. Usually the car is a decomposing object that holds sentimental value, but possessed by someone who will likely refuse to ever part with it.

Family is one of the most important things in life, and usually we want as much family time as possible. With family taking precedence over the car life, possibly combining the two would be the best of both worlds. Sure, money can be an issue, but acquiring parts as you go could be the perfect solution to both problems. Teaching your children the art of the car could give priceless time with family, and also give that car some of that much needed TLC and attention it has been lacking. Not only does the time and effort put in build a car, but it also comes free with bonding time that cannot be replaced. The car becomes a sentimental token of family time well-spent.

I’m just trying to pass on what he gave me. He taught me how to work on them, how to rebuild, take ’em out, put ’em back in, and how to diagnose what’s wrong,

Many people will tell you fewer young people are getting involved in the world of cars and motorsports. This world needs true car enthusiasts -dad, mom, grandpa, grandma, uncle, etc., to bring kids into the world of cars and to share something that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives, and hopefully move them enough to pass it down to their own kin.

The world needs more people like Jim. Jim Keown, a resident of Crestwood, Kentucky, with incredible family values. He is proof of how you can have a tight-knit family and still maintain a favorite hobby. This combination is allowing him to pass on everything he knows about cars to his sons, something Jim’s grandfather has passed down to him. Jim is forever grateful for his grandfather and the knowledge he possessed and shared during countless hours of tinkering on cars.

“I’m just trying to pass on what he gave me. He taught me how to work on them, how to rebuild, take ’em out, put ’em back in, and how to diagnose what’s wrong,” Jim tells us.

His grandfather wasn’t biased toward American makes and models. It didn’t matter, he had Fords, Chevys, Pontiacs, and he was there to teach Jim the art of working on cars every step of the way.

Carrying on the family car building tradition, Jim picked up a 1991 Mustang Fox-body LX convertible with the best of intentions. He decided that this ’91 Fox-body would be the perfect project to build with his son, Joey, now 21 years old. “I got the car back when he was 10-11 years old. I bought it to have something to do with him,” Jim tells us.

Jim Keown Drag Strip Lined Up

The Fox has undergone many transformations. “It has changed about 10 times,” Jim says. As it currently sits, the 302-cubic-inch engine is mated to a 6776 Precision turbo routing power down through a C4 transmission. Open the hood to Windsor senior heads, a 70mm throttle body, a SCT MAF meter, and Trick Flow Stage 1 camshaft all perfectly tied together with a tune by SCT. Added rumble and airflow is provided by a custom DynoMax Race Bullet mufflers.

Thirst is quenched by a fuel system consisting of Lucas 42-lb/hr injectors with 255-lph fuel pump. Front suspension components came from UPR as well as rear  FRPP springs and X2C Motorsports control arms. The rear features a FRPP posi-trac complete with 3.55 gears and 31-spline Moser axles.

The exterior, once white, is now slathered with factory Dark Shadow Gray. Not only is the car powerful, but it is a beauty on the outside as well. Weld drag wheels also provide the perfect touch to the exterior of Jim and Joey’s Fox-body ‘vert.

This car has ran NMRA’s True Street class and Jim has been a familiar face at Beechbend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky — home of the NMRA World Finals. Seeing the 1/8th mile at least once a month, it is safe to say that Jim also has a passion for drag racing. Jim’s fastest was a 7.47 in the 1/8th mile. What fun is it to build a fast car and not be able to play with it, right?

Jim Keown Drag Strip front

The ’91 Fox-body convertible was built by Jim and Joey as a father/son team, but that is not the only car that the two have built together. Featured in StangTV before, Joey’s daily is a 1995 Ford Mustang that once housed a humble 3.7-liter V-6 engine. Once belonging to a female family member who wrecked it a couple of times within a month, Jim took the opportunity to buy it having already fixed it up once before. With Jim and Joey’s track record for building cars, it was guaranteed to be sporting two more cylinders in just a matter of time. Sure enough, it received a heart transplant in the form of a 5.0-liter V8 thanks to a ’95 GT and good grades achieved on Joey’s part. Car parts provide good motivation.

Photo gallery

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With a crazy amount of modifications and a two-tone blue and black exterior with painted matching wheels, the car is full of both show and go parts. Joey’s SN-95 Mustang is also a head turner, a bright blue that will likely grab the attention of any car guy or gal. His car was noticed by our editor while attending the races in Bowling Green.

That’s not all. Jim has an even younger son, Dustin, who is 10 years old. Already waiting for him is a 1988 Fox-body Mustang complete with T-tops, and he is anxiously awaiting the day when he and his dad can get busy wrenching on it. Already reading the car magazines, Dustin leafs through the ads and circles anything that he would like giving dad ideas on what to install on his very own Fox-body, already acquiring quite the wish list.

So there you have it. Jim is the perfect example of a dad getting his kids involved in his passion. With more people like him, more kids would be into cars and not lazily playing on Smartphones and iPads every minute of every day, but more excited to wrench on a car that will one day be their very own, one they put their own sweat and tears into. No matter the car passion whether it is just building cars, drag racing, road racing, entering shows, drifting, or all of the above and more, more of the youngins need to get involved to keep the sport more than alive and thriving for generations to come.

Check out more photos of this sweet Fox-body in the gallery below.

About the author

Amie Williams

Amie's love and appreciation for fine machinery began when she was a kid spending summers with her father, a pilot and skydiving instructor. Her passion for everything automotive, and especially American muscle, continued after her dad passed. It was then Amie decided to become a journalist and photographer. She currently is a freelance contributor for Power Automedia.
Read My Articles

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