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Fabulous Fords Forever 2010 Knott's Berry FarmCelebrating A Silver Anniversary And Looking As If It'll Go At Least Another 25 More From the October, 2010 issue of 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords By KJ Jones, Tom Wilson Photography by KJ Jones, Tom Wilson
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As the arrival of the '11... As the arrival of the '11 5.0 Mustang marks yet another "new era" for our hobby, we find a cool bit of irony in the floorplanners' decision to place 5.0-powered Fox-body Ponies back-to-back with their Three-Valve '05-'10 brothers for the 25th annual Fabulous Fords Forever show.
For those of us who have been to most of them, it was tough to realize the West Coast's biggest all-Ford event had reached its 25th anniversary. But Knott's, as everyone calls the Fabulous Fords Forever show at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, has indeed hit a quarter century. Still, as usual there was little fanfare. Knott's is a populist gathering, where judging, tin cups, and speeches take a distant second to simply being there. So, while it was the show's 25th-and Ford reminded everyone it was also the Taurus' 25th, the Falcon's 50th(!), the Thunderbird's 55th and the Lincoln Continental's 70th solar orbits-out on the show field the main experience was a great mix of prepared and daily driven Fords, with Mustangs making up about half of the 1,800-car field. The car count was down slightly for no apparent reason other than the stale economy as we saw a few car-less zones spread throughout the show. Still, it wasn't like anyone went wanting for something to look at, and the crowd was as big as ever. The weather was perfect, and for once SoCal wasn't shaking, rioting, or burning and the mood was festive. A new trend we noticed were a few non-enthusiast locals and young families taking in the show, which is easily accessible and free of charge. If that sounds like a good way to enjoy a Sunday in April, it is; if you're in the area, make a point to check out next year's gathering. As usual we're concentrating on our favorite Mustang fare here; visit www.50mustangandsuperfords.com for a lot more coverage.  Eyeballing others' work is...  Eyeballing others' work is a prime reason to wander car shows, of course, and Knott's is great scouting territory due to the variety. Dave Palmer's '03 Cobra 'vert is a good example of what a regular guy could do on a moderate show-car budget. Starting with a low 4,500-mile car, Dave's cleaned the underhood to sparkling and dressed it with billet covers. Then he detail-painted the blower logos, adding the snake on the polished belt guard, and sticking to red as his second color. A few performance mods-a 2.93-inch blower pulley, Accufab throttle body, JBA headers, Magnaflow exhaust and FRPP 4:10 gears-round out what Dave's son describes as "...my dad's Sunday driver."  Sitting near Dave's black...  Sitting near Dave's black convertible was this naturally aspirated silver example. There's not as much detailing, but it shows the same discipline to stick with a single second color-blue-and the addition of polished pieces where possible. OK, we'll give a bye run on the orange battery top. Like seemingly half the SN-95s at Knott's, this one has replaced its stock, crack-prone radiator header tank with one of Canton's or Moroso's aluminum tanks. They look great and won't spit coolant like the commonly failing stockers.  Former 5.0&SF magazine feature...  Former 5.0&SF magazine feature car "Molly Pop" is tough to miss, even from across the parking lot. Molly Saleen's personal ride, the one-off eye-searing paint is a regular at Knott's and to those hoofing it along 91 in Corona. Molly parks the car in front of the family business, SMS Supercars, which is plainly visible to freeway commuters. At Knott's, the special S-281 let everyone know where the Saleens are parked. And yes, Steve Saleen was signing autographs nearby in the SMS booth.  When was the last time you...  When was the last time you saw a '95 Cobra painted Viper Red? Mr. F. Shipton has one, augmented by a 342 stroker from Ford Racing, Vortech T-trim, T-56 gearbox, 3.73 gears, and HRE 19-inch wheels. A full Griggs Racing GR40 suspension gets the cornering done, while Wilwood brakes do the stopping. A sumped fuel tank, custom four-point rollcage, and Recaro seats complete this racy ride. It's a prime example of a corner-happy canyon-carver, a specialty form of Mustang most often seen where the hills and valleys produce beautifully winding roads. Too bad they're jammed with traffic.  Looking sharp was this pair...  Looking sharp was this pair of red and blue Saleens that had taken the full course at Joe Gosinski's finishing school at Chicane Sport Tuning. Underhood, the blue car was especially showing its CST credentials, with no fewer than four Chicane script billet-aluminum filler caps and a CST strut-tower brace. Giant tires are also part of the charm, the Toyo Proxes measuring 275/35ZR-20 in front and 305/30ZR-20 in back. Baer 14-inch, PBR-based, slotted and drilled brakes hide openly behind the open-spoke wheels on the blue car.  For us, it's worth going to...  For us, it's worth going to Knott's just to reacquaint ourselves with the '00 Cobra R model. There are always two or more of these fantastic Mustangs at Knott's-they really put the "fabulous" in Fab Fords Forever. Even after the blown Terminators and the sparkling new 5.0-liter Coyote, the bellowing 5.4 in the '00 R remains our favorite. Thanks to Bruce Brincka for bringing this one out.  If you trekked all the way...  If you trekked all the way to the south 40 at Knott's, you'd find Carlos Luna Jr.'s SN-95 convertible in familiar company. Although his has more than most, Carlos' cruiser represents a majority of Mustangs at Knott's-a daily driver with some decorations, such as wheels, projector headlights, specialty license plate surrounds, and other nick-knacks. In the land of constant heavy traffic and bi-annual smog inspections, these real-world machines are normally displayed with the hoods down.  Knott's is always good for...  Knott's is always good for blasts from the past-witness this squeaky-clean '89 Saleen SSC. The first Saleen with engine modifications, the SSC was hot stuff and still a blast to drive, but don't those 225/50-16 tires look quaint these days? Showing just 9,268 miles, this SSC didn't even have a mark on its signature white/gray/yellow Flofit seats.  Russ Wilcoxson is a Kenworth...  Russ Wilcoxson is a Kenworth test driver from Tacoma, Washington, so maybe he's used to long hauls (Tacoma to Buena Park is about like driving from Maine to South Carolina). He brought his heavily detailed '04 Mach 1,....  ....which was wearing rare...  ....which was wearing rare 17-inch Hallibrand wheels with knock-off conversions, JBA stainless-steel headers with titanium coating, a Hurst shifter, and a slew of gold and polished appearance items.  Enjoy biplane wings, five-lug...  Enjoy biplane wings, five-lug Foxes, or turbo-4s? Knott's seems to be the SVO Mustang's natural gathering ground as there were at least 10 of them there. We didn't have the time to see how many were sporting Esslinger and Boport hardware, but our quick pass-by did show some nicely kept street cars, such as this red example belonging to Scott Robinson from distant Snohomish, Washington.  Legend Lime fans are a showy...  Legend Lime fans are a showy bunch, as exhibited by Tom Raber's '05 GT, sporting a Paxton Novi 2000 and more detailing than a Byzantine mosaic. We applaud the mainly classic cleanliness of the work and appreciate the effort in the lime green flames, but we're hoping there's a way of inserting a tethered plastic fish into the pure-disco see-through upper radiator pipe. That and the snappy gator rendering may be too whimsical for our tastes, but our car should be so presentable.  No doubt due to the proximity...  No doubt due to the proximity of Hollywood, there's never a shortage of big wheels, flames, and at least one body panel with odd hinges or opening arc. Now that Lambo doors are just Lambo doors, we thought we'd go with this look-at-me Three-Valve with the billet hood hinges and apparently functional nostrilled hood.  There were probably as many...  There were probably as many black Foxes as Model Ts, and Daniel Sanpedro's carbureted hatch shows why. They simply look good. Daniel's ride is waiting for a little help in the interior, but the black paint and stock body are looking fine on the five-lug Cobra wheels and rear disc brakes.  Knott's is also a great place...  Knott's is also a great place for project cars to get a little sun. This pair of red S197s are from APR Performance and feature a who's who of aftermarket upgrades, along with APR's body kit, wings, and splitter jewelry.  Thanks to Leon and Sharon...  Thanks to Leon and Sharon Biesiadecki, some may think Ford is building '10 Mach 1s. Featuring a customized interior, Shaker scoop, pedestal spoiler, Eibach Pro Kit, Magnaflow pipes, FRPP cross-pipe, a 500W subwoofer, and Silverhorse louvers, this Grabber Blue still looks stock enough to have come from Dearborn.  Sean Kana drove from Las Vegas...  Sean Kana drove from Las Vegas to show off his handsome '89 Fox daily driver. The camera doesn't do justice to the custom copper paint and you can't see the Tokico shocks, FMF lowering springs, or long-tube headers, but the photo does record the 19-inch RPM wheels and Latemodel Restoration Supply smoked lamps. Sean bought the old Fox in Compton, California, brought it home, and has done all the work in his home garage save spraying the paint. His plans are for a 331 "with a big turbo."  We asked Forrest Watchers-who...  We asked Forrest Watchers-who was right at home both in Buena Park and his Kenne Bell-assisted Super Snake-if his Shelby had given him any trouble. His reply? "Except for giving me more power than I can ever use?" Forrest opted for the 725hp package, which is "scary fast," "gets there before I do," and spins the tires at 80 mph. Like Carroll said, too much is just right. Forrest finished by noting the white car is "the best car I've ever had" and he's thinking of putting bigger tires on the back.  Fabulous Fords Forever offers...  Fabulous Fords Forever offers major league variety, such as Ron Reno's '65 Mercury pickup. Built only in Canada, the Merc version of the F-150 is rare enough to be the first we've seen in 20 years of Ford coverage. Ron put a 428CJ and Toploader in it; show duty is its only work these days.  We spotted Michael Smith of...  We spotted Michael Smith of Raceskinz just about the same time we noticed his license plate. He was showing a pair of GT500s, but his biggest news is that his rear-seat delete for 2011 is going to incorporate the spare tire, a la classic Shelbys. That'll be a fun custom touch, but we think you'll have to step up to a real wheel and tire as a buzz can of tire sauce just doesn't strut like a full-size spare.
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