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2012 AmericanMuscle.com Show - Grow & 'ShineAmericanMuscle.com's Massive 2012 show Flourished in the Sunshine From the February, 2013 issue of 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords By Michael Johnson Photography by Michael Johnson
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We don't attend many pure car shows. We tend to focus on multi-faceted events blending auto-crossing, drag racing, open-tracking, and showing. However, one dedicated show we make sure to mark on our calendar is www.AmericanMuscle.com's annual car show. Most importantly, we can count on a huge number of Mustangs being in attendance. Second, the aftermarket comes out to support the show, as well. Manufacturers from AmericanMuscle's stable of suppliers are available to provide technical assistance and support for the latest products. Third, yours truly has a chance to visit with friends from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Last, but certainly not least, I get to see AmericanMuscle's Brick Spurio. I'm not sure what exactly Brick does at AmericanMuscle, but evidently he's really good at scaring the AmericanMuscle girls. At this year's show, he wasn't ever too far from them -- each time I passed the AM girls autograph location, Brick was a fixture. And I can't really blame him for that. Mind you, I'm not one for creeping -- I didn't note his behavior while trying to get autographs over and over again. The autograph location happened to be between the show field, food and vendor rows, and my rental. A guy's gotta eat, ya' know, and get his camera. Speaking of needing my camera, there were over 1,200 cars on the property to check out. If you didn't make it out, see what you missed in the following captions. Horse Sense: Each www.AmericanMuscle.com's show has a charity function within the show. This year the company generated over $14,408 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to help find a cure. To find out more about the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and do your part, visit www.cff.org.  Vendor row included representatives...  Vendor row included representatives from Bilstein, McLeod, Mickey Thompson, QA1, TSW, and Touchless Car Cover, among many others. Representatives were on hand to answer questions, talk about new products, and provide technical expertise to AM show attendees.  The Ford Racing trailer had...  The Ford Racing trailer had a couple new ‘13 GTs at the show, and Roush Performance displayed a few of its finest Mustang offerings at the show, as well. Having driven the latest from Ford and Roush Performance, we’re happy to be on the Mustang side of the fence. The crew from Ford Racing was giving away posters at the event, which were probably stuck to the garage wall within 5 minutes of people making it home.  Kooks Custom Headers showed...  Kooks Custom Headers showed off this complete ’11-’13 Boss 302 system at the show. The system includes a side-exit arrangement, which would also probably work on GTs. The 3-inch system is available in off-road, high-flow catalytic, and 49-state-legal catalytic versions. Of course, these components are available separately, as well. This Boss 302 system is designed to make your Mustang sound like the Boss of any neighborhood or race track.  Hey, I’m the photographer,...  Hey, I’m the photographer, pal. He must’ve been taking a picture of Brick and the AM girls. I was busy taking this shot of the Flowmaster/Hurst/B&M event trailer on the left, and AmericanMuscle’s fleet of test cars on the right. AmericanMuscle uses this collection of Mustangs to test performance products before unleashing the products to its customers. The fleet also helps with AmericanMuscle’s custom tuning capabilities, as well. Having cars in the building allows AM to come up with tunes that work for its customers.  The AmericanMuscle show featured...  The AmericanMuscle show featured judged categories for all late-model Mustang segments, including Foxes. The judges must have been busy, too. American Muscle says over 1,200 Mustangs were in attendance at the show, with over 4,000 spectators on the property as well.  The owner of this S197 GT...  The owner of this S197 GT had showgoers enamored with the car’s halo headlights and foglights. As we recall, the halo’s color changed, which attracted passers-by.  One car that has eluded any...  One car that has eluded any 5.0&SF staffer is a ’03-’04 Cobra. We don’t usually let it get us down— until we see fine examples like Rafael Luna’s ‘03 DSG. Rafael’s Terminator hits all the right notes with a nailed stance, chrome Saleen wheels, a Mach 1- style front spoiler, a smaller blower pulley, and a cold-air intake. Oh, man, I really need a Terminator. Thanks, Rafael.  Editor Turner used to own...  Editor Turner used to own a ’82 GT, but it wasn’t as nice as Robert Day’s example. Robert is from Newark, Delaware, and an active member of the 1st State Mustang and Ford Club. Robert’s Medium Red example also features a red interior.  I’m not sure what Mr. Abercrombie...  I’m not sure what Mr. Abercrombie & Fitch is pointing at, but if his own Fox isn’t as clean as Dolly Kelly’s ’93 LX coupe, he wishes it was. Dolly, along with these gentlemen, know you can’t go wrong with a black ‘notch, and if it has a Vortech S-Trim supercharger under the hood, it’s even better. Dolly’s ’notch also features a GT-40 intake, headers, and the like, making for one fast LX.  For the second year in a row,...  For the second year in a row, JPC Racing’s Justin Burcham made quite the entrance by driving in the show with his Paxton supercharged ‘11 GT. It didn’t matter where you were on the show field, you could hear him coming. The sound of the Paxton supercharger combined with a dumped exhaust and blow-off valve was audible two counties over.  This colorful arrangement...  This colorful arrangement shows the diversified group that shows up for the AmericanMuscle show. From the left is a ’03’-04 Mach 1, ’98 Cobra, Fox GT, and ’71-’73. Since the different generations aren’t grouped together at the show, this is a popular theme—Mustangs of different generations parked next to each other.  Speaking of black Mustangs,...  Speaking of black Mustangs, Editor Turner is also probably jealous of Tom Gallagher’s ’82 GT. However, we’re sure he would rather have a T-top so his ponytail can blow in the wind. Turner would love the additions Tom has made, though, which include Recaro seats, an ’89 roller engine, a BBK Performance X-shape crossover pipe, a Flowmaster after-cat exhaust, and Ford Racing B springs. Tom says the body has just 81,000 miles on it and the paint is original.  Another Maryland performance...  Another Maryland performance shop heavily represented at the AmericanMuscle show was Revolution Automotive. David Bogdan and TJ Lapinski run out of the Rev Auto camp. David’s SN-95 features a Terminator swap, while TJ’s New Edge GT boasts a Coyote swap. TJ’s Coyote swap car runs bottom 11s; you can read more about David’s car in a future issue. 5.0  Flying the performance flag...  Flying the performance flag for the ’05-’09 Mustangs was Frank Silva’s ’05 GT. Frank’s GT boasts a GT500 front end, but the Vortech supercharger makes sure it has the performance to match the looks. The Branchburg, New Jersey-resident is a member of the NJStangers Mustang club.  At the 2012 AmericanMuscle...  At the 2012 AmericanMuscle show, in the shade was the place to be. It was warm with zero rain threat so if you had a shady spot for you and your Mustang, you were a happy show attendee. These two power-adder Foxes deserved a shady spot to sit and relax. (Nice T-shirt!)
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