East Coast 'Stang bangers are convinced that no one in California cares about 5.0 Mustangs. They're convinced that everyone on the West Coast is down with hotty Hondas, more interested in waxing a carrot than waxing the competition. Oh yeah?
David Schapiro of Tarzana, California, and his daily driven '93 LX automatic Mustang prove them all wrong. A 73mm C&L mass air meter and a 70mm BBK throttle body feed a GT-40 intake while a 190-lph Motorsport fuel pump and a Crane regulator feed 24-pound injectors. Ported and polished iron GT-40 heads with 1.72:1 rockers, Manley valves, a custom Motorsport bumpstick, and Hooker short-tubes help wring out a reliable 368 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque. The bottom end is stock. The powerplant was built by David's brother, Brian; his pal, Bill Hodge; and B&D Racing in Tarzana, California.
The battery is in the trunk, and the A/C has been scrapped. David's brow may remain beaded, but low quarter-mile times are no sweat. The AOD has a continental 3,500-stall, 10-inch converter; a trans cooler; and a Motorsport aluminum driveshaft to spin the 4.10s. Subframe connectors, 90/10 front and 50/50 rear Lakewood dampers, traction bars, and missing sway bars get this slick 'Stang to hook and book. Remington rubber (165-15s front, 255/60-15s rear) rides Weld wheels. Inside is stock leather decorated with an Auto Meter tach and a stereo with enough grunt to cause tectonic-plate shifting. The body has been sharpened up with a Saleen wing and a Harwood cowl-induction hood. And David's ride is California clean--it recently won Second Place at a Corvette show.
"It's been said that AOD cars can't go fast," David tells us, "but I've been proving them all wrong. When I go to Los Angeles County Raceway, Bakersfield, or Carlsbad, jaws drop." At a 3,200-pound race weight, the car's best is a 12.24 at 112 mph. With the Vortech blower they've been thinking of adding, they're looking at solid mid-11s on DOT cheater slicks. That's good enough to get 'em kicked off any track in the land for lack of proper safety equipment. Now then, who said there were no good Mustangs in So-Cal?