Horse Sense: Being so rabid about Mustangs, Susan Bodnar started a Web site (www.eastcoaststangs.com) in 1998 to keep in touch with her Mustang friends. As of this writing, the site features more than 210 members.
Most 14-year-old girls couldn't care less about Mustangs. The intoxicating sound of a pair of Flowmasters combined with a Bassani X-pipe does nothing for them. They don't care that the new Bullitt makes only 5 more horsepower than a standard GT. They're more concerned about the next *NSYNC concert location and the latest trends in fashion. "Have you seen Jimmy Vacarro's new line of pinky rings?" No, that's not what they're asking. "Did you see what Britney wore to the MTV Awards?" Yeah, that's probably more like it.
Fortunately, such stereotyping doesn't hold true for Susan Bodnar of South River, New Jersey. It all started in 1994 when Susan's sister received a Jr. Dragster to race at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey. Instead of becoming involved in racing at that time, Susan, then 14 years old, chose to get a job-at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. "What I thought was going to be a summer job ended up changing my life forever," she says. While working the timeslip booth, she swore drag racing a Mustang would be in her future. The mere sight of a Mustang would drive her insane, and she could tell the presence of a Mustang just by the sound of the exhaust.
Susan, an EMT by profession,...
Susan, an EMT by profession, has the ultimate prescription for 12.20s. Add a Nitrous Express nitrous kit, a K&N air filter, Steeda pulleys and timing adjuster, a cold-air kit, a Bassani X-pipe, Flowmaster mufflers, 3.73 gears, and a pair of Mickey Thompson slicks to a '99 GT automatic and call all the posers to the lanes. It's a far cry from the 19-second, four-cylinder hatch she used to "race."
When it was her turn behind the wheel, Susan told her parents she wanted a "Mustang and nothing else." Mom and Dad thought a 5.0 would be too much, so she ended up owning a four-cylinder Calypso hatch. Even though it was a four-banger, she raced the car regularly and even outfitted it with a Cervini's Stormin' Norman hood, a Saleen wing, and 16-inch Pony wheels. "I had a blast with the car," Susan says, "but I got sick of going down the track at 19 seconds. I had enough time to listen to the radio, talk on the phone, etc."
In 2000 Susan began searching for her dream car-a Chrome Yellow '99 Mustang GT. She almost caved in and bought a black 2000 GT, but just before she signed her life away, she saw an ad for the '99 GT automatic you see here. She bought the car with only 4,000 miles on it, and after two days of ownership she had it at the track turning 14.40s-bone stock. "I swore I would keep it stock and not touch anything on it," Susan says. "Yeah, right," she adds, "we all say that."
In November 2000 Susan met Jay Sabo from Mayhem Motorsports, and through this friendship she received help in deciding which performance direction would be taken. After attending the '01 NMRA race in Reynolds, Georgia, and qualifying 32nd with a 14.30, a plan was put into high gear. With much research on what could be done, Susan remembered how cool she thought it was to see nitrous purges. That's when it hit her-she wanted nitrous.
For the street, Susan relies...
For the street, Susan relies on Steeda Ultra-Lite wheels wrapped in Nitto treads. For the dragstrip, she bolts on the Weld Pro Stars wearing Mickey Thompson shoes. Other than the wheels, the GT has been outfitted with a Steeda Cobra R hood and a gorgeous, highly collectible 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords tag.
In May 2001 Susan and Jay added a Nitrous Express wet nitrous kit. Testing the 75hp jets on the first pass netted a 13.10-a full second improvement from an off-the-nitrous pass earlier the same day. She was psyched, and in went the 100hp jets. The car responded with a ripping 12.3. "The impact of the launch not only threw me back in the seat, it made me fall in love with the newfound power," Susan says. At the NMRA Motorsport Nationals at Maple Grove she qualified fifth with a 12.3, much better than her previous effort. Although she won the first round, she fell to Roxanne Shepard in the second. However, Susan ran her best time ever with a 12.26.
Unfortunately, along with the price of power comes the breaking of parts. The stock Traction-Lok went out, and on her latest outing she blew the intake. These and other shop-related issues have Susan at a crossroads as to which direction to now take. She wants an 11-second daily driver without having to put a ton of money into the car to keep it reliable. With the intake troubles, it's assumed the car can only take so much, but a Bullitt intake conversion is a bit out of Susan's reach at this time. Even if she adds the intake, she'll just want to step up the nitrous hit to 150 hp. Then the durability of the 4.6's rotating assembly comes into question.
Susan says what she really needs is to meet a 20-something guy with a lot of money to pay for her need for speed. Now that sounds more like a "normal girl."