If it wasn't for Keven's 4-inch...
If it wasn't for Keven's 4-inch cowl hood, you might confuse the car with a stocker, consid-ering the 10-hole wheels at each corner. However, the hood is definitely there-along with a 342 sticker-so the stealth factor is totally out the window. At the strip, Keven relies on a combination of Weld Drag-lite wheels and Mickey Thompson shoes.
Horse Sense:Even with 266,000 miles on the engine, Keven's '86 GT was getting 22 mpg. He says it ran great, but the oil pressure began to drop to zero once the car warmed up and the engine was under 2,000 rpm. Unfortunately, some of us are all too familiar with that problem.
You always hear about products being touted as "new and improved." For example, some video games now come with such realistic graphics, you actually feel as if you're inside the monitor or TV, living the action being played out on-screen. New and improved products are always designed to be better than they were-more refined, more powerful.
The car you see here is a lot more powerful than it was originally. Let's just say that if Keven Kyser's '86 GT were a video game, it would've started out as an Atari 2600 and ended up today as a Microsoft Xbox. In other words, it's able to process a length of road much more quickly than it did in its original form.
Keven bought the GT brand-new while he was a junior in high school. "The car was always driven hard, but it was always taken care of extensively," he says. Throughout his college years, he drove the car without any engine problems, having to replace only the alternator, the water pump, the battery, and the smog pump.
However, after 266,000 miles, the oil-pressure gauge would go to zero when the car warmed up and the revs were less than 2,000 rpm. "I either needed to sell it-which I wasn't going to do-or fix it up," Keven says. Fixing the GT entailed installing a Central Coast Mustang 342 stroker with Edelbrock Victor Jr. heads and intake, along with a 750-cfm Speed Demon carburetor.
Keven is currently getting the car ready for the NMRA race at Ennis, Texas. With only 2,000 miles on the clock, he's taking it easy until the engine is fully broken in and he lets the hammer down. Keven's GT has run a best of 11.96 at 113, and he plans to go for the 9s on the juice. He's also planning to drop an NOS nitrous system on the car. Hmm, from a 266,000-mile 302 to a nitrous-fed 342 stroker. Now that's new and improved.
 After 266,000 miles on an...  After 266,000 miles on an untouched engine, Keven went top shelf and replaced the tired 5.0 with a Central Coast Mustang 342 utilizing a Ford Racing Performance Parts Sportsman block. The short-block consists of forged pistons, H-beam rods, and an FRPP X303 cam. Atop the short-block resides Edelbrock Victor Jr. heads with a matching Victor Jr. intake and a Speed Demon 750-cfm carburetor. |  Though many accuse Keven of...  Though many accuse Keven of refurbishing the interior, he swears it's all factory original, just "very well taken care of." The heater and A/C function as they're intended, while Auto Meter and FRPP gauges keep tabs on the new 342. | |