Horse Sense: Matt has discovered that precious few sets of his 18x8.5-inch Saleen magnesium rims were ever produced, and it's easy to figure the $1,800 bill had something to do with it. The upside to such five-spoke beauts is that they effectively fill the wheelwells to the gills, and Matt won't ever see himself coming and going. The downside? Let's just hope he never has to seek out a replacement should one of the exclusive castings be damaged.
This isn't the first time the '93 GT pictured here has been the subject of a magazine feature article. Back when current owner Matt Treadway was just 16, the car was feature fodder in the October '97 issue of our now-defunct sister magazine Super Ford. At the time, the pink slip to the '93 contained a previous owner's name, so Matt was likely obli-vious to the existence of this nicely executed last-year Fox. However, on the off chance he might have seen the article some six years ago, we imagine the GT would have been something akin to his dream machine.
As Matt tells the story, then-owner Jeff Livingston traded the Mustang in on a new truck a short time after the Super Ford coverage, where it languished on the dealer's back lot for a considerable duration. It's unclear why such a great car would go unloved for so long, but in the meantime it took a beating from the California sunshine and, we imagine, its fair share of raucous joyriders.
At the same time, the newly licensed Matt was working his way up the chain, so to speak. He purchased his first car-an '89 GT-and proceeded to work it over as his limited budget allowed. Of course, it helped that Matt's dad was an accomplished drag racer and certified car nut. In time, Matt found himself with a fresh and powerful 306 cubes at his disposal. Unfortunately, some lowlife decided he had a greater need for the '89 and swiped the machine while Matt and his dad milled the aisles of a local swap meet. Insurance helped soften the blow, but nothing can totally alleviate the pain of thieves making off with your first wheels. Nevertheless, Matt picked up the pieces and began shopping for a new ride.
The quest to find a clean 10-year-old car is always challenging-all the more when you're talking stick-shift 5.0 Mustangs. Defying the odds, Matt discovered the car seen here in a local SoCal Auto Trader. The luster of former glories had faded into oxidation and inatten-tion to detail, and the once-powerful 5.0 turned out to be a ticking time bomb. Still, the '93 sported just 60-some-thousand miles and came equipped with a number of impressive attributes. Among them were a Ford Racing Performance Parts M-2300-K four-wheel disc setup, Saleen magnesium 18x8.5-inch rolling stock, and what appeared to be a stout, normally aspirated powerplant with the unique Saleen intake. Matt snapped up the opportunity and began work immediately.
The Saleen/Vortech intake...
The Saleen/Vortech intake debuted in 1990 and paired an impressive-looking upper manifold to a factory truck lower, which testing showed to benefit tremendously from an Extrude Hone treatment. This particular example is one of the later castings that featured secondary injector bosses. Matt and his dad assembled the 355-inch stroker themselves, which spun up 346 hp and 378 lb-ft of torque on a nearby Dynojet. Of course, the N2O Matt is mulling over will add significant oomph, while the whole shebang will be electronically manipulated by an Anderson Ford Motorsport PMS.
Task number one was to dole out the rubbing and polishing compounds in copious quantities, the results of which speak for themselves. Next came a Cervini's 2.5-inch cowl hood that perfectly complements the Saleen wing, wheels, and LX taillights from the car's earlier days. That's it for exterior mods, and the successful overall look of the Vibrant Red GT can only be described as a classic Fox approach.
As alluded to earlier, what seemed to be a healthy, mid-300hp 5.0 imploded soon after purchase. Was it the result of Matt's aggressive right foot? Abuse by interim joyriders? Lack of maintenance? We're not certain, but it obviously gave Matt the opportunity to do the job right. The formerly stock bottom end has been fortified with a forged Scat crank, H-beam rods, and thermal-coated Ross pistons that help yield a 10:1 compression ratio. Riverside, California's Precision Cylinder Heads prepped the Trick Flow Twisted Wedge heads with a Stage 3 port job, which take valve commands from an FRPP E303 cam. Riding on top of it all is that Saleen intake, featuring an Extrude Hone and port-match treatment, and mounting a set of 36-lb/hr FRPP injectors. Matt also stepped up the rest of the fuel system in anticipation of future nitrous oxide by adding a Walbro pump, -8/-6 supply/return lines, and a fender-mount Aeromotive pressure regulator. Bassani full-length stepped headers usher the spent fumes through a Bassani X-pipe, 3-inch-diameter Flow- masters, and simple turndowns before the 31-spline 3.73 geared rearend.