"I wanted a close-to-stock appearance," Gene Wilson says of the relatively sedate nature of his coupe's exterior. We hate to break it to you, Gene, but even with a stock appearance, a screaming yellow Mustang coupe doesn't blend in to the landscape easily. A Harwood 2 1/2-inch cowl hood is the lone exterior deviation, but Saleen wheels wrapped in BFGoodrich g-Force treads are enough to raise the eyebrows of even the most seasoned Mustang fan, especially when the rears have been widened to 18x12-inch status and wear 345/30 steamroller rubber. Former Pro 5.0 racer Derrick Smith gets credit for the ultrasmooth bodywork and PPG paint.
Horse Sense: On the way to his '01 IHRA Pro Stock championship, Gene won eight national events, tying him with legendary Bob Glidden and his IHRA Pro Stock exploits. This was achieved with Gene behind the wheel of Charlie Hunt's IHRA Pro Stock Mercury Cougar at the Mopar Parts World Finals at Red River Raceway in Shreveport, Louisiana. Before the `01 season, Gene had not even tasted victory in IHRA competition.
Gene Wilson of Adairsville, Georgia, has been there, done that, in the world of drag racing-short of the Funny Car and Top Fuel ranks, that is. Although he's only 31, Gene has been around the strip since 1990 when he began racing his 5.0 Mustang with a built bottom end, Trick Flow heads, and a Doug Nash/Richmond five-speed. That car ran consistent 10.80s at 123 mph.
Around 1994, Gene got into the Outlaw/Street Tire scene-racing against the likes of Tim Lynch-with a Ford Racing Performance Parts (SVO at that time) block and Yates heads. He became even more serious in the mid-'90s with a former Super Comp chassis car that had a 604 Ford big-block on the jug with a Lenco. Then he got a better chassis in 1997. "That's ['95-'97] when I got my stick-shift experience," Gene says.
Realizing how serious he was about racing, Gene's family sponsored an IHRA Pro Stock ride in 1998 and 1999. Gene finished 19th in points in 1998, but he dramatically improved in 1999, finishing 9th in points. During the '01-'02 IHRA Pro Stock season, Gene drove for Charlie Hunt, and in 2001 he won the champion-ship by totally obliterating the field throughout the season. His performance in IHRA Pro Stock must've caught the attention of David Nickens in the NHRA Mopar Pro Stock camp, because in 2002 Gene moved over and subsequently won the Rookie of the Year. He was the first NHRA Pro Stock racer to run 200 mph at both Brainerd, Minnesota, and Bristol, Tennessee.
Gene would like to thank Aeromotive, McLeod, MSD, Zartek Race Cars, Swafford Competition Machine and Dyno, and Fabrication Concepts for helping in the construction of his coupe.
But 2003 was not a good year for Gene and the Mopar Pro Stock team. "We had all kinds of problems," Gene says. Because of the down year and the hectic schedules he's kept the last couple years, as of this writing Gene was talking about taking 2004 off. So what has he been doing since the end of the '03 season? Well, this car is just one of the answers.
The '91 coupe started life as a four-cylinder car, but its previous owner went through the laborious task of converting it to a V-8 car with a stock 5.0 drivetrain. "I bought the car with the intentions of making a pro-touring car out of it," Gene says. He wanted a car he could drive to shows or wherever he wanted to go, and he wanted it to perform well in every aspect, including driveability, handling, and acceleration. But with Gene's speedy background, the coupe couldn't have just anything under the hood. "I wanted something different than the old 302/ 351/460 engine combination," he says, "so I chose a 5.4 DOHC as a platform."
Swafford Competition Machine and Dyno completed the machine work and engine assembly, while Tommy Harris at Fabrication Concepts constructed an intake based on Gene's runner length and plenum volume needs. Of course, once Gene strapped on a Greddy T-88 single turbocharger, the combo made a ton of power using a stock Navigator intake. But it was definitely not the 731 hp at just 13 pounds of boost with the Fabrication Concepts intake and the largest intercooler Gene could fit up front. He manipulates the tune via a FAST fuel-injection system, while an MSD DIS-4 provides the spark energy. A TTC-Tremec 3550 five-speed with a stock shifter and a McLeod clutch finish off the engine/trans combo.
Once the powertrain was ready to go, there was still plenty of suspension work to be done. Gene turned to Zartek Race Cars in Dallas, Georgia-a shop he'd worked with in the past on his Outlaw cars. Zartek's installation of an eight-point cage and subframe connectors would prove to be a piece of cake compared to what was done out back. With Vaughn Machine Company widening the rear wheels out to 18x12 inches, the lower control arms had to be moved inward. Furthermore, the 8.8 rear was narrowed, which exacerbated the problem even more.
So Zartek's Stephen Todd designed and implemented a brace across the front of the rearend to support the axle tubes, working much like a back brace would. "Our second problem," Gene says, "was where to put the lower control arms." Zartek used half of a four-link rear setup with a crossmember for the lower control arms with stock upper control arms. Strange coilovers keep the rear properly sprung. "This is the first time I've seen a suspension setup like this," Gene says. "It hooks well and handles pretty well too."
With a 731hp turbocharged 5.4 modular under the hood, a screaming yellow exterior, and a wicked tire and wheel combo, Gene's coupe definitely qualifies as different on the Mustang landscape. Sure, the wrapper is the same, but the coupe's overall package ensures lasting flavor.