1994 Ford Mustang GT - Old Dog, Same Tricks

Of the seemingly endless string of Mustangs we have the pleasure of seeing, driving, and photographing, many have been treated to a somewhat pampered existence. Their owners recognize that good care doesn't preclude exuberant and regular full-throttle blasts, believing that V-8 Mustangs are generally well prepared for such frequent workouts.

Our idea of pampering is more along the lines of fair-weather driving, frequent waxings, and show-quality detailing. But one look at this bright-orange '94 should reveal a significantly different calling. The obvious tipoff to years of hard living are the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving decals that still adorn the doors. While Bondurant cars are treated to highly rigorous maintenance and safety standards, there's hardly a production car on the planet that is driven harder on a daily basis. Former Bondurant Mustang No. 7 is one of the school cars that recently made its way into private hands, but its lot in life doesn't appear likely to change anytime soon.

Current owner Marty Fabrick has found a new passion in life, and it's called open-tracking. He first caught the bug a few years after buying a new '90 LX convertible, and though modest modifications made it a fun machine to toss around a road course, the topless construction left a bit to be desired for serious work. Then, in late 2001, there came a four-day Gran Prix Road Racing class at Bondurant's renowned school in Phoenix, Arizona. It was all Marty needed to really set the hook in his high-performance passion, and the return home had him contemplating how to proceed further in his quest for track fun.

It wasn't until early 2003 that a solution appeared for the 55-year-old driving student, when he reunited with one of the Bondurant Mustangs after surfing the Internet. Through the wonders of the Web, Marty learned the school was liquidating some of its older platforms, of which the No. 7 '94 was one. With terrific memories of lapping the Bondurant courses at speed, he saw it as the perfect opportunity to get into a professionally maintained Mustang that was already prepped to turn left and right.

After trailering the GT to his Claremont, California, digs, Marty began assessing how to improve a tired track star. He turned to Mark Sanchez of Advanced Engineering West for the professional wrench bending, which soon turned into a repower job for the tired stock 5.0. Using the original block after thorough machining, Mark and company built up the bottom end using a cast Scat stroker crank, Eagle H-beam rods, and Probe SRS pistons. Up top, Competition Heads performed a full port and polish on a set of iron World Products Windsor Jr. heads that receive valve commands from a Ford Racing Performance Parts X303 cam and roller rockers. Other pertinent power builders include a Pro-M 77mm air meter, an Accufab 65mm throttle body, an Extrude Honed Cobra intake, FRPP 30-pound injectors, and an MSD ignition.

With a freshly detailed 347, Mark advocated spraying the engine compartment in a matching Bondurant orange, which was done after we snapped our shots at Willow Springs Raceway-oh well.

Marty left the underpinnings of the GT largely as it had been prepped for driving school. Roush Industries originally prepped these cars for Bondurant duty after they were built at Ford's famous Dearborn Assembly Plant. The extensive modifications performed by Roush included a torque arm, a Panhard bar, revised strut towers, Eibach springs, specially valved Monroe struts and shocks, and 17x8-inch American Racing alloys. Roush also installed Cobra 13-inch front brakes, a six-point rollcage, a fuel cell, a Halon fire system, a Tremec 3550, and more.

The upgrades provided students with a safe and predictable environment in which to hone their skills, and they work just as well when Marty takes to the track at locales such as Willow Springs, Buttonwillow, and Fontana. Such duty is the sole role this car will play as long as he has anything to do with it. And while the old-dog GT consequently won't be learning any new tricks, it's particularly competent in its own backyard. Now isn't that what building a sole-purpose Mustang is all about?