If we've ever featured a car the average 5.0&SF reader can relate to, it's Rich Nagle's '93 GT. It's not brutally fast. It doesn't make 700 hp at the tires. Several of the performance components on the car are on permanent loan. And Rich owes favors to many a friend for installation jobs, most of which were paid for with beer. He has counted on friends for advice and parts when the next level of horsepower was the goal.
Before purchasing the GT seen here, Rich wasn't one of those brand-loyal guys who bled a certain automotive make; he simply wanted the fastest car he could afford. In the summer of 1992, Rich's '85 Z28 kept going back in the shop. "It seemed something broke every week," he says.
Rich decided it was time to buy his first new car. "I studied the car magazines at the time and found that the Fox-body Mustangs consistently trampled the Mopars and GM products," he says. "I walked in to Yokum Ford (Landsdale, Pennyslvania) and said I want a black Mustang-no test drive or sales job required. I even paid sticker price ($18,781)."
Rich ordered his GT with a sunroof and an AOD transmission, not realizing that the five-speed cars were a full second faster. "I took delivery of my first new car on September 20, 1992," Rich says. "It remains one of the most memorable days of my life-the car had 5 miles on the odometer."
Rich slowly added some go-fast parts that he read about in publications such as 5.0 Mustang (which we were known as at the time), and he replaced the typical pumps and alternators. But, by 1997, the factory paint was shot and the moldings were turning white. And, thanks to Pennsylvania winters, the factory Pony wheels were becoming pitted, so Rich decided to lay out some "big" cash. He purchased chrome Pony wheels and had Souderton Auto Body repaint the car in factory black. He also added a Cervini's Ram Air hood with the functional underhood kit.
More bolt-ons found their way onto the car, including 3.55 gears, MAC short-tube headers, and a BBK cold-air kit. "Then I met a guy who would totally change my direction as a Mustang enthusiast," Rich says. "In 1999 my factory Opal Gray seats were pretty worn, and I decided to try this new thing called 'the Internet' to locate factory replacements. Days later, the phone rings, and it turns out this guy has mint-condition seats, and he lives 5 minutes away. I met Bill Tumas that afternoon to buy the seats. Right away I noticed he was pretty knowledgeable, and we talked for a while and hit it off." Bill suggested a few things for Rich's car, such as LX taillights, a five-speed swap, and a trip to the track.
Bill had just purchased a stock '96 Cobra and invited Rich to race at Atco Raceway in New Jersey with the Track Toys club (www.tracktoys.com). "I met the guys for Tuesday night test and tune and ran a blazing 15.8," Rich says. "I could not believe my eyes. I came to the horrible realization that my car was a sled.
"Around the same time, we went racing at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, where Bill introduced me to Adam Dugger and Jim Vaccaro, who surprisingly didn't laugh at my car because it was equipped with an AOD." Instead, Adam and Jimmy recommended Rich check out SuperStallions of the Net (www.superstallions.com).
With Bill's guidance and sound advice from the SuperStallions guys, Rich's GT received numerous performance upgrades, including a BBK 65mm throttle body, a Cobra Intake, and a BBK off-road H-pipe. Finally, at the SuperStallions Nationals held at Cecil County Dragway, the car ran consistent mid-14s. "At this point," Rich says, "I found beating another car on the track was more rewarding than beating it on the show field."