We asked John what he thought made his Mustang such a great street car, and this is how he responded: "I would go anywhere with this car without a second thought. I drive it 100 miles each way just to test it-with slicks strapped to the cargo carrier on the back. For me, the car had to have a hydraulic-roller cam. My car still has an overdrive transmission, air conditioning, power steering, electronic fuel injection, a great sound system, all the sound deadener, and so on. It still has all of the modern amenities, and you can still go to the track and put down good numbers. It's the best of both worlds. These are the things that make the 5.0 Mustang a legendary street/strip car! There's just no reason to tear the interior out, take off the A/C, and do radical things to the car, when you are talking about a 5.0 Mustang. I've seen too many guys do more and more radical things to their Mustangs, and they end up with a car that they don't enjoy driving. They eventually lose interest and sell them."
OK, so the thing runs like a stocker with all those creature comforts. How does the thing run at the track? Well, with 17-inch rims in place on the front, this torque-pounding monster ripped up the track to the tune of 10.79 seconds at 125.76 mph (6.87/99.4 in the eighth) with a 1.46-second short time, on the rev limiter the last 100 feet of track. That's at 3,500 pounds, with the driver, and no nitrous bottle in the neighborhood.
John told us what he enjoys most about his car at the track: "When I'm at the track, the older guys come over to check out the car after a good pass. They think it's really cool that the thing has big inches and is all motor. Then, they see the stick and the A/C and they realize the thing really is a street car. I get a lot of respect from those guys."
While this little Calypso Green notchback looks pretty much perfect to us, John is still refining his combination. He's planning on backing the rear gear ratio to 4.10:1, adding a set of Bogarts, and spending some more time at the track with his buddies and cruising driving the car with Mrs. Hartman. That sure sounds like a solid plan to us.
| 5.0 TECH SPECS |
| ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN |
| Block | Dart Iron Eagle |
| Displacement | 428 (4.125 X 4 inch) |
| Cylinder Heads | AFR 225s (ported by Ed Curtis at Flow Tech Induction) |
| Camshaft | Custom hydraulic-roller by Flow Tech Induction (.612/.608, 248Þ/256Þ) |
| Intake Manifold | EFI Edelbrock Super Victor by Wilson Manifolds, Reichard Racing elbow |
| Throttle Body | Wilson Manifolds 90mm |
| Power Adder | None |
| Exhaust | Kook’s 17¼8-inch to 2-inch with 31¼2-inch collector long-tubes with Jet-Hot coating; Dr. Gas X-pipe (31¼2– to 3-inch); 3-inch DynoMax Bullets with custom provision to run two DynoMax Ultra Flow “Welded” mufflers as well; 21¼2-inch MAC tailpipes not hooked up |
| Fuel System | 255 lph pump, T-Rex; Wilson rails; 50 lb/hr injectors; Aeromotive regulator |
| Transmission | D&D-modified Viper-Spec T56; SPEC Stage-3 clutch and Stage-2 pressure plate |
| Rearend | 8.8-inch Ford; Strange 33-spline axles and spool; FRPP 4.30 gears; |
| ELECTRONICS |
| Engine Management | Stock A9L with “new style” PMS tuned by John D. Hartman |
| Ignition | MSD Digital 6, Blaster, Super Conductor plugs; and Autolite 3924s |
| Gauges | oil pressure gauge in glove box; shift light in A/C vent |
| SUSPENSION AND CHASSIS |
| FRONT SUSPENSION |
| K-Member | PA Racing (custom made to lower engine 11¼2-inch to clear stock hood) |
| A-Arms | PA Racing |
| Springs | 14-inch 220 in-lb from PA Racing |
| Struts | Competition Engineering 90/10s |
| Wheels | Mavromont Industries Chrome Ponies (17x8) |
| Tires | Nitto NT555 255/40/17 |
| Brakes | Cross-drilled, slotted rotors with EBC pads |
| REAR SUSPENSION |
| Springs | Moroso "Trick" drag springs |
| Shocks | QA1 12-way adjustables |
| Control Arms | UPR double adjustable uppers; Maximum Motorsports Weight Jackers |
| Anti-Roll Bar | UPR |
| Wheels | Mavromont Industries ChromePonies (Custom widened 1-inch to 17x9) |
| Tires | Mickey Thompson 26x11.5x17 ET Streets (MT ET Drags 26x10 for strip) |
| Brakes | Stock drums |
| Chassis Stiffening | Bullitt Racing custom six-point chrome-moly; Kenny Brown weld-in subframe connectors |