2005 Real Street Mustang Robin Lawrence: Real Crazy

Once the hood was removed (aluminum, 25 pounds), it was easy todisconnect the engine and transmission. The processor is located justbehind the radiator, as is the power distribution box on thepassenger-side inner fender. Since we are using the Paxton Novi 1200,it's going to be interesting to get our intake air tube into this tightarea. The battery is located on the passenger side against the firewall.Ford really thought out this car. It was a breeze to work on.

Once the engine and transmission are removed, you notice all the room.It's huge. The framerails are about 4 inches wider than the previousMustangs. For years to come, racers are going to love this car. It hasenough room for a nice Boss 429 with headers well inside the framerails.The engine mounts differently from our Fox body. It actually uses asingle stud and biscuit setup like the old Flathead Fords had in the'30s and '40s [Robin was there, so take his word for it--Ed].

The front bumper cover is easily removed from the '05--so easy, we willprobably have it off between rounds at the NMRA races. Ford used astamped-steel reinforcement. Lighter, but stronger parts are usedthroughout the new Mustang. The K-member and front lower control armsshare the same construction as the K-member. Our total savings fromreplacing the hood and front suspension components will be less than inprevious years. A good thing for people with '05 Mustangs, not so goodfor us.

Another concern was the transmission tunnel. It appears to be higher yetnarrower. We are concerned that our scatter shield is going to be tighthere. It may need a little "massage" when we get ready to install ourcurrent 5.0 and Tremec TKO transmission.

Once most of the driveline had been removed, we moved to the interior.The Mustang is different in so many ways, I wondered if I had bitten offtoo much. The dash sits farther back than in previous Mustangs. Theshifter is remote-mounted and is closer to the driver's position.Without a remote shifter for our Tremec TKO 600 transmission, theshifter would be located where the radio is mounted. The '05 five-speedcars use a hydraulic throw-out bearing to actuate the clutch. As thissetup is an unknown, Racecraft will install a cable-actuated '93 pedalassembly into the car. You can also see the "fly-by-wire" throttleassembly. Racecraft will install an earlier cable throttle assembly aswell.

By this time, my wife wasn't speaking to me. I was sure glad whenChristmas came and she was nice again. Trust me, it wasn't easy takingapart a perfectly good, brand-new car. I had to keep thinking I can putit back to stock if the money doesn't come. The height of the transtunnel is noticeable here. I would guess that Ford did this forrigidity. It's not as if the car sits low and needs to drop over thedriveline. It's becoming clear where the extra weight is in the new'Stang.

This is the rear seat area. The two large, plastic circles are accesscovers for the fuel pumps. The fuel tank is mounted under the rear seatarea and straddles the driveshaft. That is why the mufflers are afterthe rear axle. The large bolt in the center rib is for the upperthree-link mount.

This is the rear axle and gas tank. The driveshaft has been removed aswell as the exhaust system. Unlike the GT, the V-6 uses a one-piecedriveshaft that has an accordion-style slip coupler in the middle of theshaft. We will install a one-piece driveshaft from Strange Engineering.

Once the car was gutted, and the windshield had been removed, we shovedthe car into the trailer a few days after Christmas. The neighbors werelooking out the window wondering if I was running a chop shop. Weloosened most of the suspension so removal at Racecraft would be abreeze. As you can see, the most important modification has beenperformed--the installation of the 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords licenseplate.

New Year's Day 2005--the car arrived at Racecraft's new facility inLaSalle, Illinois. Once inside with the aid of an impact wrench, I hadthe suspension out in about 20 minutes. We were ready for Racecraft tostart developing the suspension components, as well as install our10-point rollcage.

This is an area in front of the firewall. There is a plastic cover thatcloses off the area between the windshield and hood. Later, it willprove effective in hiding a multitude of sins. It is great for routingwires and brake lines out of sight.

I told Bruce to get used to looking at the back of my new Mustang. Hisresponse was, "I want to look at it now, because I won't be seeing muchof it this season." Bruce is as pumped as I am with the '05 Mustang inReal Street.