1990 Ford Mustang Saleen Clone - Honey Moon Sweet

With the body finished, Andrew went through three different style wheels to arrive at the desired look. The eventual winners were 17-inch Saleen Speedline replica wheels, but those are mostly for street action. He has a set of Centerline Telstar big 'n' littles for dragstrip action, and he recently bought a set of genuine Stern three-piece wheels he intends to use for show duty. Stern 17-inch wheels were original equipment on '90-'93 Saleen SC models, so when Andrew had the chance to purchase a set, he jumped at it.

He also ventured underhood by adding an Anderson Ford Motorsport B-31 camshaft and an Edelbrock Performer rpm intake to boost horsepower to 516. Unfortunately, when he was finally able to convince his wife to go for a thrill ride, the car blew a head gasket. Even worse, when Andrew and his friend PJ replaced them and put the engine back together, a rod knock signaled the engine was done. Oh well, Mike purchased that short-block from a junkyard anyway-for it to last as long as it did is a testament to 5.0 reliability.

"When I have obstacles like this," Andrew says, "I look at them as opportunities to improve." Within a week, he ordered a D.S.S. Racing Engines Level 10 short-block utilizing a Dart Sportsman block. He also researched what it would take to safely make much more than 600 hp to the tires. "I work in a family business as a mechanical contractor," Andrew says. "My job is to take designs and find better engineering practices to fit the bill." He put that background into the mechanical goings-on of his Mustang by adding Trick Flow Twisted Wedge heads to the combination, but not before Total Engine Airflow treated the heads to a CNC-porting and three-angle valve job. When it came to the intake manifold, Andrew wanted to carry over the Saleen theme, so he located a rare Saleen/Vortech upper intake, mating it to a Holley SysteMAX II lower.

Going for the 600hp mark, Andrew swapped the Vortech S-Trim for a T-Trim, and had Turbo People add an ACCEL Gen 7 DFI along with a more capable fuel system. "Job Spetter tuned the car and instantly told me I needed an intercooler," Andrew says. It pays to have the Spetters as close friends because the next day Chase gave Andrew the idea of swapping the T-Trim for a YSi-Trim supercharger. Chase told Andrew he could get away without the intercooler with the lower inlet temps of the YSi-Trim. "I was sold immediately," Andrew says. "It was a great suggestion to make me happy." With the YSi-Trim and a new Turbo People tune, "it was a totally different car." With that trim and tune, the faux Saleen made 689 hp and 633 lb-ft of torque to the wheels.

We think this is just another beginning for Andrew's Saleen SC clone. Job has a new camshaft grind in mind, the intake is getting some work, an intercooler is ready for installation, and a turbo may be in the car's future as well. Andrew was taken aback when Job wanted to make sure the car's fuel system was ready for 800 rwhp. With that much power on tap, Andrew will be on a performance honeymoon for quite some time.

At the center of the power combination is a D.S.S. Racing Engines' Level 10 331ci short block with a forged crankshaft, forged H-Beam connecting rods, forged Pro-X Max pistons, and an Anderson Ford Motorsport B-31 camshaft. Compression comes in at a boost-friendly 8.7:1. Before arriving on Andrew's doorstep, Total Engine Airflow treated a pair of Trick Flow Twisted Wedge heads to a competition valve job and Comp Cams valve springs. A relatively rare Saleen/Vortech upper intake resides atop a Holley SysteMAX II lower, and as you can see, it's been brilliantly finished in chrome. The boost-friendly compression ratio is thanks to a Vortech YSi-Trim supercharger and custom air-to-air intercooler. The Anderson cam was in the car when we shot it, but a custom Turbo People grind is presently going in. Prior to the intercooler and the custom cam, the combination was good for 689 hp and 633 lb-ft of torque. It's a good thing Andrew is good friends with Turbo People's Job and Chase Spetter, as they work to get the most from the combination using an ACCEL DFI system.