1999 Mustang GT - Stock Trade

Horse Sense: Matt Peterson shares the build credit for this blown GT with his brother, Jon, who special-ordered it in March 1999.

Most Mustang enthusiasts eventually figure out that the only way to have a fully built Mustang is to stick with it. Perhaps an easier way is to let someone else begin those all-too-necessary modifications, and take it the rest of the way themselves. That's what Matt Peterson did with this silver '99 Mustang GT.

The first owner of this car was Matt's brother, Jon. He special-ordered it in March 1999, and he and Matt tore the plastic off the seats in April-talk about a speedy delivery. Matt was even involved in the purchase. The brothers worked out a deal where Jon traded in Matt's Ford Probe GT for the '99. Matt got Jon's old '97 GT, which was stock save for a set of Cobra R wheels. Try explaining that to the loan officer.

Jon ordered the '99 GT exactly the way he wanted it, with every option except the 17-inch wheels and the Mach 460 stereo system. Similar to many Mustang owners, Jon knew from the get-go that he wanted to customize the car with aftermarket stuff instead of trusting Ford's taste. So on went the 18-inch BBS RK wheels and the upgraded stereo. Unfortunately, the first aftermarket stereo was stolen before the presets were dialed in. Jon used the insurance money for the current stereo, which consists of a custom fiberglass subwoofer enclosure and amp rack that takes up almost the entire trunk. It does a great job of securing three Alpine amplifiers and a 15-inch Alpine sub.

With about 20,000 miles on the clock, Jon began the hardcore performance mods. Things got serious with a Vortech V-2 SQ SC-Trim centrifugal supercharger. For the exhaust, he chose a Bassani X-shape cross-over and Borla Cat-Back.

Around that time, Jon decided to order almost one of everything in the Steeda catalog. He upgraded the drivetrain with a Tri-Ax shifter, a clutch cable, an aluminum quadrant, and a firewall adjuster. The suspension setup includes Tokico Illumina struts and Steeda Sport springs, sway bars, upper and lower rear-control arms, offset A-arm bushings, and adjustable caster/camber plates. The chassis is stiffened by a Steeda G-track bar, a strut-tower brace, and full-length subframe connectors with seat braces.

In August 2002, Jon was nice enough to sell the '99-and his hard work-to Matt. Similar to his brother, Matt didn't waste any time putting on more upgrades. He added a set of 42-lb/hr injectors, a Pro-M 80mm mass air, a Walbro 255-lph fuel pump, and an AFM Power Pipe intake. He took the car to a FordChip.com dyno session, and it put down 367 hp and 364 lb-ft of torque to the rear tires.

The next year, Matt added a set of 3.73:1 Ford Racing Performance Parts gears and several aluminum parts in the interior and underhood. For more oomph-not to mention underhood appearance- he topped off the PI 4.6 with an Accufab 75mm throttle body and matching polished upper plenum, bringing the rear-wheel horsepower to 374.

That sounds like quite a few expensive upgrades, even when spread out over two brothers. Matt had a spreadsheet to keep track of the cost of all the aftermarket parts. As of fall 2006, the total was $21,704.32-not including the price of the car or the labor to install any of the parts. That doesn't get Matt down though. Since these photos were taken, he has ordered StopTech brakes for the front and a Cobra setup for the rear, bringing the total to more than $24,500. He's also planning on swapping in an '03-'04 Cobra electric water pump. Of course, there's still fuel tank and fuel-pump setup, along with an that stock short-block and those stock cams to consider.

Matt went along with the rest of the crew from TCStangs for a cruise to Duluth, Minnesota. What happens in Duluth, stays in Duluth.

After a hailstrom did a number on the stock hood, Matt's brother, Jon, upgraded to this Steeda Cobra-R hood instead of repairing the damage.