1998 Ford Mustang GT - Recycled Runner

Besides the bright Rio Red... 

   

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Besides the bright Rio Red paint, the sweeping SN-95 lines of Patrick's '98 GT are accessorized by export flares and taillights, an FRPP Cobra R hood, a UPR Products fuel door, KSR tinted headlights and marker lights, and a Steeda Autosports rear wing and Ultra-Lite wheels. The export taillights feature a different wiring arrangement when compared to stock Mustang taillights, and it took Patrick's stepfather some work to get them working properly.

Horse Sense: The ProCharger F-1A supercharger on Patrick Hagan's GT is from Tim Vendette's '03 Mach 1 ("All Hanging Out," July '07, p. 92). Tim and Patrick boast similar combinations, evidenced by the power each car made with the F-1A on board. Tim's Mach made 620 hp, and Patrick's GT now makes 645 hp to the rear wheels.

When we first reviewed the information on Patrick Hagan's '98 GT, we thought he failed to give us any background on the very reason you're seeing his car on these pages, and that's because of its transplanted Four-Valve engine. When we noticed Patrick's name on the tech sheet and a different name on a separate information sheet, we were really confused. One phone call to Patrick cleared it all up: His stepfather, Cary Chapman, wrote the separate information sheet featuring background information on the GT because he owned the car before Patrick.

Cary bought the GT in 1999 when he was living in Louisiana. It had 4,000 miles on it, and as Cary says, "It was in mint condition. I bought the car after a short test drive and I was so excited, I wouldn't even let the dealership wash it before I took it home." Cary had never owned a sports car before, nevertheless a car with a five-speed. Even though the '96-'98 Mustang GTs are known for not being the fastest of the breed, the GT replaced Cary's four-cylinder pickup, so he figured he would wait to modify the car.

That thought lasted three days. "The planning had begun," Cary says, "and my list of modifications grew." First came the typical throttle body, cold-air intake, pulleys, and mass air meter upgrades. Those mods provided the spark Cary needed to get to the next level, but a life-changing event happened along the way when he relocated to Bradenton, Florida. He was only six miles from Bradenton Motorsports Park, the home of the NMRA opener and several other drag racing events-not to mention year-round drag racing.

"The more I hung out at the track," Cary says, "I realized I needed something that not everyone had." To that end, he added export flares and taillights, a Steeda Autosports rear wing and Ultra-Lite wheels, and a Cobra R hood. "Working on my car was fun for me. The more I did, the more I learned." Cary didn't want a one-trick Pony, so to make the GT handle as well as it looked, he added Steeda Autosports springs and sway bars, Tokico shocks and struts, a Flaming River steering shaft, Maximum Motorsports' caster/ camber plates, a Steeda bumpsteer kit, and Brembo '00 Cobra R brakes. For an extra power boost, Cary added a Ford Racing Performance Parts M112 Roots-style supercharger. With those mods, the GT made 308 hp and 330 lb-ft of torque to the tires.

Shortly thereafter, the Steeda catalog was again called into action for a Tri-Ax shifter and aluminum upper and lower control arms to go with the Nitto 555R Extreme Drag radials out back, an aluminum driveshaft, Energy Suspension engine and transmission mounts, a Tremec TKO 500 transmission, and a SPEC clutch.

After performing all these upgrades, Cary had supercharged Lightning dreams in his head. Unfortunately, his wife wasn't keen on the multiple toy idea, so a deal was struck. Cary's stepson, Patrick, had an '03 V-6 Mustang, and the plan was for him to find a Lightning for Cary, which he did. Sounding like an NBA three-team trade agreement, Patrick's V-6 was traded in for the Lightning and he received the GT. This all happened in December 2005, but Cary still has the GT's title in his name. He doesn't seem interested in giving it up anytime soon, either.

Even with 300 hp on tap, Patrick had a couple of friends who were able to keep up with him at the track. One friend had a relatively stock '02 GT that could keep up with Patrick's new ride, and another friend had an '03 Mach 1 that was right there in the mix. Of course, that had to change, but as a student at the time, upgrade funds were scarce so he had to be frugal in his quest for speed. His needs were met by Don Walker at Modular Madness.

Don made Patrick an offer he couldn't refuse on a set of Four-Valve heads he had laying around and a ProCharger F1-A supercharger that came off a customer's car. Don put together a short-block using an '03 Cobra block he had and told Patrick what to look for on the intake side. Thanks to his frugal shopping, Patrick purchased an '01 Cobra intake, and he was in business. Once Modular Madness finished the swap, the GT pounded out 645 hp and 535 lb-ft of torque to the wheels.

Now the owner of the '02 GT wants to buy Patrick's old nitrous kit. He'll need more than that to catch up.

Under the Cobra R hood lies a supercharged Four-Valve using a sturdy '03 Cobra iron block as its basis. Built by Modular Madness Speed's Don Walker, the Cobra block is filled with a Kellogg crankshaft, Manley H-Beam connecting rods, and Mahle pistons. Lincoln Navigator Four-Valve heads boast custom cams, Crower valvesprings, and a Modular Madness Speed port job with a Competitive Edge valve job. To match the heads, Patrick purchased an '01 Cobra intake and throttle body with a Lightning 90mm mass air meter to handle air intake chores. A DiabloSport MAFia handles the extra voltage needed to keep up with the onslaught of 17 pounds of boost from a ProCharger F-1A supercharger. An all-MAC exhaust carries expended fuel to atmosphere while twin 255-lph fuel pumps and Siemens-Deka 60-lb/hr injectors make sure there's plenty more where that came from. Since the GT features a DiabloSport MAFia, it should be no surprise to know Modular Madness Speed tuned the car using DiabloSport software.

Since Ford has long been a proponent of two-tone interiors, Patrick's GT carries that theme a step further with charcoal '01 GT leather seats, an FRPP leather steering wheel, and black floor mats. Patrick's GT also features a 35th Anniversary Mustang bezel for the cluster, and an '01 Mustang V-6 gauge cluster donated its red pointers in place of the factory cluster's orange ones. When not tuning in the MAC exhaust tunes, Patrick takes advantage of those offered by an Eclipse head unit with an Alpine amp, an Eclipse 12-inch sub, and Pioneer speakers and tweeters.