These wildly hinged doors...
These wildly hinged doors aren't our cup of tea, but they attract attention like Lindsay Lohan on a bender. Combined with the searing Dupont Tangerine paint and the DCF Fiberglass body panels, this car turns heads from a mile away. The door hinges in question are from LSD Solutions, which Ray McClelland of Full Throttle Kustomz says are among the best kits he's tried. The doors stay open, the hinges don't sag, and there aren't a lot of customer service issues after they install a set.
Horse Sense: The twin-turbo kit on the FTK convertible is from Turbo Horsepower (www.turbohorsepower.com) and retails for $6,495 in its base configuration. That includes two Garrett 57mm T3/T4 Hybrid Turbos, four-into-one custom headers, an air-to-air intercooler, mandrel-bent pipes, Tial billet wastegates, 60-lb/hr injectors, a DiabloSport MAFia, and a battery relocation kit. Bigger turbos, polishing, and a larger intercooler are optional.
Almost everybody who goes about customizing a Mustang loves when people appreciate their ride, but attracting attention is only part of the plan. When it comes to shop project cars, that idea is taken to the extreme. The mission is not only to create a cool car, but also outshine any car in the surrounding vicinity, display the shop's prowess, and with any luck, attract some business. We've seen plenty of these cars, so it takes a rare example of the breed to stop us in our tracks. Such was the case with the Full Throttle Kustomz (www.ftkustomz.com) S197 convertible-and we weren't alone.
When we arrived at the Super 'Stang Fest ("Sea Horses," Nov. '07, p. 134) Hooters party in Daytona Beach, Florida, this car was surrounded by onlookers. Throughout the several-day-long event, this car attracted attention at every turn. Sure, there are plenty of flashy S197s on the car show circuit. We've seen them with big wheels, billet dress-up parts, and some sort of power adder. But one look at the FTK convertible's engine compartment and we knew this car was out of the ordinary. Twin turbos, a sheetmetal intake-this was our kind of show car.
After tracking down FTK main man Ray McClelland, whose shop is known for customizing all manner of wheeled vehicles, we were dying to ask him a question-not about the doors or the color. We asked the only question that matters: "How much power does it make?" He nonchalantly answered, "It makes more than 1,200 hp, but we're still sorting out the tuning." More importantly, this thing is driven on the street. Sure, Ray and his crew trailered it from Ohio, but once they arrived in Florida, they had no problem cruising around the streets of Daytona. Some unknowing local import guy even had the moxie to rev up on this monster at a stoplight.
Little did that guy know the Turbo Horsepower twin-turbo system packs a 2,000hp capability. A stock aluminum 4.6 block probably can't go that far, but FTK had D.S.S. Racing Engines prep the stock engine as ruggedly as possible. Besides D.S.S.' well-known CNC block prep, this engine features a 5.0 stroker kit with Pro X pistons and H-beam rods. It results in a turbo-friendly 8.5:1 compression and is topped by D.S.S. CNC-ported Three-Valve heads and a Hogan sheetmetal intake. It's the kind of combination that might be under the hood of a full-on race car, not a flashy show car.
Perhaps all the more impressive is just how docile and quiet the car really is. Turbos are known to dampen a raucous exhaust, and the 311/42-inch oval mufflers and side-exit exhaust really do a job putting the sheep's clothing on this wolf.
We always tell people that if they really want to get their cars in the magazine, the cars should be really pretty, really fast, or, ideally, both. It doesn't take a genius to see that FTK's convertible fulfills all those criteria and more. It certainly made us take a close look, and that's just what Ray had in mind.
 If you're wondering, the body...  If you're wondering, the body kit on the FTK is from DCF Fiber-glass, which is short for Dream Car Factory. It sets the S197 apart from a stocker without going too far. Besides, attention-hungry body panels aren't needed with that screaming Tangerine paint. |  Providing that in-the-weeds...  Providing that in-the-weeds look is a suspension dropped by Ground Force springs, damped by Tokico struts and shocks, and beefed up by a litany of BMR hardware, including a K-member, front and rear control arms, and front and rear sway bars. The Makaveli 20-inch wheels wear Pirelli rubber and cover the Wilwood brakes front and rear; this 1,200hp monster requires great brakes. |  For most rolling billboards,...  For most rolling billboards, the exterior of the car is the real show-stopper. For us, it was the FTK convertible's engine that managed to outdo its overt exterior. How can anyone go wrong with twin 67mm turbos from Turbo Horsepower and a sheetmetal intake from Hogan? Under all that big boost flash is a rugged D.S.S. 5.0 modular engine build inside the factory aluminum block. Custom cams from Crane Cams help the Three-Valve make the most of undisclosed poundage of boost. |
 Besides the 10-point 'cage...  Besides the 10-point 'cage and Auto Meter Nexus gauges, the interior of the FTK convertible isn't that far removed from a stock S197. Sure, the stock seats were dolled up and there's an Eclipse head unit in place of the mundane stocker, but there's nothing that looks stripped or race car in any way to let someone in on the car's true capabilities. The billet shift knob is attached to a Tremec T-56 six-speed prepped by the tranny experts at D&D Performance. It corrals all that power with the help of a McLeod twin-disc clutch. |  There's also an NX nitrous...  There's also an NX nitrous system in place, but we're fairly sure that's just for show. The big turbo boost is enough to get the job done. It's supported by an Aeromotive return-style fuel system and 75-lb/hr injectors operating under the sway of an SCT tune in the factory computer. The 'cage is a Rigid Race Cars creation and certified-just in case-for 8.50s in the quarter-mile. |  Eclipse's AVN550 packs in...  Eclipse's AVN550 packs in all manner of entertainment options and delivers helpful navigation. It pumps sound through Alpine speakers in the factory locations. We love a great audio system in a Mustang, but it certainly wouldn't get used quite as much if we could listen to the siren's song of Tial wastegates as the FTK crew can. |