Rebuilt '01 Mustang Bullitt - Clutch Overhaul

Horse Sense: While Centerforce has clutches for any manual-trans Mustang we cover in 5.0&SF, it also has five different lines of clutches-the Centerforce 1, Centerforce II, Dual Friction, DFX, and LMC series-to suit anything from a stocker to an all-out race car. The company also offers aluminum and billet-steel flywheels.

In the politically jaundiced eyes of mainstream media wankers and Hollywood filmmakers, American businesses and corporations are seemingly forever portrayed as greedy and heartless capitalist-pig entities, having neither soul nor social conscience, and showing no interest in anything beyond their own corporate bottom lines. Hey, counter-culture elitists-we beg to differ.

The prologue to our picture of corporate generosity and patriotic gratitude begins with a U.S. Army Sergeant, home on leave, driving his essentially stock '01 Bullitt to the '06 Bullitt Nationals in San Francisco. After a successful gathering of Bullittheads, Sgt. Justin Davis then headed home to Oklahoma City, only to be stranded in the Arizona town of Winslow with a seized engine, the result of total lubricant loss caused by an improper oil change. To quote The Eagles, the car was thus "stranded on a corner in Winslow, Arizona."

Scheduled to ship back overseas immediately, Justin had little choice but to leave his beloved Mustang at an area Ford dealer, one that decided a storage fee of $20 per day would be appropriate. When fellow members of the International Mustang Bullitt Owners Club (www.imboc.com) heard about this, they went into action.

One of the IMBOC members is a friend of the plant manager at Centerforce Clutches, whose headquarters in Prescott, Arizona, are just three hours west of Winslow. He inquired as to whether the company might be willing to pick up and store Sgt. Davis' Bullitt, saving the serviceman a raft of storage fees (IMBOC paid the already accrued storage bill). Centerforce gladly agreed to perform the good deed.

As they were hauling the car back to Prescott, they were actually starting down a road that led to the transformation of a spent Bullitt into the potent showpiece you see on these pages.

It seems the good folks at Centerforce saw helping out with this Mustang as an opportunity to give a gesture of thanks to the country's uniformed personnel, and started talking up the idea with other automotive aftermarket firms (listed along with their generous donations in our sidebar "Credit Where Credit Is Due"). Even though the result of this corporate patriotism justifiably ended up on display in the Centerforce booth at the '07 SEMA show, that wasn't the original plan. "It really just snowballed," says Will Baty, the media relations guru at Centerforce. "The companies we talked to all said they'd like to be a part of that type of thank you," and so the snowball began rolling.

You can't have a Bullitt without a bullet, so Ford Racing Performance Parts stepped up with a stock replacement crate engine. JBA upped the ante with some headers, Scott Hoag's MRT handed over a throaty H-pipe-equipped exhaust system, and then Paxton came onboard with its Bullitt-specific Novi 2000 blower kit. Tremec coughed up a new TR-3650 to spline up to Centerforce's Dual-Friction clutch and billet flywheel. Jim Paschall at SW Tuning happily took on the task of installing the supercharger and tuning the combo for reliable street use since Sgt. Davis likes to rack up the miles on his Bullitt. With an ultra-safe street tune, the setup puts 433 hp and 410 lb-ft under the sergeant's right foot. An edgier race tune generates 475 hp and 450 lb-ft.

Truth be told, the '01 hardly resembles a Bullitt at all any more, what with its striking blue-over-gold paint scheme. Refinishing materials were supplied by PPG, and Auto Art Studio laid them on with an added personal touch of the mural on the trunk. The sergeant's Bullitt also hunkers over its fat new rolling stock thanks to a full Eibach Pro-Kit suspension.

While we direct you to our sidebar and 5.0 Tech Specs box for a comprehensive look at every item donated for the car, the story behind its new wheels is indicative of the kind of genuine enthusiasm demonstrated by the project's numerous contributors. Centerforce Plant Manager Blair Anglin went to school with Chip Foose and happened to attend a high school reunion with the celebrated styling guru as the project was ongoing. Blair mentioned the Bullitt deal to Chip, who immediately offered a set of his 20-inch rims, as well as some "thoughts and ideas" for the car.

Chip apparently wanted to be even more involved, but between running his own business, making his frequent event appearances, and taping the Overhaulin' series, there was no time. On that note, we think the crew at Centerforce should get kudos for the overhaulin' they did at their own shops. They rode herd on the project from conception to completion.

In fact, although the beneficiary is in another branch of the service, we think all the firms that volunteered labor or products to this cause are deserving of the U.S. Marines' motto-Semper Fi. That's "always faithful" for you non-jarheads.

Credit Where Credit Is Due
Though spearheaded by Centerforce, this rolling expression of gratitude to all who serve in this country's armed forces couldn't have happened without the generous participation of all 36 of the following good corporate citizens:

Alloy USA: Axle shafts
Auburn Gear: Locking differential
Auto Art Studio: Custom paint and trunklid "US 42" mural
BBK Performance: Cam covers, throttle body, clutch quadrant
Centerforce Clutches: Billet flywheel, Dual-Friction clutch, labor
Diamond Auto Glass (Prescott): Glass replacement
Discount Tire (Prescott): Tire mount and balance
Eibach Springs: Complete Pro-Kit suspension
Foose Design: 20-inch Nitrous II wheels
Ford Racing Performance Parts: Engine, fuel tank, injectors, fuel pump
Galpin Ford (Prescott): OEM badging and replacement parts
Gorilla Lock: Wheel locks and spacers
Hawk Performance: Brake pads
Iron Springs 4WD: Differential rebuild
JBA Headers: Stainless headers
Legacy: Seat covers

Mothers Polish: Full polish kit
MRT: Full exhaust system and shifter
Nitto Tires: 20-inch INVO tires
Optima Batteries: Yellow-top battery
Paxton Superchargers: Novi 2000 Bullitt supercharger
Power Slot: Slotted rotors
PPG: Paint
Precision Gear: 3:73 ring and pinion
Reider Racing: Axle girdle
Royal Purple: All fluids
S&B Filters: Air filter
Scosche: Speakers, amps, and wire
SCT: Live Wire programmer
Sony: XAV-W1 7-inch-screen head unit
SoundEnvision: Audio installation
SS Inserts: Upper and lower billet grille
SW Tuning: Dyno tuning and blower installation
The Matworks: Custom floor mats
Tremec Transmissions: TR-3650 transmission
UPR: Exterior and interior billet accessories

5.0 Tech Specs
Engine And Drivetrain
BlockStock
Bore
Stock
Stroke
Stock
Displacement
281ci
Crankshaft
Stock
Rods
Stock
Pistons
Stock
Compression Ratio
Stock
Camshafts
Stock
Heads
Stock
Intake
Stock Bullitt
Power Adder
Paxton Novi 2000
Throttle Body
BBK 65mm, w/Anderson Ford Motorsport Power Pipe
Mass Air
SCT BA-3000
Injectors
42-lb/hr
Fuel Pump
Terminator tank and pumps
Headers
JBA stainless
Exhaust
MRT H-pipe and exhaust system
Transmission
Tremec TR-3650
Clutch
Centerforce Dual Friction and billet flywheel
Rearend
Precision Gear 3/.73:1 gearset, Auburn differential, Alloy USA axles

Electronics
Engine Management
Stock, w/SCT tune by SW Tuning
Ignition
Stock
Gauges
Stock

Suspension And Chassis
Front Suspension K-member
Stock
Control arms
Stock
Springs
Eibach Pro-Kit
Struts
Eibach Pro-Kit
Brakes
Power Slot rotors, Hawk pads
Wheels
Foose Design, 20-in "Nitrous II"
Tires
Nitto Invo
Rear Suspension
Springs
Eibach Pro-Kit
Shocks
Eibach Pro-Kit
Control arms
Stock
Brakes
Power Slot rotors, Hawk pads
Wheels
Foose Design, 20-in "Nitrous II"
Tires
Nitto Invo