The majority of Mustang owners drive the wheels off their cars. From the beginning of ownership till the day they sign over the title to someone else, that Mustang is driven, and hard. After all, we don't put our blood, sweat, and tears into a car just to let it sit in the garage. No, we add heads, cams, blowers, turbos, nitrous, beefier transmissions, and clutches for one thing...to leave black marks for days. And we want to do just that on a daily basis.
Yet, there's a small Mustang contingent choosing to be more selective in their black-tracking. You can count Powder Springs, Georgia's Bobby Lee as a card-carrying member of the latter group. He could be the president.
To start at the beginning, Bobby had owned a bunch of Mustangs before buying this '00 GT new. His past Mustangs included several Fox coupes, an '84-1/2 GT350, and an '89 Saleen. Some of his Mustangs were drag-specific, some were daily drivers, and yet others were for show. For this GT he always knew it would be an on-going project car, something he never intended to use on a daily basis. Initially, it started out with Bassani Xhaust upgrades, a shifter, and gears. Once Bobby met Injected Engineering's Aric Carrion, these basic upgrades definitely weren't cutting the mustard.
The inside of Bobby's GT is...
The inside of Bobby's GT is mostly stock, but that's by design. Bobby wanted the car to look stock, giving away no hint of what's under the hood. Therefore, the Auto Meter tach adapter module and Turbosmart e-boost display is in the glovebox to keep everything looking clean and stock on the inside.
Knowing his way around a Mustang...
Knowing his way around a Mustang like the back of his hand, Performance Automotive's Jason Duggar removed the rear spoiler, filling and smoothing in the leftover holes, and stretched the rear quarters, rolling them to make room for 305/35 Nitto drag radials. Bobby's choice of BBS RK wheels is easily one of our favorite wheel designs, and they complement the car's wing-less aura perfectly. Of course, the Performance Red helps with that as well.
In the golden Two-Valve days,...
In the golden Two-Valve days, Reichard Racing's intake was a popular addition to power-adder Mustangs. Bobby's GT still wears the
Bobby and Aric collaborated on the install of a Paxton Novi 2000 supercharger. Actually, it was probably more Aric doing the installing, but you get the drift. After the added boost, Bobby and Aric came together on a few suspension additions. However, around 2005 Bobby decided to put the car back to stock and sell it. He felt it was too nice to modify, so his rationale was to sell it and buy something not as nice so he could do whatever he wanted. At this point, the car only had 5,000 miles on it.
Thankfully, serious buyers were few and far between and the car didn't really get a lot of interest. When that happened, his wife, Mandy, said, "You're going to buy another one anyway, so just do what you want to this one." We like her already.
With that, Bobby got back to work on the car to make it what he wanted. ProLine built an engine for the car, and Bell Chassis Works designed and built much of the turbo kit's plumbing, which was originally based on a Hellion Power Systems kit. All the installation work took place at Injected Engineering. Once it was back on the road, the car made 674 hp at the feet. That's quite a tally for a Two-Valve.
To date, Bobby's GT has around 8,700 miles on it. Yours truly puts that many miles on his Cobra in six months, but it's my daily driver. Remember, Bobby never intended the GT to be a daily car, hence the low miles. But for an '00 model to have just 8,700 miles on it is an anomaly in the Mustang world. In 2011, he might've put 100 miles on the odometer. "I take it out on the rare occasion--get the kids loaded up and take it for a drive. It's something to play with," Bobby says. Bobby and Mandy will take it out on dates or to car shows, and every once in a while to work.
Bobby has no plans on a second effort to sell the car. He told us he bought the car with his dad, Garlon, and since the elder Lee passed away a couple years ago, his plans are to hold onto it. Besides, we're sure Garlon would not approve of turning the car back to stock now.
Horse Sense: Since the GT spends quality time in the garage these days, Bobby has turned his attention to an '86 coupe. The car features a ProLine-built 377ci engine using a FRPP R block, a 4R70W transmission, and Explorer electronics complete with coil-on plug ignition. The car will be set up for an extra 250 shot of nitrous. The car wears Jason Duggar-sprayed blue paint and a Bell Chassis Works 10-point cage.
Engine and Drivetrain
Block Teksid aluminum
Crankshaft Forged
Rods Manley forged H-beam
Pistons Diamond Racing forged
Camshafts Injected Engineering custom grinds
Cylinder heads Coupe Performance Chris Howe-ported PI units w/oversized valves, Comp Cams valvesprings, and stock followers
Intake manifold Reichard Racing w/Accufab 75mm throttle body
Fuel system Twin Ford GT pumps w/custom fuel rails, -8AN fuel lines, and 60-lb/hr injectors
Power Adder Turbonetics T76 single turbocharger w/custom tubing and air-to-air intercooler, and 22 pounds of boost
Exhaust Ford Racing Performance Parts short-tube headers w/Bell Chassis Works exhaust featuring a Magnaflow after-cat
Transmission Tremec 3650 w/SPEC Stage 3 clutch, and Steeda Autosports Tri-Ax shifter
Rearend Stock 8.8 w/Auburn Pro differential, girdle, Moser 31-spline axles, 3.73 gears
Electronics
Engine management Stock PCM w/Injected Engineering tune via SCT software
Ignition Stock w/NGK TR6 spark plugs
Gauges Stock
Suspension and Chassis
Front suspension
K-member UPR Products tubular
A-arms UPR Products tubular
Struts QA1 w/UPR Products caster/camber plates
Springs UPR Products coilover
Brakes Bullitt, slotted rotors
Wheels BBS RK 18x8-1/2-in
Tires Nitto NT555 245-40
Rear suspension
Shocks QA1
Springs Custom coilover
Control Arms UPR Products Pro-Series uppers and lowers, spherical bushings
Brakes Bullitt calipers w/slotted rotors
Wheels BBS RK 18x10-in
Tires Nitto NT555R Extreme Drag radials 305-35