Fellow Real Street Racer Bruce...
Fellow Real Street Racer Bruce Hemminger (left) is the new car sales manager at Van Drunen Ford. Early in November, Bruce worked on a dealer trade where he would procure a low-option, red '05 V-6 Mustang for our project. Here, we are taking delivery of the car one week before the PRI Show on December 3, 2004.
A little history lesson. The '88 LX coupe that I have raced in the NMRA is getting long in the tooth. 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords Editor Steve Turner has asked several times when I was going to build a new car. I was quite attached to my little red '88 coupe. It has a history. It participated in every NMRA Race from 2000 to 2004. It was the third car in the Factory Stock 11-second club. For 2003, I made the switch to the 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords magazine Real Street class. It was July of that year the red coupe became the first car in the nines. Still Mr. Turner persisted in prodding me to consider a new ride. More on that later.
Have you ever wanted to do something but just couldn't justify it? Well, I had listened to Jim Schenk from Car Shop in Moline, Illinois, talk about how cool it was on the Hot Rod Power Tour. With a full schedule of NMRA races, it wasn't really possible. I talked to Steve Turner and asked, "What would you think if I took my Real Street car on the Hot Rod Power Tour?" Steve said, "Cool, and you can write about your exploits in 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords." Hmm, this ought to be fun. It was looking like I needed a plan.
With all the talk of the new...
With all the talk of the new Mustang, one thing was clear-it was heavy. We wanted to see just how heavy. Stories of GTs tipping the scales at more than 3,600 pounds with a driver were common. Without a driver, our V-6 Weighed 3,315 pounds. The front was 1,800 and the rear was 1,515. If we added my weight, even the V-6 is heavy. We are going to have our work cut out for us to get this car down to a Real Street-legal 3,150 pounds ['cause you know Robin's not going on a diet-Ed].
So, a month before the SEMA show in Las Vegas, I notice a post on the FFW message board about Ford Racing's Body-In-White program. I must admit that I didn't look at the new Mustang when Ford had some at Columbus and then Martin, Michigan. The pictures I had seen in the magazines really didn't do the car justice. It wasn't until Dr. Jamie Meyer made the lap down the track at Martin, that I really took notice. As I stood at the fence watching Jamie's blistering 14.70, I was taken with the retro styling of the '05 Mustang. Hmm, those new Mustangs are hot. Well, at least the looks were. After filling out the application, I thought I would not hear anything. Well, about three weeks later, I got an e-mail notification that we had been approved for a Ford Racing BIW.
As required, we sent the $3,500 to secure our car. Once at the SEMA show, a problem arose. I knew that we could never take the '05 Mustang BIW on the Power Tour as it is a non-VIN car. They are sold for the purpose of racing and are never to be licensed or titled. Once the sponsors learned that I had an '05 Mustang in planning for the NMRA Series for 2005, they were not going to settle for my old '88 coupe on the Power Tour.
To solve the VIN problem, I elected to buy a low-option V-6 Mustang to build our '05 Mustang Real Street car. While it seems costly, it also solved many other problems. First, it gave us the ability to drive the car on the Hot Rod Power Tour. Second, it seems that some parts needed to complete the car would have availability problems since Ford is building the new Mustangs as fast as they can.
OK, we really didn't tear...
OK, we really didn't tear into the car immediately. We needed to do a little promotion prior to dismantling the it. Well, actually it was way too much fun to drive. Here we are at Car Shop in Moline, Illinois (our engine guys), to get a few shots of the "before" picture. In this shot, you can see the high ride height that Ford builds into these cars.
Once the hood was removed...
Once the hood was removed (aluminum, 25 pounds), it was easy to disconnect the engine and transmission. The processor is located just behind the radiator, as is the power distribution box on the passenger-side inner fender. Since we are using the Paxton Novi 1200, it's going to be interesting to get our intake air tube into this tight area. The battery is located on the passenger side against the firewall. Ford really thought out this car. It was a breeze to work on.
The front bumper cover is...
The front bumper cover is easily removed from the '05-so easy, we will probably have it off between rounds at the NMRA races. Ford used a stamped-steel reinforcement. Lighter, but stronger parts are used throughout the new Mustang. The K-member and front lower control arms share the same construction as the K-member. Our total savings from replacing the hood and front suspension components will be less than in previous years. A good thing for people with '05 Mustangs, not so good for us.
Once the engine and transmission...
Once the engine and transmission are removed, you notice all the room. It's huge. The framerails are about 4 inches wider than the previous Mustangs. For years to come, racers are going to love this car. It has enough room for a nice Boss 429 with headers well inside the framerails. The engine mounts differently from our Fox body. It actually uses a single stud and biscuit setup like the old Flathead Fords had in the '30s and '40s [Robin was there, so take his word for it-Ed].
Another concern was the transmission...
Another concern was the transmission tunnel. It appears to be higher yet narrower. We are concerned that our scatter shield is going to be tight here. It may need a little "massage" when we get ready to install our current 5.0 and Tremec TKO transmission.
Once most of the driveline...
Once most of the driveline had been removed, we moved to the interior. The Mustang is different in so many ways, I wondered if I had bitten off too much. The dash sits farther back than in previous Mustangs. The shifter is remote-mounted and is closer to the driver's position. Without a remote shifter for our Tremec TKO 600 transmission, the shifter would be located where the radio is mounted. The '05 five-speed cars use a hydraulic throw-out bearing to actuate the clutch. As this setup is an unknown, Racecraft will install a cable-actuated '93 pedal assembly into the car. You can also see the "fly-by-wire" throttle assembly. Racecraft will install an earlier cable throttle assembly as well.