Yes, there's a bit of the...
Yes, there's a bit of the musclecar era in the S197's nose. Why not cement that intergenerational relationship with CDC's latest version of Shaker, circa 1969?
Classic Design Concepts' Shaker scoop system has been a certifiable hit in the SN-95 and New Edge versions released to date-so much so, in fact, that Ford adopted the setup for use on the '03-'04 Mach 1. Turnabout is indeed fair play because CDC had, of course, adopted the whole idea from the original factory Shaker that first vibrated onto the world stage way back with the '69 Mach 1. And if the darned thing looked so good on the '94 through '04 cars-which had little if any "classic" Mustang styling, at least up front-you just know it's gotta look killer on the muscular, '60s-evocative S197.
The only surprise about CDC whipping up a version of Shaker for the new Mustang is how long it took to get it into final production form. But for those anxiously waiting, trust us when we tell you that your patience has been rewarded. The delay wasn't caused by any lack of will on CDC's part, but simply by the time and effort the company expended to get the S197 Shaker kit and all its details just right. Always recognized for the quality of its hardware, CDC continues to leverage the advantages of its Motor City location to design and manufacture each generation of new products with even more OEM thoroughness. The result? A Shaker that's quicker to install than previous versions, has a vacuum-molded base that doubles as an engine cover to hide some of the Three-Valve's bland, industrial-looking intake and cam-cover clutter, is fully functional in scooping outside air to the engine, yet is priced no higher than its predecessors.
In other words, we're overwhelmingly impressed with the new Shaker, and we think you will be too. It's stuff like this that brings us ever closer to second-mortgaging the house to get that S197...
Horse Sense: When you pull your underhood insulation pad, you'll see that the factory created a rectangular flat spot on the underside of the hood that looks suspiciously as if a Shaker had been planned all along. Hint, hint.
 Most everything about the...  Most everything about the S197 GT does it for us. Everything, that is, but the neo-industrial visual impression of the Three-Valve modular-a look that would seem more at home in a Caterpillar excavator. The Shaker is about to come to the rescue. |  CDC's cast-aluminum Shaker...  CDC's cast-aluminum Shaker scoop-still visually and dimensionally true to the 1969 original-now comes preassembled to a base that doubles as an engine cover to hide all that uninspiring factory paraphernalia atop the Three-Valve. The $795 kit also includes a two-piece ring to trim the hole you're about to cut in your hood, a block-off plate for the factory underhood inlet duct, blow-molded discharge ducting, as well as a free-flow panel air filter and cutting templates not shown here. But this shot does show all necessary mounting hardware-there isn't much, is there? |  The only traumatic step of...  The only traumatic step of the simple installation is cutting a hole in your otherwise perfectly good hood. But the kit's foolproof hole-locating template and detailed instructions make it a no-brainer. The sawing trick is to elevate the hood a bit (a paint can works fine) so you don't cut something unintended underhood, and cover the engine area with a drop-sheet to catch wayward metal bits. Using pre-applied acrylic tape, the top section of the kit's plastic trim ring then bonds in place around the cutout, as seen here. |
 The factory noise insulation...  The factory noise insulation pad is removed for the hood surgery, then reinstalled and cut out to match the hole in the sheetmetal. The lower half of the trim ring then snaps together with the upper, finishing the hole trimming and also holding up the insulating pad around the cutout. Very slick and quick. |  With the scary part done,...  With the scary part done, it's time to relax and go underhood, unbolting the lower portion of the airbox from the inner fender. The lid portion and the rest of the rubber inlet duct can stay, though the mass air harness should be unplugged as it will eventually have to snake through a hole in the Shaker's engine cover before being reconnected. The lower airbox will go on the workbench for a little modification. |  Another CDC option is this...  Another CDC option is this Boss 429-style bolt-on scoop that can also be made functional using the Shaker engine cover and duct assembly. Call CDC for details, as they were still being worked out at the time of our photo shoot. |
 First, a 3-inch hole must...  First, a 3-inch hole must be sawed in the rear face of the airbox, with this cutout location again determined using one of the kit's templates. Make sure the hole's diameter is accurate because the kit's ABS duct simply snaps and locks in place in the opening. If the hole's too small, you'll have a bear of a time inserting the duct; too big and the tabs won't engage and it'll just fall back out. |  |  While the airbox is still...  While the airbox is still on the bench, slide the kit's block-off plate into the rubber factory inlet snorkel to seal off any hot underhood air. This completes the airbox mods, but it doesn't go back in just yet. |
 To receive the Shaker/engine-cover...  To receive the Shaker/engine-cover assembly, a ball socket is installed near the back of the intake manifold using a U-clamp. Up front, the top two bolts securing the throttle body to the manifold are removed, but the throttle body remains in place. |  The vent routing to the cam...  The vent routing to the cam cover is unplugged from the passenger side of the rubber inlet duct (already disconnected in this shot). Like the mass air harness, it will be reconnected once it's passed through a provided hole in the engine cover. Also, the stainless band clamp on the duct must be rotated counterclockwise so the adjusting screw is tucked down the passenger side of the duct, getting it out of the way of the soon-to-be installed engine cover. A rubber nub on the inlet duct has to be sliced off to allow this clamp to rotate. |  As the Shaker/engine cover...  As the Shaker/engine cover is set in place, a ball stud on the bottom nestles into the socket previously installed, then the throttle-body bolts are reinstalled, passing through a bracket on the front of the cover, locking it down. It couldn't get much simpler. |
 After inserting the kit's...  After inserting the kit's high-flow filter panel, the airbox base can be bolted back to the inner fender, and its cover clipped back on top. As this is being done, the kit's rubber coupler (visible at right) is maneuvered in to join the two sections of the Shaker discharge duct, and secured with the pair of stainless band clamps. |  Looks a bunch better than...  Looks a bunch better than that industrial-diesel factory view, don't you think? Actually, our engine cover was in final prototype form and is a bit glossier than the production version, which will have a matte finish more closely matching the rest of the ABS ducting. |  As previously mentioned, the...  As previously mentioned, the vent is passed through a hole in the front face of the cover and reconnected to the inlet duct. Ditto for the mass air harness on the upstream side of the inlet duct. |