Modern Day Surf Chaser

By definition, a surf chaser was a car used to provide simple transportation for the surfers of yore to carry themselves and their equipment to and from various beaches along the California coast. Often, comfort and performance took a secondary role as these surfchasers needed to have plenty of space for the surfer and all of his friends. It would sometimes serve as a dining room, a kitchen, and, more often as a place to lay your head each night as daylight hours were spent chasing the waves along the Pacific shoreline.

Scott Hoag, one of the proprietors of Mustang Racing Technologies and former Mustang design team manager of the Bullitt and Mach 1 projects, wanted to capture that laid back and stylish concept in his most-recent project. The vehicle in question is an '03 Cobra convertible, which made its debut at the 2003 SEMA show last November. The talented Mr. Hoag spent countless hours in his Northville, Michigan, workshop to design, implement and then execute his theme. The end result has certainly captured our eyes, and those of many others.

After taking delivery of this car, Scott started with the blown 4.6 mill and added a Pro-M mass-air meter, an Accufab throttle body, a pair of JBA mid-length headers and MRT's own H-pipe and high-flow, cat-back exhaust system. A Nitrous Express juice kit bumps power up an additional 75 hp for an estimated total of 525 ponies and 725 lb-ft of torque. It didn't take much to make all this power from the Terminator 4.6, so plenty of time and resources were freed up to address the rest of the car.

Moving onto the chassis, Hoag installed an MRT Street Performance suspension kit, which includes coil springs and a set of Tokico dampers. Also installed were a J&M caster/camber plate kit and Steeda X-2 ball joints, a bump steer kit, and aluminum rear control arms. Did we say aluminum control arms? Yes, we did. That's because this Cobra has been retrofitted with a solid 8.8 rear axle to better handle all the torque that's being generated up front. To also help transfer all the torque, an Exedy ceramic clutch was coupled to a chrome-moly flywheel to send the cammer's power into that T56 with full aggression. An MRT short-throw shifter was added to scuttle the cogs about.

To give the right vintage look in modern-day sizes, charcoal gray Raceline GT wheels with polished lips and knockoffs were ordered up in 18x9 and 18x10 sizing for the front and rear, respectively. Goodyear F1 Supercar tires wrap the beautiful rims and measure 275/40 in front and 295/35 in back.

Since Hoag is partial to the look of the Bullitt and Mach 1s of just a few years back, he removed the Cobra's factory front bumper cover and replaced it with a custom front fascia that has a grille delete kit, foglight recess splitters, and an airdam from the Mach 1. The factory bonnet was also removed, and a Shaker hood and functional airscoop made its way on top of the Cobra's huffed and puffed four-cam Mod motor. Classic Design Concepts provided the light bar, which serves as the foundation for the MRT Surfer Package, which includes a surfboard rack and, in this instance, a surfboard provided by Ocean Gear of Los Angeles. The decklid spoiler is MRT's B-Wing piece, and blends nicely with the motorcycle-inspired fuel filler door and custom side scoops.

MRT's black exhaust tips also add a nice touch to the rear of the Cobra. The crew over at Lad Road Collision (Commerce Township, Michigan) was given the task to make it all fit properly, and applied plenty of layers of Ford yellow. The hood and side graphics were laid down by Artworks of White Lake, Michigan.

Inside, we've got plenty to look at and listen to. The factory cockpit benefits from the steering wheel, shift boot and parking brake handle from the 10th Anniversary Edition Cobra. Recaro Sportline buckets also offer both comfort and support, two features that the factory Ford seats have rarely offered since 1964 1/2. A complete audio system by Kicker was installed by Tony and Mike over at Car Tunes to provide the strong beats.

Imagine having a 525hp surf chaser like Hoag's '03 Cobra. You'd never miss a perfect wave, a dinner appointment, or a car show. And best yet, you could take it home with you every night. But there's a big problem that Hoag totally forgot to attend to while he build this surf chaser-he lives in Michigan! Perhaps we should work on location next time, Scott. We'd hate to see a Himalayan lowrider.