A 90 Mustang LX That Carves Corners and Wins on the Strip

Steve and Cindy Lubbert of Bloomington, Illinois, are no strangers to Mustangs. They have owned some of the finest ponies to ever come out of the Ford stable, such as a '69 Mach 1, a '69 Boss 302, a '69 Shelby GT500 and a '69 Boss 429, which they still own today. Steve, Cindy and their son, James, all got an itch to go racing and rather than abuse the rather precious Boss 429, they opted to build another car from the ground up.

The Fox Mustang platform was chosen because of its vast aftermarket parts resources. Steve, an architect by day, had restored all of the Lubbert Mustangs so far, and procured a '90 four-cylinder Mustang LX. The motor was shot, but the body was rust free and they had no plans of using the 2.3 for anything more than a boat anchor anyway.

A Mustang GT parts car was also purchased to supply the needed wiring harnesses, fuel system and electrical components. The pony also donated its ground effects, and Steve performed the bodywork and painted the car himself using Valspar polyurethane basecoat/clearcoat in Ford's Vermillion Red and Smoke Metallic Silver.

Powering this pony is an owner-built 306 small-block that runs Trick Flow aluminum heads and intake manifold. An Anderson Ford Motorsport (AFM) N4 camshaft (222/230 duration, .512/.512 lift) actuates the 2.02/1.60 valve arrangement and a C&L 80mm MAF and BBK 70mm throttle body work with an AFM 4-inch Power Pipe to get the air and fuel in, while BBK 1 5/8-inch shorty headers and X-pipe dump the exhaust into a MAC catback.

Last year the Lubberts ran a C4 automatic, but realized it wasn't the best choice for road racing. Cindy, who primarily attacks the dragstrip with the Mustang, was a bit dismayed after Steve and James dropped in a Tremec 3550 five-speed with a Centerforce clutch, however she has been doing fine on the 1320 with it.

The 7.5 rear was heaved in favor of an 8.8 with 28-spline axles and a 3.73 gear. The last link, and probably the most important part, in getting the power to the pavement is a set of Goodyear front/Nitto rear radial tires mounted on Ford Racing Bullitt wheels. For the road course, a set of stock '99 GT wheels with Kumho Victor racers get the nod and offer superior grip and durability when the Lubberts are sawing the wheel back and forth.

The most dynamic part of any road race car is the suspension, and the Lubberts went with proven Eibach competition coil springs and Tokico adjustable struts and shocks. Kenny Brown supplied the subframe connectors and rear upper/lower control arms, while Steeda was called for a pair of its X2 ball joints and caster/camber plates.

Braking is certainly important in racing as well, and lap after lap, the Cobra R four-wheel disc brakes sporting 13.0-inch front and 11.65-inch rear discs have a firm hold on the situation.

Steve, James, Cindy and their friend, Rick Youskeutch, finished the whole project in a mere five months, and the Lubberts have been swapping seat time ever since. "We go to the Mid-America Shelby meet in Tulsa every year," noted Cindy. She has won the Powder Puff drag race in four of the last five events. "This year, I came in second in the Powder Puff race and then entered the men's class and won," said Cindy. Obviously a drag racer at heart, Cindy has run a best elapsed time of 13.2 at 104 mph.

Steve and James, however, are into banging corners at places like Hallett, Gingerman and recently Nashville at the Mustang's fortieth. James has also gotten involved with the Mustang Racing Technologies group and is preparing his own '93 GT for American Iron duty. The Lubbert's Boss 9 still gets driven to cruises, shows and other events, but they know how valuable this historic piece of Ford iron is and, let's face it, we all know the Fox Mustang is as tough as they come and more than willing to take the fight to the track.