 An air/fuel meter on the dashboard...  An air/fuel meter on the dashboard is in plain view of the driver. |
 The Coupe's drag-race stance...  The Coupe's drag-race stance is a timeless look. |
 The only shift kit in this...  The only shift kit in this car is John's quick right arm. A Steeda Tri-Ax shifter is used to dial up the gears in the T56 six-speed transmission. |
 The license plate says it...  The license plate says it all. |
Kinter retained the stock electronics and turned to eight 50-pound fuel injectors with a matching Pro-M 80mm mass airflow sensor. Matching the meter to the injectors is important, and the Pro-M group made sure the two systems were calibrated properly. John tunes his Pony himself using an Anderson Ford Motorsport PMS tuner. The system piggybacks the stock A9L computer, and modifies the fuel and spark signals. It is highly effective, and is one of the major reasons John's 428 is so docile on the street. But just tickling the gas pedal switches things from mild to wild in a hurry.
The engine's idle hum and WOT scream come courtesy of Kooks 1-7/8- into 2-inch headers, a Dr. Gas X-pipe, and two sets of mufflers. To keep his beast super quiet on the street, John employs a pair of DynoMax Bullet mufflers and a pair of DynoMax Ultra-Flos. He removes the Ultra-Flos while racing. Back-to-back chassis dyno testing showed only a 10hp/10 lb-ft difference between the street and strip exhaust combo.
John refuses to run a slush box behind his potent Windsor. One call to D&D Performance was all it took for him to order the company's six-speed conversion kit. A Tremec T56 Viper-spec trans-mission is the centerpiece of attraction. Steeda's Tri-Ax shifter was put into service along with a Spec Stage 3 clutch and aluminum flywheel. An aluminum driveshaft keeps the vibrations to a minimum and reduces rotating weight.
The coupe had the power, and John needed to pay attention to the suspension system. He spent a considerable amount of time researching the front and rear suspension setup. After all, with a naturally aspirated powerplant, he couldn't afford to spare one drop of horsepower. The upper control arms are double-adjustable units from UPR Products, and Maximum Motorsport Weight Jackers sit in the lower control arm position. An antisway bar from UPR's Pro Series line was given the task to keep the body level on hard launches at the dragstrip. The chassis has been stiffened with Kenny Brown subframe connectors. Bullet Racing welded in a six-point rollbar, further enhancing the stiffness of the coupe and keeping the car legal to run in the 10s at NHRA and IHRA tracks. PA Racing supplied the front K-member and coilover front strut package. Adjustable QA1 shocks are in the rear, while Competition Engineering 90/10 struts are bolted in place in the front.
Visually, there have been subtle changes such as the lower stance and aluminum rear wing. A lightweight Kaenan fiberglass hood covers the monster Windsor engine. John opted for the stock profile rather than a cowl-induction hood. You may be asking, "How can a Windsor fit under the stock-style hood?" The answer is in the aftermarket K-member from PA Racing. The motor mounts have been dropped 1.5 inches to help the engine sit lower in the engine bay. There weren't any clearance issues with the oil pan or the exhaust system.
There are two sets of wheels for this car. We photographed the coupe in its drag racing trim. The Bogart D-10 wheels are not the super-lightweight, race-only ones, but the thicker style that are suitable for street use. The 15x3.5-inch front skinnies wear Mickey Thompson Sportsman tires. Out back, the D-10s measure 15x10 inches and have a 6.5-inch backspacing. The rubbers of choice in the back are M/T ET Street 28x11.50 street tires. The ET Streets are merely slicks with grooves, and they meet the minimum require-ments for DOT certification. At the track, John uses a pair of M/T ET Drag 26x10.5 slicks. A best 60-foot of 1.46 on those tires and fullsize 17-inch wheels/tires up front show the effectiveness of his suspension combination and setup. Street attire features a set of 17-inch chrome Pony wheels with Nitto tires
In a world full of power adders, it's refreshing to come across a Mustang that gets it done naturally. Simplicity was John's rule when he built this coupe, and the result is outstanding. There are probably a lot of frustrated racers out there who are shocked to see they have just been beaten by a Mustang with no power adder and that doesn't require a trailer for a trip to the track.