Southeastern Racing Development dares to be different in the Mustang World.
Being unique is a major requirement for a show car to be successful, and in today's world it gets harder and harder-especially in the Mustang segment where everyone works with a similar platform. MM&FF comes across many different cars each year as we hit the biggest events in the country.
Last year, Kevin Williams dazzled us with his SR500 ("So Smooth Show Pony," Mar. '06). It's the kind of car that's meant to be a feature. The attention to detail is outstanding, and Kevin's subtle touches make a big impact. This year's project from Kevin's side business, Southeastern Racing Development (SRD), tops last year's. He and his friends use SRD to build cool cars and trucks for themselves and a select clientele of enthusiasts.
"We took the SN-95 chassis and improved on every corner-taking bits and pieces from different companies-and continually tweaked the car, turning it into the ultimate tuner car," Kevin says. Inside and out, SRD's '94 Stang is a true representation of taking the car's elements to a higher level. Kevin selected all the minor parts for this project, while the SR500 we featured last year was more of a build by committee, so to speak, amongst the SRD team (Kevin Williams, Max Williams, Jason Kitchens, and Brandon Nicols).
The SR500 was sold over the winter of 2005 and the team picked up this '94 Mustang GT in December of that year. The crew began work on the Stang immediately and didn't stop until late February 2006 when they put the finishing touches on it. The SN-95 was torn apart as all body components came off for modifications and a special blend of Sonic Blue paint. Converting the Stang from yellow to the '03 Cobra color was quite an undertaking, but they managed to shoot the fancy blue hue over every nook and cranny.
Once the unibody was sprayed, the quartet of car enthusiasts turned their attention to new body components. The front chin now sports an '00 Cobra R air splitter from Cervini's Auto Design. Rearward, the side skirts and rear bumper were sourced from Saleen, while SRD modified the trunk by smoothing out the area between the brake lights and painted that section black, similar to the '03-'04 Mach 1 cars. A Cobra rear wing was bolted to the rear deck. SN-95 cars have sidescoops, so the scoops were augmented with larger ones from Classic Design Concepts. Export fender flares were added to give this Stang an American Iron racer look. The factory hood was also covered in blue paint, except for the center-section, which was treated to black. The hood has been enhanced thanks to a hood skin, giving it a slight rise and Mach 1-style Shaker hood. As far as we know, this is the only SN-95-style Mustang to feature a Shaker hood, one that SRD fabricated.
The team continued to combine parts and pieces from other companies like the BMW M3 vents on the front fenders. These vents were carefully grafted and integrated to look as if Ford intended to put them on there from day one. More BMW enhancements came in the form of M3 side mirrors. Like we said before, the subtle additions on this Mustang make a big difference in the overall picture. A pair of quarter-glass louvers found their way on to SRD's Stang as well. Carefully mounted on the billet grille is an American flag-painted Pony that Kevin says he painted in 2001 after September 11. That piece is not a permanent component and will be removed if they decide to sell this hot rod. A couple of chrome gauge pods were added to the cowl to finish off the body mods.