Ron chose to build the powerplant himself because he was already familiar with the Ford 302. Starting with a fresh Ford Racing Performance Parts cylinder block, he had it sent out for a quick hone and a deck job to make sure he'd have a solid and true foundation. With the freshly prepped block back in his Canton, Michigan, garage, Ron stuffed it with a Probe 327-inch stroker kit complete with its 3.25-inch arm and forged Probe pistons. With compression checking in at 10.7:1, the 4.00-inch bores were capped off with a set of Canfields that were gone over by the gurus at Flow Technologies in Plymouth, Michigan. Camshaft Innovations was given the call to come up with a stout hydraulic roller with 226/238 duration at 0.050 and 0.602/0.620-inch lift on a 111 LSA. Taking full advantage of this 327's high-winding cam is an Edelbrock Victor Jr. that pedestals a 750-cfm Pro Systems carb that receives a healthy head of go juice from an Aeromotive A1000 pump and regulator. Once that MSD billet distributor and 6AL box has lit the fuse on this explosive combination, a set of BBK long-tubes are called upon to funnel the fumes into a pair of DynoMax Race Bullet mufflers with turndowns. No need for a subwoofer box in this ride-there are 5.3 liters of booming bass going on here.
Have you chased a Ford la...
Have you chased a Ford lately?
The familiar Fox suspension benefits from tried-and-true aftermarket hardware that can be found in just about any Mustang catalog.For shocks, a set of Lakewood 70/30s ride in front, while 50/50s in back help those four-cylinder springs transfer the weight rearward for maximum bite off the line. That beefed-up 8.8 underneath is crammed with 4.10 gears and a set of 31-spline Mosers mated to an Auburn Pro for reliable horsepower-to-asphalt power transfer. A set of solid rear control arms and subframe connectors built by the Flat Rock, Michigan-based Team Z Motorsports, helps keep things in line once the shift light blinks at nearly 7,000 rpm. With 28x11.50-inch Mickey Thompson ET Streets mounted in back, Ron can bang away at his Liberty-prepped T5 for incredible 1.61 short times and 11.60 timeslips at 118 mph without the use of a power adder. Nitrous has been considered, but his car doesn't need a rollcage for its cur-rent e.t. and is still plenty quick for the street, so he'll more than likely leave things the way they are.
We credit Ron for daring to be different and building one of the most forgotten Fords of the '80s. It's not that we're tired of seeing Mustangs, but we like to remind ourselves and our readers that Ford did stamp out plenty of other two-door Fox cars from 1978 onwards, such as the Fairmont Futura, the Lincoln Mark VII, the Mercury Cougar, and our perennial favorite, the '81-'82 Granada coupe. We love seeing creative minds at work, and with Ron's T-bird, it's obvious his mind was doing double-time to come up with the cleanest, meanest, and most unique ride we've ever seen. Kudos to those who do things differently.
The FRPP 9,000-rpm tach sits...
The FRPP 9,000-rpm tach sits where the radio used to.