"My-my-my stapler."
It's one of the many lines from the '99 movie Office Space, uttered by Milton to the inconsiderate Bill Lumbergh, that has become ingrained in movie-goers' brains. The cult classic revolves around a group of unhappy workers and how they try to cheat their boss and their company.
While Carlos Garcia's '99 Mustang GT wasn't beat upon quite as badly as the copy machine that saw the barrel of a baseball bat in the movie, the car was worked over to become what he envisioned it would be while sitting in his own office space.
Powering this Mustang is a...
Powering this Mustang is a fortified Two-Valve modular mill. The 4.6 powerplant has seen a host of improvements, namely some killer bottom-end components, a set of Patriot heads, a few more cubic inches, and forced induction.
"My desk at work had a window just to the right of my laptop," Carlos explains about how he got interested in the Mustang scene. "I like to start my day early, so usually I was at my desk before my boss, Bruce, pulled in. His parking space was directly in front of my window, and after listening to the deep sound of his Mustang GT pull up every day, I told him I'd be interested in buying the car if he ever wanted to sell it."
Carlos got the chance when Bruce called from a Ford dealership, offering the car for sale. You see, Bruce had just ordered a brand-new '04 Cobra and didn't need his lowly GT anymore. Carlos was more than happy to take ownership of the SN-95 and began to think about just how he wanted his ride to be when he was done with it.
"Once you start driving a Mustang, it doesn't take long before the high-performance bug kicks in," Carlos says. "I wanted to have the nicest, best performing, and fastest Mustang in town."
Carlos' Mustang gets its 500-rwhp...
Carlos' Mustang gets its 500-rwhp kick from the 14 pounds of boost supplied by the Paxton Novi 2000 blower.
With the gauntlet laid down, Carlos embarked on projecting his vision onto his Pony. He enlisted the help of G&S Mustang Performance (Riverside, California) to rebuild the stock 4.6 Two-Valve in preparation for some serious grunt. Each cylinder was bored 0.020 inch over, and the stock bottom-end components were set aside in favor of an '04 Cobra crank, CCR 4340 H-beam rods, and a set of Mahle 16cc pistons. The rotating assembly was balanced, then carefully placed in the block. The bottom end was buttoned up with the installation of a Canton oil pan. The whole thing was then turned over, and final assembly of the oversized modular powerplant began to take shape. A set of Patriot heads were put on top of the cylinders. Underneath the Ford Racing Performance Parts valve covers lie a set of Comp Cams Stage II camshafts, while sitting between the heads is a Professional Products Power-Plus polished intake manifold that had some work done to it by GTR High Performance in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
TSW Thruxton five-spoke rims...
TSW Thruxton five-spoke rims are found on all four corners. Shod in Toyo hoops, the front wheels spec out to 19x8½ inches, while the rears check in at a slightly larger 19x9½ inches.
With the bottom-end components fortified, Carlos had Paxton ship out one of its Novi 2000 centrifugal blowers. Combined with a MAC cold-air kit and mass air meter, the blower stuffs in the needed outside ambiance at 14 pounds of boost to create a thundering 500 rwhp. All of that horsepower wouldn't be made without the right supply of fuel, though. That aspect of the build was handled by the installation of a pair of Cobra fuel pumps, along with a Kenne Bell Boost-A-Pump and a set of 60-pound injectors. The spent mixture of air and fuel is evacuated through a pair of BBK ceramic-coated shorty headers and a full-on Borla exhaust.
A Tremec TKO 500 backs the potent Two-Valve mod motor. Squashed between the aluminum flywheel, and the tranny is a Centerforce 26-spline clutch assembly. Shifting chores are made easier by a Pro-Shifter short-throw knob. An aluminum driveshaft links the trans to the 8.8-inch rear, which now showcases a set of 3.73 gears.