1990 Mustang LX - Utterly Bodacious

Scott Boda admits to being different. As director of manufacturing at Steeda, he goes in the opposite direction of everyone else he knows. It's common knowledge that when it comes to describing a person's car, that vehicle is an extension of the owner, as it's often a reflection of their personality. That theory could not be proven truer than by looking at Scott and his '90 LX.

"Growing up, I was always into muscle-cars," Scott says. "I went to preschool in either my mom's '71 Cuda or my dad's '63 split-window Corvette. Octane and cubic inches were in my blood, but it was a ride in my mom's '66 Mustang convertible that got me hooked."

Scott's road to stardom began humbly, as he started out owning a pair of V-6-powered Mustangs. "My first Stang was an '86 T-top V-6. I had it for 28 days before I realized how light the back end on these ponycars were when I totaled it in a ditch. I replaced it with another '86 T-top car and drove it until my senior year of high school, which is when I got my '89 GT."

Scott kept the white Fox-body throughout college, until Christmas of 1996. Then, while at home for break, he found a cherry '90 LX hatchback. "All of my previous Mustangs had been white, and I was never a fan of red, but there was something about this car," Scott says. "Needless to say, I bought the LX on the spot and drove it back up to college the next week."

Since then, the red Mustang has seen its fair share of modifications, but by far its latest is the most intriguing. You might think that since Scott works at Steeda and deals with cars all day long, the last thing he'd want to do is put together his Mustang, but that's not the case. "Working for Steeda is a dream come true," he says. "It feeds my addiction and my hobby, even though the running joke is that I haven't made a dollar working here because I keep getting parts for the Mustang."

The original motor had seen so many different combinations that when Scott decided to redo the car this last time, he figured the right thing to do would be to start from scratch in terms of the powerplant. Knowing there's no replacement for displacement,the foundation for the engine is a 351 blockcast in the year 1969. Thanks to DSA Racing(Boca Raton, Florida), each of the eight cyl-inders was bored to 4.040 inches and, when combined with the long-armed 4.00-inch stroke Eagle forged crank, the cubic-inch number checks in at 410 large ones. Swinging on the crank journals are a set of Eagle forged rods topped by a set of Diamond pistons. Adding strength to the block is a D.S.S. main girdle, while lubricating all of the moving internal parts is a Ford Racing Performance Parts high-volume oil pump that draws in the slick stuff from a Moroso pan.

Long before he began putting the engine together, Scott decided there'd be no forced induction in the car's future. Knowing the motor would have to make power "pretty much" all on its own (more on that later), he touched base with Bennett Racing, which kicked over a behemoth of a solid-roller camshaft. The cam card gives a duration figure of 267/278 intake and exhaust at 0.050 inch, with lift figures checking in at 0.696 on both sides. The 'stick was ground on a 106 center, and once it was shoved in the block, a pair of Bennett Racing-ported TFS High-Port heads were lowered down onto the short-block. The aluminum heads showcase titanium 2.08 intake and 1.65 exhaust valves, and when combined with the Diamond pistons, set the squeeze mark at 13:1. Before the valve covers were put on, a set of 1.6-ratio billet-aluminum rockers and a stud girdle were installed.