Temple Performance Cars LM500 Series Mustangs - Legends And Lore

The retro styling of the S197 was an immediate hit with the buying public, and while some aftermarket companies haven't embraced it, most of them have and are providing retro versions of the current Mustangs. One such company is Temple Performance Cars, a Georgia-based operation offering three different Mustang models of varying performance.

Arriving in our parking lot at MM&FF Command Central South, the Vista Blue with white stripes LM500 Series 1 definitely caught our eye. It's a color combination that's hard to beat, and coupled with the Shelby CS67 20-inch wheels and choice Legend Mustangs body components, the Series 1 looked great.

Though we weren't able to do any performance testing with the car, we did evaluate its driving dynamics for a couple of days on this author's 84-mile daily commute. Legend Mustangs did a good job on the coil spring choice, which offered a slightly stiffer and lower ride, along with improved handling over a base Mustang while being comfortable in day-to-day operation. The use of BFGoodrich KDW rubber-255/35/20 front and 285/30/20 rear-at all four corners was also a wise choice, offering improved traction in cornering and straight-line performance. The latter is of great importance since the Series 1 LM500 offers a 500hp ATI ProCharger supercharger, or the RoushCharger, which our tester was equipped with.

The Roots-style supercharger provides nearly immediate boost and torque, which raises the fun factor considerably over a base Mustang. The Series 1 and 2 LM500 Mustangs also get a muffler-delete exhaust setup for a more aggressive sound. The lack of mufflers isn't overly loud since the catalytic converters remain, but we found the overall note had an untuned quality to it. The exhaust note does scream vintage Mustang, though.

The exterior, as previously mentioned, was modified with a Legend Mustangs hood, sidescoops, rear wing, and the optional center foglight relocation-the latter we thought looked perfect with the overall styling concept. Buyers can pick from their favorite factory colors, and then Legend Mustangs will paint the stripes on the car so you never have to worry about them peeling or fading.

LM also accents the Mustang's interior with billet trim pieces at the e-brake handle and cup holder. Boost and the air/fuel mixture can be monitored at the A-pillar with a pair of included gauges, and the stock 3650 transmission is stirred by a Hurst shifter. Lastly, a push-button engine start is installed into the 12-volt accessory port at the top of the dashboard. Over the course of our time with the Series 1, this push-button start proved to be more of an annoyance, though a full week with the car might have converted our brain's preprogrammed column-starting procedure.