While there are some who believe that art imitates life, there are those rare occasions where the opposite is true. Take, for example, the words from the Eagles' hit song in 1972, "Take It Easy."
"Well I'm standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, and such a fine sight to see. It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowing down to take a look at me."
If you're like most people who've heard the song, you may have wondered whether the town of Winslow, Arizona, actually exists. For one unnamed Army sergeant, it certainly does.
The story began while this fearless warrior was on leave, cruising along in his '01 Bullitt Mustang. He was driving from the Bullitt Nationals in San Francisco to his base in Oklahoma, where he was scheduled for deployment the next day. Unfortunately, the Two-Valve powerplant in the Bullitt gave up the ghost in-you guessed it-Winslow, Arizona. Our guy was stranded, not standing, on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, and he wasn't greeted with a fine sight of a girl in a flatbed Ford. He was forced to continue on, leaving his car to languish in Winslow until he came back from his overseas station.
After the original motor gave...
After the original motor gave up the ghost, the car was put back on the road with a replacement mill from Ford Racing Performance Parts. SW Tuning did the install and subsequent addition of a forced induction setup.
As is the case with Cobra owners, the Bullitt boys and girls also stick together, and through the sergeant's friend, Mike Rhoads, and the sea of IMBOC.com (International Mustang Bullitt Owner's Club) members, our intrepid combatant was able to get the car picked up. According to Centerforce's Will Baty (who spearheaded the project), Mike got in touch with Centerforce's plant manager, Blair Anglin, and arranged to get the Bullitt home.
"When we picked up the car, we decided that we wanted to show some appreciation for our troops," Will says. "Our military is there for us in times of need, so we wanted to help out one of their own in his time of need. After a few calls were made, the plan to do more than just pick up the Mustang and store it was in motion."
That plan called for getting some major companies in the Mustang aftermarket involved for a special renovation. "We wanted to get the Bullitt featured on the show Overhaulin', but because the car's owner is in the military, we couldn't do it. So we just did it our way, with help from others in the aftermarket, his fellow Bullitt owners, and his friends."
Gone is the stock Bullitt...
Gone is the stock Bullitt green hue. In its place is a custom two-tone job with True Blue up top and Light Tan below. Splitting the two colors is a gold leaf stripe.
Obviously, the blown-up mod mill would need to be replaced. SW Tuning gladly stepped on board and stuffed in a stock Two-Valve replacement courtesy of Ford Racing Performance Parts. While that was great, to make any power, some sort of chemical or forced induction addition was needed. Sitting between the Bullitt intake manifold and the Anderson Ford Motorsport Power Pipe is a Paxton Novi 2000 centrifugal supercharger stuffing the mill with 9 psi of boost. BBK kicked over one of its Power Plus 65mm throttle bodies, along with a pair of aluminum valve covers to spruce things up a bit. The supercharged mod motor makes 475 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque with the SW tune, and dumps the spent fumes through a pair of JBA headers and a full-on MRT exhaust.
With the car now running, the rest of the package started to come together. Tremec shipped out a 3650 five-speed transmission, and (no surprise here) Centerforce slung one of its dual-disc clutches in the bellhousing. An MRT shifter rows the gears, and the stock driveshaft links up the engine and trans combo to the stock 8.8-inch rear, which was fortified with 3.73 ratio gears, an Auburn Gear locking differential, and Alloy USA axles, all of which was assembled by Iron Springs 4WD.