Furious and Fast Fords

Serious Street Stangs

Whether you're a lifelong Mustang fan or were introduced to the game later in life, most can pinpoint a moment when the goal of Pony ownership first became real.

This summer, the women of the auto industry will strut their stuff and show off their skills to raise money for the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund with the first-ever SEMA Mustang Build Powered by Women.

Over the past few issues, we've followed along as Livernois Motorsports built a new 323ci Four-Valve engine for Superfly. Consisting of an FRPP Boss 302 modular block, a Livernois rotating assembly, ported '03 Cobra heads, and custom Comp cams, it made 519 hp on the engine dyno.

A while back, we tested a Track Heat engine kit from Trick Flow Specialties on a high-mileage 5.0L. The Track Heat engine kit was designed as an upgrade that could be applied to anything from a bone-stock 5.0L to a wilder stroker application. For Part 1, we tested the merits of the system on a stock '94 5.0L, pulled from the engine bay of a high-mileage Mustang.

Bill Barnes spent the last 16 years working as a skilled trade journeyman at Ford Motor Company's Livonia transmission plant, along with being the membership director for the Mustang Owners Club of Southeastern Michigan (MOCSEM), an MCA regional club with over 500 members. Bill's a Mustang super-fan; you'll see him at any event that features steel Ponies.

Belt-driven boost-makers, better known as superchargers, go with Mustang performance like hot dogs and baseball. The popularity of supercharging is evident by the sheer numbers of systems and configurations, especially those for the '11-present Mustang GT and Boss 302. Last we counted, there was no less than eight manufacturers offering varying levels of superchargers for that genre of Mustang. And there are even more kits for the Three-Valve.

Powered by a dual-stage supercharged Merlin V-12, the P-51 produced well over 1,400 hp and could achieve speeds above 450 mph--amazing for a prop-driven plane. The P-51 was used in WWII and the Korean War, and its pilots have shot down over 4,900 enemy aircraft.

Smart phones have become part of our everyday lives. People can't go anywhere or do anything without their iPhone or Android in hand. From plain-old cell phones 10 years ago, these hand-held devices have progressed into handheld computers that serve as portals to our entire lives. Facebook, Twitter, email, texting, paying bills, and even getting directions are all done on our smart phones. Well, now you can communicate with your car through yours.

Modifying our Mustangs often involves trade-offs: adding top-end horsepower could sacrifice low-end torque, a high-flow exhaust may bludgeon your eardrums, and a stiffer suspension can be just that--stiff.

When building a race car or a powerful street car, heat is almost always the enemy. After breaking into the 9s in the last installment of our AMSOIL GT, we decided to look at some of the underhood systems and see if we could reduce temperatures (namely inlet air temps and engine coolant temps), and find some extra power in the process.

Brian Longo of West Warwick, Rhode Island, is one of the fortunate few. "In 1996 I got my first car, a Teal '93 Cobra." Brian tells us. "Shortly after I bought it, I installed long-tube headers, mufflers, 3.73 gears, and a B-303 camshaft. I loved the Cobra, but I always wanted a Saleen."

Nitrous oxide is just plain fun. That kick-in-the-pants feeling when it hits is unmistakable and adds excitement to any ride. Additional horsepower at the push of a button gives you a different feeling of acceleration than any forced-induction or high-power N/A engine. The idea of power-on-demand at an affordable price is appealing to many, and can be a viable option for the street and track.

Bloomington, Minnesota, may not be the first place you think of when you hear about a hot Fox Mustang, but the location of this slick four-eyed Fox won't be the only surprise.

Seriously Stout Stangs

The inaugural SLP Muscle Car Central Big 3 Shootout on Saturday, April 21, 2012 proved to be a successful event. Close to 100 show and drag cars representing new and classic Mustangs, Camaros, and Mopars competed for trophies, cash and gift certificates.

April 24th (Plymouth, MI): ROUSH Performance will be entering its recently launched 2013 ROUSH(R) Stage 3(TM) Mustang in the "2012 Tire Rack One Lap of America" event scheduled for May 4th through 12th, 2012.

The newest iteration of the Mustang can hardly be considered an underdog.

Who's got the most powerful street-legal Mustang or fast Ford in the Midwest? We're going to find out! Next battle - 06/19/2012

Renewable energy sources—it was once the hottest topic in the media when gasoline prices were soaring uncontrollably, and politicians weren't worrying about the falling economy. The price-per-gallon peaked in mid-2008, further motivating the need for an alternative fuel at the time, and the popularity of ethanol-based fuels increased.

When Mike Boehm of Spring, Texas, followed his brother Joseph into the Mustang world in the '90s, he didn't realize what he was getting himself into. But after nearly two decades of involvement, Mike is thankful for his brother's lead—and for good reason. His silver Fox is one of the cleanest around, and is a contender both on the street and on track.

The "Cat In The Hat" couldn't have hoped for a better finish to the NASCAR weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway. Roush Fenway-built Fusions and Mustangs were at or near the top of the speed charts whenever the Texas Motor Speedway went hot. Jack Roush topped off the weekend with a win in Sprint Cup, the Samsung Mobile 500 with Greg Biffle driving and in Nationwide with a win by Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300.

Last month we showed what gains were available from three aftermarket Three-Valve intake manifolds in naturally aspirated trim. This month we're going to try the same three intakes, only now we'll see what the C&L, FRPP, and JPC intakes can do with a little boost behind them.