We Be Shakin'

Hot rodders are a special breed of people. We look past the basic utilitarian needs of our cars and make changes to enhance style and speed. It doesn't matter if you fancy racing or car shows, the key to hot rodding happiness is to personalize your ride.

We do this with hordes of aftermarket and custom parts--some for performance, some for style, but in any case, the cars become an extension of our personalities.

When a certain make or model is more popular than the rest, such as the Mustang, personalizing takes on a whole new meaning. Owners search far and wide to create a unique look, one that stands out from the crowd. Ford Motor Company is privy to this and so our favorite auto maker has been doing a bit of "personalizing" itself lately. Ford has given us some interesting packages like the Cobra, the Bullitt and the Mach 1 concept Mustang.

Still, you may want to kick your Mustang up another notch, to a higher level of performance and style. "All the way up to levels unknown," as chef Emeril might say. To reach this higher level with one very cool 2001 GT, we turned to Classic Design Concepts and its functional Shaker hood scoop. The "Shaker" hood was one of the coolest performance parts of the muscle car era. In fact, the idea was so cool that Ford, Dodge, Plymouth and Pontiac used variations of the shaker ram air scoop in the '60s, '70s and '80s. And now you can add one to your 1999-present Mustang with this nifty kit from CDC.

The original Shakers sat atop the carburetor(s) and poked through the hood to breathe fresh air--but also to shake, rattle and roll along with the powerplants as they rumbled along. And while big 4-barrels and multiple carb setups are long gone, you can enjoy the many benefits of ram air for your 4.6 mod mill.In order to bring such a hip product to the market, CDC developed a complete kit that is well-designed and relatively easy to install. The main component is the finned aluminum scoop and the cowl-style center piece, which CDC calls a "Hood Applique." Also included in the $795 kit is the upper air box, lower air box, air tube, weather seal, and all the necessary hardware and instructions.

The CDC Shaker kit is designed so that it can be installed on the car, and only the Applique needs to be painted to the desired color. We, however, took a different approach and started with a spare hood, so we could preserve the factory bonnet. By working with a different hood we were able to cut the opening in the hood on a dolly, which may or may not be easier than doing it on the car. Though it may be hard to see in the photos, the second hood was Oxford White not Silver Metallic like the car, so it was painted along with the applique by our favorite body man Tommy De of Wayne's Auto Body in South Amboy, N.J. Tommy De sprayed the hood in stock Silver, though we picked a glossy black for the applique.

When the paint was dry we were back at the shop to get scooped. Chris Winter of Crazy Horse Racing installed the underhood hardware and assembled the air box and scoop. We followed the instructions and in a couple of hours the test pony was shakin'.

The kit was a perfect fit on our Silver Metallic GT. The black applique blended well with the Mustang's lines and the scoop fit right in with the optional 5-spoke "retro" rims. The CDC kit had an effect on performance, too, due to the extra air ramming into the 4.6 engine. Slam the throttle to the floor and you can feel the difference in the seat of your pants. Actually, we found so much air was being forced in that we had to build a shield to redirect the incoming air from blowing directly into the filter. We believe that with the throttle shut the ram effect of the scoop was causing the mass air meter to read incorrectly, which caused the engine to search for idle. After solving this glitch the car ran like a champ.

Ultimately, we have a unique GT with some extra function and way more style than stock. The GT draws loads of attention and soon it will be lowered and really looking sleek. Then it's off to the track for a little drag strip test to see how all the parts work on the track.