Treasure Valley Mustang and Ford Club

Member Car of the Month - August 2007

When it came time to get myself a new daily driver, the '05 mustang was just starting to arrive at all the local dealerships. I've always been a fan of the Mustang, but didn't want another 40 year old car I had to worry about breaking on me or not having an AC in the summer. With the new S197 body my dreams were fulfilled, old style body with all the modern convenience and reliability.

I originally went out looking to purchase a GT for the 300 horses, but 5-10k dealer markups for this "hot" item and high insurance rates would soon bring me back to reality. They wouldn't even let me test drive the GT at the dealership because it was their showroom queen so I settled for taking drive with the V6 model. Needless to say when I jumped on the freeway with it for the first time and soon had the speedo at almost 90mph without even realizing it I fell in love. The V6 was going to be just fine with me and my wallet.

Being the typical guy that I am it wasn't long before I was looking for ways to make it go faster. I started out with some easy bolt on mods like a cold air intake, custom dual exhaust with H-pipe, and a Hurst competition short throw shifter. I still wasn't impressed with the times I was getting at Firebird and with out dropping some serious money into a S/C or Turbo I wasn't going to be happy. Money being the key problem I turned to making my car look nice. I had 10" lemans stripes installed and tinted the windows. I ended up getting some body color GT rocker panels, aftermarket front lip and ¼ window scoops, new front grill, and a rear bumper from a GT500 after a minor fender bender my car was subject to.

Still wanting to have plenty of fun with my car I was introduced to SCCA Solo (Autocross) this year and have been having a blast driving my car to its limits around the cones. Here is one sport were speed is not too huge of a factor and I was happy doing it. My plans now moved to working on the already solid suspension/drivetrain of my car. I installed some larger front and rear antisway bars, a CHE K-member brace with torque limiters, and some Hankook race tires to help me stick to the course. Let me tell you if you haven't had the chance to really "drive" your car to its limits you are missing out. I recommend anyone that wants to put their cars to the test in a controlled environment whether it is a mint '65, Boss, Fox, SN95, or 05+ to come out and give Autocross a try. The SCCA group is the friendliest bunch, outside the Mustang club members of course, that I have met.

The car dyno'd at 196hp/220 torque which is pretty good since it's rated at 210hp at the flywheel from the factory. Future plans are for a custom performance tune which should unleash a few more ponies and maybe some day a supercharger.

Comments or questions? E-mail us at webmaster2012@treasurevalleymustang.com