it's been awhile...

I haven't been posting anything lately, and for that I am sorry for all of those who check in "the coolest site ever". Not a lot has changed with my car since I last wrote other than a few awesome day trips in the car. I do however have some new parts to install in the near future. First is an American Muscle windshield banner that i will put on the rear window as I already have a decal on the windshield. Next is Stack Racing's Gauge cluster trim rings. I can't wait to install this product. It should give my stock cluster extra flair without being over the top. As soon as I install these parts I will post pics as soon as possible.

Next on the 'to do list' is yet again another exhaust change. Yes, I will never been happy with an exhaust system for more than a couple of months, but this next mod might tide me over til maybe Christmas??? Currently on the car I have stock exhaust manifolds that lead into a BBK catted X-pipe that flow into a MAC 2.5" "true-fit" cat back system. I grew tired of the sound, being a little quite so I removed just the polished 3" tailpipe sections on each side. Loved the sound, but didn't like the way the pipes before the 3" section looked just pointing straight out. So I got out my tools again and removed the section that begins just after the loop over the axle. I like the extra bark it gave to the car...only problem is now i have this rattle that is driving me crazy. SO...my plan is to removed the true-fit system and install MAC's Pro Dump exhaust system that includes the same mufflers, but turns down before the rear axle. Lil bit louder and will give me more suspension options further down the line (ie panhard bar and rear torque link from Maximum Motorsports). So stay tuned for that. Oh and if you live near me I would like to apologize in advance for the noise soon to come, enjoy your peace and quite while you can.

On the model car front, I am still looking to find seats that match the ones in my car, but I am happy to report I have found the perfect wheels, so I will be painting them to match the real ones. When looking in model spare model car parts I found a '07 Shelby GT500 5.4L motor/trans that i would like to put into a SN95 mustang, so i am on the look-out for maybe a 1994-1995 Cobra to put it into.

Paso Robles Photo Shoot

Monday evening, after giving my uncle a ride home from San Juan to Morro Bay I stopped in Paso Robles to take a few pics of the '96. Used to love this road when i was a kid, neat driving now that i have my dream car!

'96 Model Mustang project part 2

Here is the finished underside (for now, lol). The rear shocks are painted to look like the Tokico HP "blue" units that i have on my car. Rear sway bar is yellow as well as the lower K-member brace to also mach the 1:1 car. As for the exhaust, this is where i need to do some work. my rear car has a BBK x-pipe with cats and a MAC true-fit 2.5" cat back with 3" tailpipes. So i am scratch building a custom exhaust to match mine.

Here is the motor mounted in the subframe. Note struts and front sway bar painted to match real car.

This is a close-up of the engine detail. It took a long time to the ignition wires, but i wanted them to be right. I used my shop manual for my '96 GT to match all the wiring (the number one cylinder matches the number one spot on the coil pack!!!). The intake plenum is painted to match the my real car as i painted it semi-gloss black with a yellow horse. The exhaust manifolds are stock (painted a rust like color the match real ones). I do have BBK shorty headers, but haven't installed them yet.

Model Car Update

So today in the mail i got my AMT Ertl 1997 Mustang GT model. I began to open it apart and see how detailed it was, and to say the least I am very happy. One thing I noticed right away was that the front bumper which has the grille molded in, is from a '96 because of the honeycomb mesh. So this works to my favor as my car is a 96, not a 97. I will begin with the assembly of the motor, so stay tuned for pics as i will update the site as much as i can.

Marina Autocross June '09

Now I admit to not staying that long, but but this month's autocross at Marnia Airport sure seemed to be jam-packed with Hondas. Ok before you get all grumpy and leave this page, I have to say I do respect Hondas. Those s2000's and hatches were really tearing up the course with amazing low times...but, and there is that inevitable but...come on lets seem some good Mustang vs Camaro action, or some classics? I did have fun though, really hard to not have fun at an autocross. Just being in that car nut atmosphere makes everything better. It is great to see people who have completely different cars hanging out together telling stories, swapping advise and of course that lil bit of bragging. I showed up with intentions of just hanging out for a little bit and take some pictures, but ended up hanging out with some really cool people. I got a ride in a Subaru WRX STi...what a ride, right off the line with that AWD...it was an experience. I did take one short run just to see what the course was like, not pushing it or anything. Autocrossing is for EVERYONE! You can take any car, drive there, race, then go home after the end of the day. If you haven't been to one or don't know what the heck i am rambling on about, look it up on you tube.

Once I get a steady income and get more experience, i plan to autocross my car more often. The '96 is still a bit heavy, but that is due to it being a street car that is daily driven. With the subframe connectors welded up, some sticky tires, and a proper harness bar, think i would be laying down some really good times. So stay tuned.

Oh and for and update on the 'model car project', i have won the auction on ebay (actually two, a '97 GT and a '96 Cobra). So i plan to start as soon as I get them in the mail. The GT will be made to look my car, but the Cobra, with your votes on this site, will dictate what direction i go with that kit. So keep checking in DAILY if you can to keep up.

Future Mods (updated)

Hello everyone and thanks for checking out the site. Today I have decided to sell my 1983 GT. I have three Mustangs and only drive two (the '96 and '05). Although I am sad about selling it, I need to focus my attention on the other two and not all three. The '83 was my first Mustang I bought and it has served me well. I have had a lot of fun times in it, but i would really like to see it go to a home where its future owner will drive it like it is was made for. Hopefully i can sell it soon so i will have room to work on both of my cars and have a little extra cash (thinking that money will go towards the engine rebuild).

Also today i was killing some time during lunch and was browsing through the pages of my new issue of 5.0 Mustang mag. I saw a picture of a mustang like mine with the '94'98 SVT Cobra front bumper on it. I love that front end, really looks better than the GT in my oppinion. For one reason the GT bumper is the same as the V6, and the other reason being the fog lights are really small. I plan to install a Cobra front bumper as soon as i can find one in locally in good shape. My plan is to add ultra clear fog lamps with Yellow bulbs (or if i can't find a good quality bulb set, i will go with a yellow decal overlay). After this modification I belive the car's front end will be lookin' great. Plus it will add to that Cobra look i am after!!

As some of you know one of my biggest hobbies is building model cars. I have built many models and of course Mustangs being my favorite! While cruising on ebay i found a model kit for a 1997 Mustang GT. So my plans are to build it like my '96 GT as they are almost the same. I will include the mods i have done to the real car as well as post pictures of the model build on this site. So say tuned for the build!

Smog Test...and the results are in........

So I got that dreaded letter in the mail, that one with the little DMV logo on the corner. The logo is so small that the DMV must think it is too small for us to read so we are like "hey maybe I won something!!!". So i open it up to not only find that i need to renew my Mustang at 150 bucks, but i have to get it smogged. If you could hear what was going through my mind at that moment i read (smog check required) it might have sounded something like a 747 plane crashing into the side of a exploding volcano. Anyways I went to my local smog station in Hollister, CA to see if i would pass (remember my car has a cold air intake, x-pipe with cats (but in ca it doesn't matter...they just hate mods). So i rolled up to G&M auto repair to get it over with. I was greeted by a friendly staff and was welcomed to take a few pics while he was testing my car (just so all of you would believe i didn't get the car "Smogged" nudge nudge, hint hint).

The procedure only took about 15mins and i was rewarded with a pass! Funny thing is my car produces less emissions compared to when i got the car smogged on the very same day i bought the car some three years ago. So go out and mod your Mustang!

In other news I had warm sunny afternoon with nothing to do, so i decided to paint my intake plenum (the stock finish had seen better days). Going with the black and yellow theme, i painted the intake plenum with semi-gloss black hi-temp paint. When the paint dried, i added a custom touch and wrote 'Shankle Motorsports' in yellow to give it that extra oomph.

Props go out to G&M Auto Repair in Hollister CA 637-9371. Thanks again for being quick and letting me take pictures while the car was being tested!

Stop by AmericanMuscle.com and check out their large selection of Shelby Wheels.