'05 Mustang GT - Track Ready for HPDE, Higher Classes--SOLD

[fstncln]

Car was set up to be used for weekend track days, time attacks, etc. Is registered in CA yet has all the good stuff you need to run on a road course on the weekends. Engine makes over 510 HP at the flywheel (461 measured by JBA, at the wheels) with smog legal CARB/EO parts. Torque is over 400 at the wheels from 3200 - 6000 rpm. This car really pulls out of the corners as well as in a straight line. Over $35,000 in mods including racing brake setup (totally streetable, have 2 sets of pads) with very good/functional brake cooling ducts), fully adjustable (compression, rebound, height) KW Variant 3 coilover-based suspension, 1 pc. alum. driveshaft (saves 23 lbs.!), Currie 9" axle with 3.50 gear and TruTrac helical LSD (real smooth/progressive engagement), Autopower roll bar and safety harnesses, various body reinforcements (subframes, strut tower brace, etc.), carbon fiber cowl hood (1/2 the weight of stock), Fluidyne rad., JBA shorty headers with a full Magnaflow exhaust (also will give stock H-pipe for street use), B&M shifter, Spec Alum. flywheel and 3+ clutch setup, HID headlights (Ford OEM), Autometer gauges, and much, much more. All of this stuff was put on for magazine articles and was done right, there are no typical glitches or fit/finish issues; everything was done to an OEM quality level. The car was also custom tuned at JBA so the driveability is exceptional, you get 4 custom calibrations (plus stock) along with the tuning software and programmer as long as you assume the responsibility for them.

 

The bottom line is you can drive this car anywhere, even coast to coast if you want. It will get good mpg (easy 20+ on the hwy) and be comfortable and trouble free both on long trips and on a daily basis. It was made to drive to the track, run in short (20 min. or so) HPDE type events and then be driven home. I just changed the brake pads, put in some racing seats, took out the subwoofer and amps from the trunk (I took the spare tire and left it with friends while I was on the track) and had another set of wheels and tires that I put on to race. I only did this a couple of times so the car is still in excellent condition with only 22k miles. It is not cut up or gutted in any way, it still has the rear seat in it which can be easily removed if you want to make the car track only. This car is perfect for someone who wants to run track days but still be able to drive the car on a daily basis OR wants to build a track only car for a production-based class. You're getting a heck of a deal as most of the parts don't even have 5,000 miles on them and the car just plain runs great because everything was done properly by professionals. This is not a car with a lot of stuff that was just thrown on, everything has been fully sorted out so there are no compromises. If you appreciate attention to detail you will love this car! It was featured in 13 Mustang Enthusiast magazine articles while it was being built up yet the car was still driven on a regular basis on the street so it's still in great shape. Look at the pictures and come see it it person, you'll see for yourself what a deal this is for what you're getting. I'm selling it because it's time to move on to another project for the magazine so I need to make room and start all over again on something else. Between the Blue Book value of the car (about $17k) and the cost of the upgrades (over $35k, not including the labor, tax, or shipping, etc.) you're getting a tremendous discount on a whole lot of almost new, high quality parts on a car in great shape. More importantly, it has been fully sorted out so it doesn't have any of the usual problems when you make this many changes. I'm not interested in trades and I won't take any of the parts off to sell them separately so don't ask. The beauty of this car is how well it works both on the street and on the track without compromising performance or usability on either. I know there won't be a whole lot of people who will be interested in it but those who are will be pleased with what they see if they come to see it. The car has been developed and refined to a very high level but there are still plenty of things you can do to go even further on the street and/or the track if you want to. We purposely limited how far we went in the magazine so we would stay within a certain cost range and be able to still use it on the street. Basically, we wanted to be able to provide the same or better overall performance than a GT500KR, Saleen 281 Extreme, or a Roush 427R Track Pak for a much lower total outlay. This car does that, often with the same or better parts than what those cars use. Those cars may have the "signature" and be considered collectible but this car is unique also because it was featured so many times as a magazine project car. All that aside, the performance you get for the price is far better than what you get with any of those signature cars where you pay a high premium for the name. If you're more interested in performance, usability and refinement than just a name give me (Frank) a call at 714-585-3129 to come and see this car. At $28,000 this car is a steal but I need to move on to the next project car for the magazine so it's got to go. I'm also happy to answer any questions or to provide additional details and/or photos.

Edited January 31, 2010 by Guest

[pederb]

Pictures and location help

[fstncln]

Pictures are at:

 

http://fstncln.smugmug.com/Cars/2005-Project-Track-Attack/8605715_aJZBk#631206044_Ueo6U" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

Most recent are the first three (with black wheel centers and carbon fiber front splitter). Others are from various events and/or magazine articles. I have a .pdf that lists all of the upgrades and their original cost plus I have even more photos and can take whatever you want if you need to see something specific. The car is located in Orange County, CA and is registered until 1/11. I just drove it to Mustang Country today (miles are now 22.2k) to work on an article. Mixed highway and local streets, no worries or problems. It still has the race brake pads on it but I put the subwoofer, amps, spare and factory seats back in for street use. I also put the street tires back on since these are what it will come with and it's the rainy season here now. I'd be happy to PM or, if you prefer, call me at 714-585-3129 if you'd prefer to discuss what's on the car or it's history, etc.

[dradernh]

It was featured in 13 Mustang Enthusiast magazine articles while it was being built up...

 

Very nice build! I found some of the Mustang Enthusiast articles online but failed to identify all of them; can you list the complete 13-article series for us? Thx!

[fstncln]

Thanks. The car really runs strong on the road courses yet is totally streetable and able to go anywhere the front splitter can clear (I drive it solo most of the time so I have it pretty low). Here's the list of the articles:

 

(issue - page no.)

6/08 - 34

7/08 - 90

10/08 - 72

11/08 - 74

12/08 - 54

3/09 - 46

4/09 - 66

9/09 - 70

11/09 - 84

 

There were also 3 other articles before these (B&M shifter install in early '06, Currie 9" and aluminum 1 pc. driveshaft install in early '07, and Spec clutch kit install in fall '07) where I've archived the issues so I don't have the exact info for them (I still have what I submitted on my computer so I extrapolated from there). There's also another article on running the car at Buttonwillow that hasn't been published yet. That's 13.

[dradernh]

Thanks for the list; I had all but the last one. The final dyno sheet shows curves to kill for, doesn't it? That's what usable power looks like on paper.

 

I'm presently running NASA NE DEs with a 3.5 liter BMW Motorsport motor stuffed into an '87 E30 and am considering a change. Mostly, I've been looking at other BMWs but, having been indoors for most of the last three months (I'm in NH), I've had the opportunity to consider other marques. What jumps out about the 'stangs and the 'vettes is the bang for the buck. It's a dramatic improvement over the German iron; any idea what one gives up by switching from German to American iron? Other than the bigger bills. lol

 

I wonder if you could summarize your runs at BW, a track with which I'm unfamiliar – any general observations of the car's performance vis-a-vis your expectations would be welcomed. BTW, you've mentioned weight in the articles but I don't think you mentioned what it is; do you have a general on-track weight for the car?

 

Thx.

[fstncln]

Well, first of all, I'm no ace driver that's out there every other weekend. I do alright because I get to drive a lot of stuff for the various magazines but I'm not some seasoned veteran who can tell when the left front is down 0.5 psi. Having said that, I did pretty well for the first time at the track. So said my ride-along instructors who ARE seasoned vets. BTW, I was able to keep up with a previous generation M3 that was being driven by one of the instructors; he said so himself! Clearly, the S197 ('05+) Mustang is a big, heavy car (3,600 lb race weight with Sparcos instead of the stock seats, no spare, and the Shaker 1000 amps and subwoofer taken out). My car is better balanced than most due to weight reduction (carbon fiber hood, etc.) and the roll bar being further back. I also have really good suspension mods (KW Variant 3-based), wheels (lighter weight 18 x 9.5 Steedas) and tires (275/40-18 Toyo R888s) with really excellent Agent 47 brake cooling and Hawk HP plus pads in a VERY capable SSBC big brake kit. An older M3 is lighter, I would think, but a newer one is probably not. And neither of them have the torque I've got with the blower. The TruTrac diff is also very forgiving and progressive, much like a Torsen, so that helps put the power down coming out of the corners. The large tires up front and some weight reduction along with the revised/stiffened suspension and geometry also reduce understeer quite a bit. I wouldn't say the car is totally neutral but you have plenty of power to bring the rear around if you want to. Did that once by mistake. Just once.

 

Bottom line is the car is big and heavy but mine's pretty well balanced and powerful. I didn't take out the back seat and totally strip the car so it can certainly get a whole lot lighter. In any case, it's generally a heck of a lot cheaper to buy Mustang parts that BMW or even Corvette parts and if you build the car properly you'll have something pretty competitive. Just look at the Grand Am Koni Challenge and FIA GT wins Mustang has. Bang for the buck is what it's all about and they can be made into some really good race cars too. This car fills two roles very well but I'd have gone more extreme if it was a track only car. Not so much with the suspension or the brakes but more so with the weight reduction and maybe the bottom end of the engine. The rear is bulletproof as is the clutch and the 1 pc. aluminum driveshaft (saves 23 lbs. over stock). The tranny is probably the weakest link in the driveline and it didn't show any signs of distress whatsoever. The B&M shifter is a must, however, since the stock shifter is vague when rushed. I was too busy bouncing off the rumble strips (the instructor said that was the fast way around) to be worrying about missed shifts. That's probably another advantage of a Mustang over a BMW, I'll say it can probably take more of a beating after it's been modified like mine has. The only other thing I'd do is probably pay a little more attention to oil control and maybe cooling for the trans. and the diff. if I were to be running longer events. The Fluidyne rad. kept the engine cool and the brakes were never a problem. Steering probably isn't as precise as a BMW but the mods helped a lot there too. Bottom line: you have to modify a stock Mustang more than a stock BMW but you're starting from a much lower price point and the cost of modifications (and repairs, if needed) will generally be a lot less.

 

I hope that helps. To me, the only real down side is just the fact the car is relatively big compared to most of what's out there, even if it has been made lighter. You can adjust to it and get some of the aero back like I have but there's not much you can do about the larger footprint. When the torque and improved balance get you off the corner quicker you don't have to worry about it. If you have great brakes like I did it's also less of an issue. With a more stock vehicle the size and front weight bias can be disadvantages. I changed that with the mods I made and really didn't find the size to be a problem except when I was in a lot of traffic. I couldn't get out as easily as a smaller car even if I had a performance advantage. Most people were good about moving over so it wasn't a big deal. I had fun, sorry to see the car go, but it's time to start another project.

[dradernh]

Thanks much for the input. That's a lot of weight to manage on the track; my objective is to be in the 2,500# range with power-to-weight of 6-7.5#/HP. It looks more and more like I'll need a race/track car that's been stripped and lightened to meet the weight target.

[fstncln]

sold