It's been too long! I don't know if its the winter dreary weather and staying indoors, combined with the week off of work, but I'm feeling the need to write about cars again. With there being over a year since the last blog post, there is a lot to cover. I'll keep this post focused on Brentrod's Gray 2016 Mustang V6 6 speed car, which he bought in late 2015. He bought it from Galpin Ford, one of the largest (maybe THE largest?) Ford dealerships in the world, at least in Southern California. For Brent (my younger brother) this is his (hold on, gotta use my fingers to count them all up, let's see, there was the 1987 Mustang LX Coupe that received a total Thunderbird Turbo Coupe drivetrain swap, the green SN95 5.0 GT 5 speed, the blue S197 Mustang GT 5 speed, the white SN95 V6 to V8 swap car (posted on the blog before) and now the Gray S550 Base V6 6 speed car), so that makes this his 5th Mustang in 10-ish years. The longest he's kept a Mustang is maybe 3 years (the white SN?), but this is the "long term" 'Stang, right bro? heh heh Here's a pic on his way home from Galpin Ford for a pitstop at In-N-Out Burger (gotta break in "Bruce" right). Brent and I bounced different names back and forth and settled on "Bruce", you know, the Shark from "Finding Nemo". Yes, we do the Australian accent when we talk like him. ;) It's because the dark gray color and those shark gills up front, it totally looks like a Great White Shark. Camaro's are friends, not Food!
Here is, like, the only picture of the car in factory stock form. No, the 'Stang did not stay stock for long. Here's the current list.
Intake:
Custom carbon intake tube with open filter
BBK 73mm throttle body
Ported stock upper and lower intake manifolds
JLT oil separator
Exhaust:
BBK Shorty headers
Stock cats
SR "X" pipe
Custom Hechtspeed quad tip axle back with muffler delete
(This is like the 5th exhaust and is finally where its got the best sound to noise ratio (very subjective obviously)
Tune:
SCT X4 MPT 91PRX tune
(Multiple tunes as the mods have been added over this first year)
Drivetrain:
ACT Billet steel flywheel
ACT HD clutch
Suspension:
Eibach PROKIT lowering springs
BMR poly differential bushing inserts
BMR Cradle lock out brackets
SR Billet spherical links
Steeda Billet shifter bracket
Steeda transmission bushing insert
Custom carbon fiber shift knob
14" 4 piston Brembo Mustang GT swap up front, stock rear V6 brakes
Wheels//Tires:
XXR 521 18x10 ET25mm
Federal SS595 275/40/18
(Black chrome, then flat black, then bronze, then back to black)
Exterior:
Mustang GT front upper and lower grilles with mesh delete
Emblem delete with "Cyclone V6" emblems in red added
Custom Hechtspeed rear diffuser fins (design sold to AmericanMuscle who is now producing them in injected molded plastic)
Custom Hechtspeed fiberglass rear spoiler (Revision B since Revision A was sold)
Powerwise, the once stock ouput of 305hp/280tq is now estimated to be about 350hp/330tq. Which puts it in the S197 3V 4.6L V8 with intake and exhaust territory, very respectable. MPG is a non-GT like 32 on the highway. In town with "normal" driving, he's getting a more V8-like 20MPG, LOL.
Here's the first "Stage" that Brent arrived at. Starting on the tail end of Brucie, you can see the quad tip exhaust with the emblem delete and the revision A of the Hechtspeed spoiler. This was a carbon fiber version, which was later sold (to fund more mods, duh, or was it RC airplanes...). The stance is from the Eibach springs with stock dampers. The wheel color here was painted black and shows the yellow calipers nicely.
This picture shows a comparison of Bruce Version 2.0 vs 2.5. In the lower picture, you can see the brakes have been changed to "Ford Blue" with the wheels painted in a Japanese style bronze with the trunk being wingless. This is the 2nd set of tires on this wheel setup. Race car flavor was added with the "FEDERAL" letters being painted white. Looks great in both looks, eh?
In the summer Brent and Pappy took there 'Stangs to Famoso (Bakersfield, CA), along with some Tehachapi area hot rodders (white Trans Am and Red WRX in the background). Pap's green SN95 has been in the family since 1997. "Sally" is a legend in the Hechtspeed shop. With the stock block, stock heads (ported), stock cam with a ton of supporting mods and slicks it went a best of 12.85@106mph at Famoso (that's with about 255whp (dyno proven)). To date, this is the fastest 1/4 mile run of any Hecht. I like this photo a lot because it shows our family doing what we love together. It's family history!
Back to Brucie...Brent's fastest time on the worn crappy 285's was a 13.6 @ 103 with a 2.15sec 60ft time. The DA (density altitude) was 3000ft, which is crappy for the strips actual elevation. With that mph the car has a 12 sec run in it if it had some drag race specific tweaks and tires. But, drag racing is not what Brent has built this car for.
Here's a rear shot of the current look (as of this week), red "Cyclone" emblem (this is the name given to the naturally aspirated 305hp V6 in the Ford family, quad exhaust with custom diffuser fins on the black painted lower bumper and custom rear spoiler. #becauseracecar
Bruce Version 3.0 has gone back to black painted wheels, blue calipers and the revision B rear spoiler. Which do you like better?
Glamour shot in Tehachapi's December low light from yesterday. You can see the rear fins better here and that purdy gray color.
Brent took me for a Golden Hills Touge Run when it was at about Version 2.5 (cheap 285/35/18 tires, not the Federals) this last summer and man, does it stick. Brent really knows these cars and is able to push them hard. Mustangs, while, known as "Muscle Cars" are really not much like there originals. With the S550's independent rear suspension and modern brakes, suspension and powertrains they perform like legitimate sports cars. For the money, the Mustang is still the best bang for the buck, with plenty of chassis and aftermarket to make it whatever you want. This is what Brent has made (so far) and its a rad machine. I got to drive Brucie before heading back to Utah and it was a blast. I didn't push it nearly like Brent, but was more interested in getting a feel for it. It is very direct, has really nice steering and shifter feel and almost too touchy brake feel. Of course, I'm comparing it to what I've been driving, which is the Honda Fit and a 15 year old BMW (more on that later, heh). Nice work bro! Can't wait to see where you take it from here.
