2000 Ford Mustang GT

2000 Ford Mustang GT

As firearm research and development for Spikes Tactical in central Florida, is Tom Miller all about precision.

Spikes builds heavy weapons, but after a hard day, Tom turns his attention to fully modified Mustang GT. He has also been drag racing for 14 years.

He has a history of working on his own racing car. When he decided to build a sick Stang for the road, his goal was great earth-ripping performance and amazing adaptation. And when we saw this crazy machine in person, we were not disappointed.

Six years ago, Tom Spikes Tactical joined Team; He also has his notchback '90 Mustang that had a 88mm turbo and ran 8.50s brought. Soon after arriving, he decided to unload the Mustang for its racecar properties, and to acquire something with pedigree road.

An agreement was finally for a deal with a seller in Texas hit-the car in question was a '00 GT Two-valve with an HP twin-turbo setup. Unfortunately, this is when the nightmare began, one that continues for three to four years.

He stared not quite what the seller advertised, how he treats with the main engine management questions and then blown engines with the GT. "It was so bad that my wife the car named 'Bad Karma'," Tom said. "They joked that I, the. For all the bad things that I punished done in my life" The decision was made to start from the beginning.

"The goal was to have a very reliable, daily driven, true 8-second street car. I was not built to build the car for track racing-it to be a Super Sneak attack vehicle for spirited driveway. "

That had to be changed to comply with appearance Tom taste and uniqueness. Much of the transformation parts came from the '03 -'04 Terminator, including the front bumper, side skirts, mirrors and rear spoiler. The radio antenna was shaved. The hood has been turned on for a Steeda Q400, which was integrated with the teachings and LED lights. Hoodpins were directly provided in the upper core support thread, to keep it in position, and the position was filled with fog Rigid LED lights.

Out back, the rear fenders were rolled, and the rear bumper cover was tricked with a place for a quick release parachute holder. And when not in use, resides a reversing camera are.

Paint and body functions were handled by Pro Tree Kustom. The paint used was a Sherman Williams Ultra and completion of the outer mods is a 3M Dynoc carbon fiber packaging of the roof, made of WBC Graphics.

With covered the exterior of the attention was turned inward. The interior starts with a seat upgrade. The front seats have been swapped for covered Corbeau versions in black microfiber. The rear seat has been specially built by Tom to three people. "We had to be able to all children who ride," he said. "I covered it in a matching material Corbeau."

The interior was made in real carbon, matt-plated billet aluminum converted with all switches and controls. The interior is completed the tachometer gauge and were replaced with a IQ3 Racepak line with a clear cover.

A road vehicle is complete without some tunes would not, so Tom started with two or three layers of sound-absorbing throughout- including the roof. He then converted his single-DIN dash opening in a double DIN dash opening. This allowed the installation of a Pioneer DVD / nav unit with rear backup camera functions. The Pioneer feeds power to the JL Component Kits, front and rear. A JL Audio HD 750/1 amp powers the JL 6w3 of residence in the trunk.

A QA1 tubular K-member with Maximum Motorsports tubular A-arms from clay to suspension, he installed. / Chrome suspension springs to achieve the correct posture, AFCO double adjustable struts (PN 30030) with 275-lb were used rounded with Maximum Motorsports caster / camber plates.

"I was lucky, part Afco R & D teams to be" Tom said. "Afco had tested those striving to straight-up racing cars in front of me get them, but it was not much road tests. That's where I came in. I must say that are amazing. By the time you read this, be they will most likely be for sale. I recommend you to check out. "

The wheels of choice in Toms GT Saleen were replicas, satin powder-coated black. Front 18-inch wheels were narrowed to 6-inch and wrapped with Mickey Thompson 26 / 8R18 rubber. On the back are 17-inch wheels, up to 12 inches extended with bead locks, the modified Master. To secure the bead-lock M & H 325 / 45R17 drag radials. Stop comes on 14-inch Roush / Alcon calipers clamping Hawk pads against Baer two-piece rotors. Rear brake consists of 13-inch Roush / Alcon calipers clamp Hawk pads against 13-inch Alcon rotors.

When it came to the construction of a power plant for the GT, Tom enlisted John Mihovetz and Fred Grochulski of Accufab Racing. All participants agreed a four-valve engine mod was the way to go and Accufab would determine all data.

The block is a Teksid Aluminum 4.6 piece with a 3.555-inch bore and a 3.543-inch stroke, which corresponds to 282 ci engine capacity. It's a Kellogg crankshaft, Manley billet rods and JE flat-top piston filled, rounded with total sealing rings. The heads are Ford-B raises, prepared and ported by Accufab. Comp Cams beehive valve springs and titanium holder used. Valve sizes 38 mm on the intake and 32mm for the exhaust.

Meet the heads Ford GT drag lever arms and lift. A Hamilton Clark Kurzläufer intake, ported by Accufab is used to feed the heads. Managing the intake vent on the HCI is a Accufab billet oval-blade throttle body. The final compression ends up being 10: 7:. 1

The power plant is impressive enough, but let's take a look at the current adder. Two Precision 6262 Turbo with CEA Billet wheels and double ball bearings used. Custom tube was produced with a 2.5-inch crossover pipe and 3-inch drainpipes, all coated with a black velvet Cerakote and wrapped with foil head. It also has a front-mount air-intercooler with two 38mm Tial wastegate and two billet Bosch-style blow-off valves. The system is 32 psi gain able and is controlled by a Rick Goss individual CO2 Boost Controller.

A power plant of this size needs proper capacity and fuel supply. Dealing with the work are three Walbro 340 pump in a Fore triple fuel pump housed. The pumps in a Fore triple Y-block, pushing the fuel through a filter and into a Fuelab -8 lead. At the front of the vehicle, the feed line enters into an Aero fuel pressure regulator before filling the Aero fuel rails. Precision 160-lb / hr injectors treat the spray duties, with a -6 return line returning fuel not used.

Delivery was treated with capacities on the fuel system directed. With some bad past experience with engine management systems, Tom chosen to go with Big Stuff 3.

All power in the world is useless if it is not transmitted through the right powertrain. Power starts the engine and enters a Freddy Brown 4R70W with a 9.5-inch PTC torque converter with a 4,600 stall speed. The transvestite with a heavily modified bearing Mach 1 slide crowned.

"I built the car to be user-friendly," said Tom. "For example I the car has a trans brake button that must be pressed for vice. Integrated this feature in the stock slide."

Power then leaves the tranny on a custom carbon fiber drive shaft of the drive shaft business, and turns the 4.10s in Ford 8.8. The rearmost includes Detroit TrueTrac difference and Moser 31-spline axles fastened with UPR tubular control arms to the body. The rear suspension also sports Afco double adjustable shocks, Eibach springs, a torque arm and Wolfe Maximum Motorsports heavy duty rotary style rear sway bar.

With all the pieces in place, it was time to find a tuner. Tom began with Willie Figueroa. "Willie spent many weeks to come to my home to help me with the baseline road tuning. We concentrated mainly on the driving behavior."

The car was chosen in drivability then Jay Meagher of Real Street Performance in Longwood, Florida. "Jay is an amazing tuner," Tom said. "The car is great power and life, which is the hard part. We have not a single part of the car broke down due to tuning issues. Not In fact, the engine apart, since it had been installed."

Let's take a look at the numbers. With 93-octane and 12 psi, the GT put down a modest 656 hp at the wheel. Even more impressive is the 24 mpg that produced this setup. With VP C-16 and 26 psi, it netted 968 hp at the wheel! "We have just converted to E85 [fuel]," Tom said, "but we have not yet dyno'd. We shoot for 1.100 to 1.200 hp at the wheel at 32 psi."

The GT has a 1/8 mile best of 5.77 at 110 His best quarter-mile time is 10.45 clock and best of 162 miles per hour These times were reached at a vehicle weight of 3715 pounds.

"It's almost completed a year now-a least done enough to enjoy it. It is always a work in progress, and we intend to push the boundaries as far as possible," said Tom.

In addition to those who worked on it, "I want my amazing wife and three children to thank. I would also like to thank my boss, Spike. If it were not for our endless resources, I would not have been able to get a lot of things that I made by car to do. "

It's not every day we encounter a heavy twin-turbo GT New Edge, and this grabs all the stamps we could want. With a variety of machined hardware and 968 hp at the wheel, everything is left to there by Tom and made him pull the trigger.