How did you get where you are now???

[COP TZER]

Anyone wanna share how they started out racing mustangs and where they are now?

I'll go first of course....

My first Stang was an 90 GT I was 18 years old with not alot of money so basiclly i just had bolt ons. It was a stock long block with stuff like pulleys, cold air intake and flowtech long tube headers, C-4 trans and 4:10 gears. My best ET was somewhere around 13.50 @ 99 MPH.

My second one is the car i still have now. But its grown over the years. I started out with just equal length headers and pulleys and the first time i ran it it went 13.95-14.10. I dumped a crap load of money in it with AFR heads, Holley Systemax 2 intake, injectors, throttle body, 3:73's and anything else i could get my hands on. My best pass with that combo was 12.00 @110-111.

I decided i wanted to go bracket racing again so i swapped out the T-5 for a C-4 and 3600 converter. I bracket raced for a year and went 11.84 @112 in good weather. But that wasnt fast enough so i bought my first nitrious kit. Tried everything i could think of to get into the 10's but my best pass on gas was 11.06 118 MPH.

So one day i get this bright idea im gonna sell everything i have(except the house and car) and build a bad a$$ 302. So it took me about 6 months. The car changed alot to. Tubular K-member, 8-point cage, Strange rear. I come back to the track and i run 10.60's for about 6 months til my motor decides it wants to die. Me being as dumb as i am builds a sweet race motor with stock crank and rods. So i break a rod and it tears alot of stuff up. That was 3rd week in March. So now my new motor is a week from being done...

68 302 Block .030 over, Scat forged Crank, Scat forged H-beam Rods, SRP 13:1 dome pistons, Comp Cams .672 lift solid roller cam, Billet Timing chain, Comp Cams lifters, Comp Cams pushrods, Gasket matched Edelbrock Victor Jr's, 1.6 Comp Cams rocker arms, Gasket matched Victor Jr intake, Holley 950 Carb.

My first pass on this new motor will be FFW in VA. Looking for 10.50's. but i dont think the weather is gonna be good enough we are looking at 90 degree days here in VA. But o well, im glad to be back racing!!!!!!

 

[Roland69]

I had a 88 Z24 and I sold it + I had cash saved up and bought a 95 V6 stang.......sold it for a real one and got the 88 GT

 

[Roland69]

Oh and this will probly end up being moved to talk

 

[25thmustang]

Started when I was 13. We went to look at and possibly buy a 1998 Firebird Formula. My dad liked the car, but it didnt feel as fast as our 1989 LX 5.0 (AOD car with 2.73s). Even though we knew it was much faster he still liked the feel of the fox better, and decided to buy one and save a ton of money. He bought a low mileage 1991 hatch. Shortly after that we hit the track. he slowely got the car faster, and then we hooked up with a group called the MHRA (Mustang Heads-up Racing Association). His car got faster and faster, and I caught the bug as well. I sold my 66 coupe and gave the parents the cash from that for the 89 my mom had. Stock it ran low 15s @ low 90s.

Before I ever made an event I added a bunch of mods. Intake, exhaust, gears, converter, and went out. First pass was a 14.1 and the rest for the day were slower. I then stuck with the auto for a little while, consistently running weak mid 14s. Finally realized I HATE autos, and we did the T5 swap. First ever pass on a week of 5-speed driving, went 13.9 @ 99. Shortly after that I changed the exhaust around and got better at driving and got the car into the lower 13s with a best of 13.0 @ 103.

Next sent the heads to get some bigger valves and a valve job, as well as got a few more bolt ons. Car ran consistent 12.6s with a 12.5 @ 106 best. Took it to one event (FFW) on street tires and knocked off a TON of 13.0s and a 12.99 @ 107. Have a few wins under my belt, a trophy from FFW as well as a pic in MM&FF for the event.

I am a younger guy (21 as of March) and have been racing since I was 16, and have well over 100 track passes in a few different cars. Also have NEVER had anyone run a faster time in their car than me. Ever track pass in someone elses car I have made, has been the fastest pass for that car in that combo. I guess its bragging, but something I have done.

 

[HISSIN50]

How did I get where I am now?

Walked in from the garage to cool off.

 

[vristang]

How did I get where I am now?

Walked in from the garage to cool off.

That is the most technical response yet in this thread.

I guess its ok to have story time in the tech forum every now and again

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I WAS A CAMARO LOVER!

Really, i grew up loving Camaros....and honestly i still do, they just take a faaar back seat to Mustangs, and i'm only into old Camaros. My cousin raced a '79 Z28/454 on spray and i was in love with it...it pretty much consumed my car thoughts throughout my youth. On top of that, one of my friend had an older brother who had another '79 Z28/350 that was pretty badass as well. Then when i was about 17 i had an uncle buy an '87 IROC, and i drove that a lot.....along with 2 close friends who both drove Camaros, one was another '87 with a sick 406 in it, and the other was i think an '86 with a tuned port 350. So like i said, i was raised on Camaros.

Then, my best friend got an '87 5.0 LX 5 speed. Totally bone stock, except for good old Flowmaster exhaust. At the time, i didn't even have a license (didn't get my license till i was almost 19, i was a diehard BMX guy and rode just about everywhere since i didn't own a car). My friend was always getting into different cars, wheeling and dealing. We had a tradition that every car he got i would take for a drive and wring out...even though i never had a license i was always a good driver, i grew up on a far and have been driving 'something' since i was 11.

I took this LX around the block, which included about a mile of highway driving....and from that day i have been hooked like a fool ever since. From the first take off, ripping through 3rd gear out the highway there was something that sunk in reeeally deap. I think it was somewhere around 120 going down the highway that the fight in my head between everything GM that i had known and love was stepped on and pushed down by this little stock 5.0.

After that drive, my friend probably swapped through seriously about 15 other Mustangs, each one sicker than the last. Each time, i found myself behind the wheel of yet another Mustang for wringing out, each time faster and meaner. By the time he came to my apartment with a '93 GT in teal (don't remember, what is that color? It's not teal but close?) with some kind of sweet looking 17s....it had just about every bolt on you could throw at it except forced induction. I knew right then that i might never own a Camaro....and to this day i never have. As luck would have it, i had a neighbor/friend who owned an '88 GT that was a 2nd owner, and he decided to sell it that first summer a few years ago when gas got into the $2.50 zone, and i scooped it up for a mere $1200.oo bucks.

To make a long story shorter, that car eventually was traded for a 12 second '83 with a 351W/C4 combo, which then got traded for the coupe you see in my sig. I don't think i could narrow down my top 3 favorite car makes, but i'm sure the Camaro is still in the top 5 somewhere. I have a model i built of a '70 Baldwin Motion 454 split bumper, and that's one of my dream cars. I even had the chance to buy a '70 RS Camaro when i bought the '88 GT, but the urge to get a Mustang was just too strong.

My cousin sold the '79 some years ago, but now owns a really nice '69 with a really rare paint job, white with pearl white SS stripes....never seen one like it. The friend who had the '87 IROC with the 406 still has it, but he never could keep a transmission behind it in one piece, and then he got into crotch rockets and doesn't fool with it much anymore. My best friend just sold probably his 20something Mustang and bought a '91 4 cylinder coupe that we're going to do a V8 swap on. My car is an endless project that's limited only by the capacity of my wallet.

 

[Tonys96Cobra]

Well my dad pickued up my mom cruzing state street in his 67 390 GTA, sold that and got the first 69 mach 1 428 cj to hit the streets of Salt Lake City, then bought a Cyclone spoiler 428 cj for my moms car. I guess its just in my blood. Of course he sold both of them long time ago But he still has his 86 GT vert that he bought new and NEVER drives.

 

[DMAN302]

Found a nice straight rust free car for a nice restoration...then the starter went, then some one asked "Is this aluminum? can you polish aluminum?"...then I blacked out...then I woke up three yrs later and just smile.

 

[jstang209]

When i was 16, My mom gave me a thousand bucks to go buy a car, so i came home with a 89 hatch with a 4cly and 5speed. About a year later i was so sick of everyone trying to race me, asking me to do a dounut, and tellin me to "smoke em up" lol and i had to reply with "its only a 4cyl " so i picked up a totaled 88 5.0 notch for 500 bucks and towed it to the house. Me and 2 friends go to wrenching, pull the motor,tranny, and rearend.. then 3 weeks later i finally had me a 5.0!!!

 

[pb_paulie_b]

Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Uncle, Aunt, cousin. My entire family tree has or had Mustangs. Not kidding. Mines the prettiest and the fastest. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

[tillmanspeed]

I grew up around Fords. My dad's been a Ford Sales Manager since the early 80's. I always loved mustangs, and always wanted a Fox Body. I went through all the phases of cars... mercury capri, 67 chevelle, ford probe, honda civic, subaru wrx sti, and now a 1990 GT. I still have the scooby as my daily driver, and my baby stays parked in the garage now.

 

[fidstang]

X2 for growing up around mustangs and fords. My dad works at the Wayne assem. Plant(focus) He's been there for over 40 years. I learned how to drive in a 5spd 88 Mustang. (that's tech right) Learned how to take corners apex and how to heel and toe. Even though it's hard to do in a mustang. Even back then my dad thought me how to drift and luanch( I was 13). I love you dad!!! When I received my drivers lic. I went out and bought what I could afford, a 85 4cyl. auto. That same year I put in a turbo from a 84 ranger with supporting mods for fuel. I went 14.68 with the converter and shift kit. Not bad. Then I sold it and bought a 86 cougar that had a 89 HO transplant. It had just bolt ons and ran high thirteens. Traded that in on my current 91 LX. The one I will keep to give to my kid when I turn 75. Now it's just a race to catch up to my dad's 94 cobra. The 85 4cyl. was the best thing to happen to me. That's how I learned how to wrench on cars. Making misstakes, just allows you to do it better the next time. Never look back only forward. No matter how depressing it might be.

 

[302RollinHard]

My anthology......'76 350 Camaro (junk from day 1)->'88 LX vert (4cyl) trashed->'67 GT 390 coupe(totalled)->'93 GT (still bangin')

 

[RYC CUKR]

Got my first Mustang when I was 15. A 1965 6 cylinder convertible with a c-4. Slow as hell but I love it none the less. Drove it all during high school and when I came back home after year of college. Still have it, currently in the body shop having the body restored.

Went through a couple of other cars after the 65, a 77 pinto, 71 Challenger (still have it too) and my dads 89 F 150. My dad finally got tired of me using his truck and I had to get another car. Orginally I was looking for a 4x4 older F-250 but couldn't find one I could afford. On the last lot that we were looking at they had a 91 LX 5.0 hatch that had just come in. Hadn't even washed it. Took it home for the night and I was sold. Bought it the next day and drove it for 5 years. Never had any money for mods though so it got some exhaust, pullies and a K&N. Sold it for money to put down on an 03 Mach 1. Picked up the Mach in December and in the middle of January I destroyed my left knee so driving a stick was out of the question for a while so the wife got the Mach 1 and I bought my 93 GT vert AOD with the intention of just having a nice cruiser.

The no mods thing lasted all of about a week. I finally had enough money that I could do the stuff I wanted to do to my 91 to the 93. So it started with exhaust, then some chassis stiffening, then some LCAs, then an intake and budget heads and I finally convinced my parents, who never buy me anything for my cars, to get me a nitrous kit for Christmas.

Next up it an 8 point rollbar, through the floor subframes and get it all track legal and I plan on racing in at least the Orlando FFW next year.

 

[91lxttrim]

I used to want to build something to beat all the 5.0's in Chicago. They were a dime a dozen it seemed, so I used to slam 'em. I had a friend who's brother had a white GT and another friend who had a white LX. I started to respect the 5.0's.

Then one day I was driving home from work and saw a maroon LX at a used car lot. I stopped in and the salesman let me take it for a test drive alone. I was hooked! A week later I bought a red LX 5spd with only a Husrt short throw and turn-outs after the cats. Sounded pretty good though.

So I bolted on A LOT of stuff to that one, painted it, rebuilt the motor, sold my CBR 600 to buy a used Vortech R-Trim, and it ran low 12's. I loved that car and also learned everything I know about wrenching on that car. After about 5 years I sold it to move to Cali where I eventually bought a 4cyl notch for a conversion. That car got totalled by an un-insured chiropractor ironically, and so I bought another white 4cyl notch and a wrecked 88 GT and did the conversion. I painted that notch green and sold to my friend in Chicago.

While I was in Cali I loaned my friend the money to buy a 90 LX 5spd original owner car. I told him if he EVER sold it that I wanted it. Well he sold it to another friend. When I moved to AZ i bought a Jeep and the friend of the friend who ganked my dream 90 LX hatch wanted a Jeep so we traded straight across and I got my clean, one owner hatch.

Now it's pretty built but still needs paint and gears but this one is a keeper, unless...

Check out my site link below to see the Stangs