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Seeing what a man has done with his lowly ’65 Mustang notchback, transforming it into a beast on wheels, is inspirational. For most, such a pony car wouldn’t be worth much, but the owner bought it himself when he was 14 and has cherished it since. Now he’s made the Ford into what he’s always wanted.
This 1968 Mustang only has 1,031 miles on it.
Starting with the looks, the owner went far afield of stock in some areas. One is the paint, Alpina Green, which is from BMW, not Ford. However, the 17-inch wheels might be quite a bit larger than what this Mustang came with from the factory, but they have a nice throwback look.
The guy went big and kept it Ford for the powerplant, replacing the old six-cylinder with a 408ci Windsor V8. It’s been tuned with an estimated 469-horsepower and 500 lb.-ft. of torque. With the high-flow exhaust system, it sounds beastly but isn’t so much the guy can’t just cruise around town and enjoy the car.
Back this is a Tremec TKX 5-speed feeding the power to a narrowed 9-inch rear. Wilwood brakes, with four-piston calipers up front and two-piston calipers in the rear keep the galloping pony in check.
Handling is excellent, thanks in part to the Heidts Superride II independent front suspension and a Detroit Speed Quadralink rear suspension. With the rear wheels mini-tubbed, this Mustang sits nice and low, keeping the center of gravity lower, too.
What’s really great about this build is the owner and his young son did a lot of it themselves in their residential garage. While it’s great to see these big budget builds from professional garages paraded around SEMA, we find grassroots enthusiasts’ cars like this so much more impressive and honestly more vital for the car hobby.
After all, being a gearhead shouldn’t just be a spectator thing but we all should be getting our hands dirty now and then, if not regularly.
Check out this car in greater detail here.
Images via Autotopia LA/YouTube
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