'88 Mustang GT

[SunnyDaze]

Before The Fast and the Furious ever hit the silver screen...

This is a picture of the car the day that I picked it up from the original owner. It was early Spring of 1997, I was barely 17. The car had slightly under 45,000 on the mill and was completely unmodified.



These are after I had it painted and purchased HUGE (at the time) 16 x 8 wheels in June of '97.







This 1988 Mustang GT was the fruition of the finances that I acquired during my pizza-tossing, grass cutting, and general laboring expenditures while I was in high school. If I could track her down, I would buy her off of her current owner tomorrow. I had such a heated love / hate / love relationship with this car. Shortly after these pictures were taken, the 302 literally blew up (while doing a nitrous burnout at Keystone, injuring the gentlemen whose job it is to spray the burnout box). The guys in our garage convinced me to go apeshit with the "rebuild". I was working as a manager at Pep boys at the time, the income was there, so I figured, why not? The small block was replaced by an 11.5:1 Eagle forged 466 C.I. 385-series BBF and a HAL built C-6. I have a few pictures of the engine / chassis / suspension build laying around somewhere. Once I realized I'd most likely kill myself driving this thing when it was all said and done, I parted the drivetrain out and purchased the black '95 GT that occupies another thread in this section.

I really wish I would have photo-documented the build of this car, however, in 1999, digital cameras and camera phones weren't commonplace, and film was just...

...well, my friends and I, we were street racers. We didn't give a shit about documenting anything. We were young, stupid, and after bragging rights. More often than not, secrecy was the name of the game. Now days, when my gear head friends and I from the old garage get together and tell "back in the day" stories about the cars that we built, blew up, and rebuilt, only the folks who were lucky enough to be present for those few years tend to believe them, however, folks in the Laurel Highlands still tell stories of the Mustang crew from West Newton in dimly lit parking lots in the wee hours of the weekend. I miss those days.

[Bunni]

My first car was a 1967 Mustang.  I got it from my best friend in high school for $300 in 1976!  I might have pics somewhere, God I loved that car.  We cut a lot of classes in that car and had so much fun.  It was totalled a few years later by a telephone company van.  heartbreaking!  More to the story, but I can't even think about it to tell it.

A few years later I had a 1971 Mustang Grande.  That car was so fast, you looked at the gas pedal and off it went.  Scared me silly!  It took me two weeks to get used to the power of it.  That one got stolen in Boston where I was living/working.  Beautiful cars both of them.

The new Mustangs don't even compare to these cars, and I have never been able to look at any of them with the same love and appreciation.  I need to see if I can find pictures. 

[TNRabbit]

The new GTs will outrun & outhandle them both.  200+ mph!

[TNRabbit]

I was referring to Bunni's post, not SunnyDaze...

[Bunni]

The new GTs will outrun & outhandle them both.  200+ mph!

I'm sure...however, I'd prolly never have the chance to find out  

[SunnyDaze]

The new Mustangs don't even compare to these cars, and I have never been able to look at any of them with the same love and appreciation.  I need to see if I can find pictures.

Older muscle and pony cars actually were not as fast as people remember them to be. Even the legendary SS454 Chevelles, 426 Hemi Mopar products, and Boss 429 Mustangs were low 14 second - high 13 second 1/4 mile cars. By today's standards, that's moderately quick. Compared to high performance cars of today, cars of the 60's and 70's handled like shopping carts and rusted after a few years. Advances in steering, suspension, engine management, materials, and engineering have come a long way. Cars of today are lighter, stronger, smoother, and have engines that push volumetric efficiency up into the 90%+ range.

That being said, a low 14 second 1/4 mile pass in a 275 horsepower '68 Mustang feels faster than a low 12 second 1/4 mile pass in a 450 horsepower 2012 Mustang because of the difference in technology between the two cars. Take either car out on the open road with twists, turns, and bumps, and there's no comparison. Under identical driving conditions, the older car will feel significantly faster because driving it aggressively requires pushing the car's suspension up to and sometimes beyond it's intended limits along with archaic and sometimes unpredictable engine management where as the newer car will feel more tame and less "fast" because the steering and suspension are operating well within their limits as well as computerized engine management that provides a more predictable and uniform power curve.

Can you tell I'm not a fan of older cars?

[Bunni]

SD...I'm old..what do you want from me lol!  In 1976, my 67 Mustang was 9 years old   I was 16 years old.

The 67 definitely was not as fast as the 71 Grande.  I wasn't into it for it's power or speed.  Both cars handled very well.  The 67 had a personality of it's own.  The engine was perfect, the interior was perfect.  There was one rust spot on the car we had repaired.  I'll never forget stopping for gas, and the attendant walked around the car, touching it gently, obviously in appreciation.  Gas was still pumped for you back then. 

It took me from Norwalk, CT to Boston, MA in record time.  I remember calling my mom to tell her I'd arrived, and she was shocked I'd gotten there so fast, and "Just how fast were you going?" were her exact words.  It was the most wonderful car I've ever owned.  It gave me my freedom from abuse at the time.  It truly was everything to me for a good while. I've mourned losing it ever since the accident.

[BB3]

Before The Fast and the Furious ever hit the silver screen...

This is a picture of the car the day that I picked it up from the original owner. It was early Spring of 1997, I was barely 17. The car had slightly under 45,000 on the mill and was completely unmodified.



These are after I had it painted and purchased HUGE (at the time) 16 x 8 wheels in June of '97.







This 1988 Mustang GT was the fruition of the finances that I acquired during my pizza-tossing, grass cutting, and general laboring expenditures while I was in high school. If I could track her down, I would buy her off of her current owner tomorrow. I had such a heated love / hate / love relationship with this car. Shortly after these pictures were taken, the 302 literally blew up (while doing a nitrous burnout at Keystone, injuring the gentlemen whose job it is to spray the burnout box). The guys in our garage convinced me to go apeshit with the "rebuild". I was working as a manager at Pep boys at the time, the income was there, so I figured, why not? The small block was replaced by an 11.5:1 Eagle forged 466 C.I. 385-series BBF and a HAL built C-6. I have a few pictures of the engine / chassis / suspension build laying around somewhere. Once I realized I'd most likely kill myself driving this thing when it was all said and done, I parted the drivetrain out and purchased the black '95 GT that occupies another thread in this section.

I really wish I would have photo-documented the build of this car, however, in 1999, digital cameras and camera phones weren't commonplace, and film was just...

...well, my friends and I, we were street racers. We didn't give a shit about documenting anything. We were young, stupid, and after bragging rights. More often than not, secrecy was the name of the game. Now days, when my gear head friends and I from the old garage get together and tell "back in the day" stories about the cars that we built, blew up, and rebuilt, only the folks who were lucky enough to be present for those few years tend to believe them, however, folks in the Laurel Highlands still tell stories of the Mustang crew from West Newton in dimly lit parking lots in the wee hours of the weekend. I miss those days.

Hmmmmm....My favorite car when I was growing up. Thanks so much for posting those pics, SunyyDaze.-----Bill