Transforming Trash Into Ca$h

Quality aftermarket parts and hard work resurrect a "Junkyard Dog" '67 Mustang into a world-class touring car.

Our story began last year when Dan Dunning, owner of Colorado Mustang Specialists, decided to build a project car. He wanted the completed car to be equivalent to any modern pro touring/high-tech luxury car on the open road. Always up to the challenge, Dunning selected one of the nastiest examples of America's favorite pony car he could find. It was sitting out, seemingly abandoned in the company's Aurora, Colorado, salvage yard.

THE "JUNKYARD DOG" MAKEOVER

"This vintage 1967 pony car had been ridden hard and put up wet more than a couple of times," said Dunning. "The car even had tree branches growing through the floor pan. Branch by branch, piece by piece, we had to carefully cut everything away in order for the car to be safely moved. The floors, quarter panels, fenders, doors, and splash aprons all had to be replaced. Hundreds of hours were devoted to fitting the replacement fiberglass body panels to the sheet metal. Our goal was to build a grand touring car that would approach modern-luxury car standards."

That sounds pretty good to us, Dan, but what about the mechanical aspects of this awesome road machine?

"This car was designed to handle and drive like a modern-day Ford product. That meant it had to be as serviceable as any modern-day luxury car and built with readily available parts that could be purchased through any auto-parts store, your local Ford dealer, or a specialty shop such as ours, Colorado Mustang Specialists, Inc."

Credit for actual car construction and assembly goes to Sean Blea and Pat Chambers. For openers, the '67's unibody platform was equipped with a late-model SVT Mustang Cobra short-long arm (SLA) IRS with a final drive ratio of 3.55:1. The rear-suspension setup also featured a set of HAL QA1 coil-over shocks, Air Lift air bags, and a set of slotted and cross-drilled '04 SVT Mustang Cobra rear disc brakes.

Front suspension on the fastback consists of a Fat Man Fabrications coil-over strut setup using AGX coil-over shocks with Air Lift air bags, a pair of 2004 SVT Mustang Cobra front spindles, a 1-inch front anti-roll bar, NAPA rack-and-pinion steering, and a pair of 13-inch slotted and cross-drilled 2004 Cobra front disc brakes.

Rolling stock on the Mustang comes in the form of a set of 17-inch 2004 SVT Mustang Cobra factory aluminum wheels rolling on P275/40 x ZR17-inch front, and P275/40 x ZR17-inch rear Goodyear F-1 ultra-performance radial rubber.

Powering this beauty is a 10:1 compression Ford Racing Performance Parts M-6007-A351 Windsor crate engine equipped with a set of Ford Racing "GT-40" 1.94-inch intake and 1.54-inch exhaust aluminum heads, along with a Ford Racing dual-plane intake and NOS-equipped 750-cfm Edelbrock Performer carburetor. Of course, this engine is dressed out to the nines with its Ford Racing polished-aluminum valve covers and oval Cobra air cleaner. Ignition duties are handled by a Ford Racing breakerless ignition, while the exhaust is handled by a set of JBA Firecone headers and Walker Dynomax mufflers.

Backing up an estimated 550 horsepower is a Ford Racing 7003-Z World Class five-speed transmission using a King Cobra clutch and pressure plate. The final link in the '67's power train is a Drive Shaft Doctors' custom-fabricated drive shaft.

As previously mentioned, the 1967 Eleanor Mustang body kit was massaged to perfection by Dan Blea. However, along the way, the two Dans decided to improvise on the theme by installing a hydraulic-strut-actuated one-piece-tilt front end (complete with billet-aluminum grille and tri-bar halogen headlights), which closes and fits like a freakin' glove! When all the bodywork was completed, Blea sprayed the fastback in PPG 2005 Mustang Sonic Blue with Tungsten GT stripes.

The Colorado Mustang's quasi-Shelby interior has also received the full treatment with a pair of '04 SVT Mustang Cobra front bucket seats, an '04 Mach 460 audio system with dual MTX rear-mounted speakers, Auto Meter Cobalt gauges, a Ford Racing short-throw shifter, an Ididit six-way-tilt billet steering column, and Cobra/GT 350-type wood-rim steering wheel. Of course, there's a veritable ton of personalization throughout the car with Mustang, Shelby, and Ford running horse ID badges.

Completed at a cost of more than $100,000, this once-forlorn $35 "Junkyard Special" has not only been resurrected, but also elevated to world-class grand-touring car standards. Whilte not all Mustang enthusiasts are willing (or able) to spend $100,000 on their project, you can still increase your bottom line by preparing to market the products and services they need.