What's the coolest thing about high-performance street machines? No rules! Build what you like, bolt on the parts that interest you the most, and mash the throttle. As far as themes go, the g-Machine or "Touring" build-style has certainly made its mark. These real road rockets are able to do everything well--accelerate, corner, and brake with equally impressive numbers. Being general enthusiasts, we at PHR are interested in all makes and models. However, that open-minded approach has shown us just how passionate each individual brand segment really is, and the diehard blue-blooded Ford fans never have allowed their voices to diminish.
From its pre-war Flathead to the mid-'60s Thunderbolts, FoMoCo fanatics can brag about the great evolution of performance this company has developed. Ford's well-documented dedication to virtually each and every form of racing has clearly endeared this brand to its legions of loyal drivers. LeMans? Ford conquered it. Indianapolis? Been there, left its mark. NASCAR? History books overflow with FoMoCo
victories. NHRA? Oh yeah, won there, too. Off-road? Ditto.During the mid-to-late-'60s, Bob White was living just a few blocks from Northern California's San Jose Ford Motor Company assembly plant. Performance was everywhere back then, and Bob decided to purchase a brand-new '67 "S-Code" Mustang GT. Though most gearheads buy and sell cars at random, Bob has kept his Mustang all these years. This thing turns him on just as much today as it did back then. Talk about FoMoCo loyalty, huh?
If you close your eyes and transport yourself back to 1967, it's fairly easy to visualize Bob driving off the Ford dealer's lot. His car was built right in San Jose, and it started life as a Springtime Yellow S-Code GT with 390 power, a four-speed transmission, a tachometer, a clock, and a combination AM/8-track tape player. Bear in mind that 1967 marked Ford's first cosmetic redesign of the popular Mustang platform. From front to rear, it was more aggressive in appearance and dealer traffic continued to be heavy. With its sheetmetal restyled, many street enthusiasts favored the fastback version, though road racers embraced the notchback as their preferred Pony. As you can see, Bob White followed his instincts to the notchback coupe, as well.
As Bob puts it, "Minor modifications started immediately after taking possession." Who can argue with that? The late-'60s found Bob attending the Friday Night Grudge Races at Fremont Drag Strip, and during the '70s and '80s, he enjoyed cruising to the Father's Day Eve American Graffiti Night in Modesto, California, along with his kids Millie, Sheila, and Shannon. Bob told us, "The car retained its original 'sleeper' musclecar appearance during those years."In 1994, White started making the changes shown here. At first, it wasn't destined to be a race car, but he was intrigued by open-road racing in 1999 after seeing TV coverage of the Silver State Classic. As it turned out, Bob's Mustang only needed minor changes in order to pass tech inspection at his first race in 2000. The West Texas Open Road Race tested Bob's skills running from Fort Stockton to Sanderson and back again, for a total of 118 throttle-mashing, white-knuckle miles. (Bob had migrated to Texas in those intervening years.) This retired aerospace executive turned custom homebuilder gets great satisfaction in competing with his highly modified mid-'60s technology against today's high-tech musclecars.
In order to challenge the Vipers, Vettes, and all the rest, Bob's Mustang is now powered by a '70 428ci Cobra Jet motor that's been bored and stroked for a new displacement of 435 inches. KO Machine in Austin, Texas, handled all the work, which also includes balancing, blueprinting, porting, and polishing. The bottom end is comprised of a forged crank, TRW 10.5:1 pistons, and a Shelby 7-quart oil pan. COMP Cams supplied all of Bob's valvetrain needs with lift and duration numbers coming in at .585 inches and .305 inches, respectively. Aside from being ported and polished, the Cobra Jet heads have been fitted with Chevy valves measuring 2.20 inches on the intake side and 1.75 inches on the exhaust.For the crowning touch, White uses a factory FoMoCo aluminum low-riser dual-quad manifold with twin Holley 465-cfm carbs, topped by an original Thunderbolt Ram Air box. Additional components include a Pertronix electronic ignition, dual oil filters, an engine oil cooler, Ford aluminum valve covers, Super Cobra Jet exhaust manifolds, Flowmaster mufflers, and a Griffin aluminum radiator to keep things happy. Dyno results showed 565 hp at the crank, and that's why Bob pegs his speedo at 140 mph and averages 125 mph for his 118-mile-long thrill rides. Inside the bellhousing you'll find a Centerforce clutch backed by a Ford Top Loader four-speed and Hurst shifter.
Hustling this Pony car around those open-road marathons of speed requires a great deal more than sheer horsepower. Total car control is equally important, and for that, chassis prep is paramount. A host of suspension mods includes lowered A-arms, a Flaming River steering box, a negative wedge kit, and adjustable front and rear sway bars. Koni adjustable shocks work in unison with 650-pound front springs and reverse-eye, five-leaf rear springs. Frame connectors tie both ends together, a four-point rollbar stiffens things even more, and Shelby traction bars help plant the power to the pavement. Lincoln Versailles four-wheel disc brakes have been updated with calipers from Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation. Since Bob still enjoys mixing things up a bit, road racing shares his time with car shows and Mustang events. In order to have the best of both worlds, White uses a 2.69:1 gearset for racing and a 3.70:1 ring-and-pinion for street and show fun.
Chassis and suspension mods were handled by the owner with help from Bill Dollahite Race Sports in Austin. Each corner is supported by Yokohama rubber and 16-inch Vintage 45 Torque Thrust wheels. Up front you'll find that P205/50ZR16s and P245/50ZR16s fill the rear wheel openings. While looking at the back of the car you can see the stock gas filler has been blocked off in favor of a 22-gallon trunk-mounted Fuel Safe cell, and the right-side backup light has been replaced with a master disconnect switch for added safety.Body mods include a cowl-induction hood, a Mach 1 spoiler, and a Shelby-style front valance panel. This racy specimen wears its PPG Bright White and True Blue stripes proudly, thanks to the guys at Dales Rod & Custom in Englewood, Colorado. The interior remains stock FoMoCo black vinyl, with the addition of five-point harnesses and Auto Meter instruments. Those high-speed jaunts on the open road are made easier thanks to a navigation system built by Bill Dollahite Race Sports, which is fitted with a Garmin Street Pilot III GPS, multi-channel scanner, helmet-to-helmet communication, and a rollbar-mounted Sony video camera.
It's plain to see how passionate Bob White is about his hobby. In his own words he said, "Living in California, Texas, and Colorado has given me the opportunity to participate in a large number of varied car enthusiast events. My focus now is car club activities, cruises, car shows, and open-road racing." Currently, Bob is a member of the Mustang Club of America and he's also the president of the Mustang Owners Club of Austin. Having owned it since it was new, we'll bet Mr. White won't be releasing this vintage Mustang any time soon.