1970 Ford Mustang Sportsroof - The Dragon

Introducing the Ringbrothers latest ’70 Mustang with mythological magnitude

From the November, 2011 issue of Popular Hot Rodding

By Christopher Campbell

Photography by Robert McGaffin

Life is fond of throwing wrenches in the works of even the best laid plans. Sometimes the derailment is disastrous, but every once in a while it proves out to be a blessing in disguise. Luckily for Alex Stoner, his circuitous quest to build the Mustang of his dreams ended up following the latter path.

1970 Ford Mustang Sportsroof Steering Wheel

It all started with a ’66 fastback that he and his significant other, Jayne Roorda, had sent to a shop, which shall remain nameless, to receive the necessary bodywork and modifications. In a brief retelling of a story we’ve heard too many times in our careers, too much money was spent, and far too little good work was done. Sometimes you have to take a bad situation and just make the best of it. Other times, all that can be done is to cut your losses and walk away. Sadly, it was the latter case for this fastback.

At the time Alex shipped it to the Ringbrothers for final body and paintwork, however, he had no idea; he had been a fan of the Ringbrothers’ style for years and just wanted some of their influence on his project. When it arrived at the Ringbrothers’ shop in a trailer, Jim and Mike Ring rolled it out, looked it over for a few minutes, then rolled it right back in. They hated to do it, but the fastback was just far too hodgepodged to be suitably fixable to their standards and they had to turn down the opportunity.

1970 Ford Mustang Sportsroof Valve Cover

Needless to say, Alex and Jayne were completely crestfallen. Not just because money had been burned, but so had their dream car. Jim had an alternate idea to salvage the vision though; he offered up a ’70 SportsRoof he and his brother Mike had bought and just set aside. “I told him, ‘Well, I’ve got a ’70 here we could build you instead.’ ”

1970 Ford Mustang Sportsroof Side Of Engine

Call it a serendipitous SportsRoof; Jim and Mike had originally bought the California car simply because it looked like a good deal on a solid project. There were no initial plans of what to do with it, so the Mustang sat untouched in the back corner of the Ringbrothers’ shop. Coincidentally, Alex and Jayne had both always wanted a Mustang of that generation, so a deal was struck to begin their project rebound; Jim and Mike sold it to them for what they paid, and the ’66 was sold.

1970 Ford Mustang Sportsroof Rear Features

Usually those who’ve been burned become a bit wary, but that wasn’t the case here. Alex knew the pride of workmanship the Ringbrothers put into every car they turned out, and felt entirely at ease entrusting them. Plus, Jim and Mike had never had the chance to try their hand on a ’70 Mustang, and already had quite a few new ideas floating around. They immediately began sketching these out with artist Sean Smith. Alex and Jayne had a few specifics they wanted, but they loved the concepts Jim and Mike were concocting and essentially gave them free rein.

“There are few things I can look at on the car that I know are my influence,” Alex says. Most outstanding would be the rich BASF hues selected for the paint. The Castle Gray accents were actually originally going to be the body color, but Jim and Mike convinced him that the car was going to warrant something more impactful. A custom crafted color christened Dragon’s Blood easily won Alex over. After all, the car is called Dragon.

So where did that name come from anyway? Alex had wanted a name to match the car’s strong and slightly sinister presence, and during the time he spent in Europe he developed a fondness for the mythology surrounding medieval Europe and its mythical malevolent dragons. From what he saw in the renderings, this Mustang would fit the name nicely.

Regular readers may have found this car strangely familiar; that’s because it was prominently featured in the Sept. ’10 issue of PHR as a project in the feature “What’s Next.” Yeah, this car came a very long way in a very short time, but there were certainly no corners cut. In mythology, dragon’s blood possesses magical properties and that seemed to be the case in its debut at the 2010 SEMA show in BASF’s own booth; Dragon slaughtered the competition and was awarded the prestigious 10th annual Mothers Shine Award for uncompromising excellence in vehicle design and execution. That’s really saying something considering the level of cars shown at SEMA.

While it certainly wasn’t the first time he had seen the finished car, the first time Alex actually slid behind the wheel of Dragon was several months down the road at the 2011 Goodguys show in Columbus. Dragon was in the running for the coveted Street Machine of the Year title and all competitors are required to run the autocross. Alex decided he was the man for the job. That’s gutsy. We like this guy.

New car, new driver, big competition—needless to say, Jim and Mike were more than a little nervous, but thankfully without warrant. Alex piloted Dragon around the course with nary an incident. “The power from that engine really comes on quickly,” Alex said afterward. Speaking of engines, ironically, one of the cars Dragon was competing against in the SMOY was a fastback Mustang containing the engine originally intended for Alex’s previous ’66 Mustang. Funny how things can come together like that.

Dragon still has a few more show dates to make with the Ringbrothers, as well as a return to the 2011 SEMA show to pass on the Mothers Shine crown to the next winner, but after that it’ll be headed home to an eager Alex and Jayne. “What I really love about this car is the balance,” Alex says. “Front to rear, engine to interior, everything works together. It’s understated. Unfortunately, the Ringbrothers can only build just so many cars, so this car will be part of their legacy for people to always enjoy.”

Want a piece of Dragon? Full body kits are available, as are nearly all of the smaller parts. “Almost every single part you see on this car we sell,” Jim says. “Somebody could build almost exactly the same car just by buying the parts.” Both the entire front and rear end of the car are built from carbon fiber, and a full bellypan runs the length of the chassis.