'65 Mustang
Shelby Clone
Car owner and builder, Pat Ciambrello, has been into racing longer than he can remember. His father was part of A.J. Foyt's racing team at Indy in 1964 and 1965. A.J. has quite an incredible history, as he is the only driver in history to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, 24 Hours of Daytona, and 24 Hours of Le Mans. He's got almost 160 event wins under his belt, and now sits at the head of his company, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, which fields many race teams. With this kind of racing involvement at home, Pat would naturally get the racing bug. Whenever the racers needed a place to work on their cars, Pat's pops would lend them space in his corner gas station service bay. He desperately wanted a car of his own, and when his brother bought a brand-new '66 Mustang from the dealership, Pat swore he would get a Mustang of his own someday. Only 10 years old at the time, he would have to wait.
His day finally came and he found a '65 2+2 Fastback that needed a little work. Over the last 15 years, Pat has torn it down and started over transforming it into a Shelby clone. He knew he could never afford the real thing, so this was the next best option in his mind. One of the upgrades he made was the installation of a 351 crate engine. This was dandy until he plopped the Paxton supercharger atop it, and blew it up.
After pulling the destroyed Windsor, he decided to rebuild the whole car with a more modern driveline combination and a lot more power. He also repainted it with the Hertz gold-on-black color scheme. Now he is really glad he didn't get an original Shelby because he's having fun customizing this one.
By The Numbers
1965 Mustang Fastback
Pat Ciambrello, 54 * Levittown, PA
662 hp, 628 lb-ft torque
| ENGINE |
| Type: | 351 Windsor, stroked to 408 ci |
| by Trans Am Racing |
| Oiling: | Ford HV oil pump |
| Cylinder heads: | aluminum |
| with 2.08-/1.625-inch valves |
| Camshaft: | COMP Cams solid roller |
| Valvetrain: | COMP rockers |
| with titanium retainers |
| Induction: | ported Edelbrock Torker 2 intake, |
| Paxton supercharger at 8 pounds of boost |
| Ignition: | MSD 6AL with boost control |
| Cooling: | Be Cool radiator |
| with twin 13-inch fans |
| Fuel system: | Aeromotive pump and regulator, |
| 780-cfm Holley flowed to 980 cfm |
| Exhaust: | Hedman 1 5/8-inch headers, |
| JBA mufflers |
| Fasteners: | ARP |
| DRIVETRAIN |
| Transmission/shifter: | Tremec |
| 3550 five-speed, |
| Hurst short throw shifter |
| Driveshaft: | 4-inch Denny's aluminum |
| Rear axle: | 9-inch Ford |
| with Moser 31-spline axles, |
| Auburn diff, and 3.89 gears |
| CHASSIS |
| Front suspension: | TCP coilover kit, |
| 1 1/8-inch front sway bar, |
| Flaming River manual rack-and-pinion |
| Rear suspension: | Air Ride AirBar, |
| VariShock adjustable shocks, |
| ¾-inch sway bar |
| Brakes: | Baer 13-inch rotors, stainless lines |
| BODY/PAINT |
| Body: | Shelby brake scoops, side glass |
| Paint: | black basecoat, clearcoat, |
| with gold Shelby stripes |
| WHEELS/TIRES |
| Wheels: | Boyd Coddington Junk Yard Dog, |
| 17x7 and 17x8 |
| Tires: | BFGoodrich g-Force KDW, |
| 225/45R17 |
Mothers Picture Perfect Award
This is the place to show off your pride and joy to the rest of mankind, so we figure those readers who took the time to capture a really cool shot of their hot rod should get a little bonus. Mothers agreed, and decided to come to the party with some freebies for the best picture submitted to PHR.
Each month, the editors at PHR will sift through the images and pick the one with the best composition, lighting, and overall quality. The winner will get a cool assortment of Mothers products to keep his or her ride looking nice and shiny. Mail us a photograph or, if you're a modern guy, email us a digital image. Remember that digital images need to be 300 dpi, and the bigger the image, the larger it can run. Also, be sure to include info on the car, along with your name and address. Good luck!