'66 Mustang Trans-Mod
Chop Shop Customs owner and fabricator Lenny Neault came from a full-time career in the collision and refinishing field. He started accepting side jobs that he would work on at home after hours, but he began receiving more requests than his less-than-part-time schedule could accommodate. When strangers started asking him to do work on their cars, Neault knew something would have to change. Lucky for him his boss at the time gave him an ultimatum, and he started his business full time in 2004.
Mustang owner Tim Brown was referred to Neault from another shop that specializes in quick turnaround projects. Tim wanted a Trans-Am-style muscle car with a modern twist. Neault had been hoping to stumble on a customer who wanted to have such a car built. He was able to take Tim's guidance and use artistic freedom and run with the idea.
The '66 Mustang was initially supposed to be a relatively quick rebuild, but the project quickly grew legs and became a full rotisserie job. Like most projects-including my own Mustang-the project drew out for financial reasons, but is now on the final stretch to the finish line.
| BY THE NUMBERS |
| 1966 FORD MUSTANG |
| Timothy Brown • Woburn, MA |
| Performance: 425 hp |
| ENGINE |
| Type: |
347ci small-block Ford |
| Block: |
302 Windsor, iron |
| Rotating assembly: |
Scat crank, Wiseco |
|
pistons |
| Cylinder heads: |
Edelbrock aluminum |
|
Victor Jr. |
| Camshaft: |
COMP Cams hydraulic roller |
| Valvetrain: |
COMP rockers and lifters |
| Induction: |
Dynatech EFI |
| Ignition: |
MSD Pro Billet distributor, 6AL box |
| Cooling: |
Raceware aluminum |
| Fuel system: |
Aeroquip black fittings, sumped |
|
tank, Holley blue electric pump |
| Exhaust: |
Pypes X-pipe |
| Fasteners: |
ARP |
| DRIVETRAIN |
| Transmission/shifter: |
Tremec TKO 600 |
|
five-speed |
| Rear axle: |
Fab 9-inch, 3.50 gears, |
|
Strange axles |
| CHASSIS |
| Front suspension: |
Total Control coilovers and |
|
tubular control arms |
| Rear suspension: |
Total Control G-bar |
| Brakes: |
Willwood discs |
| BODY/PAINT |
| Body: |
Chop Shop Customs sidescoops, |
|
chrome trim, hoodscoop, shaved cowl, |
|
shaved bumper bolts, custom roll pan |
| Paint: |
Ford Taurus Burgundy Metallic |
| WHEELS/TIRES |
| Wheels: |
Billet Specialties Bonneville-G |
| Tires: |
BFG KDW |
'67 Nova Domestic Import
Jason Whitlock grew up in a Ford-only family, but his rebellious tendencies drew him to like everything else. In his early years, Jason's walk to and from school brought him past the same bone-stock Nova that initially had a modest appeal, but which grew through the years.
Jason traveled to Kuwait after high school as a soldier in the army, and after his time was up, he took a job as an engineer for a major oil company. He met his wife, Dalal, also an engineer, and has made Kuwait his home for almost a decade. His only complaint is that there just isn't enough muscle out there. You would think with all the oil, there would be more muscle cars, but it's mostly exotics.
Jason was clicking through the cars listed on eBay and came across this '67 located in Idaho. The location of the car was fairly arbitrary because it would be shipped overseas. He bought the car and had it sent to Jeff Schwartz's shop. Having someone work on your car in Kuwait is a very different experience than here in the States. Picture monkeys banging wrenches against metal, and you'll get the picture. When working on his M3, Jason heard about a shop called G-Force Autoworks, so he decided to check it out. Jason is excited to get the Nova out there and show the guys at the shop what a real muscle car is!
| BY THE NUMBERS |
| 1967 NOVA |
| Jason Whitlock, 38 • Kuwait |
| Performance: 575 hp, 675 lb-ft of torque |
| ENGINE |
| Type: |
427ci GM LS7 |
| Block: |
aluminum |
| Oiling: |
LS7 dry sump, Peterson tank |
| Rotating assembly: |
Wiseco pistons, |
|
GM forged crank, K1 rods, |
| 9:1 compression |
| Cylinder heads: |
CNC ported |
| Camshaft: |
Schwartz custom grind |
| Induction: |
Schwartz twin turbo |
| Ignition: |
GM coil-on-plug |
| Fuel system: |
Schwartz harness |
| Exhaust: |
Schwartz custom headers |
| CHASSIS |
| Front suspension: |
bolt-in Schwartz |
|
Performance full frame, |
| QA1 shocks, splined sway bar, |
| AGR steering, Schwartz spindles |
| Rear suspension: |
QA1 shocks |
| Brakes: |
Wilwood six-piston with |
|
13-inch rotors (front), |
| four-piston (rear) |
| DRIVETRAIN |
| Transmission/shifter: |
Tremec T-56 Magnum, |
|
Hurst shifter |
| Rear axle: |
Winters 9-inch, |
|
Moser gears, posi |
| BODY/PAINT |
| Body: |
mini-tub |
| Paint: |
PPG |
'72 Nova ResurreXion
Blake Foster started out with a shop called Killer Customs where they built almost a dozen high-profile Pro Touring-style cars that made it out to major events like SEMA. They got a name for themselves, and when the opportunity to acquire Speed Tech came up, they pounced. At the time, Speed Tech had a couple of products for first-gen Camaros and some others, but the company was in its infancy. They also bought American Touring Specialties to add to their portfolio. Unfortunately, the parts biz effectively put Killer Customs on hold.
Nevertheless, they would need a test mule to tune their parts, so the Killer Customs car building skills would still come in handy. This '72 X-body named ResurreXion would be the perfect testbed and show car for all the new parts they were developing.
The Nova started out as a Super Chevy project car that was using Speed Tech parts, and Speed Tech bought the project to finish it up. Blake and company built the car more as a racer than a street car, but it still has a comfortable feel with a complete interior, including carpet and headliner. Since they put mini-tubs in, Speed Tech built a fake rear seat that was upholstered to match the front seats-it's a great detail to keep the clean look inside and out.
| BY THE NUMBERS |
| 1972 CHEVROLET NOVA |
| Blake Foster, 42 • Meadows, BC, Canada |
| ENGINE |
| Type: |
GM LS 6.0-liter |
| Block: |
six-bolt LQ9 iron |
| Oiling: |
factory |
| Rotating assembly: |
nodular-iron crank, |
|
powdered rods, cast pistons |
| Cylinder heads: |
aluminum |
| Camshaft: |
COMP Cams .578-inch lift |
| Valvetrain: |
COMP roller rockers with |
|
titanium retainers |
| Induction: |
LS2 intake |
| Ignition: |
MSD coils |
| Cooling: |
PRC radiator with SPAL fans |
| Fuel system: |
Aeromotive A1000 pump, inline |
|
filter, billet fuel rails, marine regulator |
| Exhaust: |
Speed Tech headers, 3-inch pipes |
| WHEELS/TIRES |
| Wheels: |
18x9 and 18x12.5 |
|
Forgeline Diamond Cut |
| Tires: |
265/35R18 and 335/30R18BFG KDW |
| DRIVETRAIN |
| Transmission/shifter: |
Viper T-56 six-speed, |
|
McLeod short-throw shifter |
| Driveshaft: |
Bears 3-inch chromoly |
| Rear axle: |
Bears sheetmetal 9-inch with |
|
Strange aluminum center, 3.89 gears, |
|
31-spline axles, and Truetrac posi |
| CHASSIS |
| Front suspension: |
Speed Tech bolt-in front |
|
subframe |
| Rear suspension: |
Speed Tech torque arm |
| Brakes: |
Baer Pro Plus six-piston 14-inch rotors |
| BODY/PAINT |
| Body: |
work by Speed Tech |
| Paint: |
PPG black |
| WHEELS/TIRES |
| Wheels: |
18x9.5 and 18x1 titanium-coated |
|
center Forgeline WC3 |
| Tires: |
275/30R18 Nitto NT05 |