Badass '65 Ford Mustang With Period-Correct Fittings Will Bring All the Boys to the Yard

Shawn of AutotopiaLA recently featured such a build, a raw, loud, 680 hp (689 ps) 1965 Ford Mustang Coupe. Like all classics built from the ground up, this '65 coupe has a story.

The first Ford Mustang rolled off the factory in 1964, setting the stage for all pony cars. Its iconic shape was offered in four body styles: the coupe, convertible, Fastback, and three-door hatchback.

The Ford Mustang was offered in several powertrain variations, with the gnarliest – a 7-liter V8 making 355 hp (360 ps).

It started as a gutted, empty 1965 Ford Mustang

According to the owner, he has owned this 1965 Ford Mustang Coupe for the last 16 years. It started as a gutted, six-cylinder, empty shell of a Mustang.

"I didn't want to do a Fastback because I knew all the Fastback guys would have probably castrated me by ruining the Fastback, so I said I'll do the coupe. Now that's a whole different level of people that don't mind. But I didn't want to butcher a Fastback," Ron confessed.

Initially, he wanted to do a street version, but then he got carried away after including a roll cage (150 lb /68 kg of roll cage). The car weighs 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) with the cage in it.

It's a well-balanced racer with the driver's seat positioned in the rear seat footwell position (which makes the driver look like they are driving from the back seat). Ron confesses that it gives him a panoramic view (see more of the track) while offering a safe distance away from the engine heat.

Owner and builder has a history working for BMW

Ron is quite the mechanical guy (had a long career at BMW and working on elevators) and admits he did a chunk of the work alone (with some help from his close friends).

He planned on keeping the build's suspension stock. Consequently, the suspension system on this 1965 Ford Mustang has minimal changes from the original version. It runs factory Mustang suspension, upper and lower arms, Shelby rear axle (with drums), T-bird discs, and calipers at the front.

It still runs 1969-dated double adjustable Koni shocks; no location points have been altered on this '65 coupe. This means there's still room for more adjustments to make it swifter. But Ron believes new is only sometimes better. "It just means more headache to try to make it work," he jokes.

But a track car is only track-worthy if it packs enough punch to roll it from zero to sixty in a breath of a second.

Runs a Dry Sump 363 engine

This built classic racer holds its own. It runs a Dry Sump 363 engine. According to Ron, the 363 is basically an engine with a vacuum cleaner. This system includes scavenger pumps in a shallow sump that suck oil in, transferring it to an auxiliary reservoir, where it's cooled and reintroduced into the engine with a pressure pump.

"When the engine is spinning, there's no oil on any of the moving parts within reason because it is creating 11 inches of vacuum and sucking all the oil off it. Which in turn wears out quicker because the piston rings don't have much oil on them, but that makes more power," Ron explained the Dry Sump system on his '65 Mustang Coupe.

Ron's 1965 Ford Mustang makes 680 hp (689 ps) and 550 lb-ft (746 Nm) of torque. California-based QMP Racing built the engine. They used 3D scanners to custom-make a piston that perfectly sits in the chamber to produce more compression and, ultimately, more horsepower.

To harness the power, it runs a Tex Racing T101 magnesium casing 4-speed NASCAR transmission, which means it has a "no lift shift" or no clutch. On the downside, things wear off quicker – and eventually need replacing.

No dash, zero sound-deadening, hollowed-out doors, aluminum bolts

The main aspect of the build was to keep it light. That meant using aluminum bolts, no dash, and hollowed-out doors to help keep the weight under 3,000 lb (1,361 kg). On the downside, this racer has zero sound deadening – meaning the interior feels like a battle tank, and it's a car only authentic petrolheads would love.

It doesn't come with a dash or tachometer. It's a race car with the only reading from an oil pressure gauge. Ron jokes the less he knows, the better.

This '65 Mustangs roars like an untamed beast. To unleash that raw, loud rumble from the exhaust system, this '65 Mustang Coupe runs a Supertrapp fine-tunable muffler.

"Ohh, my God. It's so good. What we are talking about is pure, raw driving experience, man. Gosh! I wish we could block off roads and make life easier," Shawn of AutotopiaLA said after a couple of rips in the '65 Ford Mustang.

Are you curious how this beast rolls down the road? We strongly recommend watching the video below for some of that naturally aspirated 680 hp (689 ps) jolt of racing thrust.