Photo: Dusold Designs
We bet most of you are bored to tears with restomodded first-generation Ford Mustangs. It's almost like there are more Gen-I Mustangs tuned to their eyeballs with Coyote or Godzilla motors than there are with the original hardware under the hood. Well, Mike Dusold and his team at Dusold Designs in Lewisville, Texas, are only going to add to the problem. That said, it's quite a good problem to have.
Their latest build, based on a 1965 Mustang coupe, is so far removed from the hardware it left the showroom floor with it might as well be an entirely new vehicle. One can't help but be a little suspicious about a classic pony car with what appears to be a Formula Drift-style wing mounted on the trunk. It's as if the most cherished American vehicle of the 1960s was visited by the JDM fairy in the middle of the night. But as it turns out, that enormous rear wing might serve a genuine purpose once you peep the drivetrain hardware in store.
Gone is whichever six or eight-cylinder dinosaur motor that was under the hood of this Mustang when it was stuck. In its place is a twin-turbocharged Ford Windsor small-block V8 that's been stroked to a gargantuan 430 cubic inches, or roughly seven liters flat. For some context, the largest Windsor small block V8 Ford released in an official capacity was a measly 351 cubic inches or a touch over 5.7 liters. That extra 1,300 cc or so of cubic displacement makes for a huge difference in power out on the track, but it's not the only thing this engine has going for it, not by a long shot.
Add a lightweight Ford Motorsport aluminum block, two Garret G35-900 turbochargers with matching Garret intercooler cores, a Turbosmart electric wastegate, and eight PSI of boost pressure, and what was once a docile but powerful traditional American V8 engine is now a fire-breathing leviathan that jets between 820 and 1100 horsepower depending on the tuning configuration. Power is sent to a sequential gearbox from Sadev Racing Transmissions in Mooresville, North Carolina, and then to a clever full-floating rear end not attached to the axle housing.
Ultimately, this drivetrain could be the envy of any custom build, perfectly suited for endless quarter-mile dragstrip passes. But what makes this Mustang even more special is the suspension setup that renders it so much more than a drag queen, pun absolutely intended. We're talking about a full racing front suspension from Detroit Speed with JRI shocks all around. With lightweight carbon fiber replacements for the hood and fenders, Mike Dusold might have just built the most intimidating restomod Mustang, not tailor-made, for the late great Ken Block.
Gone is whichever six or eight-cylinder dinosaur motor that was under the hood of this Mustang when it was stuck. In its place is a twin-turbocharged Ford Windsor small-block V8 that's been stroked to a gargantuan 430 cubic inches, or roughly seven liters flat. For some context, the largest Windsor small block V8 Ford released in an official capacity was a measly 351 cubic inches or a touch over 5.7 liters. That extra 1,300 cc or so of cubic displacement makes for a huge difference in power out on the track, but it's not the only thing this engine has going for it, not by a long shot.
Add a lightweight Ford Motorsport aluminum block, two Garret G35-900 turbochargers with matching Garret intercooler cores, a Turbosmart electric wastegate, and eight PSI of boost pressure, and what was once a docile but powerful traditional American V8 engine is now a fire-breathing leviathan that jets between 820 and 1100 horsepower depending on the tuning configuration. Power is sent to a sequential gearbox from Sadev Racing Transmissions in Mooresville, North Carolina, and then to a clever full-floating rear end not attached to the axle housing.
Ultimately, this drivetrain could be the envy of any custom build, perfectly suited for endless quarter-mile dragstrip passes. But what makes this Mustang even more special is the suspension setup that renders it so much more than a drag queen, pun absolutely intended. We're talking about a full racing front suspension from Detroit Speed with JRI shocks all around. With lightweight carbon fiber replacements for the hood and fenders, Mike Dusold might have just built the most intimidating restomod Mustang, not tailor-made, for the late great Ken Block.
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