live axle (rear)
Why a vintage race Mustang? Cool sounds, cool vibe. And rather zippy, too.
Thanks to Cobra Automotive, adding tow hooks to an early Mustang is a lot easier than you might think.
While alignment adjustability is limited for an early Mustang, there is still plenty of room for improvements to be made.
To better monitor the health of our Mustang vintage racer's engine, we replace the street-oriented gauges we first installed with heavier-duty ones intended for race use.
Before running our Mustang racer at high speed on a dyno, we first wanted to ensure it ran well at low speed on track.
Here's the simple exhaust setup we decided on for our Mustang vintage racer.
For less than $300, we had pre-bent brake lines that fit our 1965 Ford Mustang vintage race car perfectly.
Wiring a race car–like our Mustang–from scratch might not be the easiest project, but, luckily, we had help from Ron Francis Wiring.
A few final tweaks–such as steering, exhaust, alignment and fuel–are all that stood between our Mustang racer and its very first outing on track.
Just because our Mustang is an old-school race car doesn’t mean we need to settle for old-school gauges.
Before that first test day, we needed to install a harness and window net to keep the driver safe and secure.
How much of a roll cage should be padded? We asked an expert to find out.
Although we already upgraded the brakes on our 1965 Ford Mustang vintage racer, we still needed to tie the whole system together.
Before we paint the engine bay of our 1965 Ford Mustang vintage racer, we're going to ensure the cooling system can handle the excess heat generated by a racing engine.
After all the work done on our Mustang racer, we were left with a greasy, grimy mess–nothing a bit of detailing can't fix.
To better manage temperatures inside the cabin of our Mustang vintage racer, we install heat shielding from DEI.
Racing puts a lot more stress on a car than street driving. That's why we went a little more specialized with the fluids we put in our Mustang race car.
There are a lot of options when it comes to picking a fuel for our Mustang vintage racer, but which one is the best option? We turn to an expert …
To help ensure we're not asking too much from our Mustang's brakes, we installed brake ducts from Cobra Automotive.
"Period-correct" doesn't have to mean "poor braking."
Our Mustang's driveshaft didn't fit, so we sourced a sturdy replacement from Mark Williams Enterprises.
This is what we selected to top off our engine.
Adding catch cans to our Mustang vintage racer so all the fluids stay in the car–and not on the track.
Why add a cooling fan to our Ford Mustang vintage racer? One word: Florida.
Here's how we fit our old-school Mustang racer with a more modern power steering setup.
What's hiding underneath that crude patch? That's right: rust.
Sometimes, keeping a race car period correct means adding components instead of removing them.
Besides being required by most sanctioning bodies, a bulkhead keeping the driver compartment and the fuel cell separate helps keep our racing efforts safer.
Now to mount the front of our Shelby-style override traction bars to the chassis.
We needed to add a few final touches to our Mustang's transmission before installing it.
Why not just stick with the stock brake master cylinder? Not only is it heavy, it also leaves little safety margin for racing or even street use.
One way to save weight? How about making the switch to a polycarbonate windshield?
Worried about keeping your race car's radiator intact? Here's how to add protection for not a lot of money (or time and effort).
Time to wire up our Mustang vintage racer. Here's how we did it.
Since we planned on racing some enduros with our Mustang vintage racer, we decided to add a rain light for better visibility–and thus, better safety.
How we customized a simple switch panel to better meet our needs (and how you can, too).
The folks at Lifeline USA show us how to properly install a fire-suppression system.
The best place to keep a fuse panel out of sight, but still within reach should something go wrong? Why not the glovebox?
Need a custom gauge panel for your project? Why not 3D-print exactly what you need?
Since we already need a driveshaft, why not get fresh U-joints while we're at it, too?
Which steering wheel will work best for our Mustang vintage racer?
Looking for even more weight savings? What about the steering column?
Coating the exhaust headers of our Mustang vintage racer is a great way to reduce underhood temperatures, but are all coatings created equal?
Beleive it or not, sometimes "bolt-in" really means bolt-in.
What's the best wheel and tire combo for a Mustang vintage racer?
It's finally time to mate the powertrain to the rest of our Mustang vintage race car.
Since our Roltek transmission is Chevy-based, we need to make a few adjustments to the Ford transmission crossmember.
We toss streetability to the side and go for a two-disc clutch setup for our vintage racing Mustang.
Installing a used transmission in our vintage Mustang racer might not be the best idea, so we are going with a Roltek T-10 instead.
As good as our Mustang traction bars might be, they would be no use if we didn't have a suitable place to mount them.
What all needs to be done to prepare an early Mustang rear end for track use? Quite a lot, actually.
Sometimes, it's worth the extra cost to buy new than repurpose a used part. Such was the case for the rear end of our Mustang vintage racer.
The last step before installing the engine in our vintage Mustang racer? Cleaning up and painting the engine bay.
Before we commit to painting our engine compartment, we needed to fit our beefier-than-stock radiator.
Can we build an affordable Mustang GT350 vintage race car?
An easy fix that will reduce chassis flex? Adding a Shelby-style export brace.
Lightness added and safety mounting points installed, we sent our Mustang to Blast Masters to blast, prime and paint the interior.
One last step before we send our Mustang off to get its interior media blasted and painted: Lose some weight by removing the wiring harness and windshield wipers.
How we installed a window net into our '65 Mustang racer.
Next up for our Mustang racer? A safe, comfortable and supportive racing seat.
Cobra Automotive gave us a good starting point for a roll cage for our Mustang vintage racer, but it's up to us to turn it into a full system that's …
Weight is the enemy in a race car, and the more unused items that can be removed, the better.
One of the side scoops on our Mustang racer fell off mid-tow. Instead of replacing it, we decided to remove the other one and blend the paint.
With any luck, we'll be able to replicate Olly Bryant's HSR Classic24 run at Daytona back in 2016.
We lightly modify a set of store-bought headers to meet the needs of our Mustang racer.
For our Mustang vintage racer, we bought a used racer engine. So, what did we get?
Cobra Automotive recommends running American Racing Torq Thrust D wheels on our vintage Mustang racer. Thankfully, we had a set laying around.
We arrived at Cobra Automotive at 3:00 p.m., only to find out the roll cage builder would be there tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.
How many parts does a racecar need? We made a list.
The good news? Cobra Automotive owner Curt Vogt told us we made a good buy. The better news? He had a race engine for our Mustang vintage racer.
Sometimes the perfect project shows up when you least expect it. Such was the case for our vintage Mustang race car project.
Flag on the play: false start.
One of the best ways to ensure a successful project? Ask an expert what they know on the matter.
Why didn't we pick up a real Shelby Mustang race car? A peek at the numbers will help us explain our final decision.
Why is there a vintage Mustang project on Grassroots? Because, frankly, it looks cool, sounds cool and is even a fun way to get on track
