My name is John Kelly. I live in Maryland. I have done something very similar to what you have accomplished. Let me tell you about it. The first thing I should mention is that I bought a running 81 Mustang Ghia coupe with a 2.3 turbo for $300. It had a bad turbo and had sat in a field for about 6 years. At first I was going to do the turbo 2.3 up. Then I ran across a wrecked 89GT I bought the whole thing for 800 bucks. When I really tore into the wreck I had discovered the car only had 56,000 miles on it! Then I realized the transmission was not stock. I located the owner and got the story on the car. Apparently the 17-year-old owner bought the car from a very old man, the original owner. He had taken it to a dealer for everything on time, right down to oil changes. It was a Sunday car. The old man became too disabled to drive it and sold it to the kid for a mere 2,500 bucks. The kid then drove the hell out of it for about 3 weeks ‘til the factory T-5 blew up from power shifting. Being a rich little punk (which he gladly admits) his father replaced the transmission with a World Class T5 straight from SVO (now FRPP) and a Centerforce 2 clutch kit. I verified this through part numbers. I couldn’t believe my find. So then I decided to transfer the driveline to my car - except for the fuel injection. That’s where my coupe begins.

After many years of drag racing a ’68 Torino 289-4 speed combo I decided to build a lighter version of it. I then designed this combo for my coupe. The 89-roller motor was pulled and machined. I had the heads milled for straightness and the block decked. All adding up to about 0.060 or so - which raised the compression about one point to 10:1. I took a grinder to the ports and gasket matched and worked them a little. I put the 1.6 Crane rockers on and freshened up the valves with a 3 angle. Then I picked out the cam - Motorsports B303. Next I topped it off with the Performer RPM intake and a 650 Holley double pumper. Also a 1" phenolic plastic spacer just for good measure. I put on a set of BBK chrome 1 5/8" full-length headers and matching H-pipe. With an electric fan kit and an ’85 magnetic pickup distributor hooked to a MSD 6AL that rounded out the ignition (Blaster 2 coil and Motorsport 9mm wires).

Next I sent the rear out to a friend. He reworked it with an Auburn Pro-posi unit and Richmond 3.73 gears. New bearing, retainers, everything was replaced. Brakes too. I put that back into the coupe with a set of Metco Extruded Aluminum adjustable upper and lower control arms. I then took a look at the fuel system. Here is a major problem I thought, so I hacked it all out. I installed a Triangle Engineering 15-gallon fuel cell into the spare tire well. It fit almost perfect. It has the Ford/Autometer sender on it so it was simple two-wire hook up. I ran ½" Moroso aluminum fuel line to an electric fuel pump and back up to a Holley regulator on the firewall. There is a Pro-Comp silver face fuel gage on the cowl hooked to it. Next I noticed the braking system. The lines were rotten from sitting. So I redid them all in stainless. At one point I was ready to drop a road flare into the car for getting into that. But not it was well worth it. All new from the master cylinder to the wheels. Whew!

With all that taken care of I bolted in the seats from the 89. I bought a blue Autometer shift light from a friend and installed it behind the dash so it shined through the little green turbo light. I love that. Except for the seats and wheels the car remains in stock form. I used Moroso solid motor mounts on the motor and an Energy Suspension tranny mount to save a little vibration at the seat bolts. I tried the Moroso solid tranny mount but it was too much. It’s a little shaky but bearable with the energy suspension mount. It dampens it just enough. Rounding out the mods have been the subframe system from Kenny Brown and a custom turndown exhaust consisting of Flowtech Terminators and a 4" long pipe dumping in front of the rear. With regular radials it burns the Hell outta the tires but still launches hard. I think with slicks it will easily stand up. But I am not going to take it to the track until I put a cage in it. The stock four-cylinder suspension seems to be ideal for launching as a drag car. I’ve tried the Moroso springs and didn’t like them. This car is a daily driver and with 12 degrees of ignition timing runs great on pump gas. I raced a friend with a 13.02@105 mph Cobra on the street and destroyed him by at least 8 car lengths.. So I suppose it should run well into the 12’s and hopefully 11’s on slicks. Well have a good day and I hope to have some time slips for you soon!!

John Kelly

The engine pic is a little old- its got the 600 Holley single feed on it that I used to get the car running. Other than that it’s all there- MSD to electric fan. I ordered a big shot plate system so soon there will be another 1/2 inch aluminum fuel line and some solenoids hanging off. When I get it done I’ll take some pics of the trunk area (triangle engineering 15 gallon) and the underside with the control arms and all the plumbing. Have a cool day---- John

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