Hi all. A few months ago I decided to pull the trigger and upgrade my '66 coupe a little.
I bought the car in 1992, and after riding in a friend's '65 R-model clone with a roller 302 and a T-5, I spent the next 7 years resto-modding it to look like a Shelby T/A coupe, with a Shelby hood and side scoops, R-model front valance, and 16x8 Vintage 45 wheels with 225/50/16 BFGoodrich tires. In 1999 it was on the road, with a roller motor and T-5 from a 1985 GT, upgraded cam, TFS heads, 650 double pumper, long tubes, 9 inch Versailles rear with a 3:50 traction-lok, Granada front disks and Lincoln rear disks, and Global West suspension. The only original thing left besides the shell was the Ivy Green paint color. Life was good and I was grabbing gears and grinning ear to ear, all while out-handling just about anything on the road.
I was content for a few years, and ran 13.6 at 101mph on street tires with 60-foot times in the 1.8-1.9 range. At the time, that wasn't too bad, and was faster than most stock sports cars. It caught quite a few Mustangs, Camaros, Trans Ams and Corvettes by surprise. Then, one month in Mustang Monthly, I saw an ad for a Paxton Novi 1200 supercharger for a carbed 289/302. Uh ohhhhh.
So in 2002 or so I buy the Paxton. My buddy did the install and it ran 12.1 at 114 at Quaker City on Mickey Thompsons with a gentle 2900 rpm launch and granny shifting. 114 mph in a 40-year-old car feels faster than 140 in a new 5.0...by a long shot. Yep...that's all the power I'll ever need. Yup... Right...Sure...
Ok - so I'm a liar. No - it didn't really "need" more upgrading, but since I'm old enough to be counting backwards I figured what the hell.
To be continued...
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