Hemmings Muscle Machines February 2022

“I was among those who were lured away from other camps by the Fox-era 5.0 Mustang…” I can still recall my high school auto shop teacher going around the room, asking each of us in the class what kind of engine we wanted to work on for the semester. Having bought a Chevelle that summer, naturally I said I wanted to do a Chevy. “Yer gettin’ a Ford!” he snapped back. The teenage me was annoyed, assuming the teacher was just being a jerk — he knew what kind of car I had, after all. Of course, the slightly more mature me recognizes that the teacher was looking out for my interests, attempting to broaden my knowledge of what goes on inside an engine. He knew I was already busy ruining my…

RETURN OF THE CALIFORNIA SPECIAL A GT/CS THAT LIVES UP TO THE “GT” PART OF ITS NAME Mustang’s popular California Special versions were generally appearance packages — twist-lock-fastened hood, fog lamps, side scoops behind the door opening, trunk spoiler, ’65 Thunderbird taillights, special stripes, pop-open gas cap, and the like; oddly, its GT/CS name had nothing to do with the Mustang GT package. Finally, Ford makes good on the promise of the GT/CS name with the new 2022 Mustang GT California Special, which adds the GT Performance Package. That gets you six-piston Brembo front brake calipers, heavy-duty front springs, larger rear anti-sway bar, overall lower ride height, K-brace, strut-tower brace, front subframe V-brace, Torsen limited-slip differential, unique stability control and electric power steering tuning, and staggered-size (19 x 9-inch front, 19 x 9.5-inch…

I am a long-time subscriber and enjoy your magazine. I’ve included a picture of my ’69 Rambler two-door sport sedan. It has a Mustang T-5 five-speed transmission behind a 1977 Jeep (AMC) 304-cu.in. V-8. All was made possible with Modern Drive-line’s help. I bought the car with a six-cylinder automatic driveline that ran and drove just fine; it was a basic grandma car. After a year of driving it stock, I decided to upgrade to a V-8 and a five-speed. After much research, I discovered that AMC and Jeep did have that combo in stock vehicles. I wanted mine to be as true to stock as possible. It is on the road, runs just fine and the manual transmission is fun to drive. It now has a hydraulic clutch, using…

Send your letters, photos and opinions to tmcgean@hemmings.com ORIGINALITY COMPLEX Terry McGean asked an excellent question in his column “Parallel Pursuits” ( HMM #220, December 2021). A few years ago, I was lucky enough to acquire a very straight 1970 Olds 4-4-2. It was rust-free except for some bubbling on the bottom of the front fenders. It was also confirmed to have all matching numbers, was very straight, and had never been cut up. I took it to the next level: I had it resprayed in its original Twilight Blue, had the correct non-W-30 stripes applied, and added an OAI (Outside Air Induction) hood and the one-year-only sport mirrors. The purists bemoaned, “Why does every 1970-’72 Olds A-body have to get the OAI hood?” Because it’s one of the coolest hoods ever! I…

WHEN YOUNG, up-and-coming Ford Motor Company test-track electrical technician and Detroit drag racer Milo Coleman kept an extra dollar bill in his pocket, little did he realize that it would buy him one of the world’s most sought-after factory racers. But thanks to his high-profile success with a stocker Fairlane a year before, 27-year-old Milo was the lucky racer chosen for the 13th 1964 Thunderbolt off the production line, one of 100 427-cu.in., dual-quad, lightweight Fairlane 500s put into the hands of straight-line racers. He piloted the 425-horsepower land rocket to the NHRA Southeast Super Stock championship in the summer of 1964. In 1958, Milo was a newbie at Ford, but he kept his eyes peeled for performance, especially after 1961, when he recalled seeing high-performance testing ramping up at the well-guarded…

ENGINE Type.....................................................Ford FE series; cast-iron block and cylinder heads Displacement..........................................................................................................427-cu.in. Bore x stroke.....................................................................................................4.23 x 3.78 in Compressionratio..............................................................................................................13:1 Horsepower@rpm...........................................................................................425 @ 6,000 Torque @ rpm............................................................................................480 lb-ft @ 3,700 Mainbearings...................................................................................................................Five Lubricationsystem..........................................................Fullpressure;rotary-typepump, modified steel oil pan to a deep sump Camshaft..............................................................................................................Mechanical Valvetrain....................................................................Solidlifters;adjustablerockerarms Fuel system .................Twin Holley 715-cfm carburetors; Stewart Warner 240a electric fuel pump, 3/8-inch fuel line, engine-driven Carter high-volume mechanical fuel pump; Ford aluminum 2 x 4 “High Riser” intake manifold Ignition............................................................................................Ford dual breaker points Electrical system ............................................. 12-V; tractor battery mounted in the trunk Exhaust system...........................Tuned tubular headers with a complete single exhaust with a rear mounted muffler to compete in Super Stock class TRANSMISSION Type.....................................................................................Lincolnthree-speedautomatic Ratios...........................................................................1st/2.40:1 … 2nd/ 1.47:1 … 3rd/1.00:1 DIFFERENTIAL Type........................................................................Ford 9-inch; Detroit Locker differential Ratio...............................................................................................................................4.57:1 STEERING Type................................................................................................Manualrecirculatingball Ratio.................................................................................................................................27.8:1 BRAKES Type.......................................................Hydraulicdrum;single-reservoirmastercylinder Front/Rear.....................................................................................................10 x 2.5-in drum SUSPENSION Front............................Independent; unequal-length upper and lower control arms with coil springs and strut arms, anti-roll bar, shocks Rear......................................................Live axle; leaf springs with traction bars mounted to a custom crossmember, shocks WHEELS & TIRES Wheels...............................................................................................................15 x…