Okay, full disclosure time. I have always been a GM guy. My first car was a ’72 Nova SS. My first truck was a dropped ’85 Silverado shortbed. The list goes on and on and with the exception of a brand new Honda Civic Si I bought when gas topped $4 a gallon and I was commuting 180 miles a day, they’ve all been GM products with the overwhelming majority sporting bowties.

That’s why when the idea of building a pro street car out of a late model car came up after the 2013 Street Machine Nationals, my first inclination was to go Chevy. I currently own a ’90 IROC that I just can’t bring myself to cut up (not yet, at least). I’m a fan of the fifth generation Camaro and honestly if I would have found one first, that would probably be the build. But a pro street Camaro? It almost seemed a little TOO cliche. My wife wasn’t crazy about the idea, either.

I flirted with the idea of a Cadillac CTS-V coupe. We can all dream, right? It would have looked really cool. for sure. Check out what the guys at Matheis Race Cars have done with some one-off bodies. My buddy Scott Sullivan took a peek and had some cool ideas for some custom tricks and the creative juices were flowing. After all, Matt Hay was a Ford guy. Rocky Robertson was a Buick guy. Scott, Rich Gebhardt, and Mark Grimes were all Chevy guys. However, none of them–or any other of my heroes–were Cadillac guys. Hmmmm….interesting.

Unfortunately, the $50,000 price tag meant affording one just to cut up was going to be next to impossible. And given the fact that I am just embarking on my trek to becoming a recognized name in pro street rather than already possessing a long resume of featured builds meant GM wasn’t going to just give me one.

Not yet, at least.

That’s about the time I happened to notice a relatively clean 2006 Mustang GT on my local Craigslist. It was in decent shape save for an aerated engine block created when the previous owner accidentally decided to take her for a spin without any engine oil. Two escaped connecting rods later, the car he bought brand new six years prior from the local Ford dealer had ended up sulking under his carport in need of a new home. I could smell the desperation in the post. He was moving and had nowhere to store the car. He couldn’t afford to fix it. It had all the makings of a screaming deal written all over it.

There was just one problem. I couldn’t talk to him about it.

Not yet, at least.

My wife and I had discussed the possibility of a high-end pro street build on the way back from Du Quoin. Unfortunately for me, I had promised I wouldn’t call about anything until we had a chance to run the numbers, talk to some folks, and decide whether or not if this was really something we wanted to do. I had already texted the guy already to be sure the car was still available. What to do?

I knew the clock was ticking on what I thought was an excellent deal on a great start to a legendary pro street build. However, I wasn’t going to go back on my word to my wife. Luckily for me, the owner had kept my number. When he had no luck selling it for a higher (albeit still pretty reasonable) price, he contacted me back. For a tick over $3000 it could be mine.

After we talked it over, my wife and I decided to take the plunge. It was loaded on a truck and headed for our address within 48 hours.

 

After we got the car home and unloaded, I started looking it over and planning and plotting the build. We still don’t have a shop (the subject of another few posts, for sure), but it is coming. A phone call to a few friends and the build was really taking shape.

The plan is for a full powder coated Rich-Gebhardt built tube chassis with a Fab9 differential and a strut front end. Unlike old-school pro streeters, the plan is to have a car that will be drivable on the street despite its slammed stance. Thanks to the awesome folks at Ride Tech, the Mustang will feature ShockWaves in the back and a trick air strut suspension in the front.

Paint will be handled by none other than Scott Sullivan.

My wife and I just couldn’t decide on color, though. We talked about black, red, and green for paint colors, but all of those are available on new ‘Stangs. So what color to paint it?

On the way home from work, I happened to hear “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons…a cool song with a ridiculously dumb video. As I listened to the chorus of “Welcome to the new age…” I thought to myself, ‘wow, this car kinda is intended to be the new age. Could be a cool theme.’

A Facebook conversation with a magazine editor a while back resulted in a comment I won’t soon forget: it will be the end of the world before pro street is popular again. Oh really? Well consider this Mustang the beginning of the end. Considering that conversation, I hear the lead singer blurt it out…”This is it. The apocalypse.”

Perfect.

Welcome to the new age.

The apocalypse.

Ready to rock you.

Enter the aPocalypSe Horse (PS for pro street…get it?). All the 80’s and 90’s cool on a contemporary body style with new tricks thrown in for good measure. It is Pro Street 2.0. Or Pro Street ReLoaded. Or the end of Pro Boring. Whatever you want to call it, it is gonna be cool.

apocalypse_horse

After much discussion, my wife and I decided that “radioactive” was a great color, too. In a serious nod to traditional pro street and such legends as Matt & Debbie Hay, Rocky Robertson, and Keith Eickert, the Mustang will be a retina-searing radioactive magenta pearl.

magenta

The engine specifics are up in the air at this point but we are hoping for a Kaase Boss 9, as are the brand and style of wheels…maybe Bon Speeds or Budniks (they’ll be 15″ diameter though!). We can also thankfully say we have the support of  Jeff Bertrand from J & B Microfinish and John Denich from Mark-V detailing products already. Steve Stanford has been commissioned to crank out the rendering, and we are making plans to attend SEMA this year and hopefully meet with some folks. With some help, we are hoping the New Age will be bigger, badder, and better than ever. Stay tuned…you’ll see the whole thing right here!!