If you've been a fan of Mustangs for any length of time then you probably react to a set of Shelby stripes like bees do to honey.

Well that is exactly the reaction we had when we saw a white on blue striped car parked in the garage of a typical suburban California neighborhood. Thinking it probably was a well-kept Shelby GT-350, we made a u-turn to check it out further. We couldn't have been more wrong!

Turns out what we stumbled upon was Dennis Shaw's '68 ProStreet coupe, a work-in-progress. Dennis explained that when the car is finished that it will be the only coupe in the ProStreet class. He wanted to build something that hadn't been done before; meaning he didn't want to build another fastback.

Having long retired from the racing circuit, Dennis still enjoys building fast and incredible looking cars. This particular project started a year and a half ago, and he expects to have it finished sometime in late 1999. We thought we'd at least give you a preview, and then run a follow-up when the car is completed.

The engine you currently see is what Dennis calls his "street/show" motor. The engine block is a cemented R302 (iron, four bolt mains) bored .030 over, fitted with a steel crank, Milodon rods, 13.0:1 domed pistons, and a Crower solid roller cam with 286 duration (advertised) and .593 lift. The heads are stock 302 with a professional port and polish job and 2.02 int. and 1.60 exh. valves. Induction is topped of with a Weiand tunnel ram and two 650 Holley carbs.

The high compression requires a mix of 95 and 105 octane race fuel. This particular engine runs through a highly prepped C4 trans and 5.86:1 9" locker.

As you could imagine the car needs serious structural modifications to handle this sort of power. Dennis commented that the short wheel-base Mustangs are very difficult to keep straight with this much power. The body has been fitted with a Stills and Nelson chasis which includes a certified cage tied into the ladder bar structure under the car. The backend is tubbed to fit the 33"x19" Mickey Thompsons.

Although our photos don't do it justice, the $4000 finish on the car is what drew our attention in the first place. The paint and body work was done by Graphics Unlimited in Martinez, California.

Once Dennis is done with the car he plans to make one pass to "certify" the car runs in the expected ET range, and then sell the Rodeck engine and possibly the car too. He already has some buyers bidding for a turn-key Prostreet car, so he expects he won't own it very long! F/M