THE MOUSE!
John bought the 1979 Mustang Ghia 5.0 for the sole purpose of making the 15 minute drive to Sears Point Raceway, a few passes down the quarter mile, and then back home.

It was purchased in July, 1995 for $300 with 180,000 miles on the original engine. Options included oxidized blue finish, with rust holes in the body, and no oil pressure at idle, but it ran. The 302-cid engine was rated at wheezing 140 hp for that year, and featured a 350 cfm 2bbl carb, C4 auto tranny and single exhaust with cast iron headers.

That summer, John replaced the main bearings, shoe-shined the crank journals with emery cloth, and replaced the oil pump with an HV unit. The car was given a paint job... You thought Earl Schieb was cheap? How does ten cans of Krylon White sound? Total cost for spray cans and a gallon of bondo: (cha ching) $46.00.

The following season brought some significant changes. The interior was put on a Jenny Craig diet, shedding nearly two hundred pounds of weight., down to a featherlight 2300 pounds! The rear wheels were fitted with 235-60R15 radials. By the end of the '96 season the car ran a 15.95 @ 83mph, on a 2.37 60 ft.

For 1997 the weak 7.5" differential was replaced an 8.8" axle from an '86, with 3.55 gears (pleasant surprise). Replacing the stock muffler with a turbo muffler, alone yielded a half-second gain.

Plexiglass was used to cover the head light recesses and front grill, areas of high drag. Along with an electric fan to help cooling, the car was now at 14.80 @ 90.5mph, without ever touching the engine.

The 1998 season called for some engine modifications. The stock 2 bbl. intake and carb was replaced with a Holley 600 double-pumper, stock '85 Mustang 4bbl manifold, and '85 dual-snorkel air cleaner. The cast iron headers were replaced with stock late-model shorties. The single exhaust was replaced with a homemade "sawed-off" dual exhaust. The Mouse now scurried the quarter in under 14.20's.

Using some composite plastic material and a heat gun, John fabricated an air dam on the nose and side skirts. The homemade ground effects were worth nearly two tenths. A crude ram air system, which plumbed the air inlets into the parking lights, brought the car to a 13.96 @ 96.8mph, on a 60 ft. of 2.064.

The following winter John retired the '79 motor and, with help from his wife, his cousin Jimmy and his neighbor Dave, gave the Mouse a heart transplant. An '86 roller block with home ported E7 heads now sat in the engine bay. The entire engine was freshened up by John in his garage, including hand honing the cylinders, notching the pistons (the stock '86 pistons have no valve relief's) and lapping the valves. He deburred the block, main caps, rod caps and smoothed the rod beams. The crank journals were polished with up to 1500 grit wet dry paper and paint thinner. The oil passages in the crank were chamferred.

The C4 auto transmission was replaced with an old SROD manual, to make the trips down the track more exciting.