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Building a car is all about expressing your personal style, and our very own StangTV contributor Dan Ramey certainly continues to do so with his 2008 Mustang GT. But Ramey’s car is more than just a piece of moving art. Rather, it’s a full-fledged driving machine that Ramey is proud to put up in competitions against trailer queens all season long.
Although he had had some experience with Mustangs in his younger years, it was only after marrying into a Mustang-loving family that he purchased one of the modern muscle cars of his own.
“I wanted a car I would love to drive but also love to work on,” Ramey told us. “And I couldn’t have made a better choice.”
Bought new in 2008, Red Dawn- which the car has become known as- is an ever-progressing project. For the last five years, Ramey has been modifying the modern muscle machine, not only to express his own tastes, but also to improve the car’s performance. And by looking at the car, you’ll certainly note the differences.
The first thing that Ramey started out modifying was based on the car’s appearance, from body kits and rims, to window tinting and specialty accents.
“I wanted my car to look more aggressive at first and then add the finishing touches later,” Ramey explained. “I always start with more bang for your buck in appearance so I took risks on all my choices in modifications because I wanted to do something unique, interesting and different.”
To progress the car to its current glory, Ramey added Razzi ground effects, a GT500 front splitter, GT500 Super Snake hood vents, honeycomb grille inserts, and a taillight, brake light and signal light trim kit. Ramey’s Mustang also features tinted windows, a vinyl hood stencil, vinyl Boss Fader Stripes and a vanity plate reading “RMR 007” for Red Mustang Registry Member #007.
Inside, the Mustang is just as customized, featuring a custom trunk lid panel, custom GT headrest covers, Red welt stripping interior trim, and custom accents, including speaker covers, arm rest cover and seat belt covers. You’ll also find the interior decked out with GT floor mats, leather seat covers, LED lighting, custom pedal covers, and a retro shift knob.
My car is one that can not be duplicated, is completely original, unique, risky and designed by my imagination,” Ramey said. “You will either love it or hate it.”
Adding to the appearance modifications, Ramey’s Mustang also features a few performance upgrades to satisfy his gearhead personality, including EBC Super Sport brake pads, an aFe cold air intake, a GT tower strut brace and 20-inch chrome Risso rims from Zinik, Ramey’s
favorite modification on the car.
'If you are truly going to be a Mustang owner, you need to work on your car yourself, feel how it handles under your control and know how to take care of your ride so it will continue to take care of you for years to come.' -Dan Ramey
While performance modifications are expected under the hood, Ramey opted to add even more flare to his car in the form of a custom plenum cover, custom battery cover, painted fuel rails, a custom reservoir cover, painted gasket cover and a custom painted throttle body.
Love it or hate it, Ramey’s car is truly one of a kind, and no one can argue with using a performance car the way it should be used- as a platform for personal style and enjoyment.
“What I like most about my car is that it drives just as aggressive as it looks,” Ramey concluded. “I don’t play the part of keeping my car as a trophy-I play the part of driving my car like it is meant to be driven. A Mustang is not a car to keep in the garage under a cover and in a trailer to tote around to shows. It is a car that needs to be driven.”
