Darin Back’s Kenne Bell-Equipped Road Racing S197 Mustang

Darin needed a newer car, because his diesel Jetta was getting too old. His dilemma was that he wanted something that had room for the kids, but with a minivan and an F350 as part of his stable he needed something to have a little bit of fun with. Being a diehard Ford fanatic with a penchant for anything fast, he decided to get a 2005 Mustang GT.

Darin is no stranger to fast cars and customizing them. He owns a sand rail with a 300 hp turbocharged Ford Pinto motor, and he built a Cobra a few years back as a fun project car. When it came to his new ‘family’ car, this Mustang had to have room for his two young kids, but also had to have room to open it up once in a while. He got a great deal on this car, already equipped with a set of Eibach Sport Springs, struts, shocks and sway bars, but anyone who knows Darin knows that wasn’t going to be enough.

One of his first modifications was to install a Kenne Bell Stage 2 2.6L Supercharger, and once he received it he couldn’t wait to install it. He did many of the smaller modifications and installed small parts when he had time during the week. This included removing the factory air box, relocating the overflow tank, and installing the reservoir for the heat exchanger and the new washer reservoir, all to make room for the blower.

The Stage 2 Kenne Bell blower produces about 9 psi of boost, with a 90mm MAF and 130mm throttle body. The upgraded Shelby GT500 heat exchanger helps keep the intake temps cooler.

Once the smaller tasks were accomplished, Saturday morning rolled around and it was time to install the supercharger. By Sunday afternoon, everything was in place and the Mustang was ready for its initial test drive with the new blower. The good news was that everything went together very well, and there were no issues at all with the installation. The bad news? Now that Darin had upped the ante, he found that he had a very hard time keeping the car going in a straight line because the 550 horsepower was too much for the tires he had on the Mustang.

The next upgrade was a larger set of wheels and Nitto 555 tires, running a 275/40-18 out back and a 255/40-18 up front. Seeing all that new-found room between the factory caliper and the new wheels gave him another idea, and that was to upgrade his brakes. Next stop (pun intended) was for a set of four-piston Saleen calipers and 14″ rotors  up front with cool air ducting. With traction and braking taken care of, there was only one thing left to do: try it out at the race track.

Darin and a few friends hit a couple tracks in California for some fun. First they raced at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway in Desert Center, and later they raced at Willow Springs International Raceway, where the above video was shot.

This Mustang fills your rear view mirror in a hurry and blows past before you get time to check it out.

After a few issues with a heat exchanger pump that weekend, he decided to upgrade his heat exchanger and pump to a larger Shelby GT500 unit from Raven Racing with a better pump and that solved all the issues. He also installed a set of Doug Thorley headers on this Smog legal daily driver.

If you’re wondering how the kids love riding in this blown Mustang, they love it almost as much as Dad does. His four-year-old son finds the drone of the Magnaflow exhaust soothing and it often lulls him to sleep. Sometimes the best way for Darin to get him to take a nap is to take him for a long drive. He loves the sound of the blower unleashing the ponies, too. Like father, like son.

About the author

Michael Harding

Michael is a Power Automedia contributor and automotive enthusiast who doesn’t discriminate. Although Mopar is in his blood, he loves any car that looks great and drives even faster.
Read My Articles

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