While most vehicle features start with a brief history of a car owner and why they love cars, this one is slightly different. This story is not about a barn find, a car that was sold and found years later, or a vehicle that’s a family heirloom. No, this story starts around a somewhat hostile Thanksgiving dinner table in 2023 and ends at the Battle of Big Bend.

This photo says it all.

Ford V. Ferrari Battle Of Big Bend

So imagine this. A father in this story, Rick Lehn, and his son, Ian Lehn, are being festive while shooting the bull around the table after Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family. The pair started discussing classic cars versus modern cars. After a drink or two, maybe three, Ian mouthed off, saying he was the better driver by far, and could beat his “old man” any day of the week in an old classic. At this point, there was a lot of chest-beating, and Rick replied, “Ok, put your money where your mouth is.” Ian obliged, and the two decided to settle the somewhat restless exchange of words at the Battle of Big Bend Open Road Race in Texas. Ian would race a 1969 Mustang, and his father would drive his 2002 Ferrari Modena. A modern-day Ford V. Ferarri was born.

Ian Lehn (on the left) will pilot the Mustang and his father, Rick Lehn (on the right) will drive the Ferrari at the Battle of Big Bend Open Road Race.

When the dust settled, Ian quickly realized that this challenge had a few issues. The first problem was the race was just a few months away. The second issue was that the car was mostly stock, and there was no way it could compete with the Ferrari Modena. With the current condition of the Mustang, Ian could have the driving skills of Ken Miles, the star of the GT40 heyday, and it wouldn’t matter. The Mustang was too outdated and original to compete with any car with a modern powerplant, drivetrain, brakes, and tires. Not wanting to lose the race, Ian scrambled for help and advice on the selected Mustang.

And so it begins. The guys start to take apart the Mustang starting with the tired Ford 351 powerplant.

Right after the Thanksgiving challenge, I received a call from Ian. Ian and I have been friends for a few years thanks to our shared interest in all things motorized and the Automotive Aftermarket. Since Ian is the Owner of BOOSTane, we have worked together on many projects. So naturally, he reached out about covering the Mustang build and the Battle of Big Bend. Of course, I was interested. How could I not be? What red-blooded American doesn’t want to see a Ford whip up a supercar? However, this is where the conversation took a turn.

Ian wanted someone to install a new engine in the ’69 and “maybe a five-speed transmission.” He wanted to know if I knew of any shops I could recommend. That’s when I jokingly said he should ship the car to Texas and let our friends at KPE Racing handle the task since the shop is eight minutes from my house. This would allow me to shoot photos and help work on the car if needed. The next thing I know, the vehicle arrives at KPE on February 5th, giving KPE two and a half months to be race-ready. Nevertheless, we had some more issues.

Chase Havins of KPE Racing waiting “patiently” on parts to show up as the countdown begins.

The Build Begins

What started as an engine and transmission swap quickly became a complete rebuild. Everything on this car was original, and everything needed attention. After some discussion, Chase Havins, my son and operations manager at KPE, took the lead on the build. While he’s only 23 years old, he’s been around cars all of his life, and for obvious reasons. So, while Ian and his father were preparing to battle each other at Big Bend, Chase and I teamed up in an epic thrashing session to see if we could complete a total rebuild of a 1969 Mustang we dubbed the BOOSTang.

With the car in our possession, we were dying to see how much power the tired 351 Ford made on the chassis dyno. And man, were we disappointed. The engine put down just 199 horsepower to the wheels. After hearing how gutless the BOOSTang was, Ian immediately called Blueprint Engines and ordered one of their 347 cubic-inch engines. With the excellent news that a new powerplant was coming, Chase quickly got the engine and transmission out of the car. But now it was a waiting game as we were starting to feel the pressure of our tight timeline.

The BluePrint 347 looks awesome and looked even better in the Mustang.

A couple of weeks passed, and at this point, we knew we would be battling against the clock and that this build would come down to the wire. And let’s be honest: whenever you build a car on a hard deadline, you always need more time. However, February had come and gone, and thankfully, parts were starting to show up.

While suspension was not on the list at first, it was apparent that we had major issues after driving the car for the first time. All of the Mustang’s ball joints were worn out, the power steering no longer worked, and there was no brake fluid in the rear of the master cylinder. The mountain of issues kept piling up, and we kept ordering new parts. Fortunately, a massive puzzle piece arrived: the Ridetech coilover suspension system.

Ridetech’s coil-over suspension system for the 1969 Mustang offers a significant upgrade in handling, performance, and ride quality over the original factory suspension. The high-performance coil-over shocks feature adjustable damping, allowing fine-tuning to suit driving conditions. The system includes high-quality coil springs with variable rates, balancing ride comfort and performance and handling the increased demands of modern driving, all of which we desperately need for the BOOSTang.

The complete kit includes all necessary hardware and brackets for the car’s front and rear, making it an excellent upgrade over the factory suspension. We were stoked to see the kit ditch the antiquated rear-leaf spring suspension for a triangulated 4-link.

With the Ridetech Kit unboxed, Ian assembled the coilovers while Chase started installing the front suspension. It bolted into the car with minimum effort. After Chase had installed the front coilovers, he turned his attention to the steering. Instead of having a modern-day power steering box, this Mustang used a power assist unit with a hydraulic ram. This out-of-date design does not allow for a tight turning radius, nor does it work. A call was made to Borgeson for a new power steering box and hoses.

The Borgeson power steering box is a substantial upgrade for the Mustang, blending modern performance with classic style. This design replaces the original external components, making the system more compact and performance-oriented. Its compact size also offers ample clearance for engine bay components like headers.

As a direct bolt-on replacement, it requires minimal modifications and mounts in the factory location. The ratio design (12.7:1) improves steering response and feel, reducing effort at low speeds while maintaining control at higher speeds. This enhances road feel and precision, addressing the vague, over-assisted feel of the original system. While all of this is great, the best part is we have a lot more steering angle now — no more 13-point turn for this Mustang.

The Borgeson steering box installation was a snap. Chase unbolted the old steering box and hardware and replaced it with the new unit. He then replaced the rest of the steering linkage with replacements from Summit Racing and a new Flaming River steering column. With everything bolted up and tight, the front of the Mustang was complete, well, almost.

The next step was to install the BluePrint 347 between the fenders of the ’69. The engine is rated at 415 horsepower and 415 lb-feet of torque, which is quite an improvement over the Mustang’s 351. The package includes BluePrint aluminum cylinder heads, 10:1 compression, hydraulic roller cam (.543 Intake / .554 Exhaust Lift and 218 Intake / .226 Exhaust Duration at .050 – 112° LSA) forged pistons, and a steel crankshaft. The aluminum intake was even topped off with a Holley Sniper fuel injection system. A CVF accessory drive also came with the new crate engine to complete the package.

BluePrint’s 347 fit perfectly in the Mustang and was already equipped with a Holley Sniper EFI, pre-installed sensors, and an electronic distributor.

The next puzzle piece was replacing the old, worn-out four-speed transmission. We considered going with a five-speed but ultimately decided the Tremec Magnum six-speed would be better. After some research, Ian called Sliver Sport Transmissions and ordered a complete kit for a 1969 Mustang. The kit included the wide-ratio Magnum transmission, which has a taller first gear (2.66 vs. 2.97) and a shorter sixth gear (.63 .vs .50), making it more usable for what we needed. This transmission is rated at 700 ft-lb of torque, which is more than enough for our needs, for now anyway. The kit includes a Quicktime bell housing, adjustable dowels, McLeod clutch, slave cylinder, throwout bearing, billet shifter, pilot bearings, slave cylinder, and remote reservoir.

Chase started removing the rear axle with the engine and transmission in their new home. Ian opted for a Moser Fab 9-inch rear axle, and fortunately for us, Moser can get its products built and out the door quickly. In just a few days, we had the Moser unit in our hands. We were all surprised at how quickly the axle arrived.

The Moser rear end showed up with 35-spline axles, an Eaton Detroit Locker, an aluminum center section, and a 1350 yoke. Ian also requested that it be narrowed two inches to ensure we had room for a larger tire in case he decided to go to a larger wheel and tire down the road. A 3.89 gear set was chosen to keep the Blueprint 347 in the powerband for the road race. Since the Mustang already had Wilwood brakes installed, Chase pulled them off the original axle, cleaned them up, and bolted them on the Moser Fab-9. It was time to get the new rearend connected to the Ridetech Suspension in the rear, well, almost, we still had a little work to do under the back of the Mustang.

Chase needed to install the Ridetech cradle to prep the car for the suspension in the rear. This process was simple enough. First, he cut out the factory bump stop mount and located the new cradle in the car. Next, he drilled holes for the U-bolts to secure the cradle to the frame, then bolted the plates to the inside frame rail. After everything was centered and secure, he installed the lower control arms to the rear axle and the coilovers. Ridtech supplies upper control arm jigs because you must weld the tabs on the new axle. However, this is straightforward with the right tools and welding skills.

It was April 20th, just five days before the open road race, and everyone was under the gun. Ian and his crew planned on stopping by to lend a hand in the final hours before loading the Mustang on the 23rd. All we had to do was finish the car. It sounds easy enough, but there was still a lot to do, and all hands were on deck.

Chase continued to work on the car during the day, and I would show up after work to help where I could. Jeremy Nichols was kind enough to lend us a few evenings and took care of welding up the Rhodes Race Car 4-point roll bar. After installing the roll bar, Jeremy also prepped the floor for the new seats. Matt from Never Enough Performance (NEP) installed the Summit exhaust system. While all of this was happening, I took care of buttoning up the wiring. Finally, Chase worked on installing the Status Racing seats and new harnesses to secure Ian and his co-driver, Dan.

Down To The Wire

It was now April 22nd, and we had the car buttoned up. The last piece of the puzzle was to add fluids, check for leaks, and get the car aligned. Fortunately, Ian put the guys at 4 Wheel Performance on standby ahead of time for the alignment. We showed up with a spec sheet from Ridetech, and they had it knocked out within an hour. Unfortunately, the drive back from 4 Wheel Performance was all the break-in that BOOSTang would get. We were out of time.

On the way back to the shop, the car felt great. All of the slop in the steering was now gone and the car no longer drifted back and forth on the highway. The Ridetech suspension was certainly doing its job too. The coilovers and suspension proved to be a valuable upgrade as the Mustang hardly had any body roll, which is a stark contrast from the first time we drove the car. It was very predictable and almost effortless to drive. We were also happy with the Moser rear axle and the 3.89 gear set as it seemed to be the perfect combination with Silver Sport Transmission’s Tremec six-speed magnum and the BluePrint 347. The only issue was, we still didn’t have enough miles to really beat on the car and see how it performed and that made all of us a little nervous. But, as we previously mentioned, we knew we were up against the clock.

With the BOOSTang all buttoned up and in race trim, it was time to hit the road and head to the Battle of Big Bend.

We were all confident that the car would do well at the race. However, there was still a lot on the line that could go wrong. And as Edward A. Murphy Jr., the American aerospace engineer, said, “If anything can go wrong, it will.” And man, was he right. But in the end, the Ford Vs. Ferrari shootout was about to begin.

As Ian pulled the car into the trailer that evening, we all breathed a sigh of relief as the car was finally headed to Big Bend. Phase one was complete, and the car was race-ready, or so we had hoped. Building a car in a matter of weeks is a challenging task. And what started out as “just and engine swap” escalated quickly.

Not everything went as smoothly as we would have liked. And being stranded on the side of the road is not one of Ian’s favorite things, even though he found himself in the situation a couple of times on this trip. As long as it doesn’t happen at the Battle of Big Bend, we will be OK.

The Battle Of Big Bend Part 2: To Be Continued…

Special shout out to Summit Racing for its support and fast shipping.