Looking Back at One of the Largest All-Ford Shows on the West Coast


Each year, after a full summer of cruising, wrenching, and racing, with winter upon us and the cold and wet weather looming, we  look back on the past season of Ford fun with a little nostalgia. For those on the West Coast, one of the biggest and best all-Ford events takes place at Sacramento Raceway each fall — the All Fast Fords and Muscle Mustangs Show-and-Go held by the Capital Mustangs Car Club. This year, the date was September 15th! As we stay cooped up for the winter, we can’t help but reminisce about one of the best Blue Oval events on the West Coast.

From top to bottom, Moises Barragan’s homebuilt 1985 Mustang LX coupe is jaw-dropping. You might recognize it from the Internet and social media. Under the hood is a Dart-based 306 with TrickFlow 11R 205 heads, and a custom turbo kit making 620 horsepower at the wheels on just 8 psi. It’s backed by a T56 transmission, a mini-tub kit, a mixture of Maximum Motorsports, Team Z, and Viking suspension components, and is augmented by a full custom interior and paint, and it was all built with friends in his backyard.

This year, mild weather welcomed over 130 show cars and 100 drag racers and drifters to the event’s sixth installment. Plenty of vendors were on-hand showing off their latest parts, there was a swap meet with some NOS gold, and a row of food trucks that kept the hungry Ford fans fed.

This year, over 130 showcars and 100 drag racers showed up for the event at Sacramento Raceway. There were food trucks, a burnout pit, a vendor’s midway, swap meet, and more!

The car show brought plenty of solid FoMoCos, from modern muscle like Fox-bodies, SN95s, New Edges, and some killer S197s and S550s, to classic Mustangs, Fairlanes, and Falcons.

It’s not often you see a Terminator Cobra this clean or this mean, but Michael Jassi’s 2003 Cobra optimizes both. It’s knocking on nines at the strip thanks to a Teksid short-block by Jonathan Rivera, with Comp Stage 3 cams, and a 2.9L Whipple Non-Crusher blower. Kooks 1-⅞ inch long-tubes, three-inch mids, and Borla Stingers make up the exhaust, and fuel is handled by a Fore Innovations E85 fuel system with triple pumps and ID1050X injectors. Jassi also chose a Bob Kurgan tune, upgraded T56 transmission, McLeod RXT clutch, solid-rear axle swap with 31 spline axles and a Detroit TruTrac. Finally, the list of modifications is rounded out with a UPR anti-roll bar, coilovers, chromoly K-member, Strange 10 shocks, Team Z springs, and Billet Specialties rims. All that equates to 828 horsepower and 700 lb-ft at 26 psi on a Mustang dyno.

For those who preferred more go than show, there was plenty of drag racing action throughout the day. From single-digit drag cars and vintage drag racers to a field of modern Fords competing for cash and bragging rights, there was a little something for everyone. Speaking of which, a burnout pit added a new twist this year, as the Sac Speed Shop sponsored event let fans get sideways and test their drifting skills in a safe area backed by a DJ spinning tracks to get the drifters and the crowd hyped.

The new burnout pit from the crew at Sac Speed Shop was a crowd-pleaser, especially with drivers that were crazy enough to burn the tires off . . . right down to the rims!

Rafael Perez’s 2003 Cobra has been this modded and flawlessly clean for years now. In fact, some might say he’s an OG of the California Terminator Cobra scene. For those unfamiliar with his DSG Cobra, it makes 630 horsepower and 539 lb-ft at the wheels thanks to a Whipple Gen 2 2.3L blower, an Accufab throttle body, Metco pulleys, Bassani headers and X-pipe, polished Borla Stingers, and an Afco heat exchanger. Other important bits include an MGW shifter, McLeod RXT clutch, Full Tilt Boogie IRS parts, True Forged coolant tanks, 18-inch CCW wheels, and Yukes projector headlights.

Sacramento Raceway Park is one of the premiere drag strips on the West Coast with a solid track surface that produces fast e.t.’s and big trap speeds, and it proved the perfect venue for the Blue Oval event. As for the Capital Mustangs Club, they’re all about nice cars, family, and giving back to the community.

Beeline Motorsports brought its mobile dyno, and some people had their tunes touched up before racing, while others talked a little smack and then put their money where their mouths were with a good ol’ fashioned dyno shootout.

Ricky Mashburn’s 1988 former SSP LX coupe is one for the books thanks to custom paint, big power, a flawless engine bay, and a solid drivetrain and suspension combo. Some of the highlights include a big-bore 348 Dart-based motor with a custom Comp camshaft, AFR 205 heads, and a Vortech V3 si blower making 613 horsepower and 589 lb-ft at the wheels. It’s also got a Maximum Motorsports Max Grip Box, a TKO500 transmission with a McLeod RXT clutch and a Stifflers crossmember.

“This is our sixth year of the event and it’s something we look forward to, since proceeds go to the Sacramento Children’s Receiving Home and it’s the only all-Ford event that has a show, drag racing, drifting, and vendor row and swap meet,” Tayron Young, Capital Mustangs Club Founder, said.

The Capital Mustang Club works tirelessly each year to throw a handful of events like the All Fast Fords and Muscle Mustangs Show-and-Go event here, and each one raises money for local charities.

This Whipple-equipped S550 looked great slammed down on some bigs and littles with flawless Ruby Red paint.

Whether you like show cars or racecars, the All Fast Fords & Muscle Mustangs Show-and-Go show is a great way to spend a day in the sun before the long, hard, cold winter sets in and we’re left without our cars and only to reminisce about the past season’s highlights. For more information on next year’s event, visit Capital Mustangs Club and Sacramento Raceway.

This 1991 Fox-body convertible owned by Ever Millan is a sleeper thanks to a Gen 1 Coyote hiding under the hood. It’s been fortified with a Ford Performance Cobra Jet intake manifold, a Dmark CAI, Ford Performance Twin 65mm throttle body, 4.10 gears, a 6r80 transmission from an F-150, and an AED E85 tune good for 440 horsepower and 428 lb-ft at the wheels.

The newly added burnout pit brought plenty of average joes and even some unofficial pros, like Yoni Padilla who tossed his 2006 Mustang GT convertible around like he meant it. The Three-Valve had an AirLift air-ride kit, 20-inch FR500 wheels, carbon hood, and Borla exhaust system.

Get used to the view, because should you choose to line up with this Cobra, all you’re going to see is its taillights! Manuel Cervantes’ Terminator Cobra is making four-digit horsepower thanks to a built motor with a Teksid block that’s been filled with Diamond, MMR, and ARP goodies, and then topped with a 3.4L Whipple Crusher supercharger and an E85 fuel system.

Final Stage Mobile Detailing was out in full force, ensuring no dirty cars were to be found, as they offered up their knowledge and professional detailing services to showgoers.

When’s the last time you saw a clean, largely untouched 1994 Mustang Cobra? Jack Lyster’s flawless example reminds us just how nice the pushrod SN95 Cobras were and still are, as his sports shiny original paint, Enkei RPF1 wheels, a Vortech V3si supercharger, Maximum Motorsports suspension, and other prime parts.

 

This wicked Mach 1, owned by Fernando Lopez Arteaga, makes 451 horsepower and 418 lb-ft at the wheels on E85 thanks to a Bob Kurgan tune, a ProCharger P1 supercharger with an ½-inch intake spacer, BBK long-tubes, ID1000 injectors, a Lethal Performance return-style fuel system with Walbro 465 pumps, and an Aeromotive Pro Series FPR. Power is routed through a Spec stage 2 clutch and aluminum flywheel, an aluminum driveshaft, Eaton Detroit TruTrac, Moser 31-spline axles, and 4.10 gears.

Four-eyed Foxes were out in full force this year, like David Donnell’s 1983 GT with a ‘91 EFI 5.0 engine swap. It was outfitted with an aftermarket cam, AFR heads, Cobra 1.7 roller rockers, TrickFlow intake manifold, underdrive pulleys, full suspension, some nice 18-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin rubber, and LED headlights and taillights.

Drew Wallace and Shawn Allsup left their race cars at home and instead brought their race-haulers that were as clean as most of the show cars onsite. If only we could get Shawn to sell us his clean 7.3-liter to haul our own projects!

Modded Terminator Cobras, though rare in the wild, were in strong order at the show. Shimraaz Ali brought his, with a Gen 2 2.3L Whipple blower, Accufab monoblade throttle body, JLT RAI, SCT MAF, and ARP head studs and cam bolts. The endlessly long modification list includes: ported intake valves, Bullet Racing cams by Bob Kurgan, Manley forged pistons, Mac headers, Lethal Performance off-road x-pipe, Borla Stingers, Edelbrock waterpump, Moroso reservoirs, N2MB WOT Box, Billetflow idlers, dual Walbro 465s, ID1050X injectors, Division X and Aeromotive fuel components, MGW short shifter, McLeod RXT clutch, Stifflers driveshaft safety loop, 18-inch CCW wheels, H&R springs, Maximum Motorsports caster camber plates, UPR bumpsteer kit and Wilwood 6-piston calipers and 14-inch rotors. Did we mention it makes 728 horsepower and 685 lb-ft at the wheels on E85 with an AED tune?

Alex Palominos showed his Coyote pride with this cool shirt, but it’s not all bark and no bite, as he also owns an S550 with full bolt-ons, Roush aesthetic mods, and GT350R replica wheels.

That’s a wrap! No really, Hilario Serrano’s 2014 Shelby GT500 is wrapped with 3M Fiery Orange vinyl to look the part, but it also plays it with 800 horsepower and 820 lb-ft at the wheels, with a best pass of 10.01 at the strip. All of this comes to you from Kooks long-tubes and a catted x-pipe, Corsa Sport exhaust, a JLT CAI, VMP TwinJet 67mm throttle body and 2.5-inch upper pulley with idler, ID1000 injectors, JMS PowerMAX pump voltage booster, a Fore Innovations fuel system, an AED E85 tune, Weld RTS wheels, BMR drag springs and panhard bar, UPR rear control arms and Viking shocks.

Earlybirds busted down the doors long before the sun was up to get at the swap meet that featured plenty of parts for every project, including classic FoMoCo bits and plenty of Fox-body and newer hard-to-find parts, too.

Andres Serrano’s 1986 Ford Mustang is hiding a Gen 2 Coyote under the hood that’s good for 443 horsepower and 399 lb-ft at the wheels, and has been a best of 12.2 at 119 mph. It’s backed by a TKO600 transmission and up front it uses an AJE K-member, UPR coilovers, Maximum Motorsports caster-camber plates, and out back it has Maximum Motorsports lower control arms, Baseline upper control arms, Drag springs, Strange 10-way adjustable shocks and a UPR anti rollbar.

Dark Shadow Grey (DSG) 2003 and 2004 Mustang Cobras are rare, but you wouldn’t know it walking the show, as some of the best Terminator Cobras just happened to be DSG! Elveen Lala’s example was one such example with an effective combo of show and go parts. The lineup included a smaller blower pulley, Metco idlers, a JLT CAI, an Afco heat-exchanger, MGW shifter, Centerforce clutch, Billetflow IRS brace, Bassani x-pipe, Magnaflow Magnapack, Willwood brakes, Koni adjustable shocks, Eibach springs, Maximum Motorsports IRS rearend bushings, 18-inch Forgestar wheels, carbon fiber throughout, and an AED tune good for 482 horsepower and 504 lb-ft at the wheels.

People of all ages enjoyed the day of horsepower, burnouts, shiny paint and gearhead camaraderie, even the soon-to-be-racers like Cole!

Eddie Rachel’s turbocharged classic Mustang was an absolute beast all day, unloading the front tires at the hit and pulling like a freight train on the big-end!

Track prep at Sacramento Raceway is always on-point thanks to the dedicated track staff like Michael ONeil and Duane Thomas, who take pride in a surface so sticky it pulls your shoes off . . . err, we mean, it pulls the front wheels up.

Here’s a rarity; a real-deal 1988 T-top notchback Mustang! This example is owned by Marco Valenzuela Llanes and makes 460 horsepower and has run a best of 11.4 at 121 mph thanks to a Vortech V2 supercharged stock bottom-end 302 setup. It sports GT40 heads, a B303 cam, Edelbrock intake manifold and phenolic spacer, electric water pump, long-tube headers, x-pipe, and single-chamber Flowmaster mufflers, a full fuel system, Mishimoto aluminum radiator and electric fans, coilovers with Koni shocks, subframe connectors, tubular K-member, five-lug swap, Spec clutch, and SVE drag wheels.

You might recognize Jose Lopez’ mystic chrome painted four-eyed LX coupe from the Internet. Up close it’s just as clean thanks to perfect paint, a Ford Performance 363 crate motor topped with a color matched Saleen intake. and backed by a Tremec 3650 transmission.

Every year, the Capital Mustang Club hands out dozes of trophies for all of the winners in the many classes.

Harm Singh Virk’s 2014 Mustang GT is clean and mean thanks to a Paxton 2200 blower kit with a Paramount tune, ID1050X Injectors, a full Fore Innovations fuel system, Pypes offroad H-pipe, Corsa cat-back that adds up to 690 horsepower at the wheels. On the show side, it has an AirLift V2 air-ride suspension system, Ferrada wheels, a GT500 frontend, plenty of TruFiber bits, custom headlights, and BMR lower control arms and relocation brackets to help plant the power.

Yes it’s a real Saleen Cobra convertible . . . yes, they made but a handful of Four-Valve Saleens, and one was actually there on display thanks to the owners, brothers Alonso and German Chavez.

Yup, another jaw-dropping Terminator Cobra, and it’s DSG! Don’t be fooled, as no two were alike. Christian Diaz’ 2003 featured a built engine with a Teksid aluminum block, ARP hardware throughout, a 2.9L Whipple Crusher supercharger, a Fore Innovations E85 fuel system with ID1000 injectors, Kooks long-tubes and X-pipe, Borla Stingers, UPR suspension, CCW wheels and a Kurgan tune good for 800 horsepower and 709 lb-ft at the wheels.

These days, a built Three-Valve is a bit of a rarity, but thankfully killer examples like this Kenne Bell blown Shelby GT on air represent the generation well.

This 2015 Mustang GT owned by Maurice Littlejohn ran a best of 11.1 at 126 mph thanks to a ProCharger P1X with a 4-inch pulley, Boundary oil-pump gears, Ford Performance springs, MGW shifter, UPR suspension pieces, GT350 half shafts, 3.31 gears, Race Star bigs and littles, and a Palm Beach Dyno tune.

It was great to see Focus and Fiesta STs represented at the show and at the drag strip. This example was traction limited, but had enough trap speed for easy 13s on a sticky tire.

We love all forms of Ford performance, but there’s something special about a naturally aspirated setup that garners great respect, like Jesus Sandoval’s 2014 Mustang GT that’s making 456 horsepower and 408 lb-ft at the wheels. It’s tuned on E85 by AED, and features a Ford Performance Cobra Jet intake manifold and CAI, VMP TwinJet 67mm throttle-body, Kooks long-tubes, X-pipe and mufflers, an MGW shifter and the grey powder-coated Weld RTS wheels.

Mani Gill’s 1991 Mustang GT sports custom paint and a 306 with a forged rotating assembly, TrickFlow 170 heads, 1.6 roller rockers and intake manifold, F303 cam, 60-lb injectors, a BBK 75mm throttle body and fuel rails, a Vortech V1 supercharger with an 8-rib setup, and an Anderson Power Pipe.

Genuine Ford Fans from all over the state descended upon the racetrack for a day of good times and great memories, like Frank and his crew of Blue Oval diehards.

John Giasi’s wicked 1991 Coupe was another killer build from the AED camp that was turning heads thanks to plenty of show and go. This mid-8-second Fox-body makes 1200 horsepower at the wheels thanks to a huge ProCharger blower and a FAST XFI standalone computer orchestrating and charging a small-block Ford that’s backed by a C4 transmission.

Spencer Cookson, William Pugach, and Jack Lyster might be smiling now, but every time they lined up at the tree, it was every man for themselves. Honestly, what’s better than a day of friendly rivalry at a car event?

Ivan Garcia’s survivor 1993 Teal Mustang Cobra features Maximum Motorsports suspension components and is otherwise stock. When’s the last time you saw a clean Fox-body Cobra?

Dominique Burton threw his 2000 Mustang GT Cobra clone around like he was a pro drifter thanks to a Cobra IRS, complete suspension, and brake swap. The Pypes longtubes, X-pipe and straight pipes, Bama tune, BBK fuel rails and cold-air intake and MSD two-step only made the smoke show that much better.

Sacramento Raceway proved the perfect backdrop for the event, as the fall weather brought plenty of sun and mild temps; the track was also biting and the crowd came out in droves to see the fast cars put it down.

We’re a sucker for clean SN95s, and these days they’re getting harder to find. How’s this for a clean
’vert?

The Fox-body excels at many things, and doing donuts is one of them, as John Sebastian Perez’s 1987 Mustang LX coupe demonstrated for the camera. The notchback features a 306 with full bolt-ons, Cobra brakes, Eibach springs, and a Nardo Gray paint job from Oak Valley Autobody in Oakdale.

Tayron Young, the founder of Capital City Mustang Club, can be seen individually calling the winners up to accept their awards.

We even saw a few LTDs, Crown Vics, and Fairmonts at the show — how’s that for cool?

Look closely inside the headlight. Not only does it feature color-changing LEDs, but there’s a howling Coyote in the center of the projector as well — sweet!

Michael and Vanessa Bengston took full advantage of the row of food trucks serving up gourmet bites and sweet treats. Nothing better than horsepower and hamburgers!

What better way to put the competition in its place or to throw it back than with a custom plate?

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About the author

Justin Fivella

Raised in a house of vintage motorcycles, Justin became a gearhead at a young age and almost immediately fell in love with all things with wheels. Although he loves all forms of motorsports, his favorites are domestic muscle cars.
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