COMING ATTRACTIONS FULL TILT Fastback

There’s no denying that the 65/66 Mustang Fastback is one of the most desirable Ford muscle cars every made. And no one builds ‘em quite like Southern Rod & Custom…

CUSTOM QUARTER VENTS

The purists will have you believe that Ford got it 100 percent right when they designed the iconic first-gen Mustang. Shane Rowe at Southern Rod & Custom begs to differ. Thankfully, he has customers that want to take Ford’s design and take it to the next level – and then some… Everyone agrees the Mustang’s bodylines are great, but check out what Shane’s team have done! The body has been taken

FABRICATED DASH FLOOR AND TUNNEL back to bare steel, and now features a fabricated floor, reworked dash and trans tunnel, handmade bonnet scoop, custom rear plenum with exhaust cut outs, fabricated quarter panel vents, and both front and rear bumpers have been moved closer to the body. Lifting the bootlid reveals a completely handmade sheet-metal space with alloy fuel cell, floor and big wheel tubs.

5.2-litre COYOTE ENGINE

4L WHIPPLE SUPERCHARGER CUSTOM HEADERS

CUSTOM DUAL EXHAUST ESTIMATED 1200-PLUS HP

6-SPEED TREMEC

FOUR LINK NARROWED DIFF

INDEPENDANT FRONT END RACK & PINION STEERING

Moving to the underside, there’s a new chassis with independent front end incorporating coil-overs and rack and pinion steering while down the rear sits a narrowed diff, located with a custom four-link and coil-over shocks. The floor has been modified for the Mustang to sit low and still have clearance for the tailshaft that connects the diff and 6-speed manual gearbox. It was a tight fit but the guys managed to squeeze in the custom exhaust system. Wilwood brakes sit inside each big-diametre wheel. The custom wheels measure 19x9 and 22x12 and were designed by Southern Rod & Custom inhouse and are true pin drive knock-offs.

But this isn’t your garden variety factory-spec engine package. This one is topped with one of Whipple’s big, 4-litre superchargers...

The engine of choice is Ford’s current hero-engine – the five-point-twolitre Coyote. But this isn’t your garden variety factory-spec engine package. This one is topped with one of Whipple’s big, 4-litre superchargers, that was too much for the Mustang’s engine bay to hide – hence the custom bonnet scoop. It will also ensure the engine performs with around 1200hp on tap! Back on its wheels, the Mustang has the perfect stance. And to make sure the next chassis is up to the task of Australia’s less than ideal roads Shane has had the Engineers in the shop performing Torsion testing to find any obvious weak spots. Next up, paint, trim and final assembly.