BRIGHTMARE! - Steve Shrader's 1999 Mustang GT Street/Strip Car

Back in 2000, (the year when the clocks would stop and world was going to end), Steve Shrader put his mind into things other than worrying about what would happen when the calendar swapped up in the new year, he went out and bought a brand new 1999 GT Mustang.

Steve had some fun in his newly acquired ride, and like all of us became addicted to modifying it, and had some innovative ideas on how to earn the funds to pay for the mods. It is amazing how one decision or a sequence of events can take us in a direction that will change our lives, and for Steve, his life would soon become all about cars, specifically Mustangs. Shrader realized a while after the “New Edge” 1999-04 Mustang hit the streets that many true enthusiasts never had a use for the tiny back seat, so he started building rear seat deletes out of his garage, and to his surprise, that funded his new found hobby.

His next endeavor was the forming of the Yellow Mustang Registry, and it grew to over 5,000 people and he traveled all over the eastern side of the country hosting events. Soon after, Steve quit his day job to start Shrader Performance, with “Brightmare”, his now solid performing Mustang, being the shop car. Business was going well and in 2013 a Dynojet chassis dyno was added, allowing Steve to specialize in tuning all ’99-up Mustangs.

At first, the GT sported the usual boltons, but Steve soon decided to spice things up with a Vortech S-Trim supercharger. He ran this setup on the TV show Pass Time and fooled all three judges by besting their 12.0 E.T with a 10.57, and took home the cash. Almost everyone ran on pure gasoline; but Shrader had a leg up by running E-85 (despite the naysayers back then). Nowadays, virtually all street-friendly

Body mods to the GT are subtle and include a modified Steeda R hood cut for a ram air system to the blower. A 99-01 SVT Cobra front bumper was also installed, the rear spoiler was nixed and a Stroud chute was hung from the rear.

four-digit horsepower cars run it.

Brightmare is bright indeed, sporting Ford’s Yellow GT paint, and Steve has made only some minor exterior changes, the most prominent of them being the custom ram-air inlet that’s cut through the hood for the centrifugal blower to breathe better. Not just any hood would do, though, and a stock replacement Steeda R hood was sourced for the project. The facelift is finished off by a 99-01 SVT Cobra bumper. You might also notice something missing from the back of the Stang. That’s because the factory rear spoiler got the axe and a Motion Raceworks parachute mount and Stroud chute were added. Weld Racing RTS wheels reside on all four corners but aren’t the typical “big and little” style, instead Steve went a little wider in the front for drivability; after all, it does see plenty of street miles. 17x7s were used up front and 15x10s with 275/60 Mickey Thompson radials stick the car to the track out back, but we’ll talk more about sticking a 4-digit horsepower stick car on a radial tire a little later on.

The exciting part sits under the hood. The space where the ole two-valve 4.6 liter once sat is now occupied by a much more efficient mill. The 4.6 was just not an economically viable option to make power, so

The owner-built 5.0 boasts forged pistons and H-beam rods swung by the factory crank. Factory heads were massaged and a GT350 intake was added along with a dual pump based fuel system delivering copious amounts of E85. The centerpiece of the build is the Vortech YSi-B centrifugal supercharger.

There’s a Coyote in the house!

Shrader opted for the Coyote five liter which offered greater potential for considerably less cash. Steve started with a second-generation stock block and built from there. The rotating

assembly consists of DSS forged pistons pinned to Manley H-beam rods swung by the factory crank. Coyote heads do pretty well unless it’s an allout application; for that reason, he

choose to have some port work done by Modular Head Shop and leave the rest alone. A GT350 intake was added into the mix for higher revving power and fueling comes from a re-

275 Mickey T Radials just fit the factory setup.

turn-style system attached to an ’03 Cobra tank, sporting two fuel pumps, all of which came from Fore Innovations.

95lb DeatschWerks injectors supply ample amounts of E-85 to the Coyote and Ford Racing’s control pack for the ever-so-popular swap made the

install much more straightforward.

For adding power Shrader went boosted, but unlike many others he opted for a centrifugal supercharger over turbo and stuck with his good friends at Vortech. For the most recent iteration

of Brightmare’s power he went with their YSi-B, which is a massive straight cut gear-driven setup. He “pullied down” to a 2.85 pulley and picked up an Innovators West 10% overdrive crank pulley to reach the desired boost level. A Treadstone

three-core intercooler and that sick-looking ram air inlet help keep the big blower cool. A pair of 1 7/8” Kooks swap headers flow through a custom 3-inch exhaust and dumped Magnaflow mufflers.

The remainder of the driveline certainly isn’t facto-

Inside the GT is mostly stock with the exception of the roll bar, shifter, belt, chute handle and Steve’s own rear seat delete kit.

ry, but it isn’t as crazy as one might think. Brightnmare uses a Tremec T-56 Magnum trans with no internal modifications. Power connects through a McLeod RXT with a billet steel flywheel and a firewall adjuster and quadrant were also used. The Ford 8.8 rearend sports a set of Moser 31 spline axles, an Eaton Tru-Trac and a 4.10 gear set. A CHE axle brace and PST steel driveshaft provide extra strength on those 1000whp stick shifted launches.

The suspension is a well thought out stock style setup. Steve choose an

Steve Shrader’s 1999 Brightmare GT Mustang

A Moroso battery box is the only thing to occupy the trunk space and the beefed up 8.8 rear diff sports a CHE axle brace to reinforce the setup for those 1000whp stick shifted launches.

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Steve Shrader’s 1999 Mustang GT Street/Strip Car

Body & Paint:

All original paint, rear spoiler delete, Motion Raceworks parachute mount, Stroud chute. 99-01 Cobra front bumper, Steeda R Hood modified for blower ram air inlet.

Chassis & Suspension/Modifications:

Front: Tokico 5-way adjustable coilover struts, UPR K-member and A-arms and springs. Maximum Motorsports caster/camber plates, Steeda bump steer kit. Rear: Viking Crusader double adjustable shocks, Steeda lowering springs, UPR upper/lower control arms, Racecraft anti-roll bar.

Engine: Gen2 Coyote swap, 302ci, built by owner. Forged Manley H-beam rods, DSS forged pistons, stock GT crank. Stock heads ported by Modular Head Shop, stock cams.

Induction & Fuel Delivery: GT350 intake manifold with stock Gen2 Coyote throttle body, 95 lb DW injectors, Fore fuel rails, return fuel system, 03 Cobra fuel tank with dual TI fuel pumps.

Exhaust: Kooks long tube headers, custom 3” exhaust, Magnaflow mufflers.

Electronics: Ford Racing Control pack, Line Lock. N2MB 2-step.

Power Adder: Vortech YSi-B with a 2.85” pulley, 3 core Treadstone intercooler, ram air inlet to the YSI through hole in hood. 10% overdrive Innovators West crank pulley.

Transmission:

T56 Magnum out of the box, no internal modifications. McLeod RXT with billet steel flywheel. UPR firewall adjuster and quadrant, stock Ford clutch cable.

Rear End: 8.8 rear with 4.10 gear, CHE Extreme axle brace, Moser 31 spline axles, Eaton Detroit TrueTrac diff. PST steel driveshaft.

Brakes: Mach 1 calipers/rotors front, stock GT rear brakes

Tires & Wheels: Weld RTS, 15x10 rear, 17x7 front. M&H Racemaster tires front, M/T Radial Pro, 275/60/15 rear.

Interior: 6 pt roll bar with removable door bars, Shrader rear seat delete kit, RJS racing harnesses, parachute handle, T56 Magnum shifter, ET & MPH – Race Only: 9.05 at 159 mph ¼ mile 5.90 at 122 mph 1/8 mile. Best 60ft 1.30 at Bristol Dragway during SCT 2021. Traps 160+ in roll racing events.

Thanks To: “My girlfriend Amy for her amazing support. She’s by my side at every race. And thanks to Darren Hart for listening to me complain and for giving positive advice when I’m ready to push the car off a cliff sometimes. Thanks also to Brian at Vortech Superchargers for always supporting this little yellow car for whatever we decide to do with it.”

aftermarket K-member and a-arms to cradle the Coyote up front and a pair of Tokico coilovers were used with Maximum Motorsports caster/ camper plates and a Steeda bump street kit. Stock rear upper and lower control arms were tossed in favor

of aftermarket units, while Steeda lowering springs slip over Viking Crusader shocks and an anti-roll bar from Racecraft keeps the GT from three-wheeling off the launch.

Clean and simple was a matter of choice inside the Mustang. Steve

uses a 6-point roll bar with removable door bars, and straps in with RJS harnesses. A Motion Raceworks parachute handle, standard T-56 shifter, and Steve’s very own rear seat delete finish off the interior modifications. The rest is completely facto-

Steve Shrader and his girlfriend Amy with Brightmare.

ry.

Now let’s revisit how this stick car hooks on the radial tire. Shrader has spent a considerable amount of time getting Brightmare running the way it does now. “It took many years of failures and mental anguish with various parts to finally get this setup to work properly,” he said. The Stang clicks off 1.30 sixty-foot times and goes 5.90 in the eighth, then pours on the steam to 9.05 at 159mph in the quarter. 90% of stick-shifted cars run slicks for a good reason – they tend to give a little more when coming off the 2-step at high RPM. Many times parts still break though, and generally stick cars hate radials unless they’re running a “slipper” style clutch that softens the blow at the hit. Steve went a different route and instead runs a standard “puck” style clutch and makes it work without breaking. A few factors are responsible for allowing this to work, but first and foremost is the linear power curve of the centrifugal blower that allows power to come in gradually. Steve explains; “I use the natural linear boost

This fully street legal Mustang was built to look like a “regular street car” from the outside but be able to kick ass and take names at the track. Be sure to read how Shrader controls the launches of his 1000hp stick car on radials to make consistent 1.30 60-foot times and low 9.0 runs without scattering parts.

curve of the Vortech to select what RPM to start with to get the boost I need at launch. One of the secrets to the launch is having the 2-step rpm set low, around 3500, where the Vortech makes only a few pounds of boost. I also set the 2-step switch on the clutch release pedal to engage high on the pedal, so that as you lift off the pedal the clutch engages and moves the car forward before the 2-step disengages and allows the boost to ramp in with RPM. With 1000 hp on tap, you still have to slip the clutch pedal pretty much all the way through first gear to avoid the tire spin, but it’s much less shock to the car than dumping the clutch at 6000 on slicks and hoping stuff doesn’t break.” Basically, Steve can get the car to sixty-foot with the best of them, without breaking, and then drive it home on a DOT-approved tire.

“The goal of this car is to have an understated exterior that says “street car”, but to be able to visit a track and compete with full blown race cars,” added Sharder. So not only is the Brightmare Mustang a big part of Steve Shrader’s life, but having a cool stick-shifted fully street legal car that car runs bottom 9s as a rolling business card is pretty cool, too!