MATT DYCUS CAR OWNER

CAR NAME–YEAR & MODEL INFO

VENOM –2003 MUSTANG COBRA

MEMBERS OF THE STANG MAG FAMILY ARE MORE PASSIONATE ABOUT FUN AND INCLUSION THAN THEY ARE THEIR CARS AND THAT SAYS A LOT!

Venom is a Sonic Blue 2003 Mustang Cobra born 4/8/2003 and is number 6505 of the 8394 built for 2003. The car was originally modified at Alternative Auto in Michigan before I acquired it and has since spent some time at HPJ Performance in Illinois to get it to its current state. Some of the modifications include a 2.3L Whipple supercharger, manual valve body 4r70w transmission, Team Z suspension, 8.8 solid rear axle, Kooks longtube headers, and Bassani exhaust.

If you asked me if I thought I’d be writing an article for STANG Magazine for my car this time last year I would’ve said no. If you asked me if I would be writing it about a different car than the 2005 Roush Mustang I had I would’ve said hell no. I loved that car but acquiring this one reinvigorated my passion for car shows and events!

I was born into a Ford family and have had a passion for cars for as long as I can remember. My dad took me to races and car shows growing up fueling my passion. My older brother had a 95 GT Convertible, a 91 GT Hatchback and a 96 Cobra Convertible which steered me to the Mustang hobby once I was able to afford it.

I graduated high school in 2003 and knew once I was able to, I would own a 2003 Cobra. I’ve owned several Mustangs and F150 Lightnings but Venom has been the only keeper. I’ve met many great friends from drag racing and going to car shows and look forward to continuing the hobby with my two sons.

I met Daniel Ramey at a Beltway Mustang show and won my spot with STANG Magazine in their Carlisle Ford Nationals display. Needless to say I wasn’t sure what to expect being that I didn’t know the people attending and was going by myself.

The STANG Mag family welcomed me in from the very start and made me feel like one of their own!

Members of the STANG Mag family are more passionate about fun and inclusion than they are their cars and that says a lot! I can’t wait to see what’s to come in 2022!

“JUST THE TIP

HOLD UP. THAT’S WHAT KIND OF PLUG?

In several issues, we’ve discussed several topics that may have included disconnecting your battery. We’ve all had to do it, and we all know the consequences. The cars computer gets reset, all of your pre-programmed radio stations are gone, automatic seat settings, and everything else that you worked so hard to get setup is gone. And if you’re among the lucky ones that live in a state that require emissions testing, the computer reset will stop it from going through the emissions test until it’s been through a complete drive cycle. Interestingly enough, through feedback from our valued readers, we’ve learned that most people do not know about a very cheap and simple device called a ‘Memory Saver’.

When your battery is hooked up, the computer is constantly powered even when the car is off and not running, and that’s what allows it to maintain it’s ‘memory’. Unplug the battery, the computer loses power, and everything that it remembered is now gone. But when the battery is hooked up, there are other areas in the car that are also always powered. The two we care about is the OBD-II connector and the 12-volt port.

Just like the battery feeds the computer, the 12-volt port and OBD-II connector can feed the computer. It’s all one ‘hot’ system. So we can plug a 12 volt feed into either one of these ports and they will provide 12 volts to the computer even when the battery is disconnected.

These are very simple systems that you can get online or any auto parts store for under $30. Once you plug into one of these ports, the adapter will need to be attached to some sort of 12 volt power source, such as a spare battery, a jump box, jumper cables going to another car, etc...

But once you plug one of these in, you can disconnect your battery completely, do what you have to do, hook the battery back up, and the car will be as if the battery was never disconnected at all.