THE 1991 GT - SOLD 02/03/2005

Purchased in August 1999. Who would have known how this 1991 GT would transform itself from bone stock to the untamed beast it is today? What makes it so dangerous? It's a "sleeper"! The only additions to the exterior were Steeda emblems, GTS headlight & taillight covers, and a decal on the center brake light which says "Don't Be". This serves as a warning to certain guys that pull up next to me at stop lights thinking they are about to kick a "stock" Mustang's ass. If you're wondering - yes that is a Formula 350 parked next to me! It used to belong to my wife, but was sold in July 2001 after the purchase of the Mustang LX Notchback found on page 1.

Here's what's going on under the hood as of May 27, 2001. All the parts were chosen by myself after many countless hours of research. Most of the parts were ordered from Summit Racing and were installed in June 2000 by Steeda Autosports. Specifically, they installed the Edelbrock aluminum heads, Edelbrock Performer intake, Edelbrock 70mm throttle body, 30 pound injectors, Pro Flow 75mm mass air meter, E303 camshaft, 1.6 rockers and double roller timing chain all in one shot. Steeda had the car for about 9 days. The car went back 2 weeks later for the 3.73 gears and 190 lph fuel pump installation. Thanks, Chad & Gus for a job well done! Everything else that has needed to be done under the hood has been performed by msyelf. This includes the installation of an Edelbrock water pump, Steeda/ASP underdrive pulleys, Powermaster 140amp alternator, Ford Motorsport aluminum radiator and hoses, Mustang Specialties X-pipe, Mac equal length headers, Flowmaster 3 chamber mufflers, MSD 6AL ignition control unit & MSD TFI Blaster coil, and tuning.

As of April 20, 2001, my ET has improved to 13.44 seconds @ 105.11 MPH with a 1.97 60-ft thanks to the advice received on the StangNet forums. Practice is paying off, but I'm still a long way from my goal of breaking into the 12's on street tires.

The inside features three 2" Autometer Ultra-Lite Pro-Comp gauges (mechanical water temperature, mechanical oil pressure & voltmeter) and are housed on the "A" pillar. On the center of the dashboard is the Autometer Sport-Comp Silver tachometer with separate shift light. All gauges were installed by myself, as was the Rockford Fosgate stereo components. Steeda pedals and floor mats were added to complement the car's overall "Steeda" theme. The most significant item though is, without doubt, the tweety air freshener.

The audio system consists of the following components: Pioneer KEH-P7400W head unit; Pioneer DEQ-7200 digital graphic equalizer/signal processor; Pioneer CDX-P1250 12 disc changer; Rockford Fosgate Punch 800A2 2-channel amplifier (800 watts) powering two Rockford Fosgate Punch RFP2412 XLC 12" subwoofers; Rockford Fosgate RF Punch 400A4 4-channel amplifier (400 watts) powering a pair of Kicker ND25a tweeters and a pair of Polk EX572A speakers in the rear; Rockford Fosgate RF Punch 400A4 4-channel amplifier (400 watts) powering a pair of Polk EX602A speakers in the door and a pair of Polk EX351A speakers in the dash.

Future plans include the installation of Wild Rides' Lower Control Arm Battles Boxes, and the purchase of Steeda's Drag-Pak (Stages 1 & 2) suspension kit, a Tremec transmission, and a Vortech S-Trim supercharger. I doubt I will modify this vehicle beyond the supercharger, because I'm not too keen on putting a roll cage on my "daily driver". Who knows? Maybe I'll change my mind when the time comes. I've learned that this "modding" bug is too hard to resist!

UPDATE: 08-24-02.

Not much work has been done to the GT over the last year aside from Nitto Drag Radials and a Hurst Roll Control line lock installation in December 2001. I have been trying to concentrate on building the LX Notch, but even those plans keep getting put on hold for one reason or another. See Page 1 for more details. The last visit to the track was back in December 2001, and that resulted in high ET's and a fried clutch. I had initially thought the transmission had died also, so because of this, the car was driven sparingly and with "extreme care" until I could afford to have both the clutch and tranny replaced. As the car was in this vulnerable state, some parts were "stolen" and put on the LX Notchback. These parts included the Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, the MSD 6AL and MSD Blaster ignition coil. Just last week the car was eventually taken back to Gus & Chad at Steeda and they determined only the clutch needed to be replaced. A billet steel flywheel was installed with the new King Cobra clutch, and the hamonic dampener was also replaced since it was about to fall off. Suddenly my interest in the GT has returned and it has now been treated to some more goodies such as a new Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, and some 2-chamber Flowmasters which lead into 3 inch dumps. There is absolutely no way this car can pass as a "sleeper" now because you can probably hear it coming from 3 blocks away. A set of new corner & park lamps are also expected to arrive this week from Texas Mustang. The next step will be to have the nose resprayed due to the numerous stone chips. At some point in the near future, the MSD stuff will be "reposessed" from the LX.

UPDATE: 08-31-02.

The MSD stuff has successfully been "reposessed" from the LX but the wife has stopped talking to me now.

UPDATE: 09-03-02.

The new corner & park lamps from Texas Mustang finally arrived. Installation took about 20 minuites.

UPDATE: 09-04-02.

Since my birthday is just around the corner, the wife has given me the green light to go ahead and purchase a Steeda Drag-Pak Stage 1 suspension kit which includes aluminum lower control arms, adjustable upper control arms and a drag sway bar. Finally this GT will have some traction! A naturally-aspirated 12 second ET should be guaranteed now which would mean that this car is finally completed! I will know for certain on September 20th, 2002 which is the next planned visit to the track. Hopefully a Steeda Drag-Pak Stage 2 suspension kit will NOT be needed!

UPDATE: 09-06-02.

The Steeda Drag Pak Stage 1 kit was installed today by NITROSTANG RACING. The car feels and drives much better than before. I only regret that I didn't make this modification earlier. If you need any parts be sure to contact Jeff at NITROSTANGRACING@MSN.COM or 954-614-8089. Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he has the absolute best prices. He also provides installation if required. Tell Jeff that Ryan sent you and he will hook you up!

UPDATE: 09-21-02.

The trip to Moroso did not yield a 12 second time-slip. However this was due to the track officials not allowing anybody to race. After waiting 1 hour and 40 minutes, the rain started to come down and the test & tune session was cancelled. I shall return in October.

UPDATE: 10-09-02.

Another trip to Moroso did not yield a 12 second time-slip. This was due to not being able to get the car to hook while launching at 3000rpm, missing 3rd gear on two out of four passes and general driver error. However, my co-pilot Jeff Balaban managed to produce the fastest ET and trap speed so far with 13.31 seconds at 105.65 mph and 2.14 60-ft. This was achieved by launching at 2800 rpm with 17 psi tire pressure (still encountered some wheelspin), and shifting at 5900 rpm. We shall return in November...

UPDATE: 01-28-03.

Not much has happened with the GT lately since I'm still waiting to obtain that elusive 12 second time slip. A trip to Moroso on December 22, 2002 provided another batch of high 13 second ETs. The drag radials are totally worn out so it seems not much can be accomplished until they are replaced.

The LX (on page 1) has been my primary focus lately. In fact, I have decided that in order to fully concentrate on building the LX it seems the only way I can get this done is by swapping vehicles with my wife. Since she now drives the GT daily, I'm forced to drive the LX. By doing this I now have the opportunity of learning exactly what attention it needs instead of just hearing my wife report "the car ran like crap today". Also, since the LX is a lot slower than what I'm used to in my GT, I am given more motivation to get this project underway. Look at page 1 to see what has already been done to it just this month. After changing a few sensors and the intake manifold, the car is running the best it has ever run since I bought it in May 2001. If I'm not careful, my wife might want to take the LX back!

UPDATE: 03-28-2003.

All Auto Meter gauges that were installed in the GT have been removed and reinstalled in the 90 LX Coupe (notchback).

UPDATE: 07-10-2003.

I have decided to sell my GT and LX! If you are interested in purchasing either vehicle send me an email to sketman@bellsouth.net or click HERE.

UPDATE: 01-05-2004.

I am no longer selling the LX! If you are interested in the GT send me an email to sketman@bellsouth.net or click HERE.

UPDATE: 3-2004.

Steering rack has developed a serious leak!! Car is parked in the garage and left to sit indefinitely until time & funds permit the repair.

UPDATE: 4-2004.

Purchase of 1991 BMW 750iL is completed. Becomes the new daily driven vehicle.

UPDATE: 6-2004.

New steering rack was installed in the GT after receiving an offer of $5400. Buyer later sent an email 2 days before scheduled pick-up of the vehicle stating his house had burned down and the money was inside the house. Deal cancelled.

UPDATE: 10-9-2004.

Offer of $5000 received for the GT at the 5th Annual Steeda Stampede/Ford Power Festival in Jupiter, Florida. Agreed with buyer that all stereo equipment will be removed prior to the sale.

UPDATE: 10-14-2004.

Stereo components were removed from the GT

UPDATE: 10-15-2004.

Potential buyer for the GT stated he only has $4700. Deal is off.

UPDATE: 10-16-2004.

The deal for the GT fell through because the buyer could only raise $4700. I was relieved because it meant I would have enough time to remove some performance parts from the GT and transfer them to the Coupe. See page 1 for more details.

UPDATE: 02-03-2005.

The GT was sold today for $5300. Good luck EJ !! Here are the last pictures I have of her:

UPDATE: 02-09-2005.

EJ reported that the GT ran 13.14 seconds at 106.85 MPH. Congrats!!

UPDATE: 04-30-2005.

Received another email from EJ:

Hey Ryan,

Just figured I would update you about the car. It has been really good to me�except for�haha���.

Wayne and I installed a NX Wet Nitrous kit on it a couple weeks ago. I had done a few practice runs with it and then turned it over to him to drive. Well, long story short, one of the lifters completely collapsed�so it spent a couple days getting repaired�ooops. Nothing too serious.

I ordered a set of draglite rims and MT E/T Slicks. They should be here at the end of the week. I also ordered a set of subframes, tokiko adjustable shocks and struts, a mini shift light install that is actually mounted inside the dash gauge cluster (it is internal and is where the �fasten seat belt light� was.. between the tach and speedo). It�s the coolest thing ever....

...Down the raod: a Hellion Turbo Kit and a Built Dart block for 1,000+ HP. I can�t wait for this combo!

The vision: Have you ever seen the movie: Sixth Sense? If so, did you ever see how there were several times throughout the movie when the color RED would pop up? Well, the car is going to be completely black�I mean everything imaginable. Then, I am going to have some accent pieces in Red. About 4 through out the entire car. I am going to re-do all the interior lighting Red..just like the BMWs interior gauge lights. The new plate will probably either read �6th Sens� or �The Sith� (means the dark side from star wars)

Click this link to be taken to my personal website and see more pictures, a chronological history of every modification made since it's purchase, and future plans. Otherwise, click "page 1" below to see my 1990 LX Coupe.