A pretty strong case can be made for Ford's modern Mustang machinery. While we all look back fondly on the musclecar era of yesteryear, the reality is that nostalgia has altered our perception somewhat.

Car manufacturers go through a lot of research and development when designing an exhaust system, but the one thing they just can't do is tailor each vehicle for the owner. That's where the aftermarket steps in.

Last month we presented Part 1 of this Two-Valve to Four-Valve modular engine swap on our '01 Bullitt Mustang. Our quest for a reliable engine combination that can push our SN-95 Mustang into the 9-second zone culminated in swapping the Mustang's high-strung 5.0L Two-Valve stroker for a tamer but better prepared Four-Valve 4.6L engine.

It's not everyday that a tire company rolls out a new ultra-high-performance tire line. The cost for research and development is astronomical; so is the marketing and advertising budget. Then you have to hope you reach your traditional buyers while snatching new customers from your competition.

The big hand and little hand both pointed directly at 12 on the clock at Radical Racing. The clock didn't chime when midnight came, but those present didn't need an audible reminder of that moment in time. There were only three of us left at that point, and patience was running low, at least for this author.

Each year, March brings with it the start of the new NMRA racing season, so what better place to kick it off than sunny Bradenton, Florida. This past March 6-8 marked the 8th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA Spring Nationals, presented by Steeda Autosports, along with series sponsor Keystone. One of the biggest classes of the event weekend, Tremec True Street, presented by Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords magazine, stacked the pits with 107 hardcore competitors. In addition, MM&FF has brought the Spring Break Shootout back to its home at Bradenton, and the turnout was amazing.

Every spring, the NMRA rolls into Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida, to kick off the new racing season. But this year, the NMRA and MM&FF had a special treat--the duo teamed up to bring back the illustrious Spring Break Shootout class and event moniker. The 8th Annual Nitto Tire Spring Nationals (including the SBS sponsored by Pro50.com, FRPP, and MM&FF) brought out Mustang racers from all over the country to shake off the winter cold and get back on the track.

Boost isn't something that's sold by the gram in dark alleys of the inner city, but based on Mike Ivy's penchant for the stuff, that's exactly what you'd think. He's a serious addict, a psi junkie, a man that needs a 12-step program for hopeless boostoholics.

Although we've been there many times, we always get a bit of automotive acrophobia when taking in Edelbrock's main facilities in Torrance, California. Besides the unparalleled history of the place--Vic Edelbrock Sr. started the company in 1938--the scale of the business sets us back. Most automotive performance aftermarket companies are some version of cottage industry, but Edelbrock is high-performance on an industrial scale.

This month we bring you a quick and easy cosmetic upgrade for '05-'10 Mustangs. Notice we didn't just say Mustang GTs this time?

Though the NMRA season closed on a high note last October, the country's turmoil was at full-throttle. Gas prices were high; the economy threw a rod; an election was imminent. After a tumultuous off-season, would the racers and fans be ready to race again in the spring? We had a feeling that cheaper gas and the need to forget all the bad news and the winter weather would make for a healthy event. That's just the way it turned out.

Horse Sense: Jim's former GT was a regular car-show winner, and this new coupe is a true threat on both the car-show field and the dragstrip. He's won an Open Comp class race at a Buick versus Ford race at Atco, as well as Best Race Car and Best Engine awards at the NMRA Atco race.

Horse Sense: Funny Cars have supercharger intake scoops sticking out of their hoods. They look funny and thus the name. However, the Kenne Bell supercharger on the stock GT500 Super Snake sits down in the car. Shelby Automobiles custom-built a dual 4-inch-tube intake manifold that rotates the blower to sprout out of the center of the hood.

Obviously the future is here. It would be easy for SVT to rest on the laurels of the new styling and myriad improvements offered by the SN10 platform upgrades, but the most compelling improvements are under the new GT500, in the suspension and steering systems. While engineers obviously borrowed from the KR and increased the spring rate, damping, and pitch sensitivity to give the car more control, they also took some of the plush and assist out of the steering, so the car not only does a better job getting around the corners, it also does a better job communicating what it's doing to the driver.

We've installed, tested, and reviewed hundreds of bolt-on parts for S197 Mustangs in the five years since the cars were introduced. While products we've analyzed have run the gamut-from engine, exhaust, power adders, suspension, appearance, and more-one of the only pieces we haven't said a word about are aftermarket shifters for S197 Mustangs equipped with automatic transmissions.

It's funny how a day that starts off badly can sometimes take a sharp turn for the better. A few years ago, Michael and Victoria Cooper were in a two-car procession from their West Bend, Wisconsin, home, heading to the performance doctors at Clinton, Illinois' Anderson Ford Motorsport, when not just one, but two, whitetail deer plotted a simultaneous interception course on the family's '94 GT. The blown and stroked SN95 had been scheduled into Anderson for installation of a nitrous kit and a good tune-up.

Takin' It To The Streets
While Bothwell Motorsports and Team Garrett have had great success with their Outlaw 10.5 program, they've also put time and effort into developing a turbo package for street-Mustang enthusiasts that's now available through select distributors. With Ron Townsend behind the wheel, a near identical street clone debuted at FFW Atlanta in Street Ford and made it all the way to the semifinals for a rather impressive debut.

February 7, Deland, FL

• Inaugural Cruise-In hosted by Central Florida Pony Sports at Hampton's Drive-In, 250 International Speedway Blvd.
• All vehicles welcome.
• Info: www.cflponysports.com

Forty-five years ago, Ford brought us some mighty hardy manual transmissions. The Top Loader three- and four-speed transmissions were tough and durable, and they remain the standard today in all-out competition because they don't break.

In 1969, you could hardly pick up a drag-racing magazine without spotting a picture of Sam Auxier Jr.'s '69 Mustang. Based in Maryland, Sam and his red, white, and blue fastback match-raced all over the northeast, taking on big names in drag racing like Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, Ronnie Sox, and Al Joniec. Also a competitor in the UDRA's Ultra Stock class, where it earned Cars magazine's title as "Ultimate Ultra Stocker," Sam's Mustang was a pre-cursor to what eventually became Pro Stock.

For the better part of three decades, Scott Drake Enterprises has kept the high-quality reproduction parts coming to classic Mustang enthusiasts. One of the latest examples is the reproduction Rally-Pac for '65-'66 Mustangs.

There's nothing like consistency, that ever constant pattern of sunrise and sunset, changing of the seasons, getting out of school for the summer, tax time, prime time into summer reruns, and everything else that comes and goes with fluid precision. If you lived on Johnnie and Rachel Garner's block in Rock Hill, South Carolina, you'd notice the consistency of their life cycle: Garage door up, Mach 1 out, garage door down, Mach 1 gone; Mach 1 back, garage door up, Mach 1 in, garage door down. Packing and unpacking the Mach 1. Washing, waxing, and detailing. Showing and most certainly winning.

The classic car hobby is a strange irony. We want the look and feel of a classic Mustang, yet that's not always what we want at all. In the 1980s, we went to great lengths to get the darned things factory original. Then we got bored with that approach due to dated technology and mediocrity, which cultivated the restomod movement that began in the mid-1990s.