This Bright Calypso Green Pony Keeps Its Owner Dancing. You'll Love The Tune.
Some of us remember our first Mustang with fond memories and regrets that we sold it. Not Jeff langdon, though. At the tender age of 18, he was driving his 'dream car' - a modded 1988 Mustang coupe. That particular car featured a Saleen wing, tinted glass, a loud exhaust, ram air kit and lowered springs. Since the springs had been cut rather than replaced with job-specific parts, Jeff told us that the car "rode like a hay wagon."
The car also attracted the lowest portion of humanity and, as a result, the car was stolen ... twice. Both times, it was recovered and Jeff faced the job of putting it back together again. After the second time, he decided to sell the Mustang and get out of the game. A brand new econobox was acquired to provide daily driver duties and we all know the rest of the story from there. personality change, combustion envy and many attempts, both futile and ineffective, to hide it all from his spouse.
In her wisdom, Jeff's wife suggested that they look for another project car and the timing was perfect. A good friend of Jeff's had just dropped a 'For Sale' sign on the windshield of a 1992 LX notchback Mustang. The car was well maintained and bone stock. It was exactly the thing Jeff wanted. In his own words, it was "... something that you could just get in and drive." Once the car was bought, his resolution to keep the notch in its original condition lasted about as long as the glide path of a manhole cover. The changes began with a new CD player, tint on the windows and an underhood cleanup. Still bearing the scars from previous experiences with the dregs of humanity, Jeff embraced a 'sleeper' theme with the car. The only attention he wanted would be when the car was in motion.
The N2O bottle is sturdily...
The N2O bottle is sturdily bolted into the car's structure, through the custom upholstered rear seat delete.
That theme began a legacy which has seen this Bright calypso Green Mustang bring home national awards and be featured in ScT merchandising materials. however, we are jumping ahead of ourselves here. The first step in the sleeper build was the installation of a 75-shot of nitrous oxide and, with that, the pony became 'BOTTlFED.' The original factory exhaust was left in place, but Jeff and his car were firmly embarked on a journey that, by now, is close to finished. But then, we all know that epic journeys like this are never completed. Check out one of Jeff's more recent upgrades in our photos. he had the alternator rebuilt, but also powdercoated - portions in gleaming silver and others in a shade of green exactly matching the car's signature exterior paint.
Now, this Mustang has its share of performance parts and those include ported stock cylinder heads and ported intake manifold, an Frpp replacement throttle body in the 65 mm size and a Moroso cold Air Intake kit. Ford racing's ceramic coated 'shorty' headers help out with evacuation of the motor's spent gases. The central performance feature, though, is a NOS 5115-II, single stage, dry nitrous system jetted for a 125 horsepower addition. The 10- pound capacity bottle starts sharing its love when a wOT (wide open throttle) switch is triggered. The car has turned in a 12.98 second performance at 109 mph, so it's no stranger to the quarter mile.
Now, we won't say that Jeff lives in the sticks, but with a local population of about 34,000, his home city isn't exactly a clone of charlotte or Mo'town. That's where his familiarity with the Internet has been a blessing and not just for the car, but in making many new friendships throughout the Mustang community. Jeff is quick to mention an E-buddy by the name of Dave Stinson, who helped out with advice while Jeff was 'smoothing' the engine bay and hiding the underhood wiring harness - always a slick modification and one that separates the players from the pretenders on any show field. when you decide to move up from local to state and then national shows, it is always helpful to have an experienced mentor or a couple. Jeff also named Brent Spencer, from 2koolperformance.com, and Scott winger from StainlessBumperletters.com, as people who contributed a lot of experience, having national level show cars of their own.
Check out our photos of this car and note the kinds of things that set judges back on their heels. you can start with some of the 'expected' kinds of bits, like the cervini's 3" cowl hood, the chromed 17" x 9" chromed OE concepts cobra r rims and the lowered suspension, built with Suspension Techniques' springs, plus KYB shocks and struts. Move on to the interior and you'll find a nice compliment of Auto Meter 2- 5/8" gauges and a lovely pair of leather-covered ronin seats. pay a little closer attention and you'll start to notice things that you've never seen before. Much of the interior trim is custom made by Jeff himself. A custom subwoofer enclosure occupies the trunk, but the standard torsion bar springs are nowhere to be found. In their place is a gas strut system that Jeff developed and built for the car. Trick! That sub enclosure, by the way, accommodates a 12" polk-Momo sound pumper, an Audiobahn amplifier and additional kicker components. The signal source is an Alpine 9883 head unit.
Move now to the front and under the hood you'll find surfaces that would put your kitchen table to shame. custom fabricated stainless steel panels 'reflect' the many other upgrades, including MSD Ignition components, Taylor ignition wires, a MAc strut tower brace, pro-Form radiator fans, as well as chromed engine plumbing from MAc. By this point in their tour, the judges are scribbling! On a second viewing of the back end, they may note the yellow Top Optima battery in its container and, hopefully, that the gas tank shield under the bumper has been painted in the same ppG base/clearcoat Bright calypso Green as the rest of the car, courtesy of Glenn's performance.
As can be the case with anything that some might think borders on obsession, it can be necessary to take a break from time to time. when his wife went back to school, Jeff sold the car to a local car collector. The understanding was that Jeff would store the car for the winter and the buyer would pick it up in the Spring. Five months later, sanity returned to the Langdon household and Jeff bought the car back. It was a fortunate deal that saw everyone remaining friends after all was done.
Ask Jeff why he takes things to such extremes and he'll confide that he had a 'secret' dream to have the car featured in a magazine. well, that dream has been more than achieved. he'll also explain that his experience showed that bolt-on components can only take you so far in the show judging process. Many additional points are available to those who exhibit ingenuity, personal effort and creative interpretation. As a result, BOTTlFED has brought home numerous awards, including Best Engine, Best Daily Driver (at the time), NMrA Top 25 Mustangs, NMrA Top 5 Mustangs and FFW Editor's choice, just to name a few.
The things that delight Jeff have increased with the addition of his two children. while he always loves the time he has with them, much time still gets devoted to the car (kids have to sleep sometime!). In preparation for this year's show season, he has added the billet nitrous bottle bracket, polished intake manifold and valve covers, 255/40r17 BF Goodrich KDW front tires, 275/40r17 Mickey Thompson drag radials and upgraded the rear axle gears from 3.55's to 4.10 ratio cogs. In addition to the custom sub enclosure that we already mentioned, Jeff also built the rear seat delete using matching upholstery and stitching. Surely, such attention to detail can only represent a caring dedication both to his car and to those that helped him achieve his goals. Among those Jeff also mentioned for their were support were Bob Evans (no relation to the sausage Evans), Glenn Terlizzi, Tim roi and Jeff's Dad, Glen, for his moral support and ready guidance.
For many Mustang enthusiasts, the process of building a car is really more about the journey than the destination. For Jeff langdon, the new ways to trick out this pony are coming more slowly. The destination, however, is a grand one. Is there something new in the future for this car that is, arguably, the prettiest Fox Mustang on the continent? could we see this pony in a future Barrett-Jackson collector car Auction? There is no doubt that it would rival any other participant. So what is the likelihood? we asked Jeff and you know what he told us? "Not a chance!"
Specifications
Jeff Langdon’s 1992 Mustang LX
Engine Modifications
Moroso cold air intake; ported OEM intake manifold; ported OEM cylinder heads; Ford racing 65 mm throttle body, ceramic coated shorty exhaust headers; MSG Ignition distributor; Taylor 8 mm ignition wires; NOS 5115-II single stage dry nitrous system, jetted for 125 hp; proform cooling fans; SCT Multi-program chip, tuning by Tim roi at customTuned.com
Driveline
Pro 5.0 shifter; Ford racing 4.10 axle gears
Chassis
Optima yellow Top battery relocated to trunk; MAc Strut Tower Brace; custom subframe connectors; hidden underhood wiring; custom engine compartment 'smoothing' panels by 2kool performance; custom fuel tank cover by Glenns performance
Suspension
Suspension Techniques lowering springs; KYB struts and shock absorbers
Wheels And Tires
OE concepts 17" x 9" chromed cobra r wheels; BF Goodrich 255/40r17 g-Force kDW tires in front; Mickey Thompson 275/40r17 drag radials out back
Interior
Ronin leather covered seats; custom interior trim by owner and Oxford Auto Marine; Autometer phantom gauges, including nitrous pressure, fuel pressure, water temperature, oil pressure; Alpine 9883 head unit; polk/Momo 12" subwoofer; Audiobahn amplifier; kicker components
Exterior
PPG Base/clear paint in Ford Bright calypso Green; cervini's 3" cowl hood
Numbers
12.98 @ 109 mph, St. Thomas Dragway