Sometimes a project can last a few months. In Scott Kendall's case it took a little bit longer. However, when you've invested such a great deal of time and love in your favorite Mustang, it often begs asking the question - is it
Cervini's Ram Air fiberglass hood, Saleen style rear deck wing, Cobra rear bumper cover; Mustang Cobra front grille assembly, clear marker lights; Mustang LX
Borg-Warner World Class T-5 five-speed manual gearbox, Ford Racing flywheel, King Cobra clutch; Ford Racing aluminum adjustable clutch quadrant
Stock seats reupholstered with custom leather by Greg Gisbourne, 1985-86 Mustang headrests, Ford Racing four-spoke steering wheel, 2-5/8" boost gauge, 2 1/16" oil, temperature and voltmeter gauges, 5" tachometer
Saleen 18 x 9" chrome five spoke wheels with Ford Racing center caps, Nitto NT555 255/35-18 front tires, 265/35-18 rear tires
Block bored .030" over by Doug Maslaritola of Proformance Unlimited, forged steel crank, Eagle H-beam forged steel rods, Keith Black 9.5:1 compression fly cut forged aluminum pistons, Ford Racing X-303 camshaft, chrome oil pan, 1.6:1 roller rockers, 42 lb/hr injectors, 1 5/8" shorty headers
Scott Kendall 1987 GT
From looking at this magnificent '87 Fox hatchback, it would be quite easy to assume it came from the workshops of Overhaulin'. Nothing could be further from the truth. Scott Kendall has owned this car since he was in high school. What you see is the result of many years of toiling, saving and toiling some more. As amazing as it sounds, this Mustang is not the first to have Kendall's name on the title. In fact, if it hadn't been for a certain incident one day, Scott might not have built this show stopper at all. Read on.
"When I was 16 years old, in grade 11, I finally got my driver's license. I was lucky enough to have parents that were willing to lend me their cars on the weekends. After about a year and a half that changed. A couple of mishaps and an increase in insurance rates meant that they decided it would be best for everybody that I got a car of my own."
Kendall already knew what he wanted. Now, when you're 17 years old the mere mention of '5-liter' is likely to send both parents and insurance agents into cardiac arrest. But Scott's wish came true. "I started searching, but even back then, it was tough to find a good car in my price range." Eventually he lucked out. A friend of a friend was selling a really clean '85 GT. "It had a set of Hedman hedders on it, true duals, an aftermarket intake and a bigger Holley carb." Needless to say, it was a deal Kendall couldn't really pass up.
Write-Off
Scott drove his silver '85 for about three months. Then came that fateful day. "I was pulling out of the high school parking lot. I was in a hurry because I had left some of my equipment at home and needed to get back in time for the game. I was making a left turn and couldn't see a car on the far side of a transport truck coming." You can probably guessed what happened.
The GT's frame was mangled and the car declared a write-off. So young Scott was without wheels, at least for the time being. But things got better. "My insurance company actually ended up giving me more money than what I'd paid for the car. So armed with some extra cash, it was time to search for a new ride. "Truth be told, I'd really liked the looks of the aero nosed 5-liters, but they'd been out of my price range initially." Now they weren't. In May 1994, after a bit of searching Kendall hit pay dirt. He located a 1987 Mustang Cobra GT hatch for sale just east of Ottawa, ON.