When you've created a sexy, good-looking Mustang body and managed to massage it to a state of Shelby hot, it's important to be able to live up to the image Carroll and Team Shelby created. Lin didn't get ahead of himself here, either. He knew he needed a platform that could stand up to a lot of power-a reliable braking system, exceptional handling; in other words, an awesome support system. Instead of the Falconesque coil-on-upper arm suspension, he went with Fatman Fabrications' coilover strut conversion in front and Grab-A-Trak five-leaf mid-eye springs from Mustangs Plus out back. This combination kept costs in line while offering outstanding handling. Since the Fatman kit used late-model SN-95 Mustang spindles, he opted for production Ford/PBR 12-inch front discs.
A 9-inch Lincoln Versailles rearend houses a Detroit Truetrac midsection with 3.50 gears and 28-spline axles. Lin rebuilt the 11-inch Versailles rear discs to complete the four-wheel-disc setup. On the ground are Vintage 45s and Continental Extreme Contact skins. You've got to hand it to Lin for the way this steed hugs the ground from any angle. From behind, the fat tires and classic wheels give this thing a real take-no-prisoners attitude, a car that can smoke the skins at will, taking on all who dare throw down the gauntlet.
The darned thing lends the same impression from the front. That extended fiberglass nose and wide stance give the impression this '67 is ready to pounce. If in doubt, just ask Editor Houlahan, as he braved one of those Southern fire-ant mounds to capture "the look" and somehow lived to talk about it.
Homebuilt Power
You may not believe this, but Lin built this engine, along with help from Craig Meyer, while he was restoring the body, a mammoth task for even the most seasoned automotive refurbisher with plenty of help. That's a 351W raised-deck small-block stroked to 408ci thanks to an Eagle stroker kit sporting forged JE flat-top pistons and 6.200-inch steel I-beam rods. The 4340 steel billet crank gives this engine a 4-inch stroke-rotund mechanical advantage-and pure powerhouse performance from what used to be 351 ci.
On top of the fortified Windsor are AFR aluminum heads with barstool-sized 2.02/1.60-inch stopcocks amid 64cc chambers. A single-plane Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake manifold is port-matched to those AFR heads. Barry Grant provides 750-cfm Mighty Demon atomization. As you might expect, Lin placed his trust in an MSD Pro Billet distributor and 6AL box to get the mixture lit. Lunati Cams gets the valves boppin' with a generous amount of lift in excess of 1/2 inch along with exceptional lungfulls of duration.
When you stroke a 351 to 408 ci, you no longer have a small-block displacementwise; you have a big-block. That means you have to treat the entire platform as though you have a big-block. Lin looked to Hedman Hedders for 15/8-inch Jet Hot-coated shorty headers into huge 3-inch sewer-pipe collectors, through a Dr. Gas x-type crossover, and to 21/2-inch Flowmaster Series 50s for an extraordinarily quiet throat. Because we're talking big-block displacement and torque here, a Tremec World Class T-5 would never survive. That's why Lin stuffed a Tremec 3550 five-speed in the tunnel for added measure along with a heavy-duty clutch and billet flywheel.
Inside, Lin didn't cut any corners. We love those '93 Mustang GT bucket seats clad in rich Saddle/tan tweed cloth and vinyl for comfort and good looks. They look as if they were factory made for this car-and that's what good restomodding is all about. Those are cool Auto Meter Phantom instruments from JME Enterprises. Mid-dash is an Alpine sound system and CD player along with a 400-watt Kicker amp in the trunk area. When Lin turns on his sound system, streetlights dim for miles around.
Lin wound up with the fastback that ultimately became the car of his dreams, which, come to think of it, gives the rest of us something to reach for.