We Take The Fat Man Mustang For A RideRecently Brent VanDervort traveled to the central Florida area to attend an air show with a friend and drove his '68 convertible down for the week. Before heading back to hills of Carolina, Brent stopped by the Primedia offices to show us his ride. Donald Farr, editor of Mustang Monthly, and I took a few turns behind the wheel of Brent's Mustang, and we must say, the ride is exceptional. While the car doesn't have enough power to do the rear Wonder Bar suspension justice, we could still feel the rearend raise slightly on its haunches and just plain plant the tires upon acceleration from a streetlight-no squatting, no tire squirm, just instant traction.
The steering response was quite nice, though, honestly, this was the first time I've driven a classic Ford with a rack-and-pinion conversion. When you hear the words "Escort rack" come out of someone's mouth, there's not a whole lot of confidence inspired by those words, but when we took a look under Brent's Mustang and saw the design of the rack mounting and the ease of installation, it quelled our nervousness. We were a little surprised at the poor turning radius, but Brent called us a few weeks later to let us know the rack had not been centered correctly during installation and alignment so we weren't getting the best radius possible in one direction. The turning radius is also dependent upon your wheel and tire size and wheel offset, as well.
Braking was pretty standard fare for a four-wheel disc brake conversion, but knowing there were late-model Mustang spindles up front meant that if we owned this car and wanted more braking, options abound. Everything from factory Mustang Cobra 13-inch binders, all the way up to six-piston Alcon setups will bolt right on. The same goes for the front struts. The Fat Man system is designed to use stock '94-'04 Mustang struts, meaning you can choose from direct bolt-ins from several companies, coilovers (which Brent's car had), or even Air Ride air struts for suspension adjustments at the touch of a button (which is what Brent plans to upgrade to soon). All-in-all, the Fat Man '68 Mustang was a well-handling car with a well thought out suspension that can be built with anything from salvage yard used parts to the raciest high-dollar stuff you can find.
The Details1968 Mustang convertibleBrent VanDervort, Matthews, NC
Engine302 small-block V-8Pertronix Ignitor ignition systemEdelbrock Performer RPM intakePowermaster alternator and starter
TransmissionC4 Cruise-O-Matic
Rearend8-inch open3.00 gears
ExhaustFlowmaster mufflers
SuspensionFront: Fat Man Fabrications coilover strutRear: Fat Man Wonder bar suspension with air Ride shockwaves
BrakesFront: Stainless Steel Brakes disc conversionRear: ECI disc conversion
WheelsFront: Colorado Custom Sugar City, 16x7-inch, 5-inch back spacingRear: Colorado Custom Sugar City, 17x8-inch, 5-inch back spacing
TiresFront: BFGoodrich Radial T/A, P205/55R16Rear: BFGoodrich Radial T/A, P245/45R17
InteriorCustom dashboard with Carriage Works split bezels and Classic instrumentsStock seats with custom upholsteryVintage Air Sure Fit climate control system Colorado Custom Sugar City steering wheelSony stereo with dash and rear panel speakers
Exterior'05 Ford Copper MetallicMolded rear deck spoilerTucked bumpersCustom grilleSmoothed and scooped front valanceSmoothed firewall and inner fender panels