This ride just gets on down the highway, looking for adventure anywhere Joe can find it. He boldly takes his '60s musclecar where a lot of Mustang enthusiasts dare not go: rod runs and street rod events where the newest rides are from the '50s. This might get a lot of people shown the curb, but not Joe. Hot rod enthusiasts have welcomed Joe and ask him a lot of questions about his Mustang. Died-in-the-wool hot rodders are beginning to embrace '60s Fords and Mercurys, looking at what can be done with these bold statements from our favorite decade.
So what makes Joe's fastback acceptable to hardcore street rodders? It has to be the street rodding nuances that exist throughout the car. Take a look inside at the Toyota bucket seats in custom saddle tan leather. That's a Billet Specialties steering wheel. The rest of the interior is all custom, just like a street rod because, by golly, it is a street rod for the '60s. We like the custom-made console, a one-of-a-kind, made especially for a Mustang unique in scope. Did you notice the subtle rollbar that doesn't get in the way, but protects the occupants nicely? Custom door panels follow the natural lines of a first-generation Mustang door. Those kick panels are available from Custom Autosound. If you're fond of Joe's interior, pass your compliments along to Bob Fuller of Fullers Auto Interiors who did the work. Auto Meter instrumentation jibes nicely with the custom-fabricated dashboard. This is actually a factory Mustang dashboard with a whole lot of customizing. In the console is an Alpine 9815 head unit with 500-watts of JL Audio equipment throughout the car.
Outside, Russ and Joe tackled the body using Diamont urethane basecoat/clearcoat in Azure Blue. That's a '67 Shelby-style fiberglass hood from Mustangs Plus. Side scoops are something you won't find on anyone's web site. They are hand fabricated and exclusive to this Mustang. Check out the front valance and chin spoiler, and Shelby taillights with a '71-'73 Mustang pop-open gas cap. We like the way Joe and Russ shot-gunned the dual-exhaust system through the factory Mustang rear valance. You'll find ARE 17x7.5-inch Spago wheels wrapped in Nitto and Pirelli rubber and KYB gas shocks that dampen the action at all four corners.
Joe tells us he likes the clean, uncluttered look of his Mustang street rod. He has owned this car since 1985 when he snapped it up at Carlisle. At that time, it was an Ivy Green Metallic 289 automatic car without much of a claim to fame. It wasn't until the turn of the new century that he decided to thrust his fastback into the new age of Restomod. Joe had no plans for a big-block when he rattled Russ' cage. It occurred to him that almost all first-generation Mustangs had garden-variety small-blocks and even Modular V-8s. Neither appealed to Joe. With all of that room created by the Rod & Custom Motorsports front end, it seemed wasteful to go with anything less than a brute big-block, which led him and Russ to the ultimate shock of a big-block.