Michael Raley of Arlington, Texas, is on to something good with his yellow and black '66 Mustang six-cylinder coupe. He bought the car from a work buddy a few years back and began refurbishment work immediately. After almost two years of hard labor, the finished product emerged. The result was this good-looking car with an attention-getting color combination. Michael named his car the "Lil' Stinger." The "little" is for the smaller six-cylinder engine and the "stinger" is for the black and yellow hues that resemble a bee.
Although the color combo is as sweet as honey, it's not the only thing about this little coupe that's different. Michael has taken many steps to upgrade his car to V-8 performance status-except adding a V-8. Look closely at the front end and you'll see the car has the five-lug wheels found on V-8-equipped cars. To get this stronger V-8 style, front spindles must be used. Likewise, the six-cylinder rear axle was tossed in favor of an 8-inch unit, which converted the rear wheels to five-lug status at the same time.
The secret to the extra punch coming from the 200ci six is the power-adding hardware he got from Ford Six Performance. It seems the Australians were more interested in the Ford six-cylinder engine than the Americans have ever been because some interesting six-cylinder components were developed for the Australian market that weren't available here. For one thing, the Aussie intake manifold and cylinder-head combination dramatically improve inlet flow into the combustion chamber and will accept a two-barrel carb. Improvement over the stock American components is reported at around 45 percent. Adding headers and a dual-exhaust system doesn't hurt, either, and Michael has done both to the Lil' Stinger. Michael says he built this car primarily for weekend driving, but the yellow coupe also does well at local car shows. He enjoys rolling up to the show, everybody guessing that his car is V-8 powered, only to surprise them when he opens the hood. The car must sound pretty good, as he tells us "nobody ever gets it right!"
Since our photo shoot, Michael upgraded the car with a T5 five-speed manual transmission and a DUI electronic distributor. Always a work in progress, there are more upgrades to come.
The Details
'66 Mustang coupe
Owner: Michael Raley, Arlington, TX
Engine
200ci six-cylinder bored 0.060 oversize
Australian cast-iron cylinder head, 1.75 intake
and 1.50 exhaust valves, ported, bowls blended
Cast pistons
Sealed Power rings
Nodular iron crank, polished and balanced
9.9:1 compression ratio
Clay Smith/Ford Six Performance camshaft, .450/.450 lift, 264/264 duration, lobe center 110 degrees
Crane single valvesprings with damper
1.5:1 Ford rocker arms
Australian Ford 2V Intake
Holley 500-cfm two-barrel carb
Duraspark distributor and ignition system
K&N air cleaner and custom intake package
235 flywheel horsepower
228 lb-ft torque
Built by Tony Cowell, Cowell Performance, Weatherford, TX
Transmission
C4 automatic
Phoenix Transmissions 10-inch converter
2,500-rpm stall speed
Rearend
8-inch
Traction-Lok differential
3.00 gears
28-spline axles
Exhaust
Pacesetter 11/42-inch primary tube headers
2-inch dual exhaust system
Flowmaster 40-series mufflers
Suspension
Front: Completely rebuilt using urethane bushings, KYB Gas-a-Just shocks
Rear: Heavy-duty leaf springs, KYB Gas-a-Just shocks
Brakes
Front: Disc conversion
Rear: Factory drum
Wheels
Front: American Racing Aero 106, 15x7, 5.25-inch offset
Rear: American Racing Aero 106, 15x7, 5.25-inch offset
Tires
Front: Master Craft Avenger, P215/60R15
Rear: Master Craft Avenger, P215/60R15
Interior
Toyota Supra seats, body-color accents, hidden Jensen/MTX audio system, custom yellow and black vinyl by Jerry Kitchens, Automotive Enterprises, Arlington, Texas, Humphugger console
Exterior
Ford Screaming Yellow PPG single-stage urethane
Raven Black accent stripes
Shelby hoodscoop
Shelby sidescoops