Project Fake Snake Mustang is Back On The Road

After too much time in shop jail, we finally have the Fake Snake Mustang rolling once again.

Shop jail. That’s the place project cars go when the tasks to be done pile up faster than they can be completed. Before you know, the project you planned to drive every weekend—or more—has spent months sitting on jack stands.

That’s exactly what happened to the Fake Snake Mustang. The idea all along was to pull the Mustang down for a project, finish the work, and get it back on the road again before starting the next project. It worked for a while, but then when it came time to upgrade the brakes, we ordered up a set form Baer Brakes that fit a 9-inch rear because an upgraded rear axle was in the plans anyway. So the brakes had to wait until the new 9-inch from Quick Performance came in. Meanwhile, we’ve also been working with Aeromotive as they develop a new fuel system for the ’99 Mustangs, and the fuel tank had to come out for a little R&D.

No excuses, but the Mustang did wind up sitting on the jack stands quite a bit longer than intended. Anyhow, that’s over now, and the Mustang is back on the road, at least until it’s time for an engine swap (hint, hint), but that’s a story for another day.

This issue we’re tying up a lot of loose ends on the Mustang to get it back on the road. The original plan was to get it ready to test the new QA1 suspension, Quick Performance 9-inch rear, and Baer Brakes at a track day at Carolina Motorsports Park (CMP) in Kershaw, SC, but unfortunately, recent rains guaranteed a wet track. The car had barely been driven in its latest form on dry pavement, so we eighty-sixed the track idea for a later date. Nevertheless, if you live anywhere in the Southeast and are looking for a place to test out your car’s handling, you could definitely do worse than the beautiful 2.3-mile CMP road course nestled in the South Carolina pines.

Even without track time, the upgrades to our Fake Snake certainly makes it a lot more fun. When we took the Mustang out on the autocross track at the Car Craft Summer Nationals, the QA1 suspension performed well, but it was obvious the rock-hard 235/55R17 all-weather radials were holding the car back. To fix that we worked with American Muscle, who put together a wheel and tire package that should be worlds better when it comes to performance. They sent over a set of their Rovos Durban 18-inch wheels along with a set of grippy Sumitomo tires. The idea was to maximize the contact patch all around, so up front the 275/35R18 tires are mounted to 9-inch wide wheels, while in the back we went really big with 285/35R18s on 10.5-inch wide wheels. For comparison sake, the original tires were only 235 millimeters wide.

The Durbans were critical to our build. It was a bit tough finding wheels with the correct offset that also provided enough room for the big Baer calipers, and the five-spoke design does it well. The open design will also allow plenty of cooling air to get to the brakes when the car is driven in anger. After going through the bedding-in process for the brakes that Baer outlines in their instructions, the car is greatly improved. We’re using a lower gear in the Quick Performance rearend that makes acceleration livelier, the brakes are strong and predictable, and the new tires and wheels provide tons of grip.

Our Fake Snake is becoming an absolute blast to drive!

After too much time in shop jail, we finally have the Fake Snake Mustang rolling once again.

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