42 CAR CRAFT AUGUST 2019
S
hop 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 jackstands.
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
when it came time to upgrade the
brakes, we ordered a set from 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 Perfor-
mance came in. Meanwhile, we’ve also
been working with Aeromotive as theteam develops a new fuel system for
1999 Mustangs, and the fuel tank had
to come out for a little R&D.
No excuses, but the Mustang sat on
the jackstands longer than intended.
Anyhow, that’s over now, and the Mus-
tang 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.
In this installment, 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, South Carolina, but 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 make 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, which put together a
wheel and tire package that should be
worlds better when it comes to perfor-
mance. The company sent over a set of
its Rovos Durban 18-inch wheels along
with a set of grippy Sumitomo tires.After Too Much Time in Shop Jail, We Finally Have
the Fake Snake Mustang Rolling Once Again
➔PROJECT CAR
By Jeff Huneycutt / Photos: Jeff Huneycutt
The best way to keep your project car
moving? Keep it on the road as much as
possible to help maintain your enthusiasm
for the build. We let the Fake Snake
Mustang get caught in shop jail for a while,
but it’s finally back on the road.PROJECT FAKE SNAKE:
BACK ON THE ROAD