| Back in the summer of 2005,
we met MIB (Mustang in Black) for the first time when Dave from DVS
Restorations brought the car to Michigan, to show off his product to
Ford Racing. The car created quite a buzz; the concept of implanting a
late model mustang cobra suspension and powertrain into a 37 year old
Mustang platform was revolutionary. DVS retained many other features
such as traction control and ABS. The seed was planted. In early
November 06 we gave Dave a call because we were curious if he
had dabbled with the Torino platform since we last saw him. According
to him he has had a few people asking him for kits for Torino's and
Cougar's, but they weren't
interested in offering their car to be the development mule. Due to
the nature of our project, we aren't particularly concerned about
cutting up our cars, so we thought we would arrange a time to visit
the shop and discuss what it would take to get a Cobra setup in our Torinos.
Above: Meet DVS's MIB. The car looks as every bit as good in
person as it does on the cover of Mustang Magazine. The only
indication of what this mustang is hiding underneath its shell are the
cobra calipers peering out through the front wheels. |
| Right: The all Aluminum 4.6L 32-Valve
cobra motor fills the engine bay nicely, and very little
appears to have been compromised. The custom strut towers
allow this DOHC monster to fit with ease, and the FEAD is a decent
distance from the cooling module up front. However, if a supercharged
mod motor were to be used, the engine would need to be pushed approx. 4" back
towards the firewall.
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Left: The expectations of what this car
should feel drive and handle like sitting behind this stock steering
wheel are much different from what you experience driving. Aside from the wind noise and lack of seat bolster
support, the car handles and performs like a late model muscle car should. |
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Left: Craig admires the quality of
workmanship that went into mounting the SN95 front suspension into the
1968 stang. DVS's primary goal with the MIB project was to keep the
geometry identical to the SN95. By maintaining the strut angles, the
on-center feel and camber characteristics can be maintained. Another
inherent benefit, is aftermarket parts for late model stangs can be bolted right up! |
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The car was a great inspiration for our project.
Looking at the cost of the parts on paper, the Cobra parts are
comparable to the parts we were budgeting for anyways.
Dave's rates were very reasonable to perform the overhaul, but being
engineers on a budget we decided we will take on most of the heavy
fabrication and engineering ourselves and stretch the project out a
year or so.
For more information on DVS
Restoration visit:
http://www.dvsrestorations.com/ |
