What a winding path I take through the car world…

In the spring of 2020, I sold my 1977 F150, and started looking for a driver that would be track capable. I ended up buying an E36 M3…

The car is fabulous. It has the silky smooth BMW inline-6 engine, a near perfect interior, and excellent handling characteristics. However, it was from the midwest and has some rust.

So I started looking at other cars. The newer generation GTO has the wonderful LS engine and a 6-speed. There are a myriad of LS converted cars, including 944s and 968s with the engine. I also drove a few S550 Mustang GTs with the Coyote and they were a blast. I narrowed my search to S197 and S550 Mustangs with the Brembo braking package.

That’s when I ran across this Mustang in the San Diego area…

The car had the gigantic GT500 brakes (15″ Brembo fronts), Koni shocks and coilovers, and had been set up by someone who works for a legitimate race team. It also fit my budget, allowing me to sell the BMW and get into the Mustang with a minimum of additional cash. However, there is a catch. The car is a 6-cylinder. Yes, I love the power of the Coyote 5.0. Could I live with the 300-ish horsepower of the V6? Would the handling and brakes of this car be enough to win me over?

I flew to San Diego to find out.

After driving the car, I was hooked. Yes, I could use more power, but the brakes and handling were spot-on. The car is very “sharp.” It is also very streetable, with a minimum of NVH and almost no tramlining. That is impressive given the 10.5″ square wheel/tire setup.

I purchased the car, which came with some spares, and drove it home. Yes, it is the middle of January, and record breaking storms were moving through California and other Western states. But I decided to drive it anyway.

No long stories here. I did have weather, including some roads that had snow sticking to them. That said, I was quite fortunate, and was able to make it home in two days with a minimum of slick road conditions. I even had some dry roads for part of the trip. The car drove great, and returned between 26.5 mpg (with climbing both White Bird grade and Lewiston grade on that tank) and 31.5 mpg.

So what’s next for the car? I need to update the driver’s seat (A Sabelt race seat) to one that fits me better. I’ll be adding some safety equipment. Then I’ll be tracking it as much as possible at Spokane County Raceway, on their open track days. Let’s see if I can put some V8 cars to shame with it…