When Lee Iacocca came up with the idea for the Ford Mustang, I don’t think he ever imagined that it would be such an iconic car that would span over 50 years. Sneed Speed Shop of North Carolina just sent the Right Foot Down team some information on their latest creation, a 1973 Mustang that they have worked over from “head to tail.” That’s part of Sneed’s philosophy to build fast cars that are custom built in their shop.
Chris Sneed and his team finished this 1973 Mustang a couple of months ago. I had to opportunity to speak with Chris about this car. The owner wanted a track day/street car that he could “bang around in”, and if he wrecked it, it wouldn’t upset any of the Mustang purists.
The body of the car is a 1973 Mustang, but it has Mach 1 trim pieces and grill, gas cap from a 1966 Mustang, Trans Am front lip spoiler, a 1971 Mustang front bumper (saves 80-lbs) and a fiberglass Mach 1 hood with a functional RamAir intake (saves 50-lbs). That’s around 130 lbs of weight savings off the front of the Mustang, which will help it when this owner thrashes it on the track.
Sneed Speed Shop did all the work on the engine, stroked, bored, cam’d and rebuilt everything. The engine is a 392 stoker 351 Cleveland engine making over 500 horsepower at the flywheel. The valve covers even say “Powered by Sneed,” a nod to Fords of the 50s and 60s. The exhaust is a 2.5″ H-pipe with Flowmaster barking at the rear.
Good looks and horsepower are not the only thing this Mustang is packing, it also has a T56 transmission, 3.73 limited-slip rear differential, Hokiss suspension, coils upfront and leaf springs in the rear. A big brake kit on the front brakes and disc brakes in the rear. It can haul ass and stop hauling ass.
The interior has bucket Recaro seats, a six-point harness, and a four point roll bar. It has a full interior, turn signals, custom gauges, HID lights, radio, heater, 17×8″ American Racing wheels and totally street legal.
The icing on this Mustang cake is the Black Cherry paint job that was custom done by Sneed’s shop. Chris called this a tri-stage paint job, meaning the base coat is painted black, and then they paint two coats of purple on top of that. It has the chameleon paint job effect, where it looks different from all angles.
I know if I ever have a classic car that I need to turn into a track day monster, I’ll be ringing Chris over at Sneed Speed Shop. They are making Mr. Iacocca proud.
You can find more pics here and Chris’s website here and their location is below. Go check them out!
Sneed’s Speed Shop
8331 Reynolda Rd
Pfafftown, NC 27040
