![]() Providing cooling for that Coyote is a Ron Davis double pass radiator. The total combination is good for 1000 HP. It’s being force fed by a Vortech V-7 JT Supercharger. That FRPP Aluminator is the model setup for boost from Ford. This allows for perfect 50/50 weight distribution in the car. Look at the photos, you’ll see that most of the Ford Racing Performance Parts Aluminatior 5.0 Coyote engine is hiding under TopNotch’s cowl. The setup can be changed from a 9:1 ratio (1.5 turns lock to lock) for time attack events, to an 18:1 ratio (3 turns lock to lock) for running the standing mile. Steering is handled by a Tommy Lee steering quickener and chain offset. It’s running Hotchkis adjustable lower control arms and upper link, as well as an adjustable panhard rod. Watson engineered the rear suspension to utilize S197 Mustang control arms and three link setup. However when you consider the fabrication skills required to pull it off, it becomes impressive indeed. The rear suspension on paper could sound a bit mild compared to the front. It also allows for an insane six and half inches of backspacing on the front wheels. TOPNOTCH WILD N OUT FULLThis system weighs a full 62 pounds less than the stock strut/spring and k-member combination. This is the first time we’ve seen such an application on a Fox body Mustang. Next is the wild JME suspension’s cantilever short-long arm suspension system for the front. First is the track width and length, both of which have been increased by at total of three inches each. Things continue to get even crazier as you delve deeper into the details of this cars build. The entire chassis weighs just seven hundred pounds according to Watson. Where the stock frame rails once resided now sits a full custom built chromoly tube chassis. “We’ve done the math on the car’s weight, horsepower, aerodynamics and gearing, we’re pretty confident it will go 200, but we’re told it takes quite a bit more to do 220,” he told us. Watson has plans to at least go the deuce at a standing mile event, if not faster. Last it would have to be 200 mph capable. It would need to handle and perform well, with the idea of going road racing for time attack events. It would have to stand the Mustang world on it’s ear, doing things that had seldom if ever been seen together on a Fox Body. This build was to have several goals in mind. The car was completely disassembled and acid dipped to reveal any problems. We couldn’t come up with a time in recent memory when a Fox was so prominently displayed at SEMA, the aftermarket’s biggest show of the year.īeginning with a rusty shell, the coupe was an abandoned project someone was attempting to setup for road racing. “We wanted to do something that no one else had done before and bring Fox bodies back to the forefront,” said Watson, pointing out his efforts paid off. TOPNOTCH WILD N OUT MODSHaving participated in several builds for SEMA and charities through Ford Motor Company over the past several years, this car is a radical departure from the simple restyling, paint work, and bolt on performance mods of those rides. He decided to build this car as a showcase for what his CNC shop is capable of. “When you come up with the name Top Notch you had better be able to back that up,” said Watson. Some purists might scoff at the idea, but the Fox body Mustang is to Gen X what the Tri-Five Chevy was to baby boomers. The Fox body inspired a whole new group of enthusiasts at a time when performance cars had long since taken a back seat to fuel economy. We can think of few other cars in history that have enjoyed such long running popularity. Like many Gen X’ers, the then fairly new 5.0 was the car to have if you were into late model performance. “All my good memories from high school centered around a Fox Body Mustang,” he told us. A Mustang fan since his childhood years, Watson set out to build his ultimate expression of what a Fox body Mustang could be. This car, named TopNotch, is the brain child of CNC owner Gary Watson. The Mustang world and most of the participants at this year’s SEMA show stood in awe at Creations’ n Chrome’s Mustang this year. Often riding on custom chassis, with trick suspension systems, many custom and race vehicles bear resemblance to the car they were inspired by only loosely in basic shape, and perhaps in that their powertrain is based loosely on something from the model’s manufacturer. The same is true in racing, the faster and more powerful the car, the fewer components it shares with the original model. The deeper the customization the greater the departure from the original. What qualifies a car to wave a particular model’s banner? This question arises when we begin to delve into the world of custom and race cars. ReBlogged from StangTV – TopNotch: Creations ‘n Chrome’s Game Changing Fox Body ![]()
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