Car of the Month

Ray Banks’ 1965 Mustang Fastback 2+2

I bought the car from a neighbor that I grew up with and he was the original owner. I had a 64 ½ coupe and he had the fastback that I always wanted but could never afford, probably because I was putting all my money into my coupe and a 69’ Z/28. Which I’m still kicking myself for selling. Oh’ if I only knew!

I bought the fastback for $2500 in 1999 and in 2000 I started collecting parts. I thought I would rebuild it with 50hp more than stock so it would be fun and more spirited. Oh what a wicked web we weave…The car was clean from the outside but as we all know beauty is skin deep. I decided to strip the car to metal (this took 3 eeks and a gross of abrasive discs) and found it had been hit many places. Although there was no cancer (whew) I had a lot of work ahead of me. At many points during the build I would stand back, look at the mess of old and new parts, the gutted hull, rat’s nest of a wiring harness, the huge job ahead of me and get disillusioned. I think this happens to anyone who takes on a large project. Don’t put yourself on a timeline, if you do, sooner or later you’ll cut corners and the car will look or perform like it. I decided to step back and focus on the fun part…the engine! Oh’ the block is only a 2 bolt main and the heads won’t flow and that 2 bbl carburetor is just unacceptable! Well, here comes the SVO 351 circle track block, lightweight 4340 crank, Carrillo rods, JE pistons, AFR 205 heads, titanium valves, solid roller cam, Victor Jr. intake, Holley HP 750 carburetor, external oil pump, Hooker Super comps and a 3qt. Accusump……568 hp @7300 rpm later (in it’s current configuration) I have a fire breather that will break the C4 and 8” that it came with like a twig. Next upgrade was a Toploader and a Currie 9+ race case, a 31 splined axel rear end. Oh gee’ I have to get this thing to turn….Global West front suspension, Koni shocks, Stambar sway bar, torque boxes, frame stiffening, over ride spring bars (on the rear end) and the typical Monte Carlo bar and export brace. But my Dad always said “I don’t care how fast you can go you need to get it stopped”. I put in Baer 12.2” sport brakes, dual master, Vintage 45’s and Toyo RA-1 245/45/16’s currently for the street and Hoosier R6’s for track days. I also made cooling ducts for the rotors.

I built the car 3 times and had the roll cage in and out at least 6 times. I wanted every hole placed and everything mapped out before painting. Building it completely before paint ensures that you will have no surprises during final assembly I wanted to keep the interior relatively stock looking with some extras. I put the Shelby shelf in the back, Sparco seats and 5 point harnesses. I made my own dash and filled it with Autometer gauges. It doesn’t have a stereo because, well let’s face it you wouldn’t hear it anyway. I put in a fire suppression system just in case and a Fuel Safe 22 gallon fuel cell with a ½ gallon sump because you don’t want to starve out of a corner.

I had the car painted Ivy green and initially thought I wanted to put the gold (Hertz style) GT 350 stripes along the rocker panel. But the guy who painted it said “wait a month and see because once I put them on that’s it”. It turned out to be very good advice. I really like the clean look of it and can’t imagine putting stripes or badges on it. People ask why I didn’t put 17” rims on it and I said there has to be a balance of rim size to sidewall size to the wheel arch of the fender. I built, replaced and/or rebuilt everything on the car. To me the car is very well prepared, it strikes a nice balance between street and race, it’s a blast on and off the track, it does well at shows (it won HOT ROD’s Home Built Hero’s contest and made the cover) and people say very nice things about it to which I always say thank you. I’ve been asked many times “who built this car” or “did you buy this from so and so” and I quietly say “I built it”.

Ray Banks