Spotlight: Kevin’s 1000 WHP Saleen Mustang

When Kevin brought his 2004 Mustang Mach 1 in to a Houston performance shop he had no idea what he was getting himself in to. His Mach 1 was under the knife [air wrench] for a set of long tube headers when he spotted a supercharged 1989 Saleen Mustang on a nearby lift, also undergoing a header installation. The Saleen was for sale by a police officer and Kevin had to have it.

The previous owner had modified the Mustang quite a bit. The engine had been upgraded from 302 cubic inches to 347 via a stroker kit and topped off with and a Vortech S-trim supercharger. The factory 302 engines were known to give up [go boom] around 500 horsepower which sounds about right as Kevin’s new Saleen had reportedly made a trip down the quarter mile in 11 seconds flat at 126mph on street tires.

Soon after purchase Kevin began changing small things here and there. In the beginning it was the fuel system. Then goodbye was said to the shorty headers. Hello, long tubes. The deeper Kevin dug, the more things were found that he just didn’t like. There were many small flaws throughout the car. So, instead of redoing the work of someone else, Kevin changed everything.

and oh yea, a massive 88mm turbo

Working in his garage with the help of Chris Goodwin and Wayne Fontano, the Mustang was torn apart and rebuilt to Kevin’s liking. Without Chris, this build would not have gone as smooth as it did. The engine received a set of Fox Lake ported heads, an Anderson Ford Motorsport custom grind cam and oh yea, a massive 88mm turbo. Chris Goodwin is an extremely talented builder and made the entire exhaust. He started with a 4″ down-pipe which was fed to 3.5″ pipes which exited through DynoMax Ultra Flow mufflers.

All that power is channeled through a modified TKO transmission. With all that power something had to be done to the suspension. It too was completely upgraded with drag ready adjustable components everywhere.

The entire project was a learning experience and Chris was invaluable. If he [Chris] wasn’t teaching Kevin how to do something, Chris was doing it himself. This was without a doubt a group effort between Chris and Kevin. Kevin had the vision, Kevin drives it, but Chris was definitely the build manager on this project.

So what’s a guy to do with a million wheel horsepower? Reverse planetary orbit? Alright, you caught us. Kevin’s Mustang doesn’t make a million horsepower, it’s a fraction of that – just over half a ton worth. That’s five times as much as what you’re probably driving.

Back to the question at hand. If you answered “blasting down a drag strip”, you’d be correct. Kevin expects nothing less than single digit passes from this turbo pony. If the track was padded like a bowling lane on kids night, we think he could do it backwards, blindfolded, and towing a Prius.

Needless to say they are quite pleased with the way the car turned out. In the next few months this car should have ripped down the quarter mile and shortly after will be making a haul to North Carolina to enter the Maxton Mile, a standing mile competition. 200 MPH anyone?

1989 Ford Mustang Saleen #582 – The Details:

• 347ci stroker kit from Ford Performance Solutions
• Trickflow Twisted Wedge heads, ported by Fox Lake
• Trickflow Box R intake manifold
• Custom cam from Anderson Ford Motorsport
• Precision Turbo 88mm turbo
• Aeromotive fuel system with 120 lb injectors
• Anderson Ford Series 4 PMS w/NLR AMS 1000
• Modified TKO transmission w/26-spline shaft

They also have a 347 T-trim Fox hatchback car is getting the final touches on before it gets a gorgeous black paint job. This Saleen is only the beginning for this build team. It won’t be the last you’ve heard of Kevin and Chris.

Kevin and Chris – Beautiful Mustang! Kevin, have fun with it and good luck!
Photos by Dale Martin. View more of his work here.