After the $2005 GRM Challenge was complete and my wife got her car back...we still needed a car to direct kids who are into racing to take it to the track, and OFF the street. So, we scared up this SUBLIME 1989 Mustang LX with a '94 GT drivetrain in it...Thus was born the Brakes for Brett Car...
This car was (supposed to be) a real find. Rust free, updated drivetrain, the seller said. "All it needs is a battery, an alignment, and some minor dings in the passenger door."
If you overlooked the four lug wheels with 3rd degree curb rash being held only 2 lugs each, non-working door locks, drvers window that won't go up, a siezed belt tensioner, clapped out shocks and struts, 3" of side to side spindle travel on the front end, bad front wheel bearings, a bad front spindle, finger tight strap bolt on the rearend, spent brakes, no e-brake, a starter solenoid that sticks, trashed AC, a clutch that was going, a body that looked like it survived a hail storm, etc. He was right, it did need a battery.
It was born black with white vinyl "LeMans" stripes that they tried to remove by hacking at them with a razor knife. The Government is right, box cutters should be banned.
A customer tried to help the basket case by squirting Sublime Green...
...lighter colors don't show body imperfections the way darker ones do. It is apparent that this pony still needs a healthier coat, no matter the color. Any paint companies or resto shops feel like sponsoring a car for a good cause?
I picked Sublime Green because...
...I always loved to look at Mopars. I picked the Mustang because I love to drive Fords. Mother Mopar and Uncle Henry both put in a "timeout" for this creation. It doesn't matter, the generation coming up behind us don't know any better. Besides, the kids love it and the adult "old school" guys hate it. Now, I know I'm doing something right. Afterall, this one is made for the kids!
Everything you DON'T see in this photo was bought at a special sponsor rate from...
...http://50resto.com They came to the rescue so many times, I'd have to create a webpage just for them to list it all. Thanks guys!
Discount Tire Co Inc. donated these 17 x 9 Cobra R rims and tires. Yep those fat...
275's out back are screaming, "Dude, can we have a little room here? How about rolling those fender lips?" The fronts are whinning for spacers to avoid rubbing on the control arms. A 5 lug conversion would be a nice remedy for better rim choices. KNOCK, KNOCK! (Bear Brakes, are you listening?)
What you don't see in this photo is the stuff under the car...Kenny Brown emptied his catalog into the...
...chassis of this puppy! Track-it panhard bar, full extreme matrix brace sub system, K member brace, rear strut tower brace, front strut tower brace, caster plus, sport springs, and Bilistien self adjust soprt struts complete the package! More photos will follow when we get it back up on a rack!
Hey, if you are going to LEAD by example, you better make sure they're BEHIND you on the track!
Nice pipes, babe.
MAC True Fit 2.5" HTC cat-back exhaust with 3" chrome tips make een this stock mill sound Bulldog mean. An aluminzed 2.5" X pipe I snagged off of eBay gets the job done from the headers to the the MAC-Daddy muffers...
The engine bay needs some help still...
...I ripped off all the Boy Racer decals that kept the build up of grime off of most of the engine bay. You can see the newness of the Kenny Brown tower brace and the Caster Plus contrast the junkyard freshness of the rest of engine compartment. Soon we will chuck the non-operative A/C system to save weight and beautify simultaneously until the budget will allow for a new refrigerator/freezer to be installed.
That orange thing isn't a snake...
...that is the power suppy line for the sweeet sound system Excel Audio of Wauconda, IL designed and installed as part of their sponsorship.
Caster plus and tower brace, makes the car stiff and shoot straight were you point it...
...no wonder guys like racing 
This car is like a MULLET...
All business up front and a PARTY in the back!
The box hides the rear strut tower brace and shows off the wicked cool 15" Subwoofer!
It even has a docking station for my laptop...
...with a power inverter to pug it in and video and audio out to play the 7 minute trailer to "Flying over Cuda" and short form documentary created by Jonathan Skogmo, Brett Karlin's cousin.
Rear firing speakers will carry the story of Brett's death and the message...
...that a passion for cars is not bad but it is dangerous and needs to be done on the track, not the street. Andy Short, Brett's best friend and the driver of the car that night on Cuba road, courageously bares witness and responsibility for the consequences of the decisions made that night in August 2004. He has shared that to more than 18,000 highschool kids from that day to this, speaking in front of large crowds of young people just like your children. It is up to us to carry that message forward.
The automobile is the most dangerous weapon...
...we give to our young men and women as a right of passage to becoming an adult. They need and deserve the proper training that goes WAY beyond driver's ed class. Let's take 'em to the track and teach show them their limits before they find out like Brett Karlin and Andy Short did.
