The Mach 40 – a ’69 Mustang Customization

The owner of this car wanted something out of the ordinary, but a car that could have been developed and built when the original Mach 1 was introduced.

69 Mustang drawn by Mike Miernik

As the name suggests, it would be a combination of the Mach 1 styling and the GT40 power train.  I designed the body to retain the Mach 1 theme and give the basic proportions of the GT40.  I began the concept sketches, a few shown here, bringing in body mods such as widening each side two inches, lowering the roof two inches, and moving the top, or greenhouse, forward about ten inches.  My goal was to keep the shape real clean and retain the ’69 characteristics.  Hood openings for heat exit and side openings for additional cooling just add to the car’s aggressive look and gives you a hint that something way cool is going on here.

1969 Mustang front view

The car retains, from the original, the roof section, door frames, doors, and the front and rear glass.

After a buyoff of the concept drawings, I produced full size drawings to assist the build which took place at Eckert’s Rod & Custom.

This was a three year project and turned out awesome.  The car debuted at the 2012 SEMA Show and was a big hit!

Specs:

the Back Side

• Engine – ’06 Ford GT 5.4 liter dry sump motor with a four liter Whipple supercharger.
• Transaxle – ’06 Ford GT Richardo unit with cable shifter.
• Front Suspension – ’06 Corvette with coil over shocks.
• Read Suspension – ’06 Corvette with custom Billet control arms and coil over shocks.
• Wheels – Custom, based upon ’69 GT 500 Magnum wheels; 18” front, 19” rear.
• Interior – Handmade custom aluminum and carbon fiber composite panels.  Modified
• Mach 1 seats with Italian leather and stainless steel details throughout.

Don’t miss the write-up on the Mach 40 from Hot Rod Magazine