Unique Performance Ford Mustang GT 500 - All Revved Up

"Going back to day one with Carroll Shelby, we had four employees and a 6,000 square foot shop. Carroll and I talked about doing 10 to 15 cars. There were no plans to grow the business. Demand and supply is what created it. When sales keep rolling in the door, then you've got to expand to accommodate the demand."

From the start, Unique Performance worked hard to satisfy that demand. They created a base Eleanor (302) and a Performance edition (351 Windsor stroked to a 392, then later to a 408), followed in the summer of 2003 by the Super Snake, powered by a blown 427 with 725 hp. For its Performance series, the staff developed a taller hood, then used it on the Super Snake.

Upping the horsepower to such ground-pounding levels on classic Mustangs with a chassis that was originally borrowed from the Falcon requires serious engineering and development. We peered under a G.T. 500E at a dizzying array of high-tech parts and pieces. Nothing much resembled an early Mustang.

Under the front end, Unique engineered a coilover suspension. The stamped-steel control arms were replaced with TIG-welded, tubular upper and lowers featuring 4130 chrome-moly rod ends and Teflon inserts. Steering is modern rack and pinion. Adjustable shocks from QA1 feature 11 positions on compression and six on rebound. Springs are rated 450 psi.

Unique also fitted the rear end with a coilover suspension that is obviously strange to a '67 Mustang. The laid-down springs and shocks and upgraded rear leafs allow 17x11-inch wheels to mount wide P315/35 series tires. For the G.T. 500Es, Unique installs the Currie Tru-Track differential, a 9-inch rearend (the old 9-inch Ford will not fit) featuring a big bearing housing and a short-yoke, nodular race case. The Tru-Trac eliminates clutches (mega-horsepower big-blocks are apt to burn a few clutches on a conventional Traction-Lok rearend) and can withstand up to 900 hp.

The inside story of Unique Performance is as much one of engineering as it is of marketing a car or forging a business partnership with Carroll Shelby to capitalize on a movie-car craze. In the evolution, Unique has built up a cottage industry supplying parts for these classics.

Fresh out of college, David Ambler presides over the parts department. He knows the parts inside and out, and also the cars. He even built his own Eleanor from a '67 fastback.

Let's say you own a Mustang and want a trick part such as a set of sequential rear taillights. David laid out the parts for us and explained that instead of the old two-piece design, Unique has gone to a simpler one-piece design. Unique also stocks the electronic modules and harness that actuate the sequential lights.

We wondered if anyone could order parts over the counter. For many of them, the answer is yes. The new continuation Shelbys are such a performance step up, they have solved many of the problems that restomodders encounter.

For example, let's say you own a '67 Mustang and have installed a 500-horse engine. The original four-speed can't handle the power. Unique has been there and done that. The staff has already engineered new motor mounts and a transmission crossmember to retrofit a Tremec TKO 500 (or 600), allowing you to take advantage of its R&D, keep your Mustang looking nice and original, and enjoy your big-time horsepower.