2008 Roush Mustang P-51A - Ready for Flight

A steam wand was used to soften the new leather/suede covers and work out any wrinkles during the reupholstery phase. The buckets got P-51A embroidery. The crew in the trim department seemed genuinely obsessed with the quality of their work, to the point of being competitive with one another. By the way, similar to the engines, the seats went back in the GT from which they came.

In the Performance Assembly Solutions work area, the stock engines were disassembled to their bare blocks. After cleaning and checking, they went to a clean room for reassembly. Standard-diameter, forged Mahle pistons, made to Roush specs with a 16cc dish for about 8.6:1 compression, replaced the factory 9.8:1 hypereutectic slugs. The steel H-beam connecting rods were basically clones of those used on the '03-'04 Terminator Cobra.

Likewise, the new forged-steel cranks were the same eight-bolt units as installed in the Terminators. Since the stock GT's six-bolt flywheel was useless, the P-51A got a new SFI-approved, eight-bolt aluminum flywheel, as well as an upgraded clutch disc. The GT's factory pressure plate went back on.

Once the long-block was fastidiously reassembled, the icing went on in the form of an Eaton TVS Roushcharger, a larger blower than found on other supercharged Roush Mustangs. It sits on top of a Roush-cast lower intake that houses the air-to-water intercooler elements. The setup also has an application-specific fuel rail and 52-lb/hr injectors and breathes through a GT500's dual-60mm throttle body.

One of only two technicians hand-built each P-51A engine. Like an artist signing a painting, the builder-in this case, Eric Plester-proudly etched his name on an engine plate to be affixed to the passenger-side strut tower.

Before heading back to the main vehicle assembly area, every P-51A engine assembly was cold-tested to check for leaks and correct oil pressure. Each cylinder was also individually compression tested.

Once the engine came back down the hall from Performance Assembly Solutions, it got dressed for reinsertion into the otherwise-finished P-51A. The tranny and its mount, H-pipe, and new Roush/Hurst shifter were already in place.

With the powertrain back where it belonged, a cold-air induction system was added. Notice the relocated alternator on a Roush-cast bracket. About all that was left to do was reflash the processor with the P-51A-specific calibration and send the car off to the alignment rack.