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2008 Roush Mustang P-51A - Ready for FlightRoush Performance Built 151 Supercharged P-51A Mustangs, Each One Hand-Built By Roush Technicians From the September, 2008 issue of Mustang Monthly By Dale Amy Photography by Dale Amy
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Roush technicians Derek Riopelle,... Roush technicians Derek Riopelle, Larry Lindenmuth, and Andy Reichenbach stand proudly beside one of their babies: a ready-for-shipment P-51A. We're not sure whether the debate has ever been completely settled. Was the Mustang named after the free-ranging western equine, or the long-range fighter aircraft that helped turn the tide in WWII? We're guessing Jack Roush would cast his vote for the latter-the famed North American P-51 Mustang. Indeed, he owns two examples of the aesthetically perfect WWII war bird-one is a "D" model that he straps into and flies whenever his chaotic schedule permits, and the second is a "B" model that's currently being restored to flying status. So it comes as no surprise that the Cat in the Hat should honor the most powerful Roush Mustang ever with the P-51A moniker. The "A" was the first of the P-51 aircraft variants, which of course begs the question: Will there be follow-up versions of the Roush P-51? Roush had five three-man build... Roush had five three-man build teams working simultaneously on two cars on a pair of hoists assigned to their use in the main assembly area. They used two hoists so they didn't have to wait for the seats to be reskinned and the engines rebuilt and supercharged. By the time they got the powertrain and stock buckets out of the latest car on one hoist, the beefed-up powerplant and P-51A-specific seats were back for the earlier car on the other hoist. Limited to only 151 serial-numbered copies, the supercharged P-51A is armed with no less than 510 hp and an equal amount of torque. It's the first Roush Mustang to receive internal engine modifications to withstand the rigors of its generous amounts of boost. It comes in only one fighterish color combo: Vapor Metallic with an olive-green stripe down the hood. It wears badges in the red-and-yellow checkered colors of the 357th Fighter Group, the most successful in air-to-air combat victories of any P-51 group in the Eighth Air Force. Like all of Roush's special-edition Mustangs, the limited run of P-51As was built at the company's Plymouth Road Technical Center in Livonia, Michigan. What really happened is that late last winter, a bunch of virtually identical, new '08 GTs (some with the Sirius satellite option, some without) were disassembled practically down to their unibodies, then hand-rebuilt in P-51A form. All work was performed under the Technical Center roof in three major separate areas: the main production line where the cars were torn down and reassembled; a dedicated trim department where the GT seats were rebuilt and reskinned; and a third area where the 4.6L cammers were stripped to their bare blocks, fortified with upgraded cranks, rods, and pistons, and topped with an upsized Roushcharger intercooled blower. Even as the GTs waited their... Even as the GTs waited their turn in the Roush storage compound, their hoods were removed and taken into the plant's paint facility where a military-looking olive-green stripe was painted down the middle. The hoods were also drilled for the P-51A scoop, then reclearcoated and reinstalled before the GTs were put onto the disassembly/reassembly hoists. Those are the basics, but we thought you might be interested in seeing more details on just how an '08 Mustang GT becomes a Roush P-51A. Maybe by now someone is driving No. 28 of the 151 P-51As, one of the pair of cars "our" build team assembled at the time of our visit. Keeping Track
Of the 151 P-51As, 150 are coupes. Roush built a single convertible model specifically for the Muhammad Ali Celebrity Fight Night charity. Needless to say, this solitary ragtop should have even more collector value. A second P-51A (No. 151, the final coupe built) was also auctioned for charity purposes at Barrett-Jackson's Palm Beach event last March. Roush also built a pair of P-51As for media test drives. They weren't included in the 151-car total. Instead of a unique number on their Roush serialization plates, they simply contain the words "press car." They will ultimately be sold-assuming they survive the media thrashing.  Building a P-51A was anything...  Building a P-51A was anything but a haphazard process, as the conversion was guided, in exquisite detail, by this reference manual. This type of repeatability and attention to a production-style process was necessary in a vehicle that brings with it 510 hp and a three-year/36,000-mile warranty.  The production-line nature...  The production-line nature of the P-51A build process was demonstrated by this complicated-looking rig. It precisely located the clips to which the P-51A's rear quarter-window louvers were screwed.  The factory spoiler came off....  The factory spoiler came off. To provide subtle contrast to the P-51A's Vapor Metallic hue, the Roush rear wing and hoodscoop were finished in Ford's Satin Silver. This contrast was intentional, reminiscent of the slight variation in panel coloration often seen on aluminum-skinned WWII aircraft.  One of the first disassembly...  One of the first disassembly steps was to remove the stock cloth buckets and rear seats. These went to a dedicated trim department for reconstruction, as we'll see in upcoming images. Aside from the reworked seats, the P-51A's cabin enhancements included a Roush electroluminescent gauge cluster, aluminum pedal trim, doorsill plates, a carbon-fiber-look dash trim, and P-51A-embroidered floor mats.  There was a rush to get the...  There was a rush to get the GT Three-Valve modulars prepared for removal and stripped of the factory components that wouldn't be reused. As the starting point of this process, all engine and accessory fluids had to be drained. Incidentally, the engine (well, at least the block and heads) that came out of any given car went back into that same car.  Once sufficiently disconnected,...  Once sufficiently disconnected, the engine and transmission were left attached to the K-member and dropped as a complete unit from the bottom. Roush Industries built these hydraulically actuated cradles specifically for removal and reinstallation of the powertrain assemblies. The removal operation was a team effort with one man slowly raising the hoist and car while the other two simultaneously watched for issues while gently lowering the cradle. Notice that the front fascia and struts were also gone at this point.  After further component stripping,...  After further component stripping, including unbolting the starter, tranny, clutch, and flywheel, the long-block was separated from the K-member. It was then sent to the engine crew at Performance Assembly Solutions, a Roush-established, joint-venture company housed in the same building, for teardown and rebuild.  With the K-member still firmly...  With the K-member still firmly pegged to the cradle, the P-51A's 14-inch rotors and four-piston calipers were bolted in place, along with their braided flex lines. A Roush Stage 3 suspension kit (dampers, springs, sway bars), 18-inch forged chrome rims, and high-performance rubber are part of the P-51A package.  Out back, the fuel tank was...  Out back, the fuel tank was removed, and on the work bench, the GT fuel pump was replaced with a Shelby GT500-style twin-pump assembly. This also required the addition of a second pump-driver module and running additional power wiring the length of the car. The P-51A's Stage 3-spec rear suspension components were mostly installed here. In this photo, only the rear brakes remain to be upgraded. Here's a factoid: Roush Stage 3 suspension hardware (except for the springs) is red; Stage 2 counterparts are blue.  To blend in, the radiator...  To blend in, the radiator support and A/C condenser area were sprayed satin black behind the P-51A's assertive fascia and horizontal-bar black grille. The car's new intercooler heat exchanger and pump were installed and plumbed before the fascia went on.  The GT engine harness got...  The GT engine harness got some needed modifications on the work bench, including relocating the air-charge temp (ACT) function from the mass air sensor connector to a separate sensor that reads blower discharge temperature. Also, the throttle position sensor harness was repositioned to account for the new throttle-body location.  Meanwhile, over in the interior...  Meanwhile, over in the interior trim department, the front and rear seats were disassembled and deskinned of their cloth upholstery. On the buckets, the bottom cushion foam was retained, while the seatbacks received a new, more supportive foam structure with more aggressive side bolsters. The rear seats were reupholstered in leather with suede inserts to match the buckets.  A steam wand was used to soften...  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...  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...  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...  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...  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...  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...  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...  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.
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