January 9-10, Silver Springs, FL

• 16th annual Ford and Mustang Roundup at Silver Springs, hosted by National Parts Depot and co-sponsored by Mustang Monthly and Modified Mustangs & Fords magazines.
• Free registration to first 1,000 pre-registered cars by January 1, which includes two passes to Silver Springs. People's Choice judging, Mustang Monthly, Modified Mustangs & Fords Editor's choice awards.
• Info: Stacy Gunn, 352/861-8701 (ext. 4208) or email to sgunn@npdlink.com.

February 7, Deland, FL

• Inaugural Cruise-In hosted by Central Florida Pony Sports at Hampton's Drive-In, 250 International Speedway Blvd.
• All vehicles welcome.
• Info: www.cflponysports.com

In Mustang Monthly, we've always shown our readers how to do it themselves. However, not everyone wants to do everything nor do they know how. That's when you need to place your Mustang in the hands of a professional.inline_mediumwraptextrightWhen you're shopping for a Mustang restoration shop, you want competent professionals who can survey your project and determine the proper course of action. In this business, time wasted is money lost.27078442/techarticles/mump_0912_guide_to_mustang_shopsmump_0912_02_o+guide_to_mustang_shops+mustang_restoration_shop.jpgTrue

The element of surprise is a tried and true military method of winning battles. So when retired Air Force fighter pilot Rod Peck decided to rebuild the 289 in his '65 Mustang convertible, he wanted it to look stock but have lots of hidden horsepower.inline_mediumwraptextright31269579/techarticles/mump_0912_1965_ford_mustang_convertible_gets_331_ford_small_blockmump_0912_01_o+289_ford_small_block+engine.jpgTrue

Finding the car of your dreams is seldom a simple task. However, the rewards cannot be measured when you finally reach the finish line. Joe Cade, from Columbus, Mississippi, had to reach out across a couple of thousand miles of flat, dusty prairie in order to find this '65 Mustang fastback in west Texas.inline_mediumwraptextright25883591/featuredvehicles/mump_0912_1965_ford_mustang_fastbackmump_0912_01_o+1965_mustang_fastback+front_view.jpgTrue

If Las Vegas has a cousin, it is surely Reno, Nevada. The "Biggest Little City in the World" is an extraordinary place to visit and live, well away from the lights of Las Vegas and just a short distance from Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. A gambling town to be sure, Reno is also a metropolis surrounded by wonderfulness.inline_mediumwraptextright26571091/eventcoverage/mump_0911_restomods_in_renomump_0911_02_+restomods_in_reno_show+orange_mustang.jpgTrue

When the Arab oil embargo struck in 1973-1974, many Mustang owners traded in their Boss 429s, Shelbys, and Mach 1s for Pintos. Gas lines and higher prices created hysteria and flipped the car market upside down in a matter of days.inline_mediumwraptextright25334852/featuredvehicles/mump_0911_1971_mach_1mump_0911_03_+1971_mach_1+.jpgTrue

When Craig Chesley first laid eyes on Scott Drake's tattered and multi-colored Pay It Forward Mustang, there was still no doubt that he and his fellow East Texas Mustang Club members could restore the car within Drake's six-month timeframe and have it ready for auction at Barrett-Jackson. The club had submitted their project proposal based on photos; when the '66 convertible arrived by car hauler at the 45th Mustang Anniversary Celebration, it was club members' first chance to see and touch the car.inline_mediumwraptextright30779943/featuredvehicles/mump_0911_restored_1966_mustang_convertiblemump_0911_02_+restored_1966_mustang_convertible+1966_convertible_before.jpgTrue

It's an iconic reminder of muscular ponies past, but is still as relevant and functional on the Mustang GTs of today as it was on the Mach 1s and Boss 302s of the psychedelic era. We're talking, of course, about Classic Design Concepts' Shaker hoodscoop, a thoroughly modern air conduit running straight back to 1969. The company has crafted cool-breathing Shaker kits for generations SN95 through S197, but given the Mustang's fresh makeover for 2010-in particular its re-contoured hood-CDC had to make some minor revisions to its kit hardware, though the aluminum scoop itself remains true to the '69 original.inline_mediumwraptextrightOpen the shipping box and you'll find the CDC/FRPP Shaker already pre-assembled on its base/engine cover. The kit includes everything needed for installation, from thorough, well-illustrated instructions and a hood-cutting template to zip ties and black-finished rivets. You will, however, have to supply your own jigsaw...30764829/howto/mump_0911_how_to_install_a_2010_mustang_shaker_hoodscoopmump_0911_02_+install_2010_mustang_shaker+cdc_skaher_kit.jpgTrue

Chicago is a hot-bed for Mustangs and Ford performance, so it's not surprising that there was a large turn-out for the car show portion of the Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing, held July 16-19 at Route 66 Raceway in nearby Joliet. In fact, there were so many cars that the NMRA was able to present nearly all of its over 100 weekend show awards. Even though the combination NMRA/NMCA event is billed as a major drag race, the All-Ford Auto Show attracted a packed show field of Mustang and Ford owners from around the Chicagoland area.

Love 'em or hate 'em, there are some great looking '74-'78 Mustang IIs out there. One is the Ghia, a luxury model that Andrea Lucas believes Ford built in the style of a "little Lincoln." She points to the hood ornament on her '77 Ghia, an extra-cost accessory in the form of a running horse over the Roman numeral "II." Plus, the Ghia looks elegant, especially in the black and tan color combination.inline_mediumwraptextright30759804/featuredvehicles/mump_0911_1977_mustang_2_ghiamump_0911_06_+1977_mustang_ghia+.jpgTrue

Houston has long been a big oil town, even in the worst of times for the oil industry. In the best of times, Houston was over the top in terms of prosperity. It's home to a huge aerospace community centered around NASA, with the Johnson Space Flight Center managing space missions for at least a half century. When you combine oil gushers and thundering rocket power, you get something on the order of Jeff Fox's '67 Shelby GT 500 replica. It seems only natural that a NASA flight test engineer would build a car like this.inline_mediumwraptextright25333865/featuredvehicles/mump_0911_1967_shelby_gt_500_replicamump_0911_03_+1967_shelby_gt500_replica+.jpgTrue

When Ford redesigned the Mustang for 1969, it also redesigned the doors and windows. With each Mustang redesign has come fewer and fewer parts to both simplify vehicle assembly and improve cost per unit. Weatherstripping is no exception. There was less of it for '69-'70 along with improved sealing. Instead of parting the door and roof rail weatherstripping at the door's leading edge on top, Ford moved this annoying gap lower toward the door bottom to shut out wind noise and moisture. We're going to take you to Mustangs Etc's new shop in Southern California's San Fernando Valley to show you how professionals perform weatherstrip replacement and how you can achieve the same outstanding results.inline_mediumwraptextright25336403/howto/mump_0911_how_to_restore_weatherstripmump_0911_01_+replace_weatherstripping+weatherstripping.jpgTrue

Although we've seen some hard times lately, the Mustang hobby is still enjoying a wealth of new products from the special interest Ford aftermarket. Stang-A-Holics has roared onto the scene with outstanding restomods and a host of new products for classic and late-model Mustangs alike.inline_mediumwraptextrightThis is the '69-'70 Mustang fiberglass front-end ensemble, which is sold separately and not in kit form. Quality is outstanding with exceptional fit. We're going to show you how well it fits and hangs.26582824/howto/mump_0911_how_to_install_shelby_look_fiberglassmump_0911_02_+install_shelby_look_fiberglass+fiberglass_front_end.jpgTrue

You may Not realize it but front-end alignment has the greatest effect on how your Mustang feels to steer and drive. When alignment is spot on and your Mustang is tracking properly, it yields a confident feeling. By the same token, when alignment is off, it can make your Mustang driving experience miserable and unsafe. What is front-end alignment and why is it so important?inline_mediumwraptextrightMarlon Mitchell of Marlo's Frame & Alignment in Los Angeles begins his alignment regiment with ride height measurement in all four corners. Ride height, especially in front, has a certain effect on alignment. Marlon is one of the rare technicians who performs alignments the old-fashioned way-without computers and lasers.30775074/techarticles/mump_0911_the_importance_of_front_end_alignmentsmump_0911_02_+front_end_alignment_basics+ride_height_measurement.jpgTrue

Stud Removal
While the actual manifolds on our '66 Mustang were in good shape, we can't say the same about the studs on the passenger-side manifold. Only a handful of threads were still usable on each stud, so we needed to remove them before restoring the manifolds. New studs will be installed later.inline_mediumwraptextright30763914/howto/mump_0911_how_to_restore_exhaust_manifoldmump_0911_08_+exhaust_manifold_restoration+rust_bolt.jpgTrue

YearOne and Chip Foose teamed up to throw another successful Braselton Bash and raised more than 100k for charity.inline_mediumwraptextright25499300/eventcoverage/mump_091015_2009_yearone_foose_bash_wrap_upmump_year_one_foose_bash_wrap_up_winners.jpgTrue

Ford has been installing electronic fuel injection on Mustangs for the past 26 years. Carbureted Mustangs encompass the rest of the marque's 45-year history - some 21 years of production - which means there were a lot of Mustangs built with old-fashioned carbureted induction. The last Mustang with a carburetor was the '85 Mustang GT, which was fitted with a "no-tamper" Holley 4180.inline_mediumwraptextright29727027/techarticles/mump_0910_how_to_identify_mustang_carburetorsmump_0910_02_identifying_pony_carburetors+autolite_carbs.jpgTrue

Scott Drake couldn't wait to show us the new Shelby Performance Parts' Precision Short-Throw Shifter for the '05 and later Mustang 5-speed and Shelby GT500 6-speed. Part of his pride comes from the fact that Engineering Manager Shane Wagner designed the shifter from scratch in the Shelby Performance Parts' R&D garage at the Drake Enterprises facility in Henderson, Nevada. The engineering department there designs cool, trick parts using modern Rapid Prototyping technology.inline_mediumwraptextright24967966/howto/mump_0910_shelby_short_throw_shifter_installationmump_0910_01_+shelby_short_throw_shifter_installation+cover_spread.jpgTrue

Ever had a car in your neighborhood you wanted so badly that you kept a close watch on it in hopes that it would come up for sale? In most cases, the car vanishes, never to be seen again. Joel Sokolow has a story like this, only his '70 Mustang Grabber is the dream car that didn't get away.inline_mediumwraptextright24870616/featuredvehicles/mump_0910_1970_mustang_and_maverick_grabbermump_0910_02_+1971_mustang_and_maverick_grabber+frontview.jpgTrue

Like most cars of its era, the Boss 351 had far more flexibility and individuality in its ordering process than do the Mustangs of today with their packaged and bundled content. Inevitably, that pick-and-choose freedom on the option sheet occasionally led to some curious combinations rumbling out the factory door. Case in point is our featured Boss 351- the one and only one, according to Kevin Marti's research, that originally combined a Grabber Yellow exterior with that era-extroverted Décor Group vinyl-and-green-striped-cloth interior. Yet, despite his car's singular status, current owner Sylvain Poirier was so put off by the combination of hues that he decided, in the process of the car's detailed restoration, to opt instead for Grabber Green base/clearcoat, a better match for the cabin. And besides, he already has another yellow Boss 351 . .inline_mediumwraptextright29716584/featuredvehicles/mump_0910_1971_mustang_boss_351mump_0910_01_+1971_boss_351+boss_351_front_angle.jpgTrue

When Ford introduced the S197 Mustang for 2005, it didn't seem possible to improve on it because it was so darned good right off the assembly line. It was the hottest looking and best performing Mustang since the 1960s.inline_mediumwraptextright29749935/howto/mump_0910_how_to_install_05_09_sway_barsmump_0910_01_z+how_to_install_05_09_sway_bars+cover_spread.jpgTrue