CDC's '05 Shaker: What a perfect complement to the S197's late-'60s styling cues. Like the original, it's functional, and installation couldn't be simpler.
The Shaker needs little introduction. Ford thought it was a better idea on the original Cobra Jet Mach 1. George Huisman and crew at Classic Design Concepts (CDC) revived the idea a few years ago with versions for the SN95 and New Edge cars, and Ford once again picked up the ball and ran with it on the tasty '03 Mach 1. Now we have the S197 GT with its distinctly '60s front-end design impressions. So guess what? It's Shaker time once again.
Many of you are no doubt familiar with CDC's SN95 or New Edge Shaker systems, as they've been hugely popular both in these pages and in the marketplace. And with good reason, since CDC stayed faithful to the original '69 scoop design and packaged a high-quality kit around it. For its '05 design, the company
continues use of the textured black cast-aluminum Shaker scoop itself, but mounts it on a base that doubles as a stylish engine cover, hiding some of the industrial look of the S197 GT's stock underhood landscape. Better yet, the new kit is fully functional, rushing ambient air to the factory airbox via included ductwork. The kit even includes a high-flow replacement air filter and a plate to block off the factory underhood air inlet, helping reduce the temperature of the incoming air charge.
As if this weren't enough, installation is even easier than before, with the Shaker and its mounting base (which doubles as engine cover) coming pre-assembled and phenomenally simple to mount. Yes, you still have to cut a hole in your hood and airbox, but the kit's templates and new two-piece hood-cutout trim plate takes most of the stress out of that job. And on the financial front, at $795, there's no increase in price over the previous versions. Good vibrations all around.
A note about our photo car. At the time of our tech visit, CDC had no unmolested GTs on the property, so we had to use one of their red show cars, which had previously been fitted with a Shaker so its hood was already cut out. As a result, for some of our hood shots, we dummied up another of CDC's show cars, a blue one which sharp-eyed readers will note has holes drilled in its hood (for a different prototype scoop) that have nothing to do with the Shaker installation. It was the best we could do on that day, but between the two, you'll get the idea.