How do you make a Mustang notchback into a fastback without touching its roof? Stuff a giant V8 between its front fenders.
When it comes to the 1965 Ford Mustang, it’s understandable not to want to make any drastic visual or mechanical changes to it. After all, that’s an iconic model year for an iconic automobile.
It makes sense to want to preserve its classic good looks, whether that means keeping any patina it’s accumulated or totally frame-off restoring it. But what if that ’65 is just a rusted-out lost cause like the car below? If anyone is willing to put that kind of work in, they get a pass to put whatever they want in their build.
Instagrammer Brad Mann (@bossnine65) got that pass, then went big. He got the once hopeless body put back together and covered it in a fresh batch of bright yellow paint. It’s nowhere close to looking like it once did back in the ’60s. Doing anything to it at all is a step up from leaving it to further rot in a field.
Refilling it with an interior and an engine at least gets it on the road. He installed a new interior where there used to be none and added a roll cage. To make sure his car didn’t rattle like a tin can, he filled certain panels in with highly effective sound deadening material.
It’s under the hood that Mann went big. Scratch that. He went HUGE. He stuffed an enormous 600 cubic-inch Jon Kaase V8 in the engine bay. According to the company, “Kaase’s modern Boss Nine combination is based on a high-nodular cast iron cylinder block that can accommodate 429, 460, 521, or 600 cubic inches and output extends from 500 to 1,000 “streetable” horsepower.
Kaase allows that displacement beyond 521 cubic inches include a race-oriented cylinder block equipped with four-bolt main bearing caps.” That monster is connected to a T-56 gearbox. We wish it good luck surviving the mechanical assault of the Boss Nine and Mann even more luck not getting a ticket in his impressive resurrected Mustang.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
