With a clear idea of how the car should look, Denton jacked into the Web to pick out some more '60s Shelby goodies. "I ordered and read all of the books about the Shelby cars that I could, and [I] scanned magazines to pick the options that I thought were cool. I picked up the roll bar because it both looked cool and was an original option back then." His goal was to add as many '60s-era Shelby parts as he could without adding anything too modern to the overall look. "I saw the wheels on the Internet [at Mustangs Plus], and they had the classic '60s look and feel, and it was like, wow, someone is reading my mind. It was perfect. After that, the rest of the car just came together."
Tech Notes
What: A Shelby-like '65 Mustang fastback
Owner: Denton Miller
Hometown: Escondido, California, a little bit north of San Diego
Body mods: There are four different grilles for the '65 Mustang available from Mustangs Plus: a '66 swap, a billet aluminum grille, the standard replacement grille, and the GT grille. Denton accented his GT grille with the Shelby front apron without the chin spoiler.
Cooler: The Griffin radiator design varies by the year of the car and whether it has an automatic transmission. Aluminum is better than copper/brass only because it's lighter and can use larger cooling tubes.
Dash: Mustangs Plus offers five different dashboard inserts and two different gauge packages. Denton went for a machine-turned bezel and glovebox insert with Haneline gauges.
Engine: The 289 really didn't have any problems aside from a broken head bolt. Denton fixed it with a set of Edelbrock heads, a Performer intake, and a cleaned, stock block with 0.030 overbore. The Ford Racing valve covers are from Mustangs Plus.
Exhaust: He didn't admit it, but we're sure he drove it uncapped to the muffler shop in El Cajon, California, where he had 2.5-inch Flowmasters installed.
Goodies: Under the hood are a billet export brace and a chrome Monte Carlo bar from Mustangs Plus. Denton "kicked it up" by adding the funky blue headlights and amber light bar. Or so he said.
Heads: The Edelbrock Street Legal Performer heads are available with 1.90-inch intake valves for stock '65-'95 289, 302, and 351 engines. Denton ordered 2.02 intake valves that only work with aftermarket pistons.