We can never get enough of flashy street machines, but it's also important to note that it's not all that uncommon for us to forgo the vibrant paint schemes and big wheels to drool like a flock of vultures over something that many might consider standard fare. That's right, we're talking about a sleeper. The kind of car that is visually unassuming yet has the capacity to blow your doors off at the slightest provocation.
Meet Kent Anderson out of Santa Maria, California, and his '89 Fox-bodied sledgehammer. As an avid performance junkie, Kent has played with everything from nitrous to centrifugal superchargers. When the time came to purchase another pony to build his ideal sleeper, it had to be everything his other projects had been and more-it had to be flawless.
Even though the Fox-era Mustangs aren't terribly old, Kent soon realized that locating a clean stocker that had escaped modification or abuse was harder than he anticipated. After five months of actively searching, the perfect base pony turned out to be right around the corner from him. The title was clean, the body was straight, and everything was original.
After the acquisition, Kent had race-engine-and-transmission-builder Craig Reed of Currie Enterprises assemble the robust Ford Racing four-bolt main block, then enlisted GRC Performance in Mission Viejo, California, to complete the entire drivetrain conversion, including the trick D&D Performance T-56 six-speed transmission. From there it was sent to Quigley's Auto Body in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, to get its sheetmetal fogged in an '00 Porsche silver metallic hue. When the time came to tune the beast, Kent claims it couldn't have been done without the help of Connie & Dick's Service Center in Claremont, California. Believe it or not, the factory EEC-IV is still in place and uses a device called the TwEECer to manipulate the stock computer with a custom calibration for their needs.
Since then, Kent's mainly utilized the car for cruising up the coast, attending car shows, and occasionally beating up on local prey. So what you have here is a brutal street machine that could easily be passed off as your typical late-model 5.0L-and that's the beauty of it.
Car Craft Q&A
Car Craft: Any particular reason you opted to go with a twin-turbo system?
Kent Anderson: I just wanted something different, and personally the turbos seemed to be a much more efficient way of building power.
CC: What's the best way to describe the feeling under full boost?
KA: It's unlike any other power-adder I've felt. The turbos spool up quickly and deliver an extremely smooth rush of power.
CC: Compared to conventional supercharger systems, most would consider your setup to be on the exotic side, so in all honesty, how streetable is it?
KA: You'd never know it was there. It idles and drives like any other factory-stock 5.0L until you stab the throttle.
CC: Is there anything you would have done differently?
KA: I'd probably swap over to a 3-inch exhaust and add a blowoff valve to make more power.