[1]Back in April, South Carolina native Chris Cantrell debuted his new 1967 Ford Mustang in the Radial Wars class at the NMCA’s All-Star Nationals in Atlanta, and while he was perhaps outgunned by more purpose-built machinery in the series’ second-quickest eliminator, there wasn’t a vehicle on the property, or perhaps anywhere in the state of Georgia, that could rival its looks.
And now, that very machine — no, work of art rather — is up for sale [2] and will be headed to a new home … should the $185,000 asking price be met.
Cantrell spared virtually no expense in the build-up of this absolutely spectacular 1967 Fastback, which was completed by JP Automotive and All Business Racing (comprised of Cantrell and a group of friends and local racers) in Peidmont, South Carolina. While its no 3.8-second radial tire runner, with 1,800 horsepower on tap, we’d argue there’s more than enough on tap to compliment the appearance of this one-off piece, marking it as one of the finest race cars in the sport. Anywhere, period.
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Lest you think this is a product of aftermarket replacement or a rooted-out donor body, Cantrell shares that it began a anything but.
“We started with a very nice car. We actually purchased that car as a show car, and it was already painted,” Cantrell shares. “It was just a street-driven car with a small-block and a four-speed for local cruise-in’s. We disassembled it, cut it up, and reassembled it and never put a scratch on it. We built the entire car as a painted, finished product.”
Unlike many of today’s radial-style cars in which the chassis is built separate from the body and then mated, Cantrell and company assembled the chassis within the confines of the body and painted the finish product — all the while the body covered in a special 3M paper to protect the exterior paint.
“When we started building it, I wanted a racecar of that quality. I wanted an-steel car, with all the original chrome and trim — I didn’t want a Pro Mod. We put as much of the factory interior back in the car as we possibly could, all the gauge lights work, the radio plays — I was actually sitting in the staging lanes at the NMCA race with the radio playing,” he comments.
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“We built a very specific car; it could have been a little lighter, maybe not as nice. It would have been a faster car, I’m aware of that, but I wanted a show-quality car and I think that’s what we achieved,” Chris says.
The ’67 was, interestingly, the final build that good friend Craig Owen, a member of the All Business Racing venture, had a hand in before his untimely passing in a racing-related incident last season, earmarking this car with some sentimental value to Cantrell.
And while not advertised as such, Cantrell confirms the car is streetable, lacking only turn signals in its present state, making it an exceptional Drag Week-style car or simply a weekend driver for a well-to-do gearhead whose tastes demand only the only finest in automobiles.
[5]In keeping the car pure blue oval, Cantrell chose a Boss 429 powerplant — a custom, all-aluminum piece centering on a C&C Motorsports block, punched out to 600 cubic-inches and mated with a set of John Kaase Boss9 cylinder heads. The engine is outfitted with a Holley Dominator electronic fuel injection system, a custom Hogan sheet metal Intake plumbed with two Nitrous Outlet dry foggers and an Accufab Throttlebody, a Winberg billet crank, Oliver rods, Diamond Pistons, titanium valves, Holley coil-packs, a one-off cam sensor for individual timing control, and a whole laundry list of top-flight, no-expense-spared part.
The car is built upon a 25.2/25.3 certified chassis, and renowned Pro Modified chassis builder and racer Alan Pittman had a hand in it, as well, including the fabrication of the rear suspension, which features 16-inch Menscer shocks, along with the carbon fiber floor and wheel tubs, the driver’s seat, and the aluminum interior sheet metal work. The front suspension is comprised of custom Strange Engineering spindle mount struts with rack and pinion steering.
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All told, the car weighs in at about 2,650 pounds minus driver; that, combined with the power from the Boss 429, propelled Cantrell to a 5.00 best in the eighth-mile in his debut at Atlanta, and no doubt it’ll run well into the four-second range … and maybe already has in just the eight passes that are on it. Built specifically for Outlaw Drag Radial and Limited Drag Radial competition, Cantrell doesn’t shy away from confirming that the car would be competitive in either eliminator, but he’s careful to share exact numbers, given some buying interest in it from no-time racers.
Inside, the roll cage has been intricately fit around the factory dash, which still sports the factory gauge cluster and radio. As much of the original chrome interior trim has been retained as possible, along with the factory door panels, the roll-up window handles, and even the chrome side mirrors.
On the outside, the polished Weld V-Series wheels set off the look, and only the parachute out back truly gives away the capability of what otherwise might appear as a hopped-up Friday night cruiser.
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The fit and finish, as you can see, is truly incredible, with attention to detail on par with the most decorated of show-only cars, and while on the pricey said, we’d argue the price tag is commensurate to the kind of time and expense that went into this stunner.
The question is, would whomever buys it be willing to chance racing it?
SEE MORE PHOTOS AND SPECIFICATIONS IN THE EBAY AD [2]
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