We were looking for a vehicle to run some races in NASA, the SCCA, or possibly ChampCar, and someone told me about an available Mustang. Since most of what we wanted to do was long-run endurance events, I knew that many original-style engines become unreliable when subjected to high RPMs for extended periods. Additionally, fuel mileage is crucial to keep running longer, so we considered 4-cylinder power.

We had a respectable engine builder involved in the NASCAR world here locally, and he built a killer 2.3L Ford 4-cylinder. However, when I noticed the new EcoBoost 2.3 from Ford—which had undergone rigorous production torture testing and proven itself while making a bit more power than our “race” engine—that became the engine of choice for the race car.

We bought the car as a former NASA and SCCA rolling shell with a full cage and safety setup, along with a complete Maximum Motorsports suspension. We then dropped in a new EcoBoost and a T-5 transmission. Unfortunately, the T-5 transmission has proven to be the car’s weak link. While fine for the street, it can’t handle the stress of endurance racing, and we’ve broken a few of them.

We race the car quite a bit in 24 Hours of Lemons, ChampCar, and Lucky Dog events. It’s extremely reliable (except for the transmission), and we’ve had good luck with it. Currently, our EcoBoost race car is retired and now enjoys life in the showroom.

You can view our photo album here.