1967 Ford Mustang GT Fastback Build by Brent Kimball Brings Back the King of Cool
- 18 May 2016
Years ago, a movie car chase was made with real stunt drivers, driving real cars, on real roads. There wasn't any computerized CGI to make a car go flying through a building, over a helicopter, then land on some interstate on-ramp with barely a scratch. The car chase was real. You could hear the engine rev, the tires squeal, and feel the fear. One of the most iconic car chase scenes was in the movie Bullitt, where Steve McQueen piloted a 1967 Ford Mustang GT Fastback on a high-flying adventure through the streets of San Francisco. The "King of Cool" actually did some of the stunt driving himself, then the insurance people stepped in and stuntman Bud Ekins had to finish out the chase. This gritty, visceral scene literally helped to define movie car chase scenes, and a 16-year-old named Brent Kimball swore he'd own a Mustang like that someday.
After spending half a lifetime in the construction business, Kimball's company Signature Building Services had managed to remain steady, despite the roller coaster economy. This afforded him the ability to finally indulge his childhood dream of owning a 1967 Mustang GT Fastback. All he had to do now was find the right car, then convince his wife to let him buy it. The search proved to be the easy part, as one of his contractors called him out of the blue, offering to sell his 1967 Mustang GT Fastback. Brent had known the guy for 20 years, and had tried to buy it on numerous occasions. It had a 320-hp Ford Racing fuel injected 331ci V8 from a 1993 Mustang GT, a 5-speed manual gearbox, the battery had been relocated to the trunk, and a Weld Wheels front disc brake kit had been installed. There was no rust, no dents, and the guy had actually purchased it from the original owner. For a blank canvas, you couldn't do much better. So to avoid a nasty divorce, Kimball sold his pinball machine collection, his Harley, and some Apple stock to buy the car. His wife reluctantly approved, and Brent's lifelong dream suddenly came true.
After acquiring his prize, Kimball discovered the engine was starving for air, so he installed a polished intake from a Ford GT40 (this was particularly ironic, because the producers of Bullitt had dubbed over the engine sound of McQueen's Mustang with the exhaust note from a GT40). To feed that new intake lots of oxygen-rich air, Kimball used the K&N universal filter search tool to find the K&N RC-9360 universal air filter. "I started using K&N air filters on my motorcycles as a kid and the performance is fantastic. All my vehicles run K&N air filters now, so I went right to them for the Mustang". The additional air immediately smoothed the engine and provided a lot more tire-smoking power.
With the engine sorted, Mr. Kimball got a Hagerty history report and discovered his GT was delivered to the original buyer in San Jose Texas, with a 289ci motor, a 3-speed manual, no A/C, and a Midnight Mist Blue paint job with white racing stripes. He decided to go back to the original livery, so his body man stripped the car down to bare metal, smoothed out every imperfection, then laid down several coats of the factory color. The interior was also completely redone with new glass, rubber, and the correct blue vinyl upholstery. To complete the look, Kimball added a staggered set of American Racing wheels with 225/60R15 BFGoodrich tires up front, and super-wide 295/50R15 BFG's in the rear. The look of the completed car was incredible, and his wife "actually loves it now". They take the car cruising on the beach. It's won 1st place at several car shows. And one time, a guy in a brand new Lamborghini Aventador even stopped to compliment them. So we at K&N salute you Brent Kimball, because you are definitely the new King of Cool. 1967 Ford Mustang GT Fastback build at-a-glance:
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