Stangzilla Building The Ultimate ’66 Mustang Fastback

Part 3 February 17, 2014

It has been a few weeks since we updated you on the progress of Stangzilla. This one of a kind Mustang is being built with NASCAR and Trans Am level parts, to be a street and track terror, with around 700 hp under the hood, and plenty of old-school know-how behind the build.

When we left off at the beginning of January builder Scott Williamson along with his assistant Stephen Hammock were preparing to cut the stock Mustang in half. This is being done to widen the track of the car. Rather than use wide fender flares, or alter the sides of the car, Stangzilla will be built entirely of steel and feature a racing level chassis. The car will sit low the ground, but still allow ground clearance to clear speed bumps and curbing in and out of driveways thanks to everything being tucked into place.

According to Williamson the dash will still be centered in the car, and the interior will simply be widened to maintain a stock appearance on the inside. The chassis is beginning to come together, and Williamson continues to rely on old-school methods of drawing things out on the sheet-metal, or shop floor, rather than relying on CAD or even blueprints. The entire build is a throw-back to a level of craftsmanship that is seldom seen in modern designs.

Plans call for the custom suspension system to start being hung later this week, and Sharpie’s Machine is already working on the 302 based engine, which will feature some trick Trans Am parts. Some of those pieces include a rotating, remote oil pan pickup which was used during the 1970s when Trans Am banned dry-sump systems. 180-degree header are also being used, which should lend a wild sound to this one of a kind build.

We’ll be watching for more updates on Stangzilla as the project progresses for now, enjoy the most recent batch of photos, and keep checking back here for the next update.

We’re following along on the build of Stangzilla, a one of a kind 66 Mustang fastback that will truly be unlike any Mustang built before it. The car belongs to Silicon Valley entreprenuer Shaun Coleman, and is being constructed in a very short time frame by Scott Williamson at Outlaw Chassis in Vacaville, California.

You can keep track of Stangzilla’s progress right here as we follow along on a regular basis to see what Williamson and his team have been up to on this wild Mustang build.

Update January 2, 2014 -Transformation Underway

Stangzilla has made it’s way to the jig at Outlaw Chassis, and is presently being opened up for surgery. If you look closely you’ll notice there’s a taped line running right down the center of the car. That’s the cut line, where Williamson intends to split the car in-half. Why would they do that? To add 18-inches to the car that’s why. The car will be low, and wide, and this is all part of Williamson’s plan to improve the chassis and handling of the car.

The tube chassis will be constructed using 2×3, 1.75, and 1.5-inch DOM tubing. Williamson has been grooming a new apprentice Stephen Hammock, who will be helping fab up the new chassis pieces.

The car’s front clip is about to be chopped off as well, the chassis and suspension will be 100-percent custom, from front to rear, with a custom front end that includes a Speedway front sway bar and NASCAR style front lay out. There’s no room for, nor need for any of the stock front frame or supporting pieces.

Under the hood will be a NASCAR inspired small block Ford. Engine designer, and Williamson family member Rick Sharp is tasked with wringing over 700 hp of naturally aspirated fury from the Ford mill and is already working on the project.

Part of the work includes converting the two-bolt main 302 engine block to a four-bolt splayed main arrangement with billet main caps. The camshaft will be a custom NASCAR inspired grind from Deema Super Lobes in Santa Rosa, California, who has worked with numerous winning NASCAR teams to create some awesome engines.

The heavy metal work is beginning, and Coleman and Williamson have big plans for Stangzilla. There’s talk of running the car at Pikes Peak, as well as a long distance drive across the Nevada desert to the SEMA show. We’ll be bringing you more updates from the Stangzilla build as Williamson and Coleman send them our way.

December 24, 2013 -Sometimes Project Cars Don’t Snowball, They Avalance

Buying a classic Mustang can sometimes be a sordid affair. Although there is a great deal of information available about these cars, even those familiar with them to a great extent can become victims of circumstance when shopping for a new car.

Such was the case when Shaun Coleman bought a Mustang Fastback this past summer. Coleman, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and experienced classic car racer was looking for a car to drive daily. This blue ’66 appeared to be a fairly clean car, and was exactly what Coleman was looking for when he acquired it from a dealer.

Coleman thought he was getting a fairly clean Fastback when he purchased this car from a dealer.

Sometime later Coleman noticed the Mustang had developed a water leak at the rear of the car, near the rear window. He assumed this was poorly sealed glass or even some rust as old Fastbacks were prone to having issues with. Coleman took the car to his trusted friend, car builder Scott Williamson with the intention of having Williamson’s shop repair the leak along with any other issues they found and repaint the car.

What started out as a simple repair the rust and repaint, turned into a rather interesting find. At some point over 35 years ago, someone cut the roof off a coupe and brazed on one from a Fastback. Along the way the VIN was also apparently changed to reflect that the car was a Fastback.

Williamson has a long storied career building chassis and cars for a variety of NASCAR series racers. With over 2,500 racing level builds under his belt, the job of patching up and painting the Fastback seemed an easy one, at least at the outset. As often occurs when working on any classic car, the sanding, stripping, and journey back to bare sheet-metal revealed more than what either Coleman or Williamson had bargained for.

Williamson began finding evidence of welding, but not just any welding, brazing, indicating perhaps older methods of welding, or a DIY approach, regardless it wasn’t the recommended way for working on a car. Further investigation found that the car had been born as a coupe when it left Ford. There was evidence of the entire roof having been removed, and whomever performed the transformation left much of the original sheet-metal and package tray in place from the old couple roof. The VIN on the car had clearly indicated that it was a C-code Fastback. The 35-plus year old metal work that was hidden beneath the paint would indicate otherwise.

The body has been stripped to bare metal in order to repair any damage, and get it ready to accept the tube chassis.

Seeing that the Fastback was not the original car he thought it was, Coleman took a step back to asses the situation. Having built a variety of classic cars with Williamson in the past the two collaborated on how to change the car into something truly unique.

Stangzilla was born, and this one of a kind car will be a Mustang build talked about within the aftermarket for some time to come. Williamson has constructed new jigs to build a full tube chassis for the car. The tubular front suspension will utilize dual equal length control arms at each end. The front frame rails are being gutted and moved to lower the car’s center of gravity Trans-Am racing style.

Williamson is constructing custom jigs in order to build the car on a full tube chassis.

Out back the car will utilize a custom IRS setup designed by Williamson but similar to what is present on a C5 Corvette. AFCO coil-overs will allow for easy adjustment when going from the street to track duty.

Power will be supplied by a 342 cubic inch 302 based engine, and shifts will be courtesy a Doug Nash six-speed transmission.

A NASCAR style roll bar will provide driver safety, however Williamson tells us he’s working to engineer that part of the build so that it’s minimally intrusive on the interior, allowing for a stock appearance from the outside.

The build is already underway at Williamson’s shop, and the target date for completion will be this March. We’ll be getting updates from Coleman and Williamson as the car progresses, and bring them to you here. So check back every few weeks as we follow along the Stangzilla build. We can’t wait to see this car hit the streets and the track this spring.

About the author

Don Creason

Don Creason is an automotive journalist with passions that lie from everything classic, all the way to modern muscle. Experienced tech writer, and all around car aficionado, Don's love for both cars and writing makes him the perfect addition to the Power Automedia team of experts.
Read My Articles

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