Craig Borden’s first car ride may not have been as fast as his namesake’s, who piloted the Spirit of America to another land-speed record that year, but there probably isn’t much room for a car seat in a jet-powered vehicle anyway.
My grandfather brought me home from the hospital in in his new ’66 T-Bird. — Craig Borden
Cars have been a part of Craig’s life since day one.
“My grandfather brought me home from the hospital in in his new ’66 T-Bird and dad drove a ’64 Falcon Sprint 260 four-speed he bought used in ’65,” he explained.“I still have some very early memories of those cars. As our family grew, dad traded the Falcon for a ’69 Fairlane. He really wanted a Mustang but life’s hurdles and growing family kept one just out of reach.”
Everything I dreamed of was Mustangs. — Craig Borden
“I built 1/25 scale Mustang models, I had Mustang books, posters and toys. Everything I dreamed of was Mustangs,” said Craig, who was impressionable and had been bitten by the Ford bug. There was no cure.
At the ripe age of 13, Craig seriously considered buying a real car. Although it would take a few more years of scouring classifieds and asking his parents “What about this one?” Craig eventually wore them down and brought home his first ’67 Mustang coupe.
“In a relatively short order — with help from my dad and my older sister’s boyfriend (now my brother-in-law) — we turned it into a decent driver,” he explained.
With a rapidly burgeoning reputation as a Mustang guy, Craig would soon add his name to the titles of another ’67 and eventually a ’85 Mustang GT. Following a script familiar to many gearheads, bending wrenches would eventually give way to new additions in the form of a wife and three sons. Cars, for a while anyway, would have to wait.
Scratching the Itch
Following a visit to the 2004 Chicago auto show, Craig’s Ford colors were again on full display.
“After seeing the ’05 Mustang concept, I told my wife that day, if Ford makes that car, I will buy one!” he said.
Craig’s wife had a better idea when she suggested they just finish the ’67 they had rolled into storage years before.
“My favorite car ever was a ’68 Shelby GT500KR and I wanted to make mine look like a ’68 Shelby coupe,” he said.“I started to Shelbyize it by adding a 429 short-block, Edelbrock heads and intake, a Comp Cams cam, MSD ignition, Lunati roller rockers, Holley carburetor, FPA headers, Blue Thunder valve covers, and a C6 with a TCI 2,400-stall converter. My wife, who has always been supportive, even got so into it she did the seats and headliner.”
Up front Craig runs Opentracker Racing Products, so he added its roller spring perches, idler arm, LCA camber kit, EPAS and power steering lock-out. For rigidity he welded in subframe connectors, added torque box and shock towers reinforcements, and kept everything square.
“I belong to a small forum called Stangfix,” he said. “Through this group I have met so many great friends who share knowledge, advice, parts and many have even come over to help work on my cars.”
In keeping with tradition, Craig’s wife and sons now share in his passion.
“My sons have now reached an age where they enjoy the hobby. It’s always a great way to spend time with my family and still a great way to meet folks,” he added. “I often let people and their kids sit in my ’67. I love the smile on their faces. It’s just a great way to enjoy our cars and this time we have on the earth.”
To that we say Amen.
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