fifth time's a charm
Tom Parlier
#0158
South Carolina
#0158
South Carolina
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Tom started his Mustang love affair back at the tender age of 16 with a Candy Apple Red 67 Mustang coupe equipped with 302 and 3 speed. Like every car guy before him, life happened and he sold the car, but says wishes he still had it.
If only I had a dollar for every time I've heard that before.... In between the Candy Apple '67 and his current 09 model, he picked up a red 1988 hatchback and later on, a black 1989 convertible. After the Fox bodies, he traded up a fully loaded Darth Vader style Triple Black 1995 convertible GT! |
*Photo- Gearheads.org Click for link to article
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Fast forward to now...and...um....then back up to September 2010, when this V6 coupe was returned fresh off lease from Hertz. Tom scooped this black gem off the lot with 28,000 miles on it.
The basic rent-a-mule for 2009 lacked the sleek sex appeal of the Shelby GT-H from 2006, so Tom went to work. |
*Photo- Themustangnews.com.
Click for link to article and specs
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With a solid gold over black color scheme base to work with, adding small touches was a smooth process that really paid off in the end. In the cockpit, Tom ditched the factory cloth cactus wrapped seats for the tan leather GT interior and added Sync to sound system.
Next, the standard 16 inch rollers were switched with very hard to find 18 inch Shelby CS69 Hyper-Black rims wrapped with 275/40/18 stickies on all four corners. Both driver and passenger sides were treated to Shelby side scoops and Silver Horse Racing quarter window louvers...simply because only doing one side would look stupid.
Next, the standard 16 inch rollers were switched with very hard to find 18 inch Shelby CS69 Hyper-Black rims wrapped with 275/40/18 stickies on all four corners. Both driver and passenger sides were treated to Shelby side scoops and Silver Horse Racing quarter window louvers...simply because only doing one side would look stupid.
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The Carroll Shelby CS69 wheels were cast in the image of the old school Magnum 500's from the muscle car era. These wheels feature a metallic clear coat which changes colors from black chrome to gun metal in different lighting. Prices for these run on the high side for cast wheels but are well worth the money given the machined details on the lips and spokes. Good luck finding them in the 18" size these days, a quick internet search yielded only the 20" size.
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The front of the car received the most pampering. A GT grille with fog lights were added along with the factory controls. A shorty antenna replaces the factory piece and a CDC chin spoiler finishes out the bottom of the fascia.
The factory hood was flipped in favor of a Shelby Terlingua deep draw style hood with functional heat extractors. The Hertz GT-H hood had faux heat extractors whereas the Terlingua hoods' heat extractors were functional. You're probably thinking to yourself, "what's so special about a Shelby knock off hood?" Well, try finding one of these or a real one, it's actually dubbed a "unicorn hood" in the Shelby world! Underneath the hood sits a Boss 302 front strut tower brace controlling side to side motion, but as of this writing, there are no power mods to accompany it. Tom says he may add power in the future though. |
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Tom's car has claimed a few awards beginning with a Top 20 finish in the Electric City Mustang Club Show 2012, and Mustang Week Award of Excellence in both 2013 and 2014! Not bad for a car used as a daily driver up until last year with over 102,000 miles. As of late, the car is mainly a weekend fun machine that he plans on giving to his grandson when he turns 16 in 2023.
