Project DirtPony

Beau Miklethun enjoys Mustangs and he’s not afraid to build them exactly how he wants. Take for example his 1968 Mustang with a 3.0 L 2JZ inline-six that received a lot of attention. For his next project he wanted to build an off-road Mustang but didn’t want to use a truck chassis or a 4×4 drivetrain.

Beau found his candidate in a white 1991 Mustang convertible. He started by stripping the interior and convertible top. A custom trunk and subwoofer enclosure was made from box tubing and MDF coated in bed liner.

A custom roll cage pieced together from a S&W Racing 8-point kit, Jegs Pro-Street door bars, and a few custom length bars. The cage was coated in Rustoleum hammered finish paint.

Under the car Beau installed Maximum Motorsports subframe connectors to strengthen the convertible body. The front was lifted thanks to 1-inch spacers under the K-member with Maximum Motorsports caster and camber plates flipped upside down. The front suspension was finished with SN95 lower control arms, spindles and KYB struts. Due to the lift the steering shaft needed to be lengthened. The rear suspension uses Maximum Motorsports lower control arms and Rancho shocks.

The Mustang came from the factory with a 2.3 L inline-four which was far from enough power. Although Beau has a lot of experience working with the 2.3T engines he wanted to run a naturally aspirated engine. He was planning on using a Nissan VQ35DE V6 however a deal on a Ford V8 powertrain made the decision simple. So in went a 302 ci Winsor V8 with an Edelbrock intake, GT40 heads, E303 camshaft, and factory injectors.

Behind the engine sits a five-speed manual transmission and Ford 8.8″ rear end with Trac-Loc LSD and 3.73 gears.

Beau finished the project with a set of 235/75 R15 off-road tires. To get the tires to fit, the fenders needed a little massaging with an angle grinder and welder.

Beau’s philosophy of building what makes you happy seems to be paying off.

Source: Corral.net (build thread)