#PITS 2019 | Three Years Strong and Growing

#PITS 2019 | Three Years Strong and Growing

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It's hard to believe it's been three years; but #PITS 2019 has come and gone, and now the Third Annual Ponies in the Smokies (#PITS) Show is in the record books. #PITS is easily one of the fastest growing Ford Centric events around, and if you take a look at the bones of the meet it's easy to see why. #PITS is a professionally ran event, held in a beautiful resort location during an affordable time of the year, and is supported by some of the best vendors in the industry. If you're interested in checking out most of the inside show field we have a needlessly long walk-through video for you:


As with most large automotive gatherings such as #PITS, my favorite part is getting to hang out with friends I don't get to see that often. Discussions abound concerning the highlights of the show field. Everyone I spoke with was pleased by the quality of the builds on display. Two in particular stood out to me. First was Ben O'Brien's 1993 SVT Cobra that underwent a 15 year long build/restoration after the original engine dropped a valve. His build philosophy closely aligned with my own, as he tried to build a modern take on the Cobra as Ford might have done it themselves. Ben has quite the SVT collection, so we'll probably be seeing a lot more from him in the future.

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Ben's Fox Cobra is incredibly clean and the build is well executed. I'd love to get a chance at it behind the wheel.

Next up, and winner of the SVTPerformance.com Editor's Choice Award, was John and Melissa Coats' 1996 SVT Cobra Mustang. This car was the culmination of multi-year build and it really hits a lot of notes for me. Not only is it a really well done SN-95 which I have a soft spot for, but it also features a Holley Dominator EFI system that I really like. Twin-turbos and 1,000HP aren't bad either. However, the first thing anyone is going to notice about this snake is the custom Yellow Blaze paint. John is a painter by trade, and hi dedication to his craft really shines through on this build. We'll have a full build article featuring the Coats' Cobra in the near future.

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John's SN-95 Cobra was the recipient of a full rotisserie restoration, and features some of the best performance parts in the industry.
For the past 3 years SVTP has attended and brought you coverage, and last year we stepped it up and helped put together a massive display of one of nearly every SVT and Ford Performance model ever produced. For 2018 we tried to get cars that were as close to factory stock condition as we could find. Time and rarity being what it is, we did have to make a few compromises around the edges (you can't be too picky when looking for a Contour SVT).

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The owner of this blown pushrod engine definitely spent a few extra dollars on paint and body work.

However, this time around we decided to bring the Mods to #PITS2019. We search out some of the most heavily, yet tastefully, modified SVT and Ford Performance Vehicles we could find for the show. We wanted the combined Horsepower of these Blue Oval Beasts to be enough to alter the rotation of Earth, and I think we came pretty close. Check out these pics from our display one the rest of #PITS2019, and we'll be looking forward to seeing you at #PITS2020 (plans are already under way):


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