Hot in the Shade
The event of the week arrived as the car show packed Myrtle Beach Mall
By Steve Turner
If there’s a downside to Mustang Week, it’s the searing July temperatures, but the only thing that burned hotter than the sun on Friday was the passion for Ford’s pony car at the annual Mustang Week car show sponsored by the enthusiasts at Late Model Restoration.
With about 600 spots available, this year’s show sold out in about 30 minutes. That’s just how excited enthusiasts are to show off their rides on Mustang Week’s main stage at Myrtle Beach Mall. As such, this is the day most people look forward to all week and—for the regulars—quite possibly all year.
Surrounding the car show is a throng of manufacturer and vendor displays that creates an environment tantamount to a Mustang-oriented SEMA show. Not only do these companies show off products and offer information, but many of them also have display vehicles nice enough to enter the judged show.
What we noticed in the show this year was a small influx of vehicles that aren’t part of the group that attends most every year. Along with these new rides there seems to be an increasing uptick in the quality of the builds on display atop the hot blacktop.
While the Mustang Week judges put most of their focus cleanliness and presentation, it must be tough to pick out the most deserving Mustangs. We certainly shared that challenge when picking our Editor’s Choice award (more on that tomorrow).
Of course, after checking out one of the most highly anticipated Mustang shows of the year there is only one way to celebrate. Next to the car show, the must-attend event of the week is the SVTPerformance Ready To Rock Night sponsored by Mustang RTR and SCT Performance, but those antics are worthy of their own story, so stay tuned.
For now, check out some of the coolest cars we spotted at the show (there’s a full gallery on the Front Page) and we’ll have more great cars in tomorrow’s Cruise-In story.
Blow-By Racing made a splash at the car show by showing off a Shelby GT350R boosted by a ProCharger. Rocking a D-1SC pullied for 5.5 pounds of boost, the R-model spun the BBR Dynojet rollers to the tune of 650 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque. Redline Tuning was stationed next door, so Andreas Keller came over and upgraded the Shelby with a set of his company’s hood lifts.
With the help of our sponsors JLT Performance and MGW Shifters, SVTPerformance was able give out a lot of delicious Mellow Mushroom pizza, which helped generate an estimated nearly $3,000 for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Special thanks to SVTP member and official hype man Ryan Joseph and impromptu volunteer Wendy Minton for helping us move pizza and encourage donations.
Engine-swap Foxes were definitely the rage at Mustang Week 2016 and Dustin Ivey’s aero-converted ’84 LX coupe was a sick example. It is rocking a TVS-boosted Coyote with a JLT cold-air intake in its smoothed engine compartment.
Vaughn Gitttin Jr. was all over Mustang Week smoking tires and making friends. He signed posters and snapped photos with throngs of fans at the Magnaflow display.
When Mark Moré rolled his 2000 GT into the car show, everyone’s head turned. There were lots of supercharged Mustangs in Myrtle Beach, but few of them had a giant Roots blower sticking out of the hood.
JLT Performance only displays at one show a year—Mustang Week. This year the company rolled out a host of new products, including several geared toward earlier Mustangs. Those included 3.0 oil separators for the ’99-’04 Cobra/Mach 1, 1999-14 Mustang splash guards and full-length radiator support covers for ’99-’04 and ’05-’09 Mustangs.
There were several Coyote Foxes at the show, but a super-clean example was Mark Cuomo’s ’84 coupe. He certainly wasn’t afraid to mod this rare T-top machine.
The TMI Products booth was filled with cool cars and cool seats. We had the chance to sit in Andy Howard’s 2016 Mustang decked out with TMI’s Sport R seats and they offered the best combination of comfort and lateral support we have felt in a performance-oriented seat.
A silver Fox sitting on Weld five-spokes is sexy enough, but slap a Coyote into a smooth engine compartment and you have something special. That’s just what Steve Bell brought to the show with the help of his squad Heath Bell, Josh Hines and Trey Shelton.
Dakotah Summers brought some of that West Coast style to the show. Rocking a low-slung stance, white-letter tires and a big splitter, this 2013 GT made the trip all the way out from Rancho Santa Margarita, California.
Your author has a thing for black-interior Fox coupes and carbon fiber. As you can imagine, Brandon Hitchins 1992 LX got our camera shutters fluttering. He was on the property repping for Fox Body Composites in his ProCharged, stroker-powered machine. He says the company has more products in the pipeline and is planning a big splash at the SEMA Show this year. Pardon the drool on that carbon console and dash pad…
Another celeb making friends all around Mustang Week was Mike Murillo, of Street Outlaws TV fame, who signed posters in the SCT Performance booth.
Loyal SVTPer Chris Raffaelo made the trip down from Dunstable, Massachusetts, in his beautiful 2001 Bullitt. With a single-turbo 4.6 underhood and a just ride combo of a Terminator nose and those dark five-spoke wheels, Chris’ car is understated but mean.
