To many people, the 1967 Ford Mustang is the pinnacle of the muscle car movement. Not too big, not too small, the fastback body style became an instant classic among many classic car aficionados even forty years after it first debuted. One would think that after all the intervening decades, everything that can be done to the ’67 Mustang has been done already. You’d be wrong.

Total Cost Involved, or TCI for short, has had this ’67 Mustang in their shop for quite some time. Says Vice President Sal Solorzano, “We bought the Mustang for R&D purposes, to build our products and test them out on an actual car.” By having an actual Mustang on hand, TCI has been better able to develop products to fit the car and test them out to ensure proper fitment. “What we put on the car is what we sell.”

The '67 Mustang started out as a simple, stock testbed for TCI's various products, such as their independent front suspension

Still, having a classic Mustang just sitting in your garage for a long time can get that modification bug under your skin. The Mustang started out bone stock, and they took it to a few SCCA autocrossing events to get some baseline numbers. For this Mustang won’t just be any old drag car, but an up-to-date autocrosser capable of hanging with the best cars on the track, modern or otherwise.

“This will be a street car, but it will also be a racer, and we have a lot planned,” Sal says. To start with, the stock engine will be replaced by a 351W punched out to 427 cubic inches by Smeding Performance. This engine will be hooked up with a Holley fuel system, K&N intake system, and a Zoops “Posi-Trak” front accessory drive system. Combined with the heads, camshaft, and stroker kit, this engine should easily be good for about 580 horsepower and 570 ft-lbs of torque. Backed by a TKO 600 transmission with a McLeod clutch, this engine should be up to some serious autocrossing as well as daily driving duties.

The suspension has been thouroughly updated using TCI products, and painted a beautiful blue that really goes well with the rest of the car

This is what makes this Mustang unique. Whereas once, the Mustang was the daily driver of secretaries and rogue cops alike, most Mustangs now only appear on the roads on an irregular basis. They are not driven on the street, like TCI plans to do with this Mustang (once it is finished). The project still has a ways to go, though TCI hopes to have it road-worthy come February.

For now there is a lot more work to be done. The Mustang’s original suspension system is about as archaic and simplistic as suspensions get, and this is where TCI has invested most of their work. The original rear end has been replaced with a Currie housing that has a 31 spline axle with a 3.89 gear ratio and Tru-Trac posi-traction system. The Mustang has also undergone some minor body modifications to the fenderwells to fit some massive 335 tires out the back.

TCI has replaced the original suspension with their own custom front independent suspension system, which Sal says, “Makes a world of difference to the handling of a 40 year old car.” The rear suspension was also replaced with TCI’s torque arm rear. This will really help this old pony skate through those autocross courses with little trouble.

The brakes, as well as the suspension, have received significant updating

Stopping is as important as turning in autocross though, and the Mustang’s ancient brake system just wouldn’t do the trick. So they upgraded to some serious stopping power from Wilwood, replacing the original calipers with 4-piston units both front and rear, as well as adding 12” rotors rotors, though they will also be testing out 14” rotors, you know, just for fun. Since the suspension TCI has installed is their own custom design, and not based on a Mustang II kit, this allows TCI to absolutely slaw their ’67 fastback to the ground.

Suffice to say, this Mustang still has quite a ways to go. The car is undergoing a complete restoration while it receives this upgrades, with no corner of the car going untouched. The whole bottom has already been sandblasted and repainted, and all of the suspension bits have been painted a gorgeous blue color to make them stand out underneath the Mustang, the same color that has been applied to the dashboard.

When finished, these custom quarter panels will be just one of several unique features on TCI's Mustang

It contrasts well with the white color and white Scat seats, giving the Mustang a very cohesive look inside and out. It also goes great with the custom work being done to this bad boy, like the aircraft-style ¼ windows and pronounced fender flares. With the engine already installed along with the radiator, this car has already made impressive progress though there remains plenty of work to be done. If you want to follow along with the progress of this project, check out TCI’s build thread over at Pro-Touring. We’ll definitely be bringing you an update on this build once it has been completed early next year.