[MUSIC PLAYING]
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
MIKE MUSTO: My name is Mike Musto.
Each week I travel the country with the goal of showcasing
the best and baddest muscle cars and hot rods around.
Every car has a past and every owner a story.
Welcome to the world of /BIG MUSCLE.
[CAR ENGINES]
MIKE MUSTO: So today is actually kind of a really cool
day for us here on /BIG MUSCLE.
We're actually behind the wheel of a car that really
kind of epitomizes what the '60s muscle car was all about.
This is a 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback--
pretty much the same car that you saw on the movie
"Bullitt," although I think that was the '68--
except this car is a drag car.
The car belongs to a gentleman named Greg Smith.
And when we first saw the car, it was one of those things
that kind of jumped out at us.
I mean, it's not a canyon carver.
It's not something that you would say is a real super
high-end performance machine.
You don't go out on the freeway with this thing.
It was built to go down the 1320 as fast as it can.
You look around at certain things on this car you're
going to notice stuff.
And from the point of view of the car itself, it's just all
functionality.
There's really no fluff here.
For instance, you look at the Fenton wheels that are on this
car, right-- the Fenton slotted wheels.
You've got these wonderful 3 and 1/2 inch wide 15 inch
slots in the front.
And you've got 15 by, I think they're 10 and 1/2s in the
back, with drag slicks on them.
And what does that do?
Well it's just made to make the car hook up and go.
The car runs--
no front sway bar-- so when you go into a corner like
this, you're kind of like OK, well I've got to take it a
little easy because the front width of the tires that you're
on is basically like this.
It's like a motorcycle tire.
It's really, really nice.
It's an enjoyable car to drive.
But when you think of the fact that this thing has a massive
Currie nine inch rear in it with 4:10
gears, it's really stout.
It's made to take a lot of power.
And that power is here.
So for instance, we're in third gear, but if
we roll onto it--
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
I mean, just from that, you can feel this
thing get up and go.
It's a really kind of exhilarating thing to drive.
But where we drove that 1929 Nostalgia Dragster a while
ago, where that one was frightening to drive, this one
is just kind of a normal car with that Jekyll and Hyde
personality, right?
So you can take it, you can go to the diner with it, you can
bring your wife out in it.
People understand what it is when they see you pull up.
All right, that car's meant to go fast in a straight line.
But it's docile enough that you can do it.
Or you can take it out and you just like I said--
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
--roll into it.
And I mean the thing--
it just hooks and goes.
Now, as with any drag car, when you get on
the power it's great.
You just hold on for the ride and you go straight and
everything is hunky dory.
But when you let off, it's kind of like bingo.
An overweight person or an NFL linebacker coming at you with
full speed.
You want to get out of the way.
But then when they stop-- it's a train wreck,
so there you go.
That's what a drag car is.
-You just compared the drag car to a fat person running.
MIKE MUSTO: I did compare a drag car to
a fat person running.
And that's OK.
I apologize out there if you people don't agree with me,
but that is my comparison.
Fast, fat people equal drag cars.
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
MIKE MUSTO: You know so many guys get a car like this and
they change everything immediately to personalize it.
And be like, I can make it bigger and better and badder
and whatever the case is.
But I mean looks wise the only thing you did was change the
hood scoop and you added the cage, correct?
GREG SMITH: Yeah.
I had to put the roll bar in to be legal at the track.
For the looks, that's it.
I put a new carpet in.
It had a huge hole.
It had a vertical gate shifter, and the hole was
probably this big in the floor-- this long.
So I patched that up--
we had an automatic so we put that in.
I mean, the way I look at I'm kind of like the caretaker.
That's the way I look at this car.
I don't want to change it.
I don't want to paint it.
I don't want to put different rims on it.
I like it the way it is.
MIKE MUSTO: OK.
Well what do you have under the hood?
GREG SMITH: It's a 393 Windsor--
stroker Windsor.
MIKE MUSTO: And what's the quickest you've
run this on the strip?
GREG SMITH: On motor--
11:40, and with a 150 shot of nitrous--
11:28.
I'm sorry, 10:28.
MIKE MUSTO: I was going to say--
I was like, wow nitrous made that much of
a difference, huh?
Yeah, that's worth it.
GREG SMITH: That's a whole lot of 10.
Yeah, no.
I'm sorry-- it was a 10:28.
MIKE MUSTO: Gee that's fast, man.
GREG SMITH: Yeah, it cooks pretty good.
MIKE MUSTO: You know it's interesting.
Like the shifter in this car is a B & M ratchet shifter.
It's a 3-speed.
It's a reverse valve body.
So basically what you're doing is you've got your first gear,
pull the thing and pull it back and the
car jerks into first.
I mean you know the car is in gear.
But then once you're on it you just kind of
row through the gears.
I mean we're in first, I mean, but like I said then if you
row into it--
[CAR ENGINE ROARING]
MIKE MUSTO: He also has a massive nitrous tank in the
back-- with like a 150 shot-- and that's what this little
red button's for.
But we're not pushing that because we're not going to
blow anything up.
It's not our car and I just--
I don't know.
Nitrous is not my thing to be honest with you guys.
So what other things do we notice about the car itself if
we talk about the interior?
It's actually quite stock.
Dashboard is stock, radio, the bezels, the gauges.
They're all stock.
I mean we have a fuel pressure gauge on the hood which we can
obviously see.
And then we've got the general gauges, right?
We've got water temp, we've got our bulb gauge, and we've
got our oil pressure gauge.
One of the other things we have is Greg's got this sun
tach right on the dash.
That's really kind of a nice nostalgic old school piece.
He actually had the tach rebuilt with VDO internal, so
it's accurate and it works good.
But otherwise the interior's pretty well stock.
I mean granted, there is a really big roll cage in here.
And it's an eight point cage.
But that's safety reasons.
You're going to drag race a car that runs 10:90s, I got
news for you.
You better have a cage in it.
[CAR ENGINE]
MIKE MUSTO: Obviously, you've got the '67 Mustang and you've
got another '67, and then you also have the '55.
Would you ever entertain making one of those into like
a crazy, full-on gas or blower sticking out of the hood,
solid live action on the front?
GREG SMITH: I've seriously thought about that.
I wanted to do it.
But I-- since it was my grandmother's car-- it's the
one thing I don't think I could hack off the front
suspension.
MIKE MUSTO: Right.
GREG SMITH: You know, with the [INAUDIBLE].
I mean, I'd love that.
I'd have to find another '55 to do it to.
MIKE MUSTO: Right.
GREG SMITH: I mean that car's been changed so much.
At this point, it probably wouldn't really matter.
But that's the one thing that's left that I'm holding
on to, kind of, you know.
Like the original car.
MIKE MUSTO: Well you have a son too, don't you?
GREG SMITH: Yeah.
MIKE MUSTO: And how old's he?
GREG SMITH: Yeah, he'll be seven in like a month.
MIKE MUSTO: So is this car going to him, or is the '55
going to him?
GREG SMITH: Yeah, either one.
Or worst case scenario, sell the car-- college fund.
I'm willing to do that.
But I'm not going to sell them all.
I'll only sell one or two of them.
[CAR ENGINE]
MIKE MUSTO: When we first saw this car one of the first
things we noticed--
the hood scoop, right?
You could tell there's been something there before.
I mean there's this hood scoop on there now.
But the old cal I think was from a Boss 302
used to be on there.
And the rivets on the hood are still reminiscent of that.
Greg never bothered to fill them in because he's like,
well screw it.
He's like, that's part of the history of the car.
And it's really kind of nice that he left them there.
You gotta go back to what your definition of
perfect car is, right?
To us, this car is amazing.
It's fantastic.
You can actually see the history, right?
On the driver's side door for instance, there used to be a
sticker there that said driver.
And that sticker is long gone.
But if you look under the paint at the right angle you
can actually make out the D and the R and the I of where
it said that.
There were also fade marks in the paint from where the old
school stickers used to be.
Which subsequently were taken off the car and
put under the hood.
It was kind of a really cool, cool way to pay
homage to this thing.
Is it a high-gloss show car?
It's not even close to that.
But it was never meant to be.
It was meant to be a flat out dragster.
[CAR ENGINE]
MIKE MUSTO: Well I was saying a lot of cars have squeaks and
rattles into them.
And this car does.
And you hear it, right?
But, I mean, what do you really want to hear?
Well you probably want to hear this.
[CAR ENGINE ROARING]
MIKE MUSTO: God, this is so much fun.
I'm going to tell everybody this right now, OK?
I don't know what you guys who are watching do for a living,
where on the planet that you live or work, who
your friends are.
But I'm telling you--
if you ever get the opportunity to jump behind the
wheel of a small block or a big block muscle car, and you
get to row through the gears and experience it--
do it.
Don't say no.
You get in these cars and there's no electronics, and
there's no nav, and no anything, or OBD ports where
people can track you and be like, ah you were speeding--
we're going to void your warranty.
These cars are just meant to drive.
They're meant to go out.
They're meant to row through the gears.
They're meant to speed and do burnouts, and do donuts and
break rules with.
Like I said, you guys get the opportunity--
don't pass it up.
Just say yes and do it.
Please, I'm telling you.
[CAR ENGINE ROARING]
MIKE MUSTO: So, guys, listen.
As always, thanks for watching.
And if you've got a car that you're interested in seeing on
/BIG MUSCLE, obviously email us at DRIVEBIGMUSCLE@GMAIL.COM
and if we can dig it and we can shoot it, then we will.
But otherwise, stay tuned for next week.
Greg, thanks so much for letting us shoot this thing.
GREG SMITH: No problem.
MIKE MUSTO: Absolute blast.
The car was outstanding.
And that's it guys.
See you later.
So ladies and gentlemen, right now we're going up to the
Sherwood Country Club because we just need a
place to turn around.
We're in Southern California in one of the most hoity-toity
spots that you're ever going to see.
I kind of want to go to the valet.
Can we use the valet?
Oh, we're coming up to the window.
This is going to be awesome.
Let's see what he says.
Hey, bud.
We just want to turn around.
Can we do that?
Can we do a big smokey burnout, like all
the way up and down?
Can we do like a big smokey burnout in the country club?
We're not allowed to do that?
Are you sure?
All right.
It'd be really cool, though.
Thanks.
He said no.
Jerk.