1968 Mustang is Given Second Life with 2JZ Power

Hiding in Plain Sight

There are those who think outside the box. And then there are those that take the box and tear it to shreds. Beau Miklethun may not have started out with that goal in mind, but after many years toiling away in his one car garage, he now finds himself in the society of rule-breakers. From the outside, Beau's Mustang doesn't look like anything out of the ordinary. The Gulf livery paint job certainly stands out, but in no way does it look out of place. That's what Beau wanted. It's not until the hood is popped open that everyone starts to pay attention.

A Straight Six, Just Not The Right One

Lurking under the long hood of the '68 Mustang now known as Abomination is a 2JZ-GTE from a JDM Toyota Aristo. There are some people out there that are going to cringe hard at the sight of a Toyota powerplant under the hood of an old muscle car, but it starts to make sense when you consider the story behind the car.

>>Join the conversation about this 'Abomination' of a Mustang right here in The Mustang Source.

A Rough Start

The project started life back in 2010. The car belonged to a family friend and had been sitting for many years. And Beau had been begging to buy it for years. Persistence finally paid off and he acquired the car. The old 300c.i. straight six fired right up and the paint miraculously cleaned up almost perfectly.

>>Join the conversation about this 'Abomination' of a Mustang right here in The Mustang Source.

Humble Beginnings

The goal, in the beginning, was simple: to get the car to be driveable. The issues such as some rusted out panels, a worn suspension, and old ineffective brakes were quickly taken care of. The car was "complete" and drivable, but project cars have a way of never really being done. That's when Beau decided the car needed a bit more power.

>>Join the conversation about this 'Abomination' of a Mustang right here in The Mustang Source.

The "Other" Engine

The little Ford was in need of more power than the 300c.i. engine could muster. The idea of building the stock straight-six did come to mind, but there was another engine that Beau had his eyes on. Out came the old motor and in its place, a 2.3L Turbo Ford engine was installed. Many things were learned along the way while installing the 2.3L. Beau built a Megasquirt ECU to run the engine and had to fabricate most of the mounts himself. He was happy with the car and drove it like this for many years. Unfortunately, the little 2.3L proved to be temperamental. That engine was swapped out with another that melted a piston shorty thereafter. Fed up with all the engine troubles, Beau set his sights on something more reliable and landed on the 2JZ idea.

>>Join the conversation about this 'Abomination' of a Mustang right here in The Mustang Source.

Growing Pains

That is not to say the 2JZ swap didn't come without it headaches. Getting the engine and transmission electronics to work in the old Mustang chassis proved to be difficult. Eventually, Beau got everything sorted out and the Mustang was driving once more. Soon, however, the increased power of the big turbo six proved to be a little too much for the tiny u-joints in the stock driveshaft. 

>>Join the conversation about this 'Abomination' of a Mustang right here in The Mustang Source.

Disaster

While driving the car, the u-joint broke and the resulting carnage was quite epic. Not only was the driveshaft toast, but the exhaust was mangled and somehow the transmission decided it didn't want to be in one piece anymore. The gearbox broke all the way around the bell housing and the tail shaft, rendering it useless. Shockingly, this wasn't the only time this would happen. The driveshaft broke again later while on the dyno and proceeded to destroy another transmission. These days, the car is running an upgraded Toyota automatic, a beefier custom driveshaft, and a Ford Explorer 8.8 rear end. So far, this combo has proven stout.

>>Join the conversation about this 'Abomination' of a Mustang right here in The Mustang Source.

Worth It

It has been a long journey for Beau and his Mustang. Not all of it has been easy or smooth, but that is how project cars go. These days, Abomination is running great and getting attention everywhere it goes. For the first time in a long time, the build can be considered "done." But Beau isn't done just yet. He has recently picked up a Fox body that he plans to swap a Nissan VQ35 into. Can't wait to see the reaction of the internet to that one!

>>Join the conversation about this 'Abomination' of a Mustang right here in The Mustang Source.

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