Youtuber to Make 1,000-HP Monster Mustang Into Drift Master

By James Derek Sapienza - December 19, 2018

Who says you can’t have it both ways?

Mustangs have been dominating the drag strip for over half a century now. But as far as drifting goes, they’re relatively new to the game. Sure, there are plenty of Mustangs shredding tires and going sideways out there. But drag racers tend to stick to the straightaways. That’s what makes YouTuber itsjusta6′s, aka Gavin Simon, recent mods so interesting. He has a 1,000 horsepower S550 set up for the strip. But with a few mods, he’s going to make it driftable too.

Now, in the interests of full disclosure, he’s not transforming his car to break into Formula D. It’s still set up for the strip. But after talking to Cleetus McFarland, owner of Leroy, the record-breaking C5 Corvette cart, he’s adding a hydraulic e-brake and dual-caliper rear brakes while he mods his suspension. So yes, his Mustang will drift, but it will also be a lot more formidable at the strip.

Once he explains why he’s fitting a hydro e-brake, it all begins to make sense. “The reason I’m needing one of these is not because I’m turning my car into a drift car,unfortunately,” he says. “When you pull on this hydro handle… it’s gonna lock up the rear brakes… and the rear wheels, and its going to hold those wheels completely planted. It’s gonna allow me to slip the clutch just a little bit to get a bind on the driveline… the car is gonna launch as I’m slipping the clutch all the way out.” So there you have it, a drifter’s best friend is getting repurposed in the name of quicker launch times.

Unfortunately, we don’t see any insane launches here. Instead, once he figures out where the e-brake is going, he tackles a bunch of other projects. We see him replace the lower control arms and springs with a more strip-friendly setup. Then he installs new front-axle boots, a job he documents in all of its frustrating, greasy glory. Finally, he tears out his center console, removes the factory emergency brake, and takes out the e-brake lines from the rear of the car. “I feel like I’m destroying a really expensive car,” he says as he tears at bolts underneath the Mustang.

But in the end, it’ll all be worth it. The car is in pieces, but now he has a direction for where he wants to go. “We’ve been on version one of this car,” he says, “and I feel like we’re about to take it to a whole other level. I guess that’s… stage two.” Whenever he gets around to finishing it, we hope he attempts drifting at least once in stage two.