1968 Fastback is 800HP of Pure Fury

A Fastback in Africa

Every car person has a dream car. A car they design in their heads, checking imaginary boxes and arranging every detail the way they want it. When South African Laurent Decalion dreamed about his perfect Mustang, a 1968 Fastback, he dreamed out loud to his buddy Chad from the speed shop Sportech. Dreams turned to plans and details were plotted out over the course of the next year. Chad, predictably, cast his vote for power, handling, and braking ability—all reasonable goals—but first, they needed to find a suitable Mustang thousands of miles from the place of its birth. They found a car in Cape Town, one that had been rebuilt (but not well), looked okay, and went just okay. It was then time to get down to business.

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The Darkness

When they got the car back to Sportech and tore it down, 'okay' revealed itself to be 'not so okay.' Stripping the body and chassis to bare metal, they found corrosion, buckets of body filler, and uneven panel gaps. Some panels were replaced and others were repaired with metal patches, and the whole car was seam welded for additional strength. The new piano black paint is striking, all the more so because of the tasteful wide matte black and thin red striping. The completely blacked-out chrome works so well with the paint scheme it's easy to miss at first glance.

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The Underpinnings

After some serious research, Laurent and Chad decided a full Heidts system was the way to go with the suspension. Up front that meant cutting out the shock towers and welding in the new set-up, which features fully adjustable coilovers, custom upper and lower control arms, a beefy sway bar, and polyurethane bushings wherever possible. The rear suspension also utilizes coilovers, mounted to a limited-slip 9-inch rear end. Six-piston caliper Wilwood brakes were fitted, along with a Wilwood master cylinder augmented by an electronic brake booster. The system works well when cold and offers modern braking performance.

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The Proformance

The guys sold off the original engine and trans, and ordered a custom-built drop-in engine from Proformance in the U.S. The 408 cu.in (6.7-liter) Proformance V-8 uses fuel injection in conjunction with a sizeable Procharger to make 800 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque. When Sportech received the engine they discovered it wouldn't clear the hood, so they wound up having to lower the engine in the chassis, taking care to leave enough clearance for the sump. In addition, the intake piping from the supercharger runs through the fender wells, freeing up more space. Other plumbing includes a giant radiator from MRP Motorsport, joined by oil and transmission coolers. Sportech built a custom exhaust system for the Mustang, with downward facing exits that retain the clean outline of the car in keeping with the stealthy exterior treatment.

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Fine Tuning

In the ignition department, Laurent's Mustang runs MSD and Mallory components working in conjunction with a locally-sourced engine management system. The system is programmed to deal with the high altitude of Capetown, as well as its fuel quality. And this thing will be using a lot of fuel—around one gallon of it every 4 miles. The Fastback runs a 5-speed manual Tremec transmission, and power goes to custom-made wheels with just the right offset to fill the wells without their needing to be tubbed. The matte-finished wheels wear Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, 285/38R18 front, and 255/45R18 rear, striking the perfect balance between width and intrusion.

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Finishing Touches

South Africa can get pretty hot so the Fastback's been upgraded with modern air conditioning, which can be enjoyed while sitting in Sparco seats. The Sparcos, along with the rest of the interior, have been redone with custom trim, leather, and Alcantara. The factory gauges were replaced with white-faced Velocity items, and a few extra gauges and switches were relocated to the custom-built center console. No 800 hp car should leave home without some form of a roll cage, and the one in the Fastback was built to protect occupants while robbing as little space as possible—as, with nearly every part of the car, a perfect balance was struck. We hope that the cage never comes in handy, and the harmony achieved in this '68 lasts as a shiny, and matte, example for years to come.

>>Join the conversation on this Fire-Breathing Fastback right here in the Mustang Source Forum.

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