Mustang Bullitt Project Is a Fire-breathing Turbo Monster

By James Derek Sapienza - December 26, 2018

New Edge pony may have special needs but it’s certainly a bad ass machine, no less.

After years of quietly sinking to the bottom of the depreciation curve, the New Edge Mustang is finally getting its due. Not that it was ever bad – far from it. But in recent years, the rise of Fox Body mania and the I-Can’t-Believe-It’s-So-Goodness of the S550 have hogged most of the spotlight. But that could change soon, because the New Edge is having a moment.

The Terminator is aging gracefully into a legend. It’s arguably easier to swap a Coyote V8 into a New Edge than a Fox Body. And for those who want to stay with the Modular 4.6, they can be tuned like crazy. We’re looking at the latter today.

Weekend Project for the Ages

For those familiar with the YouTube channel Mustang Lifestyle, you know that it’s been preaching the New Edge gospel for years. But their latest car, a tired Mustang Bullitt, is one seriously cool project. And not just because it’s a Bullitt. It also shoots flames.

The Modular V8 has a single On3 turbo bolted to it. But before our host can start doing pulls, there are some issues with the car. There are broken fan clips, worn bushings, a leaking power steering pump pressure hose, and a loose oxygen sensor, among other small issues. Still, as he says: “I’ve owned several hacked New Edges, and this one isn’t that bad.” Think of this project as less “basket case” and more “some assembly required.”

With the help of his friend Nick, who knows a thing or two about New Edges, they tackle a lot of those little issues here. The oil feed lines are tightened, the O2 sensor is readjusted, and an alignment is done. Then they diagnose everything else. It needs a Teflon O-ring for the power steering pump, a MAF retune, a check of the turbo wastegate spring, swap the caster/camber plates, and replace a gasket on the factory exhaust manifold. In all, nothing more than another weekend’s worth of work.

After all that work “this thing should be pretty close to being tunable, he says. That’s good to hear, because we can’t wait to see what this car can do.