Ford Just Won SEMA With This Sensible Mustang Restomod That You Could Actually Build Yourself

Since the SEMA show is America’s largest aftermarket car parts trade convention, it’s naturally played host to a variety of absolutely wild builds over the years. A Toyota FJ with a tank tread where you’d normally find a floor. A 1,000-horsepower Infiniti QX80. An all-wheel-drive GR86. The sort of stuff that makes you click the share button when you see it on Instagram, but not necessarily the sort of stuff you could build in your garage at home. This 1966 Mustang dubbed the Ford Racing R125 is different.

It all starts with one of America’s more popular classic cars, and while 1966 Mustang Fastbacks are collectable, you can still pick up a decent roller for $15,000 or less if you know where to look. Something with solid frame rails and quarter panels, all the glass, a good interior, a prime candidate for a hot street engine and some finishing work.

Now, carburetion and points ignition are great if you’re into that sort of stuff or are just looking for a weekend hobby, but they aren’t your best friends in a vehicle you want to have start the first time, every time. Plus, what if your Mustang project car started its life with an inline-six, but you’re craving V8 grunt?

For this build, Ford’s gone with a brand new heart based on an older design. It’s an aluminum-headed Windsor-based pushrod small-block V8 displacing 347 cubic inches, or a hair under 5.7 liters. Given the cubes and claimed output of 360 horsepower and 400 lb.-ft. of torque, it wouldn’t be surprising if this is based on the M-6007-X2347DR crate motor that features a forged rotating assembly, 9.6:1 compression, and a hydraulic roller camshaft. What makes this build a little bit different is that it’s rocking Edelbrock’s Pro-Flo fuel injection system, a proper multi-port setup that eliminates the cylinder-to-cylinder mixture distribution issues that can surface in a throttle body injection system.

Behind the freshly built small-block V8 sits a Tremec TKX-600, a five-speed manual transmission that holds up to 600 lb.-ft. of torque, weighs just under 100 pounds, has an overdrive gear, and costs about $2,900. Not a dog box, not an enormous T-56 six-speed, but the sort of new gearbox you could justify in your own build.

Beyond fuel injection and the highway comfort of a five-speed, there really isn’t much radical about the R125 Mustang. Sure, it might have a roll bar and a front bumper delete, but there isn’t much fabrication beyond that. The wheels look to be sensibly-sized American Racing Torq-Thrust Ds simply painted gold. The suspension doesn’t seem to be anything crazy, and you won’t find huge tubular braces under the hood. The only really trick thing under there is a clean set of valve covers with excellent built-in spark plug wire routing and beauty covers that Ford seemingly plans to offer at their dealerships’ parts counters.

In an age of internet-famous builds with $10,000 in suspension hardware and enormous street machine horsepower figures, there’s something refreshing about realism. A cool car you could build at home, in your garage, without needing to take out a second mortgage. Sure, giving a 1966 fastback this sort of treatment still won’t be cheap, but it’s something you could probably do over five years with a bunch of Harbor Freight tools and some help from your buddies. Make some decent horsepower, make it a pleasure to drive, and make it pretty enough that you look back at it every time you park it.

Top graphic image: Ford