1990 Ford Mustang LX Pro Street - Pro Street Stallion

It's funny what the passing of time does. Things that were hot back in the day, become the subject of ridicule among the masses, but then very easily, the pendulum can swing back the other way. Take the case of Pro Street. If you attended custom car shows in the early to mid-1980s, you'll no doubt remember these creations - they were everywhere. Monster rear tires and wheel tubs the size of dustbins, chromed engine bays, giant roots type blowers poking through the hood and of course plenty of custom candy and pearl paint, along with some of the wildest interiors seen up to that time. Massive side exhausts and wheelie bars often completed the picture - belated nods to the fearsome Pro Stockers these cars attempted to emulate. Some of these creations were specific show cars - some were a mixture of show and go. As a genre, the Pro Streeters were mostly gone by about 1991, just as the 5-liter Mustang movement was getting into its stride. To this day, there are some indivduals who still appreciate the flamboyant and over-the-top-aspect of these cars. One of them is Brett Stasik. A North Las Vegas native, Stasik has been into cars forever - quote "when I was in diapers I was at the dragstrip." However... in about 1979 he went to a custom car show and saw his first Pro-Streeter. "It was love at first sight - the old school muscular stance did it and all these years later I'm still really into them, but I'm also into Mustangs - especially Fox cars." The end result? You're looking at it.

Now, before we move forward, we should probably mention that Stasik has owned another Fox Pony before this one, a 1986 GT just over a decade ago that he built into a road-race car. He also had an associate that owned an '88 and they would go open tracking together. But things change and Brett ended up off-loading his four-eyed flyer. A few years down the road and the timing was right to start a new project.

"I knew I was going to build a Pro-Street Fox Mustang - because it's just something that you never see, but to do that I needed a suitable starting point." Eventually he found it - a 1990 Fox LX hatchback, though this one proved quite the task to collect. "It was located in New York, but it was just the kind of thing I was looking for. It had been converted into a certified 7.50 drag car and it already had a mild steel roll cage in it - but the rules changed. It was set up to run 10.5W but with the steel cage in it, the car no longer qualified. I flew up there, bought it from the guy and shipped the car back home to Nevada. It had a 1969 351 Windsor motor in the car and a C4 transmission when I bought it, but it wasn't running."

So, to begin his Pro-Street project, Stasik now had the foundation, but from the very beginning he was determined not to cut any corners on the build. "I wanted to take my time and do it right. The process began with taking the car apart completely. Out came the engine, everything that could be taken off was until all I had was literally a body on jackstands in the garage. Then the work began." It's interesting to note, that despite what the finished results might indicate, the car was almost entirely put together in Stasik's personal two-car garage. "I've probably got close to 700 hours in this project - we did everything in the garage - from stripping it down to rebuilding it, to finishing it. Both the engine and tranny were torn down and inspected. "The 351 was taken down to the block, disassembled, checked and then I started putting it back together. It's a '69 four-bolt block and I built it with a low 8.0:1 compression so I could run the blower. It's got a Ford Racing crank, Eagle Rods and JE Pistons. From the start I wanted to make sure that it ran good - it's got a Competition Cams blower camshaft - a roller, Edelbrock aluminum heads and of course being a Pro-Streeter I had to put on a 6-71 blower." Absolutely! But when Stasik was building the engine, like everything else on the car, attention to detail was paramount. "Every nut and bolt and fastener you can think of was cleaned, chromed or plated. The engine block was custom painted to match the interior - the heads, water pump/timing cover and oil pan. All of the brackets and the fan shroud are all hand-polished aluminum, stainless steel or chrome-plated - the only thing that was chrome out of the box was the alternator." Underneath wasn't spared either. Stasik sprayed the pan with Rhino-Lining and took great lengths to reroute the fuel and brake lines so they were largely hidden. "They're only visible at the front where the come through the firewall and onto the frame." There were also quite a few pieces that were custom built. "The master cylinder is a one of one. I sketched the design on paper, then had a local fabricator draw it up on AutoCad. They then made it on their CNC machine. The engine bay pieces were also custom fabricated - the templates were designed and then they made the finished pieces which I then mounted in the engine bay." The body features all new weatherstripping and was treated to several squirts of Dupont Chromalusion True Blazberry. "It has a shock price tag of $3,400 per gallon." says Stasik. Ouch. Clearly Brett was sticking to his mission goal.

The C4 slush box - a reverse manual valvebody unit was rebuilt and put back in the car, but Stasik took the liberty of installing a looser 3800 rpm stall converter "in the interests of greater streetability." Out back the car runs a full Moser 9-inch rear and backhalved suspension with three links and coil over shock absorbers, plus being a Pro Streeter, it's got some stout stuff inside the axle housing - Moser 35-spline axles, 4.56 Richmond gears and a spool - of course chrome plating and polishing is to be found everywhere.

The LX retains the mild steel cage already installed when Brett got his hands on the car, but the interior required a lot of work to get it up to standard. One of the biggest issues facing Stasik regarded the seats. "It's a Pro Street car - I built it with every intention of driving it on the street so I needed some seats that would be comfortable enough." What he did, was score a pair of old Honda chairs, which were extensively chopped and modified, before being upholstered and installed in the car. There's a full complement of Autometer gauges littering the dash and A-pillar (it wouldn't be a true Pro-Streeter without 'em), while completing the look outside and ensuring the car gets down the road are Weld Pro-Star rims, wrapped in Mickey Thompson skinnies up front and massive 31 x 16.5 x 15-inch Sportsmans out back. There's a Simpson parachute and of course that Pro Street requisite - wheelie bars - in this case Competition Engineering 44-inchers. There's also an aluminum rear wing, Harwood fiberglass hood, complete with cutout to clear the supercharger, one heck of a fuel system and not much in the way of exhaust.

Yes, true to form, Stasiks' Pro Street Fox creation has all the subtlety of a fire truck and then some, probably not that surprising considering the man himself works for the Henderson, NV Fire Department most days. He's also been true to his word about driving it - witness these action shots - putting to rest that old wag that Pro Streeters were strictly for show. Of course he does the latter with it as well. In fact, on the first outing after it was completed, Stasik and his family took the car to the Superun show 'n' shine in Henderson. With a field comprising well over 1,200 cars, many of which were top dollar built machines, the Fox Pro Streeter did both its genre and Mustangs proud, being given the District Choice award. The following week, the Mustang Club of America rolled into town, taking up residence at the old Stardust Hotel Casino on the strip (see MM Feb '07). "I knew the MCA shows were judged differently," says Brett. "They hand out their awards using a point system and there were a lot of nice Mustangs there. I was amazed however, when my car was declared the Best Modified. It really meant a lot to both me and my family because it proved that all the effort it took to build this car had been recognized and that the judges acknowledged that, whether it was a type of car they liked or not." Stasik is also quick to mention that, although he largely built the car himself, family support meant everything. "My son Hunter - he's four years old and he probably spent around 300 of the 700 hours hanging out with me in the garage. He would hold wrenches and even give me advice! I can tell you that even at his age, he can tell the difference between a blower and a turbo car. I'd also like to say thanks to my wife Michelle and my daughter Taylor, for support and also for helping provide comfort at car shows and also the car show organizers - who I've found to be very accommodating and making sure we have everything we need."

But the best thing of all about this car. Have a good look again at the pictures. Now imagine yourself behind the wheel, chasing the sunset out in Red Rock, burying the loud pedal and feeling the surge as the twin Barry Grant 750 blower carbs suck in all the fuel they allow, the 6-71 screams and the 351 rumbles through the Flowmaster NHRA exhaust, systematically burying you in the back of that custom seat with the force of a locomotive. Makes you see Pro-Street in a whole different light now doesn't it?

Interior / Exterior

Brett Stasik's 1990 Mustang LX Pro Street

Chassis

Back halved rear: custom mild steel rollcage

Exterior

Harwood lift off hood with center punched, Dupont ChromaLusion True Blazberry paint, custom rear wing, Simpson drag parachute, clear front marker lights, clear LX tailight lenses

Interior

Grant steering wheel, custom made bucket seats, door panels and console, Simpson safety harnesses, Autometer gauges

Suspension

Competition Engineering 44" wheelie bars, coilover three-link rear suspension with Koni shocks, Koni front coilover strut/shock conversion, tubular front K-member; Wilwood drag brakes front and rear

Wheels And Tires

Weld ProStar 15 x 7.5" with Mickey Thompson 26 x 7.5 x 15 tires (front), Weld ProStar 15 x 16.5" with Mickey Thompson 26 x 7.5 x 15 tires (rear)

Specifications

Brett Stasik's 1990 Mustang LX Pro Street

Engine

Ford 351 Windsor V8

Engine Modifications

Ford Racing Forged steel crankshaft; Eagle ESP connecting rods: JE 8.0:1 compression pistons; Competition Cams blower camshaft; Edelbrock aluminum cylinder heads: Competition Cams Roller lifters: Hampton intake: dual Barry Grant Reference 750 cfm blower carburetors; Aeromotive Engineering Eliminator series 1104 external fuel pump; Aeromotive A1000 fuel pressure regulator: Aeromotive pro series fuel filter; 10 gallon fuel cell: Dyers 6-71 roots type supercharger, 18 % overdriven; custom fabricated exhaust; Flowmaster Drag NHRA legal mufflers: Nitrous Express single stage system with 10 lb bottle and cord button activation: Mallory S/C series distributor: MSD 6AL ignition control box: Taylor Pro Series 10mm ignition wires, custom fabricated aluminum radiator and shroud, dual Black Magic push and pull electric fans, custom fabricated stainless steel hoses and pluming

Driveline

Ford C4 reverse manual valve body three-speed automatic with 3800 rpm stall converter: Cheetah shifter: Ford 9-inch rear; Moser 35-spline axles; 4.56:1 Richmond ring and pinion with Pro Series internals and solid spool, custom fabricated drivershaft

Numbers*

880 RWHP

850 RWTQ

* Estimated