Graduation season is all about celebrations, lots of selfies, and of course kicking the shoes off and relaxing for the summer. But for Ryne Harding, graduating college meant starting a new Mustang GT project car from scratch.
Ryne bought his Mustang GT brand new on May 21st of 2013, and within a few short weeks of bringing it home the parts began piling up on his door step. It started as a few aesthetic mods and appearance changes to pull his weight at the local meets, but after his first run down the local drag strip, that all changed. “After making that first pass I was hooked and I began focusing on a more serious build,” Ryne notes.
Ryne opted for big power right out of the gate. The Paxton 2200SL supercharger system fit the bill perfectly, and with a host of supporting mods, this Mustang now makes 625 horsepower on 10 pounds of boost.
With all that extra power comes a by-product that gives most car enthusiasts a rush just the same. “Some friends mentioned that the whistle of the new blower setup sounded like a fighter jet, so I took that theme and ran with it,” Ryne explains. He soon added a “JET FUEL ONLY” decal above the fuel filler door, and continued the theme by adding a few warning decals you would find on actual fighter jets.
He even went as far as having a custom rear splitter engraved with the words “CAUTION FLAMES” on it. Ryne laughs, “That's usually a conversation starter! They double as a real warning, because the car will blow flames out of the exhaust during WOT shifts.” His next fighter jet addition is a set of side skirt splitters with “NO STEP” engraved.
No fighter jet is complete without landing gear, so Ryne is running a staggered set of 19-inch Burst Forgestar F14s wrapped in Nitto NT05s. “I originally ran NT555s on my 1995 Mustang and they were a great tire. When it was time to get new tires on the 2013, Nitto was the only option I even considered.”
Ryne started out with a set of NT555Rs, which delivered great performance on the street and helped him lower his 60-foot times considerably. He has since switched to Nitto NT05s noting, “I like that they are a great looking tire and they hook up great both on the street and on the 1320.”
All-in-all Ryne’s plans for the Mustang revolve around building the ultimate weekend warrior. The goal is a car he can comfortably take out for a cruise on the streets, but can handle the abuse of a day at the drag strip as well.
Future plans include building a complete Coyote 5.0 engine capable of higher boost numbers and more power for a transplant down the road.
Ryne strives to keep the perfect balance of show and go. This car is as much an eye-catcher at the local meets as it is on the drags. His passion for building a car he loves to drive is what being an enthusiast is all about.
