Spanning Generations
Joe Masquelier had restored a 1965 Mustang coupe with his father Don when he was in High School and the experience left an indelible mark on him. Joe had already been a gearhead thanks to his father’s influence but it only intensified when the duo dove into the ’65.
So when it came time for Don to retire from over 40 long years working as a Mechanical Engineer Joe was ready to return the favor and had a ‘65 Mustang Fastback built for his father. The finished project was a surprise gift for Don and has already kept him plenty busy in retirement, from Sunday cruises to gearing up for car shows and getting to spend more time with his son talking shop again.
Color Bomb
For the interior, the Masquelier boys went for a fully dressed interior from TMI starting with a set of Pro-Series Chicane Seats in Sport-R pattern, bright red with red contrast stitch, with a matching bright red Sport dashpad. The Sport-R molded door panels were done up in black vinyl with a black suede insert and red contrast stitching while the one-piece molded headliner was done up in black suede.
The rest of the interior was very smartly laid out with a Grant Steering Wheel, black loop carpet, Classic Instruments Autocross Gauges, a center-mounted Holly Sniper EFI touchscreen, and a custom skeletonized cupholder tucked out of sight on the passenger side. The rear seat was deleted and filled in a custom metal luggage rail system. The father and son duo then had all the interior panels wrapped in Alcantra. Music blasts out of a Kenwood Bluetooth head unit hidden away in the glovebox, aided by a Kicker Amp, and vibrate out of JL Audio 5.25-inch 3-way speakers in the front and rear.
Strong Heartbeat
The original beating heart of the ’65 was doing just fine, but when you are doing a project like this, the idea is to do more not less so the 302 was bored and stroked to 347 with a set of Ford valve covers. A set of aluminum heads hold a Holley Sniper EFI in its valley, with a full CVF Racing Beast Serpentine Drive system. Hooker Ceramic Coated headers route spent gasses to an X-style crossover pipe where a set of Flowmaster Super 40 Mufflers spit the exhaust out the back. A Tremec T-5 transfers the power to a Ford 9-inch rear end stuffed with 3.70 gears.
Dual Purpose
Joe had a clear direction that they wanted to go with the Stang and that was to start with a cable restomod that could hold its own out on the street but to throw in some autocross elements. Joe also had the unique privilege of doing his own rendering and had creative control in every aspect of the build. Since this was a gift to his father, he wanted the execution to be perfect.
To keep the Ford firmly planted on the road, Joe started with a Rod & Custom Mustang II front end with adjustable coilovers, tubular drop control arms, a TCP Engineering 4-link with adjustable coilovers in the rear, with TCP subframe connectors.
White Pony
Since the exterior would be the first thing that people see when the Mustang is blasting around Tracy, CA (with Joe and Don’s supercharged grins beaming out from the front seats) Joe had a classy but updated look in mind. He first chose PW7 Bright White (which actually came from the MOPAR paint catalog) to announce the arrival of the ’65, sourced a 3-inch cowl induction fiberglass hood with custom Trackspec Motorsports vents grafted in. Joe then sourced a ’65 reproduction honeycomb grille from CJ Pony Parts, plopped on a quartet of fender flares at all four corners and the major body mods was out of the way. The only thing left to do was to strip off all the chrome and powder coat all of it in satin black. Lastly, the tail panel incorporated a contrasting satin black vinyl wrap with a one-off custom billet fuel bezel, fuel cap, and integrated battery cutoff switch, designed and machined by Ricardo Galhetas. Front DRL LED headlights and LED sequential rear taillights finish off the subtle yet purposeful modernization.
Stopping Power
The final component of the stance was achieved with a quartet of Aodahan DS07 19x11 wheels with powder-coated satin black centers and a polished 3.50-inch barrel. The multi-spoke wheels just sit right with the mostly black and white color scheme that Joe was going for. Stretched over the wheels are a set of Kumho Ecsta v720 ACR 295/25/19 tires which offer the right balance of performance and looks to match the form/function esthetic of the car. Stopping power is easily handled with a set of Wilwood 4-piston calipers and 13-Inch rotors at all four corners.
