Pony Express December 2017 CRMC P.O. Box Charlotte, NC The 2001 Bullitt (special thanks to Gary Travis)

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1 December 2017 CRMC P.O. Box Charlotte, NC The 2001 Bullitt (special thanks to Gary Travis) The Bullitt Mustang. The iconic car has now become one of the more sought after New Edge Mustangs and will just increase in its popularity as the years progress. This is Ford s Tribute to Steve McQueen and the 1968 GT390 that chased down that wily Black Charger in the 1968 movie BULLITT. The differences between the Standard 2001 GT and the Bullitt are subtle but make a world of difference! Three colors were used, Black, True Blue, and of course Dark Highland Green. This 275 horsepower Bullitt was tighter and more swift than the Standard GT which makes this car quite fun to drive in stock trim. Many of the Bullitt concept car items such as the rear bumper fascia could not be reproduced in the time allotted before production. The Bullitt prototype rear bumper was eventually used on the 03 Cobra rear bumper design. SVT borrowed the design from the Bullitt Concept car. The seat design was taken from the 1968 Mustang seats which had vertical pleats. The concept steering wheel did not make production as it would have required extensive testing due to air bag restrictions. The Brushed Silver fuel door and Painted Red calipers were added to help the Bullitt stand out compared to the Standard GT and the Cobra Mustangs. Continued on page 2

2 Continued from page 1 The Retro Gauge Cluster and the Brushed Pedal design and placement were also important addition to the design. Speaking of SVT borrowing the Rear Bumper fascia, the original Bullitt design team wanted the 32- Valve DOHC Cobra Engine instead of the SOHC 2V engine to be the heart of the Bullitt but SVT had ownership of the engine. Availability of Cobra engines was another concern. Distinct brand separation had to be maintained between the GT, Bullitt, and Cobra cars so that was another reason for the Cobra engine staying put in the SVT Mustangs. As a result, the Bullitt received the cast aluminum, long runner Ford Racing intake manifold to increase Horsepower, improve the torque curve, as well as add to the cars uniqueness. Under drive pulleys were also added to the Bullitt. CRMC hosts lots of popular events, but near the top of the list is the annual Fall Wine Cruise, held this year the weekend of October With over 50 participants, this year s Cruise and Sip was as popular as ever. The weekend started with most of the cruisers meeting up on I-77 Friday afternoon for the drive up to Sparta, NC. The weather could not have been more glorious, with Carolina Blue skies and temperatures in the mid-70 s. For those of the convertible persuasion, this was the perfect weather for dropping the tops and most did. Though the official tour was not scheduled until the following morning, an unofficial stop has become a habit for the Friday cruise crowd. One of our favorite stops through the years has been Thistle Meadows Winery, just a short 12 mile drive down Hwy. 18 from our base at the Alleghany Inn. Old Tom made a cameo appearance and spun his usual yarns while wine, cheese, crackers and conversation flowed freely. Afterwards, back in Sparta, something new was on the schedule: the Main Street Pizzeria and Taphouse. Steve Hartung and Bob Helms had stopped in during scouting trips to the various vineyards and found the owner, Xavier, very interesting and a Mustang owner to boot! Xavier invited CRMC to show off their cars and ponied up a free beer and live band entertainment to seal the deal. This will undoubtedly be a regular stop in the future! Fall Wine Cruise By Michael Shorkey Saturday dawned dewy and chilly (42!), but quickly warmed so by the time we were halfway into our cruise along the Blue Ridge Parkway, many of the convertibles were topless again. The colors along the parkway were disappointing as the weather has been so warm the change had not occurred yet in most places. But the scenery was still spectacular as always on the BRP. If you ve never experienced the BRP you are truly missing one of the great drives in the world, and there s no excuse for NOT going as it s practically in your back yard! One caution: DO NOT SPEED. A ticket here can cost you hundreds! As many of our participants are as much into craft breweries as they are to wineries, our first stop Saturday was The Angry Troll brew house in Elkin. The Troll has some excellent craft beers and some very filling lunches. Our next stop, Westbend Winery fea- Continued on page 3 Carolina Regional Mustang Club Page 2 December 2017

3 Continued from page 2 tured some excellent blue grass entertainment as well as both wine and beer, though sampling was severely curtailed due to the large crowd. Corn-hole Toss also kept us happy. Back at the Alleghany, the evening consisted of an excellent meal followed by Steve Hartung s original murder mystery play, his third. Some of our CRMC participants were real hams in their various roles! At least some of us figured out who-done-it this year, last year nobody did! Next year, we ll have a change of pace. Instead of Sparta, we ll be heading to Hickory, NC to an outfit that does Shine, Wine & Brew. Norm Demers had a sample of their Apple Pie Shine. Dangerous stuff! It tasted just like an apple pie. Way too tempting! Steve Hartung is looking for some new leadership for this one-off year (we ll return to Sparta in 2019), so if you would be interested in finding some scenic and twisty roads around Hickory to give Bob Helms a break and know of a decent hotel and some good restaurants around Hickory, let Steve know ASAP. Thistle Meadows has become a favorite Friday night stop after that LONG (LOL, 90 minutes) drive. THIS is why we always find a way to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway! At the Angry Troll Brewery in Elkin, CRMC poses for the inevitable group shot. All 48 of us! As you can tell from all the sunglasses, it was a bright and sunny day Westbend Winery had the best of both worlds; wine and beer with live entertainment to boot. Carolina Regional Mustang Club Page 3 December 2017

4 There are two things that bring a big smile to a true Mustang-lover; the opportunity to show-off their perfect ponies to adoring crowds, or the equally pleasing opportunity to show-off their power and driving prowess by driving fast. As fast as they wanted or had the nerve to try. The problem with the latter, is this can be really tricky as anyone who s done a 360 (or two) unexpectedly can attest. And expensive if attempted or done in unsanctioned ways with the local black & whites as witnesses. Driving School results in Win for charities Fortunately, for the last 16 years the Carolina Regional Mustang Club has offered a solution to that embarrassing happenstance, our Performance Driving School (PDS). The weather for our 17 th edition could not have been more perfect. The hot, hot weather that had extended summer well into October, finally gave way to more fall-like temperatures in the 70 s for the weekend of October It certainly was appreciated by all, gathered again at Carolina Motorsports Park (CMP) near Kershaw, SC. Once again, Tom Hennig put on a master piece of organization and pulled it all together with a superb group of volunteers led by seasoned and experienced specialty chiefs: Norm Demers - Chief Instructor, Karen Demers Registration Chief, Herman Phisterer Technical Inspection Chief, James Clegg Grid Chief, Ray Michue Pace Car Chief and James Ray Chief Instructor Emeritus. This year, the gathering had special meaning for CRMC as one of the founders of the Driving School, Larry Kilgore, had recently passed away. That feeling was brought home to all the participants with a special dedication to Larry and his #85 Fox Body Mustang on the sleeve of the event T-shirt and with a memory lap of the track by Lee Brown in Larry's treasured #85 track car before the first Students listening attentively (or not) to event Chairman, Tom Hennig, at the Sunday morning mandatory meeting. By Michael Shorkey C Group Drivers on the grid ready to head on the track lead by the pace car provided by Felix Sabates Ford group took to the track on Saturday morning. This year s PDS field was filled by 76 students. While most students were from the Carolinas, 11 states were represented including nearby Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia plus enthusiasts from as far away as New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida. The student group included 30 first time beginners (Group D), 21 novices (Group C), 11 intermediates (Group B), and 14 advanced solo drivers (Group A). All groups received outstanding classroom instruction from Sonny Tu who takes time from his busy emergency room physician role to impart his many years of track driving and instructor experience to the participants. This classroom instruction component is one of the chief differences, along with the in-car instructors, between CRMC s Performance Driving School and other open track events hosted by various MCA regional clubs. Most instructors were old hands of PDS, but included four or five newer instructors who will be carrying on the legacy of Larry Kilgore. They are a dedicated lot, aver- Continued on page 5 Carolina Regional Mustang Club Page 4 December 2017

5 Continued from page 4 aging 8 to10 years as PDS instructors, coming from as far away as Georgia, Florida and Virginia to impart their wisdom to their eager students. The 43 instructors were kept very busy all weekend with most having two students under their tutelage. This helps to achieve the goals of safe learning: experiencing improvement in driving ability, increasing understanding of the car's capabilities, and above all having the time of your life! This year, over 60% of the 117 cars (students + instructors) that went on track were, you guessed it, Mustangs. The challenging 14 turns at CMP vary from sweeping carousels to sharp, tightly linked technical challenges. The track is well known for its propensity to eat tires and brake pads. A tour of the paddock and garage in the late afternoon on Saturday confirmed that reputation and saw numerous cars on jack stands, wheels removed, new pads being installed and brake fluid being bled. Having fun driving your Mustang also benefited the CRMC charities with over $8000 raised by the event. All our sponsors greatly contributed to generating this significant amount. Planning is already underway for PDS 2018 scheduled for October Registration opens in late January on MotorsportReg. Novice driver, Martin Scott, with instructor Andy Crawford setting up communicators on the grid. Going into Turn 11 during the lunch time touring laps when speeds are controlled and any one can drive around CMP Carolina Regional Mustang Club Page 5 December 2017

6 The front stretch is a favorite place to put the pedal to the metal accelerating out of tight right Turn 14 The garage is a busy place, especially for the more experienced drivers and Instructors Carolina Regional Mustang Club Page 6 December 2017

7 CRMC Officers President Mark Hunter Vice President Jim Brooks Secretary Vicci Brown Treasurer Steve Hartung Regional Director Mike Williams Past President Mark Young BOD at Large Dave Barrett Tami Brown Mark Rottger Jeff Garman Michael Shorkey CRMC is a Regional Club of Mustang Club of America The Power of the Pony by Brett Smith It s very cliché to say but at the same time very true; every year seems to pass more quickly than the one previous. It s just hard to believe that 2017 is nearly gone already. The Carolinas have such mild weather that there are still some fun car related events going on though. Both RK Motors and Streetside Classics had November cruise ins and Pro Dyno hosted an SVT Cobra Club show as well. These were all well attended and I ran into a few CRMC members there. Streetside is having another event this weekend December 2nd to help support Toys for Tots. Saturday November 18 th was the 15 th annual Christmas for Kids car show hosted by Hendrick Motorsports. The weather was terrific for this show as well albeit a bit windy at times. Proceeds go to charity and there are usually over 300 cars in attendance and this year was no exception. The majority are GM models but all makes are welcome and there are awards for imports and Fords as well. We had a blast. With the holidays upon us, most people have some extra time off. That s a good time to start taking care of your winter projects for your favorite steed. Personally, I have to make a list to keep on track or else I forget some things. So far, my list is mainly for my 92 GT. There are a few small things I want to fix on it so I can get it sold and move on to the next project. But if you have a 30+ year-old car, then you ALWAYS have projects that need completed and mine are no different. All you can do is try to knock them off one at a time. Thanks to all my fellow CRMC members and friends who made all the various events throughout the year more fun and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. CRMC Charter Date August 24, 1978 Carolina Regional Mustang Club Page 7 December 2017