Polar Vortex: With 700-plus horsepower coming from a NASCAR-based 427 Windsor, Ringbrothers’ Blizzard ’65 promises heavy snow
While brothers Jim and Mike Ring have placed their signature
style on numerous models of cars over the years, including several
Camaros, a Chevelle, a Pantera, and a radical ’64 Fairlane dubbed
Afterburner, it often seems their spiritual home has been the ’65-’70
Mustang fastbacks, since a lot of them have come out of their Spring
Grove, Wisconsin, shop. Bail Out, Dragon, Producer, and Reactor are all
examples of this, and you can add to the mix this latest car, a 1965
fastback named Blizzard. And as with all the others, it’s a 100 percent
custom build that dazzles all the way down to the carbon-fiber–accented
trunk latch striker.
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The 427 Windsor uses a
Dart block with a 4.125-inch bore, a 4-inch stroke Eagle crank, Callies
rods, and JE pistons that produce a 10.8:1 compression. Topped with
Cleveland-style heads and built by Wegner Motorsports, other pieces
include a COMP hydraulic roller cam, an MSD distributor, Edelbrock
intake, and a 750-cfm Holley aluminum Ultra HP carb. The custom air
cleaner/induction setup along with headers and exhaust were custom-built
by Ringbrothers. Flowmaster Super 40 mufflers along with a BeCool
radiator and electric fans make up added bits of exhaust and cooling
componentry. On Wegner’s dyno, it all adds up to 707 hp at 6,400
rpm—exactly the same as a new Dodge Hellcat, but without a supercharger.
Asked about how the fit, finish, and detail of Blizzard were
achieved, Mike’s answer was actually pretty straightforward. “What
really helps Jim and I is that we’ve maintained the collision-repair
part of our business. The OE (original equipment) manufacturers build
pretty great cars today. We are big fans of the OE manufacturers and how
they build things and appreciate their fit and finish. Jim and I study
them, and their detail helps us with our detail.”
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Recaro seats are the
bones here for an interior with a classic Ringbrothers vibe, which is to
say one-of-a-kind. Upholstery Unlimited did the sewing and other pieces
of note are Classic Instruments gauges, a MOMO steering wheel, an
ididit tilt steering column, and Alpine sound equipment. As mentioned
earlier, the floors aren’t covered with carpeting but rather seat
material similar to what’s found in various GM cars and trucks, such as a
Chevy Trailblazer. The billet shift handle is connected to a Bowler
five-speed manual.
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Baer brakes with
six-piston calipers and 14-inch rotors up front (and 13s in the back)
are hiding inside HRE 560R wheels, 18x9.5s up front and 19x12s out back,
with Nitto Invo tires (P265/35ZR18s and P325/30ZR19s, respectively).
Moving inside there’s an invisible rollbar seamlessly
integrated into the futuristic (nothing like 1965 anyway) cabin.
Furthermore, we were told a Ringbrothers car hasn’t had carpeting for
the past five years or so. What is it then on the floor inside? Pretty
simple stuff, actually. “It’s a fabric from a GM seat material. I think
it’s from a Chevy Trailblazer,” Mike muses.
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Blizzard is equipped
with a complete Detroit Speed Engineering suspension. Up front, that
includes a unique cast-aluminum cradle, tubular upper and lower
control-arms, rack-and-pinion steering, aluminum coilovers, and an
antiroll bar.
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DSE’s rear coilover
four-link design uses high-durometer rubber bushings, an antiroll bar,
and an adjustable Panhard rod. The 9-inch rearend has 31-spline axles, a
TruTrac centersection, and 4.11 gears.
We certainly enjoyed discussing general ideas and concepts
with Mike as they relate to a car like Blizzard, and another thought we
were surprised to learn was his logic behind a popular and maybe even
common practice: powdercoating. “We do a lot of powdercoating on our
cars. There is some cost savings,” Mike told us, “but I don’t know if we
would do it any differently even if it wasn’t a cost savings.” With a
Ringbrothers car, one doesn’t often think of saving money as a
mitigating factor. But if Mike Ring thinks enough of it to mention, then
it’s certainly worth considering in terms of any project.
Owned by Dominick and Becky Farbo of Buffalo, New
York, Blizzard is, as usual for a Ringbrothers car, jam-packed with
innovation and one-of-kind touches that you simply won’t see anywhere
else. They include a first for even a Ringbrothers project. Mike told
us, “This is the first car we’ve built with carbon-fiber doors. We now
offer these ’65-’66 doors made of carbon fiber for those who would like
to have them on their own builds. We made them a while back and were
sort of sitting on them. They’re now on a car for the first time. In
fact, numerous other pieces on the car are carbon fiber, including the
hood, roof, trunklid, rear bumper, rear end caps, and side scoops. The
G.T. 350 R-model-style front fascia is made of aluminum.”
Surprisingly, Mike commented that Blizzard uses a
number of stock panels and modified those as the foundation. “We’re
really about keeping a lot of what Ford did on the ’65-’66 design, but
we updated it and made it a little bit, well, more modern. We did,
however, eliminate all the pinch welds throughout the body.”
Other details abound on Blizzard to be sure—easily
enough for a 100-page book. But a directly visible cue is the fuel-tank
treatment—or lack thereof. It’s an Aeromotive fuel cell but with a
twist. “We always seem to raise the tanks on a Mustang to give us more
room for the exhaust,” Mike said. “The tank took up a lot of space,
especially on this car, because the exhaust is coming out of the
quarters. And we also think that when the tank hangs down, it kind of
looks like a diaper. As on Blizzard, we usually build a little bellypan
for the back to clean up the look.”
That includes a full custom car such as Blizzard,
or any vintage Mustang project in one’s garage. Cheap or expensive,
simple or complicated, cars such as Blizzard serve an important purpose.
And that is to provide inspiration for one to create a dream Mustang
exactly how they want it to be.
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