08-24-06: Dusty Pinkerton of southern California has had a good friend for long time. He met this close pal over 20 years ago and through the years the two have traveled around the country together, had some good times, and built the kind of love and respect that comes with the journey.

That friend of course is his yellow 1970 Super Cobra Jet 428 Deluxe Convertible. Dusty purchased the car in 1980. It came from the factory with the deluxe interior, power disc brakes and power steering. The latter options were all but standard on the big-clock cars as the heavy engine made turning and stopping without power assist an experience only a truck-driver could love. The car also had the factory AM/FM radio.

For the first decade of the friendship, Dusty drove the Mustang regularly making few changes to the mostly original car. In 1995 he rounded up all the parts for factory air and installed what was not available on SCJ cars back in 1970. At the time, he lived in Arizona which made chilled air from the vents a major bonus.

By 2002, the car was ready for some restoration and modifications to raise the fun-factor. Dusty pulled the engine and performed a complete overhaul, stroking the FE big-block to a neighborhood rumbling 468 cubes. The top end on FE engines have been long known as the weak link, so he installed a Crane hydraulic roller cam and roller rockers. With valve train friction and float eliminated forever, the engine was topped off with a set of free-breathing Edelbrock aluminum heads. Under the hood many other modern and polished dress up mods can be found as well.

The underbelly of this big-block Mustang is where some real love went into this project. The entire front suspension has been chrome plated including the drop link, tie-rods, upper and lower A-arms, shocks and spindles. Attached to those spindles are a massive set of 14” Wilwood disc brakes with a matching set at the rear. The rear axle has been fitted with a classic “Detroit Locker” differential with 3:25 gears.

Anyone who has driven a car with the “Detroit Locker” knows that it takes getting used to with its occasional grinding and clattering noises, but also knows that it hooks up like nothing else with high torque engines. Keeping that power flowing is a reworked C6 transmission with a 2800 Super Stock converter and full manual shift mode.

The only visual cues that the car has a resto-mod makeover are the new style 17 X 10 Mach 1 / Magnum style chrome wheels with wider rubber, 235 on front and 255 at the rear. The Mustang is a remarkable good looking survivor car that gets driven as often as Dusty has time to. Another modern touch that has come along recently is a newer style air- conditioning system from Old Air Products, including a chromed Sanden 508 compressor, and all metal coated lines. The system can now use the more available R-134A refrigerant that is far more efficient.

As to the friendship and where it will go next, who is to judge. “All in all it is a real pleasure to drive, and it handles like a dream,” Dusty says. We hope to him and his buddy on the next Mustangs Across America drive.