Project Phoenix is our Bondurant Racing School car project in Mustang Enthusiast Magazine. After taking a month off of the pages of the magazine the 1999 Cobra from Bondurant will begin a long run of consecutive stories starting next month.

We have set up the series already in ME with a rundown on Bondurant's special Mustangs and some information on this particular car, the #55 car. The first step in our build was a feature on Bob Lauer of L & B Engine Developement and the engine that he built for us. We saw a step by step process in assembly for the 4.6L 4 Valve Aluminator engine provided in part by Ford Racing.

The engine includes CNC ported cylinder heads, Ford GT cams, and the forged aluminum block Aluminator from Ford Racing. This engine was built for club racing in mind. To run on pump gas and last a long time. Bob projected 400hp for the motor and then we moved to the next step in the process.

Next months edition will feature our complete installation of a Maximum Motorsports "Grip Box". This work we did close to home for a change at Piedmont Custom Motorsports in Raleigh, NC. The Grip Box contains everything from K-member to rear sway bar. You should enjoy the step by step bolt and weld of this installation. This is how you get your car to handle the corners of VIR or Road Atlanta.

In coming months we will add Moton Suspensions' Club Sport Moton coilover dampers. You will see how they are installed and how to use them. We will get our Bondurant Cobra to the race track and show you how we tune the suspension from sway bars to ride height to bump and rebound to get the car to drive comfortably and at the same time as fast as we can go.

You have to stop, too. We have not neglected the brakes. This will be a rare magazine appearance of Stoptech brakes. These are top racing brakes that you see on many Grand Am Rolex, Koni Challenge and Speed World Challenge race cars. With Performance Friction Brake pads we hope to find that the car stops as efficiantly as it goes fast.

As we go along there is a carbon fiber rear wing that we will try and lexan glass to lighten the car.

We will be sure to keep you up to date on the magazine schedule and let you know when and where the car will be at the race track so that you can see it in person.