Awesome Adventures Drifting with the Sideways Sheriff

 

Thanks for checking in for some awesome adventures with the "Sideways Sheriff".  I've been sliding around on the race track in my '99 Mustang for about 2 years and now I'm gearing up with another car to go ProAm in 2021.  I have loved being the Sideways Sheriff and throwing on lights and sirens out on the track with the Mustang.  Now, I'll be running TWO!  One for the grass roots division and the other as my competition car. 

I want to start here by bragging about my Grassroots car, the '99 Mustang.  If you are wanting to get into the sport of Drifting...JUST SEND IT!  

I bought the Mustang on Craig's List with an engine swap already in place.  I think the original owner was using it for a drag car. The '99 body has a 5.0 engine from a '95 Mustang. FYI:  Something I've learned- If the guts in your car were not available in the year your car was produced you can't race in the "street car" division. Oops!  Didn't know that, ok.  Why does that matter? Well, the 5.0 is a V8 engine - regular street engine. But, because the 5.0 wasn't available in the Mustang in '99 this makes it an altered power vehicle and now I'm in the category with cars who have swapped or increased their power with turbo/supercharger/nitrous. Yikes, yeah, I'm moving just a little slower than they are. Recently I checked the official horse power and it was found to be a whopping 207 horse power to the wheels!  In racing, that sounds low but in drifting, that can be awesome.  This engine has worked so well for me and I still love it in the grass roots arena but it is just not going to work for ProAm. But it proves that you can use your street built drift car and hit the track! Just Send It!

The two biggest changes that I've made with the '99 is the rear end and the angle kit.  A quick cheap route for the rear end was the first thing I did, I welded it.  To drift, you need to spin the rear wheels.  By welding the rear end it allows for positive traction and both wheels are locked together to turn at the same time, or not turn as the case may be. 

With the original front end, the wheels just can't turn like they need to.  "I know a guy..."  who built his angle kit for his mustang so I took it to his shop to do mine too. You can see in the two pictures that it made a MAJOR difference in how the car moved around the track. So, if you are looking for a mustang to drift make sure you take yours to "Best Damn Shop Around" in Gainesville, GA to get the angle right. It's worth the money to get Tim to put it right. 

I'm looking forward to the upcoming season with both cars! We just finished up Holley Ford Fest in Bowling Green, KY and next month we are headed to Gridlife at NOLA Motorsports for the team battle - Taking the old trusty '99.  I can't wait to try a new track! #Gridlife Nov 6-8 New Orleans, LA