Quarantining isn’t easy, not by a long shot but the team at AmericanMuscle is making the best of it. Their new Customer Spotlight series takes Zoom meetings to another level and gives some love back to customers and their builds.
In the first installment, AM host, Justin Dugan, “meets up” with one of our community favorites’ Lava Red GT, nicknamed “Wolverine”. Justin gets into a full break down of the build and sheds some light on the inspiration behind it.
Custom-Made Muscle
Carl Binder, a Floridan gearhead, decided to mod the rare 2012 Mustang Lava Red GT just after he bought it. The end result was one of the coolest Mustang mods we’ve seen, with a nickname that perfectly fits. If you’re interested in checking out his full modification list and images, just head over to AM’s customer builds page.
It’s okay to be a little color blind, and Carl is no different. When he bought it, he thought that the Lava Red exterior was actually black. He only saw its real color the next day.
Determined to make this one mean-looking muscle car, Carl jumped on to the AM website and started looking for parts he could use to mod his car. He started out by buying the GT 500 rims to replace the Mustang’s premium rims, and added wider tires.
At this point, he realized that he would have to carefully think about the next mods for his car if he wanted a well-tuned machine.
So, Carl worked from the ground up. He stiffened up the suspension, installed new brakes and rotors, and added the GT 500 exhaust system and welded parts to stiffen it up—like the H-pipe, side rails, Steeda crossmember and the Watts link.
This allowed his car to go into turns at a speed that other muscle cars simply could keep up with unless they had similar modifications.
Under the hood, Carl put headers on the engine, added the H-pipe, then got the Roush blower. As it happens, even host Justin Dugan uses the same blower on his Mustang. So, there must be something special about it. He ended up adding some horsepower to his car, until it reached the mid-600s. Carl also added the ID1000 fuel injectors.
But he didn’t have to replace every single thing in the car. The 2012 Mustang Lava Red GT already has a good foundation. So, he mainly went with upgrades that he felt could improve the car’s looks, suspension or performance.
If there are two modifications that he feels have made the most difference to the performance of his car, it’s the blower and the suspension.
They have given him more power, which—let’s be honest—is every muscle car enthusiast’s dream.
They have also made the car feel more planted, which gives him the confidence that his car can handle almost anything he throws at it.
In future, Carl would like to get his hands on the Mickey Thompson tires. He’s also thinking of building another motor, which should make his already-powerful car even more of a beast.
Carl’s Mustang is now more powerful, has tighter control, and sounds better. According to Carl, it even looks like an aggressive animal. Now, that’s a custom job worthy of the “Wolverine” name.
At one point, though, soon after he had started modifying his car, Carl’s Shelby-owning friends started calling it “the thing”. You can watch the video to find out how this happened.
And to see all the mods Carl got for his car, viewers can simply go to his build profile page. It has a complete list of the parts he used, including those not mentioned in the video. Who knows? You can get some great ideas for your own build.
For The Dedicated
AM’s Customer Build series is geared to Mustang enthusiasts who love to modify, build and drive or race late-model Mustangs. Most of the parts are sourced from AmericanMuscle, which is one of the leading aftermarket Mustang parts providers in the country.
Carl’s well-rounded street car was just the start, and it shows the level of dedication that Mustang owners have out there. The online auto-parts retailer will continue the series with more interviews and more amazing mods, so stay tuned.
About AmericanMuscle
Starting out in 2003, AmericanMuscle quickly rose to be one of the leading aftermarket Mustang parts providers in the business. With the addition of Challenger in 2018, AmericanMuscle provides the most sought-after parts, accessories, and fast shipping. Located just outside of Philadelphia, AmericanMuscle is dedicated to offering the Mustang and Challenger communities with the highest level of customer service. Please visit https://www.AmericanMuscle.com for more information.