Once again, work done by DVS Restorations here in Crawfordsville is getting national acclaim.
In the April issue of Mustang Monthly the 1968 Mustang/1999 Cobra has been named one of the 45 Most Significant Mustangs of all time by Donald Farr, editor of the magazine. The total 45 Mustangs of all time were named in conjunction with this being the 45th anniversary of the vehicle.
Only one other American icon - the convertible - has lasted longer than the 45 years of the Mustang.
To refresh your memory, Dave Stribling and his crew took the body of a 1968 Mustang and mated it with the chassis of a 1999 Cobra along with a 4.6L drivetrain. It was voted No. 37 on the list.
"Of all the projects I have ever worked on this was probably my favorite because this was my fantasy car," Stribling said. "What I really liked about it was it's quite a car to look at but it's very drivable and practical. I was lucky enough to find someone else who had the same idea and wanted me to make it for him."
Stribling originally built the car for someone in Chicago. When that person said he didn't have time to enjoy it he sold it to a person who lives in Montgomery County.
That couldn't have made Stribling any happier.
"I love seeing that vehicle drive down the street," he said. "I just sit back and grin ear-to-ear knowing that my guys and I were able to build something like that. I am also so happy that the current owner drives it. I want my work to be on display and not stored in a storage unit or in a museum."
On occasion, Stribling now gets to drive the vehicle.
"Now that it is back in town, we are continuing to modify some little things on it," he said. "That gives me a chance to see it every once in a while and that makes us all happy."
The honor came as a bit of a shock for Stribling and DVS.
"I saw Donald at a show in Indy in March and he told me then about we had made the list," Stribling said. "I was ecstatic. The honor of being one of the top 45 Mustangs of all-time came as quite a shock. And to come from someone like Donald Farr who is the utmost expert on Mustangs means quite a bit."
The extra exposure has also helped drum up a little extra business.
"It also has some benefits," Stribling said. "People see your work and contact you and so that has helped. It also helped when we took the car to a national show last year. The economy is tough, but the people who really love their cars still want something special. They want us to keep the cost down so we aren't doing some of the over-the-top stuff, but we are keeping pretty busy."
In fact, Stribling will be bringing on board a new employee and is possibly looking to move his operations to a bigger facility.
While the recognition of a past project is great, Stribling and co-workers Kevin Coffer and Tad Borowski don't have a lot of time dwell on it. As of Monday afternoon, they were working on four new projects and will be getting a fifth one today. According to Stribling other projects are on the waiting list.
One of the new projects is the Boss 302 project. Stribling calls it the MOAB - Mother of All Bosses.
They team has taken a limited production 302 Boss muscle car and have given it an over-the-top engine.
"We are doing things to this car that have never been done before," Stribling said. "And we are making it all fit under the hood. That was very challenging."
Because they are using a limited production Boss 302, they are not cutting anything so if the owner wants to restore the car to its original status he can. But for now the vehicle is going to be "something to see."
"This is so different from the '68 Mustang project," Stribling said. "This is going to be an over-the-top vehicle. There is no real practical side to this one. It is meant to show off."
Still, Stribling sees similarities in them - and all of his projects.
"What I love the most about this type of work is that fact I really makes you think how to make something old into something new," he said. "I am basically doing the same thing I did when I was working at Alcoa. Engineers would come in and say 'make this work.' That's what I do here. I have a vehicle and I have to try to make it work. It's the thrill of seeing if I can make that happen than makes coming to work such a joy every day."
Of course, a little national exposure now and then doesn't hurt either.
The new project is expected to be shown off for the first time at the 30th annual Mustang and All Ford Show at O'Reilly Raceway Park which runs from June 5-7.
"We have a lot of work to do between now and then," Stribling said. "The all aluminum engine has to be torn down and buffed. That will take someone a long time to do. We won't get a lot of sleep between now and then."
Following that event the new Boss 302 will be on display in Omaha, at a national trade show later this summer.
The new project is also previewed in this month's Mustang and Fords magazine which hits the newsstands today.
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