Hot Rods by JSK Transforms Mom’s Original 1966 Mustang into a Supercharged Street Machine
When a car stays in the original owner’s family for nearly 60 years, there are bound to be a wealth of stories. In the case of the Johnston family’s 1966 Mustang, the car passed from mom and dad to son Jay. Consider: His mom bought the coupe the year after her high school graduation. His parents drove the car on their honeymoon; Jay was carried home from the hospital in it.
After 18 years and thousands of miles as a daily driver, the six-cylinder automatic Mustang was passed to Jay on his 15th birthday, where the first restoration attempt began. “My dad, brothers, and friends helped me,” he says. “Using scrap sheet metal, a few boxes of rivets and some Bondo, we patched up the floor pans and repaired the rust spots on the body.” A failed engine rebuild by a local mechanic relegated the 1966 Mustang to the storage shed.
Jay finally was able to drive a Mustang, just not his, when he met his future wife and she let him drive her V8-powered ’65. After their big day, her car was their daily driver. Years passed; Jay’s Mustang hibernated in his brother’s garage as well as his in-laws’ pasture.
When the time came to turn his car into a drivable street machine, Jay reached out to Jeff Kinsey at Hot Rods by JSK. Jeff and his team began the rebuild by ordering up a Roadster Shop Fast Track Stage III chassis and components, and then outfitting it with a supercharged Edelbrock 5.0-liter Coyote V8 mated to a Tremec T-56 six-speed transmission.
The substantial work on the body included fabricated floor pans, reshaped wheel openings, hand-formed inner fender panels, and a custom core support. The stock cowl was removed and rebuilt to make room for the Coyote. A new hood that extends to the base of the windshield is comprised of a ’69 Boss bottom piece because it lines up with the supercharger while the top skin and scoop were hand fabricated. The rear of the car was also reshaped with a custom tail panel, taillights, and subtle integrated spoiler. A custom color – Pandemic Blue – covers the Mustang except for the satin black hood and rear panel.
The enhanced interior is the work of JSK’s team as well as Dan Baker of Alumicraft, who supplied the one-off gauge bezels and dash inserts that house custom Classic Instruments units. Brown Relicate leather was applied to reworked stock seats by X-Titch of Euless, Texas.
Sixty years later, Jay’s 1966 Mustang is no longer his Mom’s sleepy six-cylinder coupe, but a rowdy and ready street machine that’s raring to gallop down the highway. Giddy up!
Photos: John Jackson, Damon Lee
