The Mustang Club of Tampa hosted its annual gathering on a Ford dealer lot
By Steve Turner
In Florida there’s nothing like a car show to enjoy on a Fall afternoon. There are no worries about frigid temperatures or snow, and it’s great to peruse rows of Mustangs on a cool day. After meeting several of its members during a tour of BMR Suspension, the Mustang Club of Tampa invited us to check out its annual Mustang, Shelby & Ford Roundup last weekend.
There are plenty of rare variations of Mustang out there, but when it comes to the SN-95 range of SVTs, only the Cobra Rs are rarer than this 1995 Cobra. It’s not just any Cobra. This black convertible is one of 499 sold with a removable hardtop, and it looked like a new car sitting on the dealer lot.
Though it felt more like summer than fall, the club had a great spot at Bill Currie Ford—a Blue Oval dealer located near Tampa Stadium where the Buccaneers play—for its annual show on November 7. The show was put on in concert with the dealer’s annual Currie Cares event designed to benefit the Tijuana Flats Just In Queso Foundation, which provides aid to individuals, organizations and communities in times of tragedy.
Among the cars entered in the specialty classes was Jerry Morehead’s 2007 Foose Stallion. These customized Mustangs were built by Unique Performance with the blessing and guidance of Chip Foose, and include unique wheels, bodywork, and more. A Whipple supercharger tops the Three-Valve 4.6 under the hood of Jerry’s Mustang, so the upgrades are more than aesthetic.
As a result, show participants and spectators enjoyed some free food from Tijuana Flats, while checking out the vehicles entered in 21 judged classes and a display-only class. About half the classes were dedicated to stock vehicles, while the remaining classes were right up our alley, as they were earmarked for modified and specialty rides.
Your scribe loved seeing the wide variety of Mustangs at the show, especially the strong showing of clean Foxes, so we thought we would share a few of our favorites here. For more from the show, be sure to check out the gallery below.
Back in the day, Special Service Foxes were all the rage at state auctions. Most had their regalia and law enforcement hardware removed before being sold, but that was just fine for people looking to score a lightweight coupe to modify. Tom Hartwig’s 1989 Trooper car looks like it’s still ready to chase down speeders. Thanks to a few mods, including underdrive pulleys, this Fox put down 324 horsepower and 343 lb-ft of torque on VMP Tuning’s Dynojet.We’d definitely like to see more S550s like this one on dealer lots. Looking menacing with matte-black stripes, Justin Jett’s Performance Pack-equipped 2015 Mustang GT is also upgraded with the Ford Performance Parts supercharger system, which puts its power well over 600 at the flywheel.When the Terminator hit the streets in the early 2000s, it took all your author’s fortitude to resist the siren’s song of a silver 2003 Cobra. Michael Honer’s example instantly grabbed the attention of our camera thanks to the Kenne Bell Twin Screw blower lurking under the hood.
