A little bit of history repeating
Like most of you, I caught the muscle car disease as a teen and managed to put away a pretty good bank roll from flippin burgers during high school in the late 1980's. My dad was the original owner of a 1966 mustang coupe and he agreed to give me the car if I restored it. It was pretty rusty, but in the end it turned out to be a very nice ride for a 16 year old. I sold it when I graduated from university, but I spent years dreaming of building another one. I kept a file of all the things I wanted for my next project, mostly from the gazillion car magazines I read. After a pretty good health scare and my 30th birthday, I figured there might not be a tomorrow. So, I started my next project.

Off to a really bad start
I know a lot about cars, but I am the first to admit I am no Mark Stielow or Liz Miles when it comes to skills. Oh sure, I learned quite a bit from my high school stang, and even did the brakes, changed out the rear-end and stuff, but what I had in mind went way beyond my abilities. In fact, it would be hard enough to find a Pro with the right skills in Toronto. I ended up buying a rusty (surprise!) 1965 6 cylinder fastback off e-bay for $5,000 in February 2002. I had my shop choices narrowed down to two: Legendary Motorcar (Dream Car garage before they were on TV) and the Guild of Automotive Restorers. I went with the Guild, and boy did I choose wrong!!!

Let the suffering begin
I guess I had forgotten all the problems I had with my high school stang because this project was going to make that car look like an elementary school science fair. By the time I yanked my stang from the Guild, the metalwork was complete and the suspension was on, but my bank account looked like Ken Shamrock after he went three rounds with Tito Ortiz in the octagon. I almost bailed on the whole project, but my wife was supportive, and by fluke I found Bill Snow of Snow's Hot Rod's. Bill is a Chevy guy, but I took one look at the LS1 powered 1937 Ford convertible he was finishing and I knew I had come to the right place. He agreed to take on my project, and in June of 2003 Paladin was on his doorstep.

Plan the work, work the plan
I would never lay claim to be the first guy to build a g-machine mustang, but back in 2002 Eleanor was still the stuff of movies. What I wanted Paladin to be was the whole package, basically a 1965 mustang on the outside, but with the performance and sophistication underneath to go toe to toe with a new corvette. As I mentioned before, I am not too handy with a wrench, but I know a few things about design, and Bill thought most of my ideas were good and doable. I would bring him parts as required and save him the time from tracking things down. Believe me, I now have a PHD in Mustang parts acquisition, and alot of stuff can go wrong between the catalog and your house.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Once Bill had fixed all of the Guild's mistakes he started fabricating some pretty cool stuff. I was impressed with the cold air intake he made, and his attention to detail, like filling factory holes in the frame rails. However, when he fabricated my console and modified my dash, I was blown away. My dream was coming to reality, and I sat in the car for three hours that day, shifting gears and making engine noises. Unfortunately, the car gods decided things were going to well for me and they unleashed the car demons upon Paladin. The car fought us every step of the way after that, and I could write a book about the problems Bill had getting the car finished. I was at the end of my rope (and credit line!) by the time the car was finished in September 2005, and I think Bill was pretty glad to see me and Paladin go as well.

All's well that ends well
I must say: after nearly four years of build time, twice my original budget, and more problems, trouble, and headaches than a military campaign in Iraq, Paladin turned out pretty damn good. There were very few problems to de-bug (ignition module, suspension tuning, clutch pedal, and stereo!) and the car drives great. It lived up to my every expectation. It is reliable, comfortable, stops on a dime, quick (for a Ford!), gets decent mileage, and looks mean. I will never forget the day I brought the car down to my office on Bay St. (Toronto's equivalent of Wall St.) Finally, all my colleagues that had asked me when this damn thing was going to be finished got to see it. I mean, these are brie and BMW types, but I felt like a friggin' rock star when a crowd of about 50 people gathered around Paladin asking me questions and oohing and ahhing. That made it all worth it.


Lateral-g.net:   How did you pick the color?
Ian Farrell:  A few reasons, mainly process of elimination. Red, Yellow, and orange don't suit my personality. I had a green car (highschool). Silver and black stripes looks like Eleanor. I think Black and chrome looks awesome, and the Mazda RX-8 titanium metallic was a good accent color. The look is subtle, and will never look dated.

LGN:  Where did the name Paladin come from?
Ian:  I always liked how Troy Trepanier names all his projects, but it wasn't easy to come up with something original. All the horsey names have been used. The word Paladin is ancient and means "one who lives in the Palace or is close to the king." (on a chessboard only the bishop is closer, but the knight is the most versatile) It was applied particularly to the 12 closest followers of the great King Charlemagne who reigned in France from 768 to 814. Subsequently, the word came to mean a truly noble knight who fought for right, not his own interests. Plus if ya spend six figures + on a car, you should name it.

LGN:  Ok, so what about the GT 40-X lettering in the side stripe?
Ian:  We removed all the engine badges, but I wanted to give a hint of what was under the hood. Seeing as it was a 302 crate motor with the GT 40 X heads, but I put the dash in between the 40 and the X because Ford had the AFX program in the 60's ( A factory experimental) and I thought if they ever made a mustang based off a GT 40 (eXperimental) it would be something like this.

LGN:  You talked about what you like best about the car, any gripes so far?
Ian:  Sometimes I wish I had power steering, but not enough to add it. Driving at a steady 70 mph + cabin noise is a little loud. The hooker max flow mufflers at full wail (6,000 rpm) will drown out a Harley. I need stickier tires. Maybe one out of 5 tries I get a perfect launch to maximize 0-60, otherwise the all wheel drive WRX's will eat me alive.

LGN:  Have you put Paladin in any car shows?
Ian:  Last year I put it in speed-o-rama (indoor) and a few of the bigger local car shows. The car has won quite a few awards, but I admit car shows are pretty much political bulls**t and the competition here is nowhere near what it is in the U.S. I really like meeting people though, and talking about the build process.

LGN:  Have you run Paladin on a race track yet?
Ian:   I have only put about 3,000 miles on the car, and I haven't run it down the quarter mile yet. However, I did take it to the short track ( one mile ) at Mosport where an instructor ran it pretty hard for a few laps. It did well and nothing broke, which is great! Last year was about showing and 2007 is about going, starting with the Hot Rod power tour. I will be on tour for the first three cities. I hope a lot of Lateral-g members will be attending and I look forward to talking with everyone!!

LGN:  Sounds like your build was pretty difficult in more ways than one. Any advice you would give to our members building a project?
Ian: Absolutely!!  Check out anyone that works on your car thoroughly. Do not rush. Talk to their previous customers. Listen to your gut if things start to go sour.
Research parts very carefully. When you start modifying a car significantly (Paladin has no stock mechanical parts!) its a domino effect of incompatibility. Plan many steps ahead, its the simple (but essential ) things that will kill ya!  Whether you have a $50,000 budget or $500,000 budget maintain balance. That means no part of the car (good or bad) should stand out (unless you are building a show-only car for shock value). How many times have you gone to car shows and said "nice paint, but the wheels are wrong" or " the shifter belongs in my grandma's car" got to maintain balance. I looked at 100's of car stereos to find one that had the brushed aluminum look to match my door handles, a/c knobs and vents, and power window switches.

Pay attention to details. Before I met Bill I used to focus on content (engine, wheels, interior, etc.) and not execution. Now if I see a car with a chromed out big-block, but the firewall is riddled with pinholes and a chewed up wiring harness, it just takes away completely from the engine.

This is related to number four and three, but you need a theme and stick to it. I think SEMA cars now (2006) are too much about content and not enough about the theme or design. Everything has 1,000 hp twin turbos, 6 speed, 20inch rims, race suspension, 15 inch brakes, and a 500,000 watt entertainment center, but few have a good overall theme to pull all that content together. I think the street roddification of muscle cars still has a long way to go, and you can get great ideas from that genre.

Tech Sheet:

Body and Paint:  Shelby hood and side scoops, TCP frame connectors, modified rear valance, smoothed firewall, custom inner fenders, rad support widened and custom hoodlatch, rolled fender lips, boxed struts frame rails and floor pans smoothed, mercedes undercoating and lizard skin sound deadener Sikkens Midnight black and Mazda RX-8 titanium metallic paint. wet sanded, polished and buffed

Engine: Modified FRPP 302 GT-40 X crate motor Vortech Supercharged. TFS intake, MSD ignition Be Cool Custom Rad, March serpentine pulleys, hidden wiring BBK headers and full ceramic coating exhaust 16 gallon fuel cell, walbro electric pump, 42 lb. injectors Custom Sct chip and dyno tuned
477 RWHP and 441 lb. ft. @ 6,000 RPM at 10 psi boost

Trans: Tremec TKO 5 Spd, centerforce dual friction clutch, lakewood scattershield

Front Suspension:  R&C motorsports Mustang II rack and pinion steering with tubular A- Arms, 2 inch drop spindles, and Aldan eagle adjustable coil-overs.
Rear Suspension:  CTM engineering T-5 IRS prototype with adjustable coilovers, Dana 44 rear, Auburn posi, 3.70:1 gears.

Brakes:  Baer Eradispeed Rotors 13" slotted front and 12" rear with PBR calipers

Wheels:  Budnik Arrow 17x7 front and 18x9 rear
Tires:  BF goodrich g-force kd 225/45/17 front and 275/40/18 rear

Interior: Modified dash and custom all steel console, Flaming river tilt column and Colorado Custom 'paradox' wheel.  Billet Gauge cluster and autometer carbon fiber gauges.  Vintage Air a/c, Power windows, all billet hardware.  JVC arsenal cd player, soundstream 840 watt amp, 6 clarion speakers, xm radio.  Custom wilton wool carpet, leather and ultra-suede seats, molded ultra-suede headliner, custom door and sail panels.  Street rod style carpeted trunk with Amp board and hidden battery