Robert Vasquez: Ringbrothers’ 1965 Ford Mustang Twins Are Fraternal Yet Equally Amazing

Friday, November 6, 2015

Ringbrothers’ 1965 Ford Mustang Twins Are Fraternal Yet Equally Amazing

-At risk of sounding unappreciative, we must acknowledge that, much like low-cut tops, jorts, camouflage hats, and way, way, way too many freaking people, Wisconsin-based Ringbrothers are becoming an annual staple at the SEMA show. Similar to the exposed-cleavage situation, this is a very good thing, for the shop turns out ever-more-glorious customs, and this year was no different—except that it was. That’s because Ringbrothers brought not one but two wild 1965 Ford Mustang–based creations to Las Vegas, and both caused momentary jaw failure.

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1965 Ford Mustang “Espionage”

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We are fairly confident no successful spy would ever dream of using Ringbrothers’ “Espionage” ’65 Mustang for any on-the-job transportation needs, but then again, Bond manages to fly under the radar in an Aston, so maybe we don’t know what we’re talking about. The special Stang’s name actually is derived from its impossibly rich Spy Green paint color. Oh, and it’s probably worth mentioning that although the underlying frame and body structure was donated by an actual 1965 Ford Mustang, everything else is carbon fiber, from the roof down to the rocker panels. (In fact, the very same goodies can be purchased in kit form from Ringbrothers for your own project.) The body is four inches wider than stock, and it’s festooned with various billet-aluminum trim pieces that Ringbrothers also sells.

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Being nearly entirely custom inside and out, the Espionage impresses with its attention to detail, from the reimagined cabin with its retro-functional Recaro seats, machined-aluminum trim, and Momo steering wheel to little exterior flourishes such as the retro-styled carbon-fiber door mirror and the C-pillar-mounted fuel cap. Under the hood—and this may surprise some folks—sits a 959-hp 427-cubic-inch, Whipple-supercharged GM LS7 engine feeding power to a Ford nine-inch rear end via a six-speed manual transmission. A Chevy engine in a postwar Ford? What is this world coming to?

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1965 Ford Mustang “Splitr”

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We’ll get it out of the way first: The Splitr is Ford-powered. Also, while the Splitr lacks the Espionage’s carbon-fiber body, it nonetheless was subjected to lots of sheetmetal work that resulted in lower rocker panels that also were extended all the way to the front wheel openings (requiring the fenders be trimmed) as well as a similarly extended treatment to the rear fascia. The new metal tucks up under the Mustang and hooks up to a smoothed-over underbody.

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More metalwork was applied to the engine bay to make room for a 427-cubic-inch Ford Racing crate motor tuned by Wegner Motorsports. It sits on a Detroit Speed aluminum front cradle and suspension and is fed by one of the coolest intakes we’ve ever seen. Fabricated from aluminum and clear Lexan, the intake manifold offers up a full view down the throttle body. As in the Espionage, power is fed to the Ford nine-inch rear end by way of a Tremec six-speed manual, and again Detroit Speed suspension components support the rear. Unlike the bruiser Espionage, the Splitr has a retro racer feel, although curiously, it comes with an audio system, while its brother’s only speaker is its V-8.

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