The 5.0 Coyote platform Ford uses in its Mustang and F150 trucks has been out for ten years now, spanning three generations of factory offerings.
The 5.0 Coyote platform Ford uses in its Mustang and F150 trucks has been out for ten years now, spanning three generations of factory offerings.
When it comes to making power and going fast, many heavy hitters have evolved along with the Coyote, and guys like Anthony Ballard, the owner of Signature Speed, have even built a business around them.
After his first car, a 1979 Indy Pace Car Mustang, and then a slew of various other Mustangs, Ballard originally bought this 2014 GT just to have some fun and, you know, install a few bolton parts to see what he could squeeze out of it. We all know how that goes, though, and he eventually kicked it up to a whole new level. Over the last
started off as a cool street car to play with and bolt a few parts on to see what he could squeeze out of it. Now, with over 1,700 wheel horsepower, it is a 7-second LS Killer on the strip!
This is it, and it’s not a Chevy motor stuck in a Mustang. The “heartbeat” of this Mustang pumps solid blue blood via a tricked out Ford Coyote motor with nearly invisible twin turbochargers. The initial underhood experience looks like a factory install, that is until you see the cool jewel-like Plazmaman intake and little nuances like the blow-off valve location.
seven years the GT has been through many alterations. Starting with some giggle gas, Anthony would move on to a few different superchargers and then into a single turbo setup, and many of these combinations put Signature Speed on the map by setting a few records, but we’ll get to that later. It took 7 years for the build and interestingly, Anthony has never had the notion of going full race car, instead, “the Guillotine” as it is known, is a streetable car through and through,
still sporting the entire interior, radio, and almost all the com ponents it came with from the factory. Of course, there were changes needed for safety along with certain mods that needed to be done to ensure the car is serviceable between rounds at the dragstrip, but for the most part, the car’s original body, in terior and much of the chassis remain intact.
Inside, the Mustang looks like it did when it came from the factory other than the fact that Anthony now sits in a rac
Ah ha, what’s this...?
Again, at first glance it looks factory, but on top of the trick tubular K member and additional suspension goodies, there seems to be two circular type objects mounted under the car…but how! Twin turbos are mounted low due to the efforts of Hot Rod Dynamics fitting a 2015 front undercarriage into the 2014 car.
ing seat and the passenger seat got the axe in favor of a cooler for ice to help keep the intake air temperatures down. A Boost Leash controller and Ngauge pod are within arm’s reach, and he has the trans brake button mounted right on the steering wheel. A 10-point cage surrounds the interior to keep Ballard safe.
The Coyote engine platform has turned out to be quite impressive, especially under pressure, forced pressure, if you know what we mean. There are many turbo Coyotes out there, both single and twin, that make serious power, however, the Guillotine’s snails mount under the car. Hot Rod Dynamics built the system tucked low using Precision Turbo 68/70s and coated it all in heat-absorbing material to reduce heat. This is a sizeable undertaking on an S197 chassis (2011-2014 models) as there’s sim-
ply not enough room to run lower-mounted turbos, however, on the 2015 and up S500 cars you can go low. So the guys at HRD worked their magic and converted the entire front suspension over to the newer design to free up space. “The Guillotine is the only S197 in the world with a setup like this,” Ballard explained. “Without that you can’t run the bottom mount turbos.”
The motor isn’t your average Coyote, either. TKM Performance and RPG’s Coyote knowhow started the build process with a stock block, sleeved and machined to a 3.70 bore. A Winberg stroker crank swings Manley rods and the cubes now sit around 315ci. Due to their larger valve size
and better flow dynamics, a pair of ported Ford Boss heads were chosen over the stock GT castings. COMP Stage 3 naturally aspirated cams replace the stockers. One benefit of the Coyote is the variable valve timing, but in higher horsepower builds the feature starts to hurt potential gains, so in the Guillotine’s case, the cams stay “locked out”.
The twin turbochargers feed air into the 315ci through a Plazmaman intake manifold and a pair of Fore Innovations TI 285 pumps supply E-85 fuel through Injector Dynamics ID2600s fuel injectors. Although it makes any potential street cruising short and sweet, a trunk mounted 5-gallon fuel
cell is used to conserve weight. With the help of Lund Racing, through the factory PCM, Anthony’s GT makes a staggering 1700whp at 35psi on his dyno, which would have been a tick or two higher had it not spun the tires. The rest of the drivetrain is just as robust, starting with the transmission. Signature Speed got its name from many sources, but one
of them is their 6r80 transmission builds, so it’s only natural that Anthony runs the best of the best he can offer to his customers in the shop car. A custom spec converter from Circle D merges the two. Out back, the GT has the factory 8.8 but it is braced and running a Strange spool, 35 spline axles, c-clip eliminators, and 3.08 gear. BMR upper and lower control
It’s mostly factory inside the Mustang except for the 10-point cage, race seat, ice box and a few other incidentals.
arms, anti-roll bar, and relocation brackets hold the axle in place. TBM Brakes finish off the beefed-up 8.8, providing excellent stopping power at over 180mph.
As mentioned, the entire front suspension is from an S550 Mustang, so all the matching BMR goodies reside there, as well, from the
K-member to arms. Viking shocks and BMR springs sit on all four corners.
Externally, most of the car remains stock. The factory paint is one of my favorites, Deep Impact Blue. The Harwood 3-inch cowl hood and GT500 spoiler tie in with the car exceptionally well. Anthony’s wheel of choice
flows evenly with the Mustang, too, going with Billet Specialties Comps on all four corners, running a 17-inch skinny in the front and a 15x10 in the rear, all wrapped in Mickey Thompson rubber.
Some of Ballard’s fondest memories have been the records
set in this car. First, he went 8.67 at 157mph, making it the TVS (Twin Vortices Series) supercharger record holder, then, when he moved into a 2.9 Whipple blower, he set a record with the 6r80 trans going 8.26 at 167. Once a single turbo kit combination was built, Antho-
Anthony Ballard’s Twin Turbo 2014 Ford Mustang GT
Body & Paint:
Deep Impact Blue
Chassis & Suspension/Modifications:
Full BMR along with Viking coilovers in the front and Viking shocks in the rear.
Engine:
TKM/RPG built engine. Roughly 315 CI Coyote engine. Billet stroker crank, Manley rods and pistons, 3.70 bore, ported boss Mustang heads w/Ferrea valves. Stage 3 Comp cam NA cams (locked out), Plazamaman intake, stock throttle body.
Power Adder:
Custom twin turbo, using Precision turbochargers.
Induction & Fuel Delivery:
Fore Innovations triple TI Auto 285 pumps.
Electronics:
Stock PCM
Transmission:
Factory 6r80 built by Signature Speed with a Circle D converter.
Rearend: Factory 8.8 that’s been braced and running a 3.08 rear gear with a Strange spool, 35 spline axles and C-clip eliminators.
Brakes: TBM
Tires & Wheels: Billet Specialties 17×4.5 front and 15×10 rears. 275/60/15 MT Pro radials.
Interior: Full interior, mostly stock with a race seat.
ET & MPH – Race only: 7.58 at 180mph quarter-mile.
Thanks To:
John Lund/Lund Racing for the tuning, Kelly Aiken with BMR for suspension, Daniel Otway for 6r80 innovations, TKM Performance and RPG Race Engines for the engine.
ny would hold a record with a 7.89 at 175mph quarter-mile hit. Now, with the custom low-mounted twins, he continues to hold the 6r80-equipped record, going 7.58 at 180!
While Anthony has a few ponies in his stable; from a 540whp 1990 GT to a 1040whp 2018, and his newest addition a 950whp 2020 GT500, the Guillotine is by far his prized possession. Oh and by the way, LS guys beware – that 7.58 pass was on 27psi and the combination is good to make passes with 40psi...’nuff said!
