FOR LIFE - Rob Meisch

Story: George Pich Photos: Randy Pugh

That’s right, we said “7-second Mustang”!

And yes, it still packs a Ford small block between the frame rails, and one more thing, it is still street driven! Sounds like the perfect Fox Body build.

Rob Meisch decided in the fall of 1993 that he wanted to buy a new car. Of course the impact of Ford’s 1979 to 1993 Mustang platform, in particular the addition of the roller 5.0L for ’85 and up, had a solid grip on performance enthusiasts everywhere. What else could you buy for under 20 grand that was so much fun to drive and would

The slick chameleon paint work with flames was done way back in 1996, yet still looks fresh. A cowl hood is the only non-Ford panel on the car, and headlight covers (very big in the 1990s) are painted to match, too.

The interior also retains its stock look with the factory dash and trim panels. A custom fabricated cage, race seats with RJS harnesses, analogue gauges, including the big-face Monster Tach, along with a TCI shifter and electronics mounted on the custom topped console have been installed to help Rob reach those 7-second ETs, and do so safely.

pound out 14-second ETs at will on any given Friday night, not to mention dust most anything else light to light.

Meisch opted for the 1993 over the newly released 1994 body style and wanted something fairly specific, “I wanted a black with black interior combination, but with the 1979 to 93 body style production ending, at that time of year there was only a white notchback and a red GT available. Not being crazy about either color I was giving up and was going

to buy an F150 instead.” So that’s it, Rob had thrown in the towel and was opting out of the Fox Body craze, that is until he got a call from his sales rep. “My sales guy called me that weekend and said that someone ordered a black LX and canceled the order. I told him I’d take it! Then he called again and said it had a black interior, I told him again that I definitely wanted it.” After a little digging, Rob came to find out that it was actually the last black with black interior 5-speed ’93 sold in Ohio. The next

weekend Meisch was in the driver seat and we don’t have to tell you what happened from there. Just like so many others, he loved it! Unfortunately by that time the Ohio winter was coming and the car went into storage, but not before Rob could bang some gears and wear some meat off those

Gatorback tires. When spring hit, Rob hit the dragstrip for the first time, entering the Stock class at Norwalk Raceway Park. He showed up at 7AM as the cars piled in and, of course, there were more Fox Body Mustangs than you could count, but by 6AM the next day Meisch

It was actually the last black with black interior 5-speed ’93 sold in Ohio...

See the LX in action!

had won the class! “The car was bone stock and ran 15 flat at 111mph,” he said with smile “The funny part was that I left a note on the fridge for my wife saying ‘going to Norwalk to race and coming home with first place’. Who would have thought? She even still has the note today!” Rob was seriously

hooked now, so obviously the mods started to happen.

A supercharger, cam and set of heads found their way onto the original 5.0L, but by 2014 Rob wanted more. “I jumped into the deep end,” he said. That “deep end” would start with a new Bennett Racing Engines 445-inch small block

Rob believes in keeping his Ford all Ford and had Bennett Racing Engines create a mystery-inch (he just wouldn’t tell us) small block Ford based on a Dart Iron Eagle block.

Ford equipped with a GT4788 turbo. Rob enlisted the help of a close friend for the build and they added a TH400 transmission and Big Stuff 3 EFI, and the very first pass on that setup with a safe tune netted a 9.05 at 164mph. “I was beyond pumped! The following year I took my com-

petition license and raced in some local heads-up series and started racing no-prep style events.”

Not only was Rob now completely under the spell of boosted power and heads-up drags, but after 3 years of flogging that combo to a best of 8.33 and 165mph in the 1/4,

he still wanted more. So once the motor agreed with Rob (it kicked a rod), he discussed his new plans with Bennett Racing. A new custom small block Ford (of undisclosed dimensions) was built and the turbo upgraded to a Garrett GTX5533r 94mm. To date, that new combina-

A Garrett GTX5533r 94mm turbo with a 140 hot side adds boost the SBF.

Meisch’s 1993 Ford Mustang LX Street/Strip

Chassis: Factory frame, connected and mini tubbed. Certified cage.

Body: The car was purchased new and has 28,000 original miles on it. All original body with fiberglass cowl hood. Custom color change and tribal flames painted in 1996.

Suspension: Front suspension is Team Z K-member with 1 inch shorter control arms. Strange Engineering brakes and shocks. Rear suspension is Team Z upper control arms with custom made lower arms, Team Z anti-roll bar, Afco custom valved Big Gun shocks.

Engine: Bennett Racing 4xx SBF. Dart Iron Eagle block, Callies crank, Diamond pistons, custom cam, Trick Flow heads, Jesel rockers, titanium valves. Intake is an Edelbrock lower with a Wilson Manifolds upper elbow and throttle body.

Fuel system is an Aeromotive brushless pump with their filters and a Magnafuel regulator. Edelbrock fuel rails hold Holley fuel injectors.

Power Adder: Garrett GTX5533r 94mm turbo with a 140 hot side.

Transmission: TH400 with Rossler internals built by Janis Transmissions, converter is custom built by PTC.

Rearend:

8.8 custom built with Moser 35 spline axles and spool with 3.55 gears. It has been shortened and braced by Daren Kravec at Tank Fab.

Wheels

& Tires:

RC Comp wheels front and back with Mickey Thompson tires.

Interior: Kirkey seats with RJS 5pt harnesses, stock dash with Autometer gauges, MSD Digital 6, Big Stuff3 EFI tuned by Patrick Barnhill, ams1000 boost controller, Davis Technologies bump box, TCI Outlaw shifter, custom made parachute handle and center console.

Best Performance:

“The car has been 7’s at over 184mph so far in the ¼-mile but I mainly do 1/8-mile no prep/no-time so I’m not gonna tell you what it does there.”

Thanks to:

“DEI, Afco Racing, Bennett Racing Engines, PTC, RC Comp wheels, Janis Transmissions, Tank Fab, Stripper Glitter Traction Compound. Thanks also to the people who have helped; Mike Martyn, Paul Nadeau, Vince Janis (Janis Transmission), Daren Kravec (Tank Fab), Jon Bennett (Bennett Racing Engines), Tony Bumpus (RC Comp Wheels), Patrick Barnhill (Tuning), Eric Saffell (Afco Racing Shocks), Will Farkas (DEI Engineering), James, Mike, Chris (Guys at Stripper Glitter Traction Compound), Kyle Dobbins, Josh Willams, and others that have helped me, but mainly to my mom and my dad for all the support they have given me.”

Rob

tion has netted 7.84 at 178mph on a medium tune with the clocks on, so you can bet there’s a lot more in it. These days Meisch runs mostly notime no-prep style races so we can’t blame him for not giving more details on what “a lot more” actually means as you never know who will be reading this. Since the car is completely street legal (and driven) you might also see the cool tribal flamed Stang at most any type of “King Of The Street or “True Street” event where Rob can prove it’s street worthiness; “the car is completely street legal and I do drive it to work and car shows frequently,” he added.

Bodywise, the Mustang is all Ford except for the ’glass cowl hood, and the color change with cool flames was painted way back in 1996. Meisch also kept as much original stuff inside as well, retaining the OEM dash, interior panels, a modified factory console and even the factory steering wheel. A certified cage, painted to match the body, snakes through the

interior and a TCI billet shifter now sits where the 5-speed stick once was. The requisite 1990s Monster Tach was installed years back along with additional analogue gauges and even the factory fold-down back seat is still intact should anyone opt for a ride. So, as you can see, this is definitely no lightweight stripped to the bones Mustang, instead it comes by its 7-second ETs honestly.

That Bennett mill started with a

Dart with Iron Eagle block and was filled with a Callies crank, Diamond pistons and custom cam. Trick Flow heads are equipped with titanium valves and Jesel rockers and an Edelbrock lower intake is topped with a Wilson Manifolds upper elbow and throttle body.

Backing the turbo’d small block is a TH400 built by Janis Transmissions with Rossler internals and a custom built PTC converter. The heavily fortified factory 8.8 rear diff was shortened and braced by Daren Kravec at Tank Fab (who also did the mini tub) and is packed with Moser 35 spline axles and spool with 3.55 gears.

“I call the car Baba Yaga as it has a serious attitude, but also huge sentimental value to me,” Meisch continued. “I lost my grandmother before buying this car and she would have loved to have seen me in it. This car has her attitude and I will never sell it. It will go to the grave with me, but I would give it back just to get her back.” RPM