Beaver Springs Dragway – Of all the flash, style, or character that attracts one to a particular car, I have to confess the main thing that drew me to the ’87 Fox body Mustang of Bryan Parsons from Williamsport, PA, wasn’t the roar of the engine, or the paint, but the simple, magnificence of the burnouts this car produces. The billowing smoke just seemed to have a life all its’ own and was a consistent show each and every time. And that’s why you’ll find more burnout pics with this story than usual.

The engine in this beast is an all-aluminum 547 cu.in. with a Venom intake and AFR ported heads. Deep within the heart of the engine resides a Molnar crankshaft and Molnar connecting rods to go along with a custom solid roller camshaft. All of those engine mechanicals are backed up by a Turbo 400 transmission and a Racecraft 9-inch rear end. To add a little more power, there is an Induction Solutions dry nitrous plate (that Bryan hasn’t actually used just yet). Fuel is handled by a Holly EFI Dominator ECU. To keep the engine oil going to all the right places, the engine also incorporates a dry sump oil system.

This car is practically a part of Bryan’s family as he has owned it for 30 years, although he’s quick to point out those 30 years have seen a whole lot of different engine combinations.

The paint on the car looks like new, but it was actually painted in ’02 and has held up remarkably well, although Parsons admits with a chuckle that it doesn’t go out much. He has always held a special appreciation for the fox body cars, having owned several besides this one, but this is the one he couldn’t let go of. He did miss a few years of seat time after retiring from the army and going to college afterward, but it was during his college time the new engine was being built for it with Parsons adding, “finally worked all the bugs out of it over the last year and a half.” For those of you keeping score at home and wondering what kind of ‘bugs’ might have been encountered, Parsons has diagnosed and overcome issues he not-so-fondly recalls by explaining, “This thing had gremlins. There were electrical gremlins, charging gremlins, switch panel gremlins, oil pump gremlins, the O2 Sensors readings; that’s why I had to put the bull horn’s on it so it reads the O2 sensors.” Those bull horns are not only functional, they give the car a pretty radical look too. To sum it all up, Parsons says, “I don’t know if we’ll turn nitrous on today, but we’ll go A to B. One step at a time.” One smoked-filled burnout step at a time. Keep an eye out for this Mustang when you’re at the track. You’ll love watching it! You haven’t been to the track, you say? What’s stopping you? Get out there as soon as you can and see this Mustang and other cars like it!

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