Black Beauty’s New Boots
Project Black Beauty, Part 3: Mickey Thompson Street Comp tires get our 2002 Ford Mustang GT rolling again.
When it comes to working on project cars, adhering to an extensive project schedule and finishing on or preferably before a designated deadline is, pound-for-pound, one of the most challenging aspects of the effort.
AI Quick Summary
Project Black Beauty's 2002 Mustang GT gets new Mickey Thompson Street Comp tires replacing old Nittos for enhanced street and autocross performance. After cleaning and adjusting the chassis, the Mustang is prepped for further upgrades ahead of HOT ROD Power Tour West 2025.
This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article
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Seriously. Installing parts isn’t the hard part, per se (provided they’re correct, available in a timely fashion, bolt-on without issue, etc.). Managing time, on the other hand, is a tougher contest, especially for DIY gearheads who cannot devote every waking hour to completing a build.
HOT ROD Power Tour West 2025 (December 5–7) is the completion target for Project Black Beauty, our ProCharger-blown 2002 Ford Mustang GT. Introduced in January, the build is centered on an extensive collection of repairs and refinements that are both necessary and desired for bringing a car that has not been used since 2016 back to the streets of Southern California.
In a perfect world, the project would be a little farther along than it currently is, but, as we just noted, when the build can’t have full-time attention, time moves on, sometimes with weeks of inactivity.
In preparation for the first heavy lift of this project—replacing a heat-compromised fuel system with a full array of Aeromotive Fuel Systems hardware that’s highlighted by an Eliminator Stealth tank for ’97 to ’04 Mustangs—we had Odell Pride come through and blast years of dirt and debris away from Black Beauty’s body and chassis.
Tire Time
Getting the car rolling, literally, is the next step toward freshening its fueling, as all of the tires are dry-rotted and require replacement. For all intents and purposes, the Mustang is sitting on four flats.
In its former life, our Mustang’s chassis setup was focused on using the Pony on the street and at the dragstrip. Its Nitto tire package featured 305/35ZR18 Extreme Drag Radials in the rear and 275/35ZR18s up front.
Mickey Thompson Street Comp rubber is replacing that severely cracked rolling stock. With street and possible autocrossing in the ’Stang’s future, we’re using this tire because, despite being technically designed for today’s S550 and S650 Mustangs, the three-season tire will provide excellent dry- and wet-road performance for Project Black Beauty.
The Street Comp, available through Summit Racing Equipment, is also noted for its paired outer elements, and true asymmetric tread pattern that provides grip and high-speed cornering capability. We’re not saying Black Beauty will be bombed through every curve it encounters, but there may be times when drives through SoCal canyons become a bit “spirited.”
Our buddy Mike Cotten swears by ’em, and that works for us. So in the rear, a slightly narrower 295/35R18 replaces the 305 drag radial, and 245/40R18 sticky Mickeys are mounted in the front.
Four to Be Reckoned With
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Here is a good look at Project Black Beauty’s new Mickey Thompson footprint, which features slightly taller, narrower front tires and rears that also are a smidge slimmer. This set of Street Comps was selected because their sizes best replicate the original front/rear stagger setup.
Boots on the Ground
With the Mustang being immobile, the Nitto/Mickey Thompson swap was executed in the driveway. Freedom Race Lift’s FC4000 vehicle lift was called on to put the Pony in the air quickly and safely.
With the new front tires being slightly taller (40R) than the freshly removed rubber (35R), a coil-over adjustment will ensure there’s adequate clearance between tire and wheelwell. Using a spanner wrench, four full rotations counterclockwise raised both springs the additional inch needed.
Removing surface rust from all four brake rotors is another preparatory task that had to be taken care of before bolting on the new boots. After making an initial pass with a wire wheel, 3M Scotch-Brite scuff pads, brake cleaner, and elbow grease are employed for knocking down residual debris.
After the specialists at Tires Buy Mark in Canoga Park, California, had our project car’s new Mickey Thompson Street Comp radials mounted and high-speed balanced in 30 minutes, we returned to the driveway and made Black Beauty whole again. Although an impact gun was used to secure the lug nuts (20 new fasteners were purchased), we went behind that tool with a torque wrench to verify their tightness is 80 lb-ft at all four corners.
With our project Mustang now moveable and its time clock continuing to tick, Black Beauty was loaded onto a flatbed and transported to GTR High Performance in Rancho Cucamonga, California, for fluids service and maintenance, and the very necessary fuel-system redux. Stay tuned for reports on everything as we work toward completing the build, hopefully long before the Power Tour West deadline.
Project Black Beauty
- PART 2: Cleaning in the Driveway
I'm definitely a long time car guy. My love of "all-thingsautomotive" dates back to the early 1960s, shortly after I said the word, "car" for the first time. I feel fortunate that I was able to grow up in the Muscle Car era of the late '60s and early '70s. I immersed myself in reading magazines, and learned everything I could about high-performance from that period, and knew that one day I would work in the performance industry in some way, shape or form. Since graduating from the University of Pittsburgh (with a Bachelors degree in Communications) in 1985, my professional career has included work in network radio and television, Internet/online media, Ford Service, BMW Service, Internet/online automotive data, and my current job; Senior Technical Editor of 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords magazine. The constant in my long career has been "cars;" specifically, 1986-to-present, V-8-powered, Ford Mustangs. I have learned a lot about late-model Mustangs (and I'm still learning), and the position I now hold allows me to share the knowledge I've gained with like-minded Mustang enthusiasts all over the world. Owning, building, modifying and writing about late-model Mustangs has become a true passion for me. A great stop, on a very wild life ride.
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