We had previously decided to install a modern era engine as Isadora’s power plant. Perusing information from various engine builders and the Ford Racing Parts catalogue drove us to the conclusion that, for Isadorda, the 4.6 L, 3-valve engine that was the mainstay in the 2005-2009 Mustang series would be an ideal engine; not too “hopped up” but powerful enough that this would be a fun car to drive. We were about to place an order when Scott came up with another idea that ultimately changed the entire direction of the build. He suggested that rather than buying a new engine we should consider the possibility of acquiring a wrecked Mustang and stripping the needed components out of it. So, with a little research we soon found a very low-mileage 2006 GT that had been rear ended and declared “totaled” by the insurance company but was still capable of driving on and off a transporter. Including shipping, the price for the entire car was less than that of a new crate engine not even including the additional required computer systems. Additionally, to reduce the overall project costs we could strip whatever parts we didn’t need and sell them or trade for services that might be required during the build. We confirmed the order with the salvage yard and waited for the transporter to arrive.
As soon as the donor car arrived we quickly started disassembling it, separating the parts that we needed for the build and setting aside other parts for resale.
Because the donor car had been rear-ended and was very lightly damaged except for some crumpled rear frame rails, it was about this time that we started asking “What if” questions about the donor car…”What if we could use more than just the engine and transmission?”…”What if we could use the entire interior?”…”What if we could use the entire dash board including instrumentation and other systems including heat and AC?”…”What if we could use the entire computer system?”…With all of these possibilities the final plan began to be formulated. We determined that if we could use the firewall and transmission tunnel from the donor car that perhaps all of the other systems could be used as well. Out came the plasma torch and Scott went to town on the donor reducing it to a pile of scrap!
With the organs removed from the donor the transplant process was ready to begin!
The Building of Isadora 