Street Racing Articles

[ric]

I've seen your post's on a few other forums and that's dynamite that you're restoring it. The Mustang II never got much respect but they sure made a sweet looking race car in my opinion. Yours is just bad to the bone, with a history to back it up.

[SuddenDeath]

Tenney..I'll have to register on that forum and talk to Eric Shiffer, as it seems he is a wealth of information on these cars!

Back to the Ruggirello Mustang II...I had searched for this car for years and finally located it in a storage lot in New Jersey. I saw it once before at Gainesville Raceway here in Florida for sale in 1995, but it got away not to be seen again.

It appears it left Detroit for Florida back in 1981, then left Florida for Indiana around 1995, then New Jersey in 1997. However, I have not spoken to anyone who actually "owned" it or was close to someone who did yet.

I got the car in January 2010 and have been restoring it since. Currently doing paint/body work which should finish next month. I spent months just getting the car safe to start/run/drive again after many years of neglect and poorly done modifications to the rear suspension.

This is how the car looked when I found it. Photo taken in the NJ storage lot. I'm sure hoping Mr. Rifkin might be able to shed some light on it.

[flyingn]

This is how I saw it about 4 years ago at a car show in English creek nj.. What part of Jersey did you find it in? English creek is not to far outside Atlantic City


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SuddenDeath</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Tenney..I'll have to register on that forum and talk to Eric Shiffer, as it seems he is a wealth of information on these cars!

Back to the Ruggirello Mustang II...I had searched for this car for years and finally located it in a storage lot in New Jersey. I saw it once before at Gainesville Raceway here in Florida for sale in 1995, but it got away not to be seen again.

It appears it left Detroit for Florida back in 1981, then left Florida for Indiana around 1995, then New Jersey in 1997. However, I have not spoken to anyone who actually &quot;owned&quot; it or was close to someone who did yet.

I got the car in January 2010 and have been restoring it since. Currently doing paint/body work which should finish next month. I spent months just getting the car safe to start/run/drive again after many years of neglect and poorly done modifications to the rear suspension.

This is how the car looked when I found it. Photo taken in the NJ storage lot. I'm sure hoping Mr. Rifkin might be able to shed some light on it.



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[SuddenDeath]

Here is an article done in late summer 1975 while the car was under construction.

[SuddenDeath]

Here is the car in January 1977 with Jack Roush behind the wheel. Photo taken on or near Farmington Road just blocks from the Gapp and Roush shop during the photoshoot for the Sudden Death article by Baskerville.

This appearance is my goal for the restoration.

[SuddenDeath]

This is the car after a few months of work getting it sorted out. The fuel system was so rotten when it arrived to me, it was literally dripping fuel on the floor! You wouldn't believe how much research it took to get the hood/scoop exactly as it was in those photos. The rear suspension was another challenge, since someone had changed it to coilover/ladder bars and very poorly done at that. I've restored the rear suspension back to the original setup in every detail, down to an original 70's vintage pair of Lakewood bars.

[SuddenDeath]

Right now we're working on body/paint to be completed next month to get the car back to its original silver coat. Thankfully, the body survived in great shape under the 6 layers of paint/primer and surface rust here and there.

[SuddenDeath]

This is the engine as I saw it in 1995. The twin turbos were done by Jack Roush in 1980/81 not long before Ruggirello sold it. From what I've read, it was lifting the front end under boost. I don't know if the car ever made a full pass under boost. It had no electronics, waste gates, nothing.

[SuddenDeath]

This is the engine shortly before I took the car apart for paint/body work. It does still have the original 505&quot; stroked 460 that Roush built for it years ago.

[4onthefloor]

I think this is the article you wanted...It was in Hi-Performace Cars-July 1970 issue