April 2022 • By Tony Thacker
Presented by MicksPaint.com & USAutomotive.co.uk

There’s something about early Mustangs that just grabs ya. Maybe it’s that gaping, hungry mouth. Maybe it’s that sexy sweep up over the rear fenders or, maybe its just knowing what’s under the hood.

The Anvil ’69 Mustang that was driven by Roman ‘Rome’ Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) in the movie Fast and Furious 6 has all of that and more attitude than you can shake a stick at. It was conceived more than 10 years ago as a promotional ride for Anvil Auto; Downey, CA that produces carbon fiber parts, they say “designed to enhance the look and performance of your car without losing the flavor of its original style.” Strangely, their web site says they have no parts for Mustangs but if you dig deep you can find hood and cowl panel, front and rear bumpers and spoilers, side mirrors, door handles and other parts for the ’69-70. They also have some parts for the earlier ’65-’66 Mustang.         

For the build Anvil turned to Steve Strope’s Pure Vision Design in Simi Valley, CA who are well known for their radical but tasteful builds. Fabricator Kelly Cox began by widening the front fenders by 1.25 inches and the rears by 1.5. Kelly also spent many hours on the grille that has the inner pairs of light moved back behind the grille that he widened to fill the gap—it’s what gives the Anvil that pouty, gnarly mouth. The bumper, spoiler, hood and cowl are all Anvil carbon fiber. Incidentally, the turn signals are Corvette, the mirrors are Anvil but the door handles are drilled billet Anvil items.

In back there’s Anvil’s full range that includes a decklid, three-piece spoiler, rear quarter extensions and the rear bumper. Between the tri-bar rear lights there’s a mesh grille that hides the back-up lights. 

Under the hood Pure Vision’s Pete Harksell installed an 805 HP 521 ci Boss 9 engine from Jon Kaase Racing that gets your attention. The car itself is rather subtle but subtly goes out the window when the motor cranks up and the exhaust burbles out of the side exits. As we rolled out from behind Steve’s shop onto Easy Street traffic stopped for the snarling beast. It’s like a pit bull straining at the leash. The Kevlar clutch is a push but not in a bad way and the Tremec is an easy shift but the ‘honey dipper’ shift knob I found had a slightly strange feel. Needless to say the Corbeau seats, trimmed, as was the entire interior, by Eric Thorsen were comfy as could be. The only thing unusual was a slight movement in the rear view, which, of course, was the inboard, cantilevered shocks doing their business.

As we accelerated out onto the highway it was hard to remember that this Mustang has 800 horses, however, the big 345/35 Michelin Pilot Sports are not about to surprise you. You can feel the grip like shaking hands with Mohamed Ali. On the freeway, the car, which has just been completely refurbed by Pure Vision and Mick’s Paint who handled the body and paint, tracked straight and sure thanks to the Flaming River electronic steering as we weaved through traffic out into the fast lane. It was busy, the white trucks were already heading home but a space opened up and we stabbed the rocket into space. It got there like a Ukrainian anti-tank missile. All too soon, the freeway was backing up and we decided that it was enough for now. But as Arnold said, “I’ll be back.” 

Vehicle: 1969 Ford Mustang
Owners: AnvilAuto.com
Builder: PureVisionDesign.com

Engine
Block: Dart aluminum, 4-bolt mains
Crank: 4340 steel
Rods: 4340 forged
Pistons: Diamond forged
CR: 11:1
Capacity: 521 ci
Fuel injection: Electromotive
Trans: Tremec TKO 600 5-speed
Clutch: Kevlar
Bellhousing: Quick Time
Rear axle: Speedway Engineering full floating 9-inch with 4.56 gears and Detroit Locker
Third member: Currie Enterprises nodular iron

Suspension
Front: JME Enterprises cantilever inboard coil over system 
Rear: Maier Racing cantilever/push rod coil over system
Shocks: JRI coil lovers
Sway bars: Speedway Engineering
Steering: Flaming River electronic rack & pinion, U-joints and shafts
Fuel cell: Fuel Safe

Interior: Eric Thorsen
Instruments: Redline Gauge Works
Seats: Corbeau
Seat belts: Crow Enterprises
Steering wheel: Sparco
Brakes: Baer 6 piston calipers front and rear, 14-inch rotors

Wheels: 18x10 custom billet (front), 19x12 custom billet (rear)
Tires: 275/35R18 Michelin PZero (front), 345/30ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport (rear)

Body enhancements: AnvilAuto.com
Body & paint: Pure Vision Design and MicksPaint.com
Color: PPG Range Rover Alaska White