Mario De Leon is one of the winners of Xceleration Media’s Gearhead Powerpack Giveaway. The cool thing is when we met Mario, we also fell in love with his car.
Mario’s ride is a 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback that’s been modernized in all the right ways while still keeping its classic cool. Mario says his dad got him into cars at an early age. In fact, this Mustang was his first car. His mom originally purchased the car new, and sort of took ownership when he turned 16. “It was never actually ‘given’ to me,” Mario says of the Mustang. “I just assumed it would be mine.”
Being engine guys here at Power & Performance News, we especially like the Mustang’s drivetrain. Mario says the engine is a 349 stroker with ported aluminum cylinder heads. A Master Power 70 millimeter turbo provides the additional motivation through a Powerjection III efi system.
Mario says on low boost the engine generates 521 horsepower at the rear wheels and 588 lb/ft of torque.
Enjoy the photos.