Social Security in a Different Form – Brian Slow Changes From Mustang to Mercury for First Drag-and-Drive
A different sight in a sea of Mustangs, Brian Slow’s 1984 Mercury Marquis sports the heart of a Mustang, and has room for more passengers.
Brian has owned several Mustangs in his past, including an under-construction Fox with a turbocharged Coyote engine.
But his most recent Mustang, a 2014 model, got pushed to the side for the Mercury build that changed from a rally build to a street/strip car.
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“This car started out as a joke,” Brian admits. “A friend had it sitting in his yard, and he wanted a SN95 chassis Mustang (1994-2004).” Slow made the trade, and then plotted what to do with the 4-door.
“We were originally going to do a Lemons race with it, and had plans to stuff it with a small block Ford and a 5-speed,” said Brian. That idea then shifted to a drag set-up, with a turbocharged small block and aiming for low 10-second time slips. But that engine didn’t survive a single trip into boost, as two rods exited the block on an initial test drive.
“We were trying to decide what to do next, and realized I had a twin-turbo coyote drivetrain sitting in a 2014 Mustang of mine,” Brian admits. “We went from not initially wanting to spend a lot of money on the build, to pretty much offering up my social security number for parts.” The car was completed with the assistance of McClain Motorsports mere days before Sick Week, and Brian recruited David Carlson to take the week-long ride with him.
To sum up Brian’s drag and drive in a single word – tires. “Monday was a wonderful evening,” Brian said. “We found out the rear tires were rubbing, and made it about five miles before we lost a tire.” Not long after that, Brian lost a second tire, but luckily talked a fellow Mustang owner at a gas station into giving up his spare to continue their drive.
The next morning they went to a local Walmart and bought small footballs to put inside the rear coil springs to help jack up the rear end. Visiting the Mickey Thompson trailer got Brian a pair of 255/60/15 tires, and after completing the runs needed at Bradenton Motorsports Park, Brian made the drive to South Georgia Motorsports Park with no issues, pulling down 15 miles-per-gallon with the trailer.
Three days later, Brian was completing his first drag and drive with a 10.47 average. “On Monday, we were wondering why we were doing this,” Brian said. “But after the third tire change, we were already plotting our moves for the next drag and drive.” Those moves include getting his NHRA license, and turning up the boost to get “Social Security” into the single digits.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Brian Slow and Sick The Magazine.