While American muscle cars typically thrive on their classic front-engine, rear-wheel drive setups, the concept of an all-wheel drive muscle car has its merits. Dodge, for instance, offered the outgoing Charger and Challenger with all-wheel drive, enhancing their versatility while preserving the iconic muscle car aesthetics.
Ford , on the other hand, has never officially offered an all-wheel drive version of the gas Mustang, though the nameplate did get AWD with the Mach-E. Nevertheless, a resourceful owner has taken it upon themselves to create their very own AWD Mustang, adding a new twist to this classic formula.
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For the past two years, the man behind the ‘No Production Value Garage’ channel on YouTube has been transforming an S550-generation, 2017 Ford Mustang to all-wheel drive. The idea of converting a front- or rear-wheel drive car to all-wheel drive is nothing new and not too long ago, we featured the conversion of an Acura Integra to all-wheel drive using components from a Honda CR-V. The process of converting the Mustang to send its power through all four wheels was considerably more complex.
Rather than pulling parts out of a Ford that is sold with all-wheel drive from the factory, this Mustang features a mish-mash of components from various marques. For example, it features the jackshaft of a Jeep Commander, the CV joint from a Jeep Grand Cherokee, a Syvecs all-wheel drive controller, and the front differential of a 1986-1995 Toyota Hilux. There is even a Borg Warner transfer case from an old Dodge Charger and a new TR6060 six-speed manual transmission that funnels power from the 5.0-liter naturally-aspirated V8 to the pavement.
Mixing so many different parts could be a recipe for disaster but miraculously, the engineer has managed to get everything to work in unison and the car appears to drive quite well. The addition of two extra driven wheels also makes it more usable in winter conditions and the car only weighs about 200 lbs (90 kg) more than it did before the all-wheel drive conversion.