The Uncaged is upon us. Describe the Uncaged. It is Caged’s malevolent twin. But that will be covered in more detail later. Prior to our arrival, we had this elegantly restored 1965 Ford Mustang that recently left the Ringbrothers—Mike and Jim Ring—as their business is known.
This year, Ringbrothers brought their work to SEMA. It is a Ford Mustang that is nearly six decades old, but it doesn’t seem that ancient. Experts from the brand redesigned every curve and dimension while preserving the traditional features that have made the Ford Mustang, now in its seventh generation, a legendary vehicle.
The team changed just about everything on this first-generation Ford Mustang, except for the wheel center caps, retained, according to Ringbrothers, as the only remaining factory component. Other than that, they dropped everything, starting with the engine.
In 1964, when they rolled out the first-ever Mustang, little did Ford know that it would become the best-selling muscle car of all time. 420,000 units were sold in the very first production year.
Jim and Mike Ring have ‘uncaged’ THE Mustang, some sixty years later. It resembles the original ‘Stand, which Ford most likely lacked the guts to construct. With a new, exclusive Roadster Shop Fast Track chassis, the vehicle is 2.75 inches (7 cm) wider than stock. The car’s wide body added two inches to its overall width, plus an additional inch on either side. To match the flared fenders, the bumpers were also expanded.
The car’s body paint is called Burgundy Brave, and it was created by BASF Glasurit. Cerakote Titanium was applied to the unique badging.
C7 Corvette spindle and hub assemblies found room up front, while there is a fully independent suspension at the rear, both with Penske Racing RS Edition performance coilovers.
The Mustang rides on 18-inch wheels that follow the design of the first-generation’s pressed steel wheels. They are wrapped in Continental Redline tires, 245/40 R18 on the front axle and 285/40 R18 at the rear. Baer Pro+ six-piston calipers and 14-inch rotors provide the stopping power.
In terms of power, the vehicle was equipped with a Ringbrothers header-equipped 5.0-liter Coyote V8 crate engine. With a bespoke driveshaft from the Driveshaft business, the Ford 10R80 ten-speed automatic transmission is mated to the V8’s 460 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque.
The Ringbrothers put in over 4,2000 hours to construct this Mustang. Check out the interior as well if you’re having trouble understanding where those hours went. The original steering wheel was replaced with one with a smaller diameter. Dakota Digital digital gauges appeared on board. Leather from Upholstery Unlimited comes in burgundy, brown, and black, and it covers almost every surface in there.
The 1965 Ford Mustang Uncaged has got an evil twin: it is the 1965 Ford Mustang Caged that the Ringbrothers unveiled at SEMA, back in August 2022.