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According to the 2008 rules, 15.11 states:

15.11 OUT-OF-PRODUCTION CARS
Where a car is out of production and the manufacturer is either out of business, stocks no parts or no longer has a required part, a part of any origin but as similar as possible to the original may be substituted. The entrant must be prepared to show documentary evidence that one of the three circumstances above applies and that the substituted part is as similar as possible under the circumstances. Substitute parts which provide improvements in performance (e.g. superior gearing, lighter weight, better camshaft profile, etc.) are not permitted under this allowance.

Obviously, this rule has the potential to get a bit of abuse, but that isn't my intention. What I'm wanting to do is run a 3 point strut tower brace in my fox, as the 93 Cobra R does. The actual part is unavailable, and I'd like to run the Ford Racing part since it is close in design (from what I can tell from pictures anyway). A nice beefy bar such as the Maximum Motorsports or Maier Racing pieces are obviously beyond the intent of this rule. I'm wanting to be honest here, not greedy.

I don't want this to be a debate about the usefulness of STBs. My car has been whacked and the strut towers have moved. If I'm going to put this car on a frame rack and get it straightened, I want to take whatever precautions I can to make sure they stay where they should.
Barring the use of a 3 point brace, I'll get a Maximum Motorsports brace and cut the rear legs off it to make it a 2 point.

At a local level, I'm probably over thinking this way too much. Showing the rule to fellow competitors would probably be enough to put them at ease. But the question is, what sort of documentation would be needed to do this?

 -Vic

1. First of all, does your car fall on the same line in the Street Prepared list so that this is an option under update/backdate rules?  If so go on, if not stop here, as it's not a legal swap.

2. The most irrifutible argument would be an original 93 Cobra R brace (try www.car-parts.com) Is this the part? When trying to identify a Corbra R vs other Mustang, start by finding one for sale somewhere like Ebay, Autotrader, etc where you can find a valid Cobra R VIN.  Then go somewhere like www.lkqcorp.com that use a database where they can cross-reference used parts availabilty by VIN application.

 

3. If you can't find an original, the Ford Racing item will meet the rules if it's as similar to the original as you describe.  If you're concerned about protests you might try and obtain some documentation from Ford that the original is NLA.

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DJsilver

1. Yep, same line. FWIW, I'm the one who rewrote/amended that line as it was written in one of the latest Fastracks.

 

2 and 3. My question isn't so much about the actual modification as it is the documentation process. Ford is VERY week on their documentation of R parts listings.

Since I posted the original question, I have found that the 93 Rs came with what some refer to as a "Glovebox List." It's a 5 page listing of all the parts that are specific to the R, along with some other disclaimer info.

I've got a couple of leads on acquiring this documentation, but nothing has come through yet. If this list does have the info I need, and I can get my hands on a copy, it's the answer to my question.

-Vic