Building the MAP Bullitt
Having had the pleasure of working with Dave to build his old beloved 'Rosie', an 800hp street monster with a loud exhaust and stiff suspension, we knew his new Bullitt would eventually be something special.
What we didn't know, until it was already too late to get the cameras out, was how soon 'eventually' was and just how special.
What started out as 'I'm not supercharging it' quickly became 'supercharge it' and then half way through that ... 'there's no point only half doing it is there'.
This time though, we were ready for it. Knowing Rosie crossed the line between fast street and track our primary goal for this car was to build something that you could drive every single day, in reasonable comfort but whilst having 850hp under your right foot in a car that was built to use it.
What resulted was the MAP Bullitt.
This build was immensely challenging, been the first Whipple supercharged Bullitt in Europe the software to run the car with the Supercharger didn't exist. To make matters worse than that we had already been fettling the base car in NA form so even when Whipple had created the operating system the car was modified outside of its working parameters causing a permanent safety mode. Because the operating system was brand new the software to interface with it didn't exist to allow us to make calibration alterations to repair the vehicle.
Fortunately for us we work with the right companies to do what we do, HP Tuners stepped up and created the software in record time - getting us into the ECU and allowing us to calibrate it.
Ultimately, we had a fully assembled ready to go car broken for the best part of 3 months. But when we finally pulled it all together, it was worth the wait.
What goes into the MAP Bullitt? Lets go over a few parts of it.
First, power.
It's the best place to start as this sets the tone for the full build. We already knew this car had to have a PD blower to enhance the factory characteristics of the car rather than change them. For us there was only one logical choice of charger to do the job, Whipple. As a nice touch Whipple also offer a highland green charger finish too so it fit the theme perfectly.
We were not about to build an out of the box car though, we knew we were early to the party in Europe and wanted to make sure we created something that wouldn't be beaten out of an instruction manual.
So we set about upgrading power beyond that of the Stage 2 Whipple kit and building the rest of the car around it.
This meant a full exhaust system from the cylinder head right the way to the back box to get the engine breathing as it should. Normally this would mean a lot of noise and loosing the factory valved exhaust and steering wheel interface for it - we couldn't have either. The car had to leave fully functional, working as it should and driveable with company.
To achieve this we worked with KOOKS for the headers and cats, then a Borla midsection silencer on a full Borla S-Type catback. Using Borla allowed us to retain the factory valve functionality on the all new exhaust system.
You'll get to hear it when you watch the dyno video in a minute, don't worry it's at the end of this blog post.
Obviously the car had the necessary engine upgrades to cope with the target 850hp, on this build we opted to work with Boundary to supply the required Billet oil pump and crank gears.
Once power and sound was addressed it was time to see to the chassis.
It goes without saying, everything keeping this car in check that wasn't supplied by Ford is Steeda.
Not the whole catalogue though, we wanted this car to be sporty but still comfortable - this was made much easier by the car coming with magnaride suspension from the factory. To achieve the desired handling characteristics, stability and ride we opted to support the rear suframe bushes, fit springs, rear suspension arms and full underbody bracing.
Once the chassis was sorted we looked to the drivetrain. Again, comfort and usability remained a primary factor. So we installed engine mounts and a transmission mount bush support but left the diff in the factory bushes ensuring no increase in NVH (noise, vibration and harshness).
Interior
Drivetrain stability sorted we added a short shifter and shifter mount to give the car some real driver feedback.
The interior of the car needed very little work, we obviously wanted the car to have an unmolested OE (original equipment) feel about it so we added two very subtle additions but nothing else.
Moving onto how she looks.
Wheels, the cars wheels serve two purposes - both aesthetic and functional they are arguably one of the single most important mods ... but getting it wrong can be fatal and completely ruin a car.
In the end we narrowed the wheels for this build down to a choice of two. On one hand we wanted to retain the Bullitt theme and chose a stunning set of Shelby 5 spokes with a chrome lip to fight that corner.
On the other hand we wanted the weight benefit of a more modern design and the freedom to choose a wheel colour that would work to enhance the already amazing body colour. Fighting this corner we opted for the Velgen VF5 in Gloss bronze - designed specifically for Mustang fitment this is by far one of our favourite wheels for the car.
Ultimately the car left with the safe Shelby wheels on, still looking amazing but the choice split the ranks and the jury is still out on which actually looks the best.
Unable to resist the temptation we altered the original Bullitt lines with a Steeda functional race wing. Not only will it offer increased downforce but it looks amazing too. It went on in Gloss Black along with Gloss black factory plastics.
Going red with the rear lights and adding side markers alongside a smoked reverse and fog light transformed the back of the car and a medium glass tint side and rear gave the car a nice clean modern look.
And here she is, singing the song of our people. Hopefully you enjoy the finished product as much as we enjoyed planning and building it.
Keep an eye out for the Mach 1 next!