Welcome to the Sears Brothers Ford
Mustang Web page
PROCURING OUR ORANGE
CARS
We all 3 always loved the Mustang. Our
journey started in spring 2004 when my brother Dan needed a new car. He
was looking at the Mini Cooper S, Neon SRT4, VW Golf GTI (gag). We drove
the Mini - and loved it. Those are fun little cars - very "peppy".
We then went to the VW dealer. They didn't have a diesel Golf, but they
had a Jetta. we drove it, no power, and the salesman said these were
popular with the women. That was Dan's signal to RUN from it. We the
popped into the local Dodge dealer because they had a SRT4 on the floor.
No one wanted to talk to us. Finally someone came up and asked if we were
serious about a car - Dan said he was buying something in the next day or
two. But they wouldn't let him drive the SRT4. They said if you were
serious - you'd be filling out loan papers first... (this is probably why Toyota
is selling more than Chrysler now-a-days).
But I said "Dan, humor me,
lets take a Mustang for a joy ride" and as soon as he laid into that V8 5 speed,
the dual exhaust singing, tires squealing, the g-forces pressing us back into
the seat, the decision was obvious. He had his local dealer search out a
Competition Orange 5-speed. It turns out it is only one of 231 5-speed
GT's made in that color. My youngest brother Kevin decided to get himself
a classic Mustang and Dan found one for him in Indiana summer of 2004. It
was a 1966 3speed 6 cylinder coupe. It was painted teal from the original
red. That car was more than he could handle - the frame was rotten and it
would have been cheaper to get another one instead of repairing it. So it
went bye-bye.
Fast forward to March 2005. My work
beater (wife's 90 Cavalier) was rusting away to nothing. I hated that
car. So I was looking for a new ride. I looked at different sedans
and such. Nothing really interested me. Then I thought "when was the
last time the wife and the kids piled into the Cavalier to go anywhere? - um -
never" so I said to myself, why not get a Mustang. So the search was on -
for a early 90's Fox body V8. Never found one. I dumbed onto this 98
V6 automatic that had minor damage to the door and rear quarter panel for dirt
cheap - and so I snatched it up. It had 80,000 miles on it. It is
laser red with a tan interior. I have been upgrading the car - mostly from
EBAY. (you can get some really great deals there) I upgraded the seats to
leather from an 03 GT wreck ($70 ebay). I bought a new taillight &
ground molding from Ebay.
My brother Kevin had ordered a 2005 also but it
kept being delayed so he gave up and bought a 2001 Bullitt Mustang a week after
I bought my 1998 car. If you ever get a chance to drive a Bullitt - take
advantage of it - it is a very fine ride. 
However,
my brother Kevin traded in his Bullitt Mustang for another car. He just
bought a 2007 Grabber Orange GT 5-speed. One should note that usually,
orange Mustangs are a very rare car. They are usually only produced one
year out of a generation and then in limited numbers. So when they
announced the Grabber Orange - Kevin had to get one. He is going to do
some "custom" work to this car to make it one of a kind - check back for
updates.
I wrecked my 1998 V6 Mustang in
February 2007. Pictures below. It was "totaled" which really meant the
airbags cost more than the car was worth. I decided to let the
insurance company take it. I wasn't looking too hard and I located a
rare 1997 Autumn Orange Mustang GT with a 5 speed manual transmission - 92000 miles.
It also features the rare 248A option package (aka GTS). Its all motor. The only
option on the car is Cruise Control. This car is one of 1519 made in 1997
in this color. It is in excellent condition - there is zero rust on it
because it has only seen part of one winter. That will be its last
also. In my opinion, it is the loudest of our Mustangs to date due to the
dual Flowmaster Mufflers. I'll be doing some engine mods to it as well as
some interior work.
IN THE HORIZON - Dan found himself a 1983 Orange GT Convertible. One of 44 produced. He won't say where it is until he gets it but it will need a lot of TLC. We're also looking for a 1996 Tangerine GT to add to the collection. I found one in a salvage yard years ago but I didn't pursue it - oh well. Sooner or later we will add some from the early years also. One rule though - it has to be a factory painted orange car to be part of the Orange Mustang Club. Repaints are ok as long as it is a numbers matching paint job. No color changers.
Bob's NEW 1997 Mustang GTS in Autumn Orange (option 248A)
MODS - 1998 COBRA headlights, Cold Air Intake, Flowmaster Exhaust, 2002 Leather GT seats
UPDATE -
3-8-2007
My 1998 Mustang is dead. It was crashed in a
blizzard. I didn't know it was going to snow bad one day and I took the
car to work. I slid into a guardrail on the ride home and popped the
airbags. Insurance gave me almost twice what I paid for it so I said
"byebye". At least it left in with dignity - it was driven onto the
rollback when the grim reaper came for it. Anyways - this
will free me up to explore getting a V8 car. We'll see what I end up
with.
Some of you sick people have been asking for
pictures of the carnage - so here they are.
UPDATE 5-09-07 - I ran a CARFAX on it - this
car was bought at an auto auction and someone somewhere is putting it back
together. Its a diamond in the rough - it doesn't look it - but it was a
rock solid car.
UPDATE!
04-24-2007
KEVIN'S 2007 TWISTER
SPECIAL in GRABBER ORANGE.
PLANS:
PHASE ONE - LOOKS -
COMPLETE. Body work is pretty
much done on the TWISTER SPECIAL Mustang. Added a functional Shaker hood
custom designed by Fang Performance. The shaker scoop is from the
2003/2004 Mach1 Cars. Purchased MACH1 style 18" wheels and tires.
Add chin spoiler, Add honeycomb trim between taillights. Add same TWISTER
SPECIAL graphics as used on original 1970 cars. Add MACH1 striping to
it.
PHASE TWO
- PERFORMANCE - IN PROGRESS. This car will be built and modded with FORD
RACING "DRAG PACK" parts so it would look like something Ford may have
made. Currently, a supercharger is not in Kevin's budget. But I'm
trying to talk him into one anyways. Currently, the engine is stock and
exhaust is stock. It will be getting the "GO FAST" parts as soon as Kevin
can scrounge up the money. Hopefully we'll be putting those on
soon.
Thank you FANG PERFORMANCE -
nice job! Visit www.fangeperformance.com for details on these special
cars.
Kevin's 2007 Ford Mustang GT became the very first (known) 2007
Mustang Twister Special! This is a tribute to the 1970 Twister Special
that Ford produced for the Kansas City District. They only ran 96 of these
cars in 1970 so if you have one - THEY ARE RARE!
6-22-07 - UPDATE ON THE TWISTER PROJECT - Kevin had his first
accident with the car - stupid coyote ran out in front of him and he hit it -
cracked the front bumper. It has been repaired and its back on the
road 
SEARS BROTHERS RACING & OFF ROAD
A friend of mine at work has been bugging me to
take my car to Thompson Raceway Park (website) for a
while. I finally broke down and went - my brother Dan and Kevin also went
with their cars. It was a blast even though we got washed out by rain and
hail. We all managed to make at least one pass - I was hooked even though
I lost to my friend's Neon of all things. I was running bone stock on a
108K V6 with an auto.
This clip is of my brother running
his 2004 Mustang GT and us off roading at
Wellsville in our Jeeps!
A fun evening at Norwalk BEST PASS SO FAR
1998 V6 Stang
-
My first pass was 17.35 @
79MPH in June 06.
I
ran 16.749 in the 1/4 mile @ 81.591MPH on 08/23/06 - best time so far. My
dial in was 16.75. I was 0.001 under it - thus forfeiting the race.
Maybe I'll do better next week...
UPDATE - I did a slight mod this
winter. I removed the license plate from my car and put it on a GT.
That should help with the TIME SLIP this summer!
New times -
1997 GT - 14.75 @ 94 MPH - Significant boost in ET times.
Cool night at the end of September. Used a small house fan with a power
inverter to cool engine more between rounds.
FORDS WE OWN OR HAVE OWNED (IN ORDER OF CAR
YEAR)
Kevin's 1966 Ford Mustang (August 10, 2004 - August 20, 2004) - This car didn't last long. Kevin bought it and found the frame rails were rusted out. He sold it back to previous owner after complaining.
Dan's 1976
Mercury Comet (1995-1998)-This is Dan's
first true love, Sheba, named that because he treated her like a queen. He
bought the car for 1200 bucks from a lady who's great aunt had passed on and
left her the car. It had 35000 miles on it and he sold her with about
80000. Pretty sweet ride for a college student. She was powered by
the 200 CI inline 6 cylinder with an automatic transmission. No options
except an AM radio. The only modification was a Pioneer tape player and
some extra speakers in the back window.
Kevin's 1982
Mercury Grand Marquis - (1997-2002) - This was Kevin's first car.
It was a graduation present. This was a beast. Sporting the 5.0 V8
unlike the Comet - it had every option. Here we see the Grand Marquis on
one of its adventures in the wilderness in West Virginia. 
This car received a JVC tape player and some
nice speakers in factory locations. Most memorable time for this car was
in November 2001. We decided to take the car to Niagara Falls and eat at
the Hard Rock Cafe. There just happen to be a blizzard in Buffalo - they
got 6 feet of snow that night. This old car it made it out on the roads
when the snow plows gave up. The image that
sticks in my mind is when we pull off for gas about 20 miles south of town (its
not snowing there and the grass is green) and
we all hop out of the car to stretch our legs. The front has a foot of ice
caked on it, 2 feet of snow sitting on the roof, steam is rolling off the hood
like the Delorean in
Back-to-the-Future when is returns from a trip, and other people staring at us
trying to figure out where we came from. 
Dan's 94 Ford Explorer (2005 - 2005) -
Dan bought this low mile Explorer so he wouldn't have to
drive his new 2004 Mustang in the snow. This
thing didn't last long - 4 months. Kevin, Dan, Mom and Dad loaded up and
tried to drive this to Colorado and New Mexico. It didn't make it - it
died 3 times in two days. They broke down in Oklahoma and traded it in on
this 2005 Taurus SEL. They coasted into a Ford Dealer on a Saturday night
and they said "our garage is closed for the weekend" and they replied "who said
anything about fixing this thing". You can see them transferring their
luggage from the Explorer and into the new 2005 Taurus. They had the
Taurus packed so tight they had to mail their souvineers and dirty laundry
home.
Kevin's 1995
Ford Taurus Wagon
(2002-2003)
This car was a piece of junk. I don't even thing any
of us took a picture of it - it was so bland. This is just the first
picture of a white wagon I could find. This 95 Taurus had some major engine
issues. It did have some positive aspects - there was plenty of cup
holders for the year of car it was. The white paint wasn't faded a bit
either. It went bye bye for a new 2003 Focus Sedan. This was the
worst Fords any of us have ever owned - even the old Comet was less troublesome
with all of its years!
Bob's 1996 Ford
Teal Ranger XLT (Bob's 1998-2001) (Mom & Dad's 2001-2005) (Dan's second 1996
Ranger 2005-2006) - "The Family Heirloom" - Rest In Peace - I
bought this in 98 when I started my new job out of college. I needed a
reliable set up wheels. This is one of the best,
more reliable vehicles I have ever owned. It was powered by the 2.3L 4
popper in front of an automatic tranny. What a doggy on power. I often got it
stuck in the snow and mud. I sold it to Mom and
Dad and they drove it for a
couple years. Then they gave it to Dan when they traded in the
Explorer. For some reason or another, Dan kept running into things with
it. It was probably the ICE. Anyways, Dan wrecked it 3 times in one
month and the insurance company finally totaled it. It had 130K+ on it
when it went to the bone yard. Dan drove it for two weeks when he hit a
deer until he found a new Jeep Wrangler. In this picture, Dan slid off the
road and into a ditch. After being accused of reckless driving and
speeding by the farmer in the picture, they tipped the truck upright and Dan
went on his way - the truck just had a couple scratches on it.
Dan's First 1996
Purple Ford Ranger XLT (1998 - 2004) - Dan never seemed to have much luck with Ford
Rangers. He keeps on wrecking them. He put this truck in the Ohio
Canal south of New Philadelphia one icy night. They patched his first one
back together for him. It ran fine - it has something like 160k - 170k
miles on the original 4 cyl. engine/transmission with no repairs other than
maintenance items and accident repairs.. He traded this in for his 2004
Mustang.
Bob's 1997 F150
XL (2001 - 2005)
This truck was bought to get my growing
family around. The Ranger didn't have a back seat. This was a 4.2L
V6. It had ample power. No options on the inside but it did have
AC! I added a CD player to it. I wrecked it once in the snow.
It was traded in for the 2005 F150 below. It has over a 100k miles and I
was tired of fixing it - this truck had its share of
problems. It was an early
first year truck and any first year car usually has some bugs. The moral
to the story - don't buy a first year vehicle of a
design.
Bob's 1997 Ford Mustang GT (May
2007 - present) - 4.6L V8, 5 speed, Leather interior, crank up
windows. Wrecking the 98 V6 was a sad day for me, I really like that
car. But it opened up the door for this car.
Bob's 1998 Ford Mustang (March 2005 - February 2007) - 3.8L V6, auto, loaded every option available at the time. 115K miles when totaled out
Kevin's 2001 Ford Mustang BULLITT GT - (April 2005 - Aug 2006) - A tribute to the movie "BULLITT" featuring Steve McQueen.
Kevin's 2003 Ford
Focus ZTS Sedan (2003 - present) (photo not of actual car)
This is
Kevin's current work car. It is the 2.0L Zetec 4 popper. 5 speed
manual. I think he is up to 60k - 70k miles. It has never had any
problems with it. It just eats tires - he's on his 4th set I think.
He has put a Cold Air Intake on it - and it helped his gas mileage a lot.
He tried one of those "car bongs" on it - the thing where you put the blue
liquid in a bottle and cut a vacuum line to install it - it was a waste of
money. He is using a "Tornado" now on it and says it actually
helps.
Dan's 2004 Mustang GT (May 2004 - present) - Dan's current pride and joy. 4.6L, 5 speed.
Bob's 2005 F150
STX (2005 - present)
This is my
current truck. This is the nicest thing I have owned so far and its my
first "NEW" car. I would recommend a new F150 to anyone - they ride nice,
plenty of room, comfortable. It is powered by a 4.6L V8, auto tranny, its
a 2WD, limited slip rear, tow package. It has a 6
disc MP3 Stereo. It was hit a month after I bought it. I was
rearended in the snow. It was more like a bump that costed $1200
bucks. Only the bumper and the trailer hitch were
damaged.
Kevin's 2007 Ford Mustang TWISTER GT -
(Aug 2006 - present) - Added the TWISTER package to
it.
CARS OF OTHER BRANDS THAT
WE HAVE OWNED - and loved. (If we're not driving a Ford, we're in a
Jeep)
Bob's 1984 Dodge Van (1983 - 1998) - this was
to be the original family heirloom. Mom and Dad bought this in 1983 brand
new and stripped. It had a 318ci V8, single barrel carburator, 3 speed
automatic, and NO AC (or any other options for that matter)! Dodge was
chosen because at the time, it was the most advanced design full size van.
Ford and Chevy vans had poor legroom, cramped driver's space, and just didn't
look good at all. Dodge had the best looking van at the time. The
wraparound grille was key. Mom and Dad did their own conversion to it -
and it came out very nice. They put the windows, deluxe interior, and the
stripes on it. This old van made a 7 trips to Florida, 2 or 3 to Maine,
climbed countless mountains, countless childhood memories. It was
rear-ended 4 times, only sustaining minor damage once. I slid on some ice
when I started college, and hit a wall, but I drove the van for 4 more years
like that.
It had
170,000 miles on it when I sold it - they gave it to me for college. I
didn't want to sell it, but there was no way I could keep it with the
circumstances at the time. I miss my old van. I bought the 1996 Teal
Ford Ranger.
Kevin's 1994 Jeep Cherokee Mud Buggy (Sept 2007 - present) - Kevin wanted a Jeep to so he found this heap for cheap. It was a fresh trade on its way to auto auction or the glue factory (not sure)... he paid $1500 cash. Floor is rusted out, rocker panels rotten, 150,000+ miles - but hey - its a Jeep! RUSTY BUT TRUSTY! It has a 4.0 L inline 6, 5 speed manual, 2 doors, no radio, staight pipe exhaust. He is going to make a Mud buggy out of it as money allows. 4" lift, 33" tires, weld a bunch of metal into it.
Bob's 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport - (July 2007 - present) - I got this because I needed a winter beater. I was going to get a beater car but my friend was selling this. I had a lot of fun on a Jeep Jamboree that me and Dan just went on so I figured "what the heck - lets get a Jeep" It is almost new with only a 129,000 miles on it - it is just getting broke in. I recently won a "backwards" race at Thompson Raceway Park. I beat a 2005 Chevy truck and a Neon. I went 1/8 mile in reverse at 47.47MPH. I won't do that again but I got a trophy that is 3' tall.
UPDATE : The 1998 Cherokee now sports a 3" BDS suspension lift and a set of 31" Trxyss MT's. Look for it at a mud pit near you.
Dan's 2005 Jeep Wrangler X -
(2006-present) - Dan bought
this when he totalled the teal 96 Ranger. He was hoping for a new Jeep,
but would settle for a used one (anything but white). We
couldn't find him one anywhere. We finally found this 2005 leftover at Junction
Auto in Chardon. They are some really nice folks down there. No one
wanted it because it had a manual transmission and white. That was
exactly was Dan was looking for (except it was white of all colors). They sold it
to him for under $17,777 - it was less than the used ones he was
checking out! It has about every option except it isn't a Rubicon. 4.0L
V6, 6-speed manual, AC, 7 speaker CD stereo, cruise control, Hardtop, aluminum
wheels - its better equipped than most cars. I'm not sure what car Dan
likes more, the Mustang or the Jeep. He keeps the Mustang spotless, but he
is always buying toys for the Jeep. Its fun to run this with the roof off and
no doors. I think this Jeep will be around for years to come. It now
has a 3" lift and some 33" tires.
UPDATE 7-7-07 - Just took this baby to a Jeep Jamboree - wow - that was very fun. I like it more than drag racing my Mustang. UPDATE 10-20-07 - Each of us have aquired a Jeep of some sort - we will all be going to the Jeep Jamboree next year in our own Jeep Product.
See pictures here -->http://picasaweb.google.com/searsbob1/JeepJamboreePennSWoods2007 & http://picasaweb.google.com/searsbob1/20080427JeepinInWellsville & http://picasaweb.google.com/searsbob1/20080203OffroadingInWellsville
Current Vehicles:
BOB - 1997 Ford Mustang GT, 1998 Jeep Cherokee Classic, 2005 Ford F-150 STX
DAN - 2004 Ford Mustang GT, 2005 Jeep Wrangler X
KEVIN - 1994 Jeep Cherokee Sled, 2003 Ford Focus ZTS, 2007 Ford Mustang TWISTER GT
Email me at Badsparky@adelphia.net
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