Those lucky enough to see Geoff Beale’s restored ’66 notchback Mustang coupe out on a test drive will probably miss what makes the car so unique. Beale made a number of modifications to the original exterior, with a trunk-mounted rear gas tank fill, widened wheel wells, and a Ferrari gas cap, but the excitement generated by Beale’s project has more to do with what’s inside the car. The coupe contains a pioneering blend of systems technology and classic car restoration that has thousands of car restoration enthusiasts following every twist and turn of Beale’s project.
The Players
Electronics Design & Installation: Convergence Technologies, Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
Car Restoration: Brooks Speed, Eastpoint, Fla.
JNG Creations, Pittsboro, N.C.
Beale is president and CEO of Raleigh-Durham-based Convergence Technologies, an authorized dealer of Crestron home automation systems. He came to the Mustang project after his father passed away in December 2010, when he and his uncle were looking for a project to dive into together. They came across the ’66 coupe, the same car that Beale’s father had suggested when the two were shopping for Beale’s very first car. Three years and thousands of hours of work later, the “TechStang” nears completion, outfitted with a Crestron PRO3 control system and a beautifully restored body.
From the very beginning of the project, Beale was looped into a community of like-minded folks through a website called Pro Touring, which is dedicated to car restoration and racing. Beale’s “TechStang” build is one of the most popular on the site, and it’s easy to see why. The first post, featuring pictures of the dilapidated coupe, is accompanied by an ambitious plan to install a Crestron system meant to optimize the performance of the Mustang and enhance the driving experience.
Given his experience as a Crestron installer, the customization offered by Crestron technology convinced Beale that the PRO3 was the right piece of technology around which to design his system that would operate everything from the AC to the lights and ignition. “With Crestron, I could write my own code and control everything, including graphics for the touchscreen,” says Beale. “I could customize and get exactly what I wanted.”
But there was a long way to go before the Crestron installation.
As Beale dug into the project, it became clear that the Mustang would need a complete rebuild. Beale ordered a chassis from Art Morrison Enterprises and remounted the body on it, in order to support the engine—a Ford 302 Coyote with quad overhead cams that outputs over 700 horsepower, thanks to the addition of a Whipple Supercharger and a custom tune by Eric Brooks, at Brooks Speed in Eastpoint, Fla.
Significant hours and teamwork went into rebuilding the body of the car. Kelly Murphy, a master builder, is responsible for the custom metal work that included molding a bumper to the car and expanding the wheel tubs. Once the chassis work was complete, the car was sent to Larry Woodall, a bodywork specialist in Pelham, N.C. Woodall kept the car for 13 months, during which the car was refinished to a sleek dark grey. Anthony Hoekstra at Tommie Vaugn Motorsports in Houston supplied all the Ford equipment.
Initially, Beale’s design included plans for a back seat, where his children could hop in and enjoy the ride with him, but after the installation of a roll cage, and with the increase in horsepower that the Coyote engine lent to the machine, it became clear that Beale needed all the room he could get. Back panels in the rear seats conceal some of the equipment that was originally intended for the trunk.
The next stop for the car is JNG Creations, of Pittsboro, N.C., where the interior will be finished by Jean-NoÃ:«l Greffeuille, an industry expert with 25 years of experience in custom car interiors.
Beale estimates that his project is currently sitting at around 2,000 hours of his own time with a bit more to go before all is said and done.
As for the automation of the coupe, the audio, air conditioning, ignition, lighting, and wipers are controlled by a custom-programmed, commercial-grade Crestron PRO3 system operating in the background. Beale can access and manipulate all the systems in the car from the dash-mounted TSW-1052 touchscreen, or remotely from a Crestron smartphone app. Using his phone, he can start the car and have it warming up before he leaves the house.
Beale’s system also utilizes two TSW-550 5-inch Crestron touchscreens to report the car’s performance metrics. Mounted where the gauges are typically located, these Crestron touchscreens allowed Beale to forgo the installation of a more conventional data logger kit, most of which come with prefigured reporting capabilities. Since Beale can write his own code for the Crestron system, the information he can collect about the car’s performance is essentially limitless. He also added rubber isolators in order to better protect the Crestron components from the stresses of racing.
By integrating Crestron systems into his rebuild, Beale has enhanced both the performance and enjoyment of driving the car. “What Crestron does really well is take multiple systems and put them into one easy-to-use package. I’m able to access data loggers, headlights, and starters from one place, and get a report on exactly what the car’s doing from one spot,” says Beale.
Beale’s project has generated significant interest among the Pro Touring community, which includes hundreds of professional drivers alongside industry stars like the hosts of Top Gear. “It’s definitely garnered a ton of attention,” says Beale, who’s in the early stages of developing his own car restoration business, Throwback Custom Cars. “A lot of people are waiting to see what I do with it. That’ll lead to other people trying to tackle projects like it.” He laughs and adds, “Someone’s gotta be the guinea pig.” If the TechStang’s capabilities meet Beale’s expectations, expect a proliferation of Crestron-integrated restorations in the near future.
Whether he uses it for racing or leisure, Beale’s holding onto the car for now, which he estimates at close to a $250,000 value. “We talked about selling it,” says Beale, “But my wife said, ‘You’ve put so much time into it… if you sell it right away, I’ll kill you.’ So I’ll probably hang onto it for a while.” EH
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