Eric Butler (center) holds his President's Award from WELD Wheels, which is shaped like a Prostar, one of WELD's iconic designs. The pony car in the background is awfully pretty as well.
In 1993, Eric Butler's dad paid $300 for a 1968 Ford Mustang. The family was living in Southern California at the time, and Eric's dad bought the car for his son. It may have been a rust-free California special, but it had been sitting in a field for six years. In Eric's words, "It was a mess." These days, it's a beauty, so much so that it took home the first WELD President’s Award at the Kansas City 2015 O’Reilly’s World of Wheels.
“I didn't want the car because it had been sitting in a field for 6 years under many layers of covers, and it was a mess,” said Butler, adding that the car had been wrecked and the cheap paint job was peeling when he got it. So he and his father restored it and he drove it like that for eight years, until Butler completely restored it in 2002.
“I took it completely apart, and built it back to what it is today. My dad and I built the transmission using a place called Silver Fox for all the parts,” Butler noted. The red pony has a Dart block 369ci stroker in it from Fordstrokers, with a 9in ford rear end with 4.11 gears. IT has been mini-tubbed for large, 11.5inch wide wheels in the back. Equipped with a TCP rear coil over 4 link suspension and front TCP coil over conversion setup, the car makes over 600 rear wheel hp.
The wheels are custom one-off 17X8 in the front and 17X11.5 rear from WELD Wheels with Michelin pilot sports tires for the front 235/40/zr17 and Toyo Proxes R888 315/35/zr17 on the rear. They chose Baer brakes with Hydratech brake booster for “insane stopping power,” Butler noted. He chose JME custom gauges and house of HID headlights.
Butler was presented the award for “the vehicle that embodies tradition, quality and durability like WELD wheels.” The award includes a wheel polish and a coat of WELD’s ATC ceramic clear finish so they will forever look brand new.
WELD, based out of Kansas City, was “excited to be a presenting sponsor at the event,” president and CEO Norm Young said. “We put together this award to celebrate the men and women who spend hours working on and taking pride in their vehicles. These hobbyists, like Eric, truly love what they do and this was a small way for us to recognize and celebrate one of these weekend warriors.