TREMEC pulled the covers off two vehicles with huge significance to the performance automotive industry at the 2025 Detroit Autorama. The first, a 1965 Ford Mustang is a TREMEC Dream Build with a personal story 60-years in the making. Second, a Ford F-150 Lightning proof-of-concept build with the first-ever TREMEC aftermarket dual-clutch transmission (DCT).
1965 Ford Mustang
The story of this 1965 Ford Mustang began when Jim Howe of Grass Lake, MI, sought to expand his Ford dealership and offered a brand-new Mustang as partial payment to local farmer Gerald Memmer. Gerald accepted the deal and enjoyed the car for a few years before passing it on to his son, Roger, who drove it while attending the University of Michigan.
After graduating, Roger returned to the family farm, where he and his wife, Diane, still live. He drove the Mustang for several years and eventually parked it in a barn, where it remained untouched for nearly 50 years. Decades later, Roger’s son, Matt Memmer—now TREMEC’s Director of Engineering and Program Management—retrieved the long-forgotten Mustang, telling his father he planned to take it to a shop to assess what it would take to get it running again. Instead, the car was transported to Bonafide Customs in Napoleon, Ohio, where it was stripped down to its bare shell. The team at Bonafide, in collaboration with Mike Kidd, TREMEC Aftermarket Business Unit Manager, envisioned a high-performance custom build designed to stand out both on the street and the track.
Bonafide is responsible for all of the metalwork, body work, paint and mechanical work on the car. Most of the original sheetmetal was replaced with new panels from AMD. Bonfide hand crafted the wheel flares, rocker panels, functional air scoops and rear spoiler to give the Mustang a modern, pro touring performance appearance.
The powertrain is a Ford Performance Parts 7.3L Godzilla Power Pack crate engine matched to TREMEC TKX 5-speed transmission. The suspension is from Art Morrison Enterprises and fitted with Wilwood disk brakes to provide both world-class cornering and braking. The interior is a mix of TMI Products and custom fabrication by Bonafide.
Roger remained unaware of the extensive transformation taking place until seeing the completely reimagined 1965 Mustang at the 2025 Detroit Autorama.
We will soon start a months-long build series showing the details of the work and partners involved in transforming this Mustang right here on TREMEC-blog.com.
Ford F-150 Lightning
The Gen 2 Ford F-150 Lightning is a proof-of-concept for the TREMEC TR-9070 7-speed DCT. This will be the first DCT ever offered in the aftermarket. To create this proof-of-concept, Livernois Performance in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, started with a 1999 Ford F-150 Lightning and replaced the original drivetrain for the TREMEC TR-9070 and a Ford Performance 5.2L Carnivore Power Pack crate engine.
Mechanically the DCT in this truck is identical to the TR-9070 found in the 2020-2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. This aftermarket package will offer custom car and truck builders access to TREMEC’s renowned performance and durability in DCT technology, with lightning-fast upshifts as quick as 80 milliseconds.
This video shows how the TREMEC TR-9070 works:
