Billet Hood Strut Installation on Your S197 Mustang
March 18, 2024
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
Remembering Chris Raschke: A Life Engineered for Speed
The automotive and motorsports world lost one of its most dedicated champions on Sunday, August 3, 2025, when Chris Raschke tragically passed away following a crash at the Bonneville Salt Flats. He was 60 years old.
ENGINE BAY ART FORM
The goal of many builders in today’s high-class, high-dollar world of rodding is to develop new trends to help keep the hobby fresh with new ideas. For some time, the focus has been on the bigger picture—the external appearance of a vehicle. Now builders are focusing a lot more on the details and areas such as the engine compartment, as they become a canvas on which to display the latest and slickest art form.
Challenging The Odds
Like old hot rods, muscle cars are getting hard to find, so as our hobby grows, different alternatives and varied approaches keep it fresh. We’ve witnessed a change in style of many of the cars being built today. No matter what the future holds, you can bet that a Mopar enthusiast will insist on having a Hemi—or another fine Mopar powerplant under the hood—whether it’s the original-style Hemi or the new, modern Hemi that’s become popular.
Spotlighter
Product Spotlight: Pyramid Optimized Design Sequential Aurora Taillight for 1964½–1966 Mustang
Update Your First Gen Mustang's Taillights to the 21st Century
If you’ve ever followed a classic Mustang at night, you know the taillights were never its strong suit. Pyramid Optimized Design decided to fix that—with style. The Sequential Aurora Taillight is a modern LED retrofit that finally gives your early Mustang the bright, even illumination it always deserved—no hot spots, no dim corners, no burned-out bulbs.
Author
The Auto Builder Staff
Photos Courtesy of Pyramid Optimized Design
Each Aurora setup comes as a complete, ready-to-install system. Inside the box, you’ll find two precision-engineered LED taillight units, a solid-state LED flasher relay designed for smooth, consistent sequencing, and a pair of low-profile chrome bezels with hidden hardware—a subtle but brilliant design move that eliminates visible screws for a cleaner, more refined finish.
These bezels strike the perfect balance between factory-correct styling and modern refinement, maintaining that unmistakable Mustang rear profile while sharpening it just enough to catch the eye. When those sequential turn signals sweep across the lenses, the effect is pure automotive theater—subtle, sophisticated, and unmistakably modern.
Prefer to keep your Mustang’s exterior completely original? Pyramid thought of that, too. The Aurora housings are fully compatible with your stock bezels and lenses, allowing you to retain a 100% factory appearance while enjoying the benefits of today’s lighting technology hidden beneath the surface.
Key Features:
- Direct retrofit for 1964½–1966 Mustangs—no permanent mods
- Ultra-bright, even LED output with sequential signal pattern
- Hidden hardware, low-profile bezels for a clean factory aesthetic
- Includes reproduction lenses and a solid-state flasher relay
Installation couldn’t be easier—it’s a true plug-and-play retrofit that requires no cutting, no drilling, and no irreversible modifications. Everything bolts right into the factory mounting points, transforming your taillights in an afternoon. The result is a factory look that glows with confidence and clarity far beyond what Ford ever offered in the mid-’60s.
Classic looks. Modern lighting. Zero compromise.
👉 Bring your Mustang into the modern era—upgrade to the Sequential Aurora Taillights today!
ARTICLE SOURCES
Pyramid Optimized Design
Bellingham, Washington.
