[Mr 5 0]

I think we can all agree that 'stock' means the car is exactly the way it rolled off the assembly line, give or take a K&N.

Few peformance-minded people, the kind that buy V-8 Mustangs, have totally stock vehicles - and we know that. Guys you meet at a drag strip are even less likely to have totally stock vehicles and that should also be a given, no matter what anyone says. The timeslips tell the story. Most of us have a pretty good idea of what, say, a 'stock' 5.0 Mustang or older 350 Camaro should run (high 13's to low 14's) so when that 'stock' Camaro runs a 12-something we know it isn't stock - or close to it.

I think the game of calling your car 'stock' - when it isn't - is just a manifestation of smugness, a way of saying: "none of your business" while for others it may be reflexive and a result of being asked "What's it got?" a thousand times by people who don't understand 'what it's got' even when you tell them. I've found that Ford guys are more forthcoming when asked 'what they've got' when they know I'm a Ford guy too. Chevy guys tend to clam up; a typical 'You're-not-in-the-club' attitude and while I find it silly, I do understand it.

I only have minor mods and almost none on the engine so I say I'm 'stock' to the average inquiry. If someone is really interested - and I'm in the mood - I'll run down the mod list (it's short) but add that the engine is internally stock, which is what most people who care enough to ask, really want to know.