HOT ROD Drag Week, presented by Gear Vendors Under/Overdrive
Looking for a light, cheap, newer platform to build a Drag Week hauler, Steve Trance out of Jupiter, Florida, looked at Camaros and Mustangs, and walked away thinking the Mustang was lighter, with lots of room for turbos. But he’s more of a Chevy guy, having run and built NASCAR Winston Cup engines for Chevy back in the 1980s, and wanted to step up beyond the 1979 Malibu he brought to the 2012 Drag Week, in the Super Street N/A class. Besides weight, there’s a ton of parts for the Cobra Jet guys, so making a Drag Week pounder is almost like building a kit. The Mustang, a salvage title 2005 V6 with lots of flood damage but a sound car overall, was his choice. He also liked the factory blue that meant no paint and body costs and hassles. Steve stripped it down to a bare shell in February 2016, then sold the powertrain for the original cost of the whole car, netting him into the car for zero-dollars.
Starting in back, he used a TRZ and BMR suspension kit with the nice anti-roll bar setup. A Cobra Jet 4.75 9-inch from S&W Racecars finished off the rear. Trance is singing about the AJE front cradle, which takes care of steering, suspension, and also making an LS Chevy a bolt-in proposition. Yes, Trance chose an LS for power. Back to the cradle, stock spindles bolt to AJE lower control arms, with Strange adjustable shocks and disc brakes. A stock power rack bolts right into it, and the stock GM pump works well with the Ford rack. A BMR spring package finished off the easy, peasy front end.
Trance went with a shortie Powerglide for its weight advantage and the horsepower advantage as the ‘Glide takes less to scoot. Converter is a 5700-stall FTI. The Gear Vendors unit makes up for the 2-speed shorty. The stock Ford cooling system was adapted to the Chevy including the stock V6 radiator.
The engine began with an LS3 block with a 13:1 compression ratio, which works well with the E85—no pings from the rather stout compression. 4-inch stroke and 4.07-inch bore comes out to 416ci. Trance used Eagle rods and crank with Wiseco pistons. LS9 cylinder heads were ported through the GMMP service Chevy provides. Hollow titanium valves, and high-ratio rockers work with the short-travel hydraulic lifters. A Comp Cams cam spec’d for Trance’s valvetrain bumps things along. All of this engine goodness dynos at 700hp, with 5500 peak torque.
Wolf Racecraft makes cage kits, and will miter then for a few extra bucks, which Trance then had welded in by a certified welder. Certification is 8.50et. A Summit 15-gallon tank and Airmotive fuel pump takes care of the E85.
A Ron Francis street rod wiring harness was patched into the Mustang, with the fuse block housed where the passenger air bag used to be. Trance eliminated all of the body controls except for the electric windows that incorporate the smart window feature, since manual windows for Mustangs don’t exist.
Billet Specialties wheels running 295-65-15-inch Hoosiers out back handle rolling stock. As of the first day of Drag Week, Trance, along with his son Justin who’s riding shotgun, has driven the Mustang about 100 miles and made 10 passes at their local drag, so even though they are fairly confident about 2016 Drag Week, this is a fairly fresh build that we’ll be watching close throughout the week.
From where we sit, this approach is a great way to get into a high-digit Cobra Jet or COPO Camaro for a lot less dough. Trance wants to go with twin-turbos by next year’s Drag Week, and as you can see there is plenty of room in that large engine bay, so his Mustang has so much going for it that we hope you keep it in mind for your weekend warrior or Drag Week whip.
See the Live Stream, Photo Galleries, Videos, and Event Coverage from Hot Rod Drag Week 2016 Here!
September 11 – Registration, Test and Tune
National Trail Raceway
2650 National Rd SW
Hebron, OH 43025
September 12 – Day One Racing
National Trail Raceway
2650 National Rd SW
Hebron, OH 43025
September 13 – Day Two Racing
Summit Motorsports Park
1300 OH-18
Norwalk, OH 44857
September 14 – Day Three Racing
US 131 Motorsports Park
1249 12th St
Martin, MI 49070
September 15 – Day Four Racing
Lucas Oil Raceway
10267 US-136
Indianapolis, IN 46234
September 16 – Final Day Racing
National Trail Raceway
2650 National Rd SW
Hebron, OH 43025
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