Chassis and Suspension
Front Suspension
Shocks
Competition Engineering three-way adjustable
Springs
Stock
Brakes
Lincoln MK7
Wheels
Weld Prostars
Tires
Arizonian 165/15
Rear Suspension
Shocks
Competition Engineering three-way adjustable
Springs
Stock
Brakes
Ford Explorer
Wheels
Weld Prostars
Tires
Mickey Thompson ET Streets
Chuck Hoekstra: '89 Mustang LX 10.50/127.39Chuck Hoekstra was one of the first respondents to our call for E85 Mustangs, and he's old-school when it comes to corn. "After seven years of bracket racing, I decided to see if I could convert my car to run on E85 in 2006," he says. "Many people told me that E85 would eat up a stock fuel system, but I couldn't find any proof that it would. In 2007, after running E85 for a year, I inspected the entire fuel system, only to find everything looked like new."
With that kind of experience under his belt, Chuck hoped to run a 10.50 at the E85 Challenge, and that's just what he did by stepping up to a 125hp nitrous shot from the usual 65hp squeeze supplied by his Zex system. Not only did he run the number, but he did it with fast-food-like consistency on nearly every pass. Not too shabby from his wife's former daily driver.
5.0 Tech Specs
Engine and Drivetrain
Block
Stock
Bore
4.030-in
Stroke
3.00-in
Displacement
306ci
Rods
Stock
Pistons
Ross flat-top
Crankshaft
Stock
Camshaft
FlowTech Induction custom
Heads
AirFlow Research 165
Intake
Edelbrock Performer 5.0
Throttle Body
Accufab 70mm
Mass Air
Pro-M
Power Adder
Zex 125hp dry kit
Fuel System
Walbro 255-lph in-tank, stock lines, stock rails, Kirban regulator, and FRPP 30-lb/hr injectors
Headers
MAC 15?8-in long-tube
Exhaust
Dr. Gas cross-pipe system and DynoMax Race bullets
Transmission
AOD with 4R70W internals, Lentech valvebody, and Circle D Specialties 3,800-stall converter
Rearend
8.8 with Moser 33-spline spool, 3.55 gears, and Moser axles
Electronics
Engine Management
A9P processor with Tweecer RT tune
Ignition
MSD Digital 6
Gauges
Auto Meter and Innovate
Chassis and Suspension
Front Suspension
Struts
Lakewood 70/30
Springs
UPR
Brakes
Stock
Wheels
Weld Drag Lite
Tires
Mickey Thompson
Rear Suspension
Shocks
QA1
Springs
Stock
Brakes
Stock
Wheels
Weld Drag Lites
Tires
Mickey Thompson ET Street
Steve Shrader: '99 Mustang GT 10.52/135.14Most of the invitees to our E85 Challenge were organically received as a result of our online and print requests for participants. However, we did go out of our way to invite a couple of select cars known for E85 antics. How could we not invite the main man behind E85mustangs.com? His name is Steve Shrader, and we were first introduced to him via his work with the Yellow Mustang Registry. These days he also keeps busy with Shrader Performance and the aforementioned E85mustangs.com.
Cool temperatures and a good track had Steve scoring some of his best e.t.'s ever. In fact, his previous best run was an 11.11, and he never once ran slower than a 10 at the E85 Challenge. After years of "that can't be right" disappointments at our events, it's always nice to see someone run better than they did back home.
"Although I had one of the `slower' cars there, I was hoping to represent the Two-Valve crowd well," Steve says. "My setup is small, with only an S-Trim on a true 281 engine that I built myself in my garage [in 2008]. I built it from the ground up as my first-ever engine build, and it made 517 rwhp SAE. It wasn't enough, though, so I called Ron at Fox Lake and got a set of Stage 2 heads shipped to NC just for this E85 Challenge, knowing I'd be competing with some serious horsepower out there. The heads alone propelled me to the new 10.50s."