It's not abnormal to see a 10-second 5.0 Mustang bridging the gap between regular street duty and pounding the local competition at the dragstrip on the weekends. But Jeff Lewko has taken the idea of a 10-second street-driven Mustang to another level.
Would you believe the Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, resident hauls a travel trailer with his '91 Calypso coupe?
On several occasions he has hauled the travel trailer to the track, raced the entire weekend, then hooked back up to the trailer and headed home. This practice has tormented many a competitor, especially when Jeff has just trailered them.
At the heart of the hauler is a '69 351 Windsor block stuffed with a Kuntz & Co. 408 stroker kit which includes Eagle rods, Venolia pistons, and Childs & Albert rings. The short-block features a blower-friendly 9:1 compression ratio--but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Feeding the big Windsor are Brodix Track 1 heads featuring 2.08/1.60 valves. The heads are box-stock except for mild bowl and combustion-chamber cleanup. A small-base-circle, .600-inch-lift Comp roller cam actuates stock lifters, AMC hardened pushrods, and Crane Gold Race roller rockers. The pushrods just happened to fit, and the roller-cam setup was transferred from the original 302.
Branching away from the typical intake choices meant for injected 302s, Jeff chose Coast High Performance's EFI Spyder intake. So far, so good--except the Spyder intake and throttle body wouldn't fit under the stock hood. Not wanting to add a cowl hood, Jeff custom-built an upper-inlet elbow which relocates the throttle body in close proximity to its stock location. He also had to rework the throttle linkage (see "Horse Sense"), and if the discharge tube doesn't look like standard fare, that's because Jeff made it, too. He also made the secondary-injector plate sandwiched between the lower and upper intakes, which houses three 42 lb/hr injectors controlled by an Anderson Ford Motorsport/EFI Systems secondary injector driver. Primary injectors are of the 36 lb/hr variety.
For even more fuelish pleasures, a 1-gallon fuel cell is located under the hood with its own regulator and pump to form a secondary fuel system triggered by an EFI Systems' Programmable Management System. A Paxton 1,100hp pump is mounted out of view to the front of the fuel tank for a little added sneakiness. Jeff also made the mandrel-bent inlet tube, which feeds air to a Vortech Y-Trim pullied to throw down 21 pounds of boost.
Even though the car packs obvious muscle from 351ci and 21 psi, it has not been drag tested or dyno'd in this form. Combine the low-end torque of the Windsor with the upper-rpm capabilities of the Spyder intake and Y-Trim and we're thinking Jeff has enough horses living under the hood to haul a small village down the road. Before the Windsor swap and with a 306 and S-Trim Vortech on board, the combo was good for 10.70s at 129 mph in the quarter. The Windsor signed on after the 306 launched the crankshaft out the front of the stock block. We'd like to see that picture.
Igniting the beast is the responsibility of a Crane HI-6 box combined with a 351 truck distributor (from JC Whitney) and Taylor wires. Other peripheral support items include a Canton 3-quart Accusump that feeds oil to the engine in case of an oil pressure problem and can also be used as a preoiler to protect the engine from dry starts. An FRPP 351 conversion oil-pan kit allowed Jeff to lower the engine an inch for increased hood clearance.
If you can believe it, a T5-Z heavy-duty five-speed tranny transfers the low-profile power through an FRPP aluminum driveshaft, back to a 3.55-geared 8.8 rear featuring Strange 31-spline axles and an Auburn Pro differential. The 8.8's innards are held in place with help from an FRPP girdle. Helping the T5-Z to live between the stout rear and Windsor power output is a McLeod Soft-Lok clutch with an aluminum flywheel. The Soft-Lok clutch is designed to allow the driver to control the right amount of slippage, decreasing the power hit on the tranny. A Lakewood bellhousing ensures the clutch stays away from Jeff's feet.
Like the drivetrain mods, chassis and suspension improvements are found at every corner. Lakewood 70/30 struts work with four-cylinder springs to control front-end entertainment while a Flaming River manual rack provides weight savings for wheels-up launches. Out back, stock shocks and springs have been retained, but Steeda adjustable upper control arms were thrown into the sandbox with stock lowers and Lakewood traction bars to maximize starting-line traction. Competition Engineering was called upon for its through-the-floor subframe connectors and six-point rollbar, while an FRPP chassis stiffening kit makes sure launches remain straight.
Depending on whether he's launching at the dragstrip or peeling out at the stoplight, Jeff has several choices of rolling stock. For the street, he uses factory Pony wheels with BFGoodrich treads. For street-legal drag action, Center Line Convo Pros are put into action with Hoosier Quick Times at the rear. For all-out drag-race action, OEM space-saver wheels are mounted up front with 10-holes out back shod with Mickey Thompson slicks.
Even three sets of sticky tires aren't enough to keep the car in Jeff's possession. It seems that in his hometown juveniles like to steal cars for fun (imagine that). People have tried to steal his coupe at least five times. To make sure it stays where it's supposed to, numerous measures have been taken and components have been added to keep Jeff's name on the title. The car features wheel locks (the key is never in the car), a Clifford Bulldog Immobilizer alarm (all openings are connected to the alarm with a glass-breakage sensor, and a silent pager warns of a theft in progress), a four-wheel hydraulic brake lock, an armored column assembly, a fuel-system shut-off, an Autotazer club system (that should be fun to watch), and a forged eye hook welded to the chassis connecting the car to the wall with the biggest padlock known to man. Forthcoming is a Boomerang vehicle-locating system. All these items make the car nearly impossible to steal, but it takes Jeff several minutes to disarm everything so he can start the car without setting anything off. We bet he didn't have to add all that stuff to that Mustang II he used to own.
And to think he was actually looking for a Honda Civic when he found the '91 coupe in February 1992. Though he could have bought three or four Honda Civics by now with the amount of money he has invested in the Mustang, they wouldn't have near the torque needed to pull a travel trailer. Plus, we haven't seen too many 10-second Honda Civics roaming the streets. 5.0
Horse Sense: In order to fit the induction system under the stock hood, Jeff custom-built an upper inlet for the Spyder intake. It relocates the throttle body and uses a chain from a photocopier as throttle linkage.