To make the most of the new EFI, John contacted Probe Racing Components for one of its Pro Street Fighter 347 stroker kits. John ordered the complete short-block, but with the horsepower level John was wanting, Alfredo suggested getting one of FRPP's R302 blocks. After a two-month wait for the R302 block, the rotating assembly was taken out of the Probe-supplied block and reinstalled into the R302 block by B&B Machine Shop in Carteret, New Jersey. When the stroker was originally installed in the car in July 2000, it featured Edelbrock Performer RPM heads and a GT-40 intake, both ported by Probe. John also upgraded the blower from an S-Trim to a thumping T-Trim. In November 2000, he finished off the car with a set of chrome Cobra wheels that he purchased in June 1998 for the day when the car would be done. Nitto treads with drag radials out back fight for traction.
Why is traction such a hot commodity on John's '84? Off the trailer, the car made 502 hp on Crazy Horse's Dynojet. Through a short series of tuning tricks without the aid of an air/fuel monitor (which was down at the time), horsepower shot up to a humbling 544 ponies combined with 536 lb-ft of torque at just 12 pounds of boost. Now that's just not fair!
When Alfredo at Valley Performance initially installed John's 347, it featured a GT-40 intake. That has been replaced with a Trick Flow Track Heat intake, which was ported by Alfredo. John credits him with making the car streetable, yet an animal at the same time. Since these photos were taken, Dentz Unlimited has carried out even more detailing chores under the hood. "It looks so good under the hood now," John says. As it was, we thought it looked good enough for our photo shoot. By the way, John plans on adding a Vortech Aftercooler to the mix as well. Yikes!
| 5.0 Tech Specs |
| ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN | injectors |
| Block | Transmission |
| FRPP R302 | TTC 3550, Centerforce Dual- |
| Bore | Friction clutch, Pro-5.0 shifter |
| Stock bore 4.000 | Driveshaft |
| Stroke | FRPP aluminum |
| 3.4 | Rearend |
| Displacement | 8.8 with Auburn Pro differential, |
| 347 ci | Moser 31-spline axles, T/A girdle, |
| Crank | and 3.73 gears |
| Probe Racing Components steel | |
| Rods | ELECTRONICS |
| Probe Racing Components | Engine Management |
| Pistons | EEC IV, FRPP RPM Extender |
| Probe Racing Components | Ignition |
| forged | MSD 6AL, stock distributor, |
| Camshaft | Crane PS91 coil |
| Anderson Ford Motorsport B4 | Gauges |
| blower grind | Auto Meter |
| Heads | |
| Edelbrock Performer RPM | SUSPENSION AND CHASSIS |
| (ported by Probe) | Struts/Shocks |
| Intake | Lakewood street/strip |
| Trick Flow Track Heat (ported by | Springs |
| Valley Performance) | FRPP |
| Throttle Body | Rear Suspension |
| Accufab 70mm | Southside Machine lower control |
| Mass Air | arms, HP Motorsports adjustable |
| Pro-M 77mm | upper control arms |
| Exhaust | Wheels |
| Hooker Super Comp long-tubes | '95 Cobra 17x8 chrome |
| and Dr. Gas X-pipe, Flowmaster | Tires |
| mufflers, MAC tailpipes | Nitto NT-555 Extreme Z 245/45 |
| Power Adder | (front), NT-555R Extreme Drag |
| Vortech T-Trim | 275/40 (rear) |
| Fuel System | Brakes |
| In-tank sump, Paxton 1100 pump, | Baer Racing |
| Downs Ford rails, MSD 50-lb/hr | |