The future looks bright for this car. Obviously, if you are going to campaign a modular Mustang in any class in 2002, you better have a serious bankroll and a talented crew behind you. From this promising start, it looks as though Mark has those two aspects of modular racing covered. Could a modular car come out and win in Renegade? We have always thought the big-headed, four-cam cars were the hot ticket in Renegade-if you could keep the tune in place and the blower from going through the hood at 8,500 rpm! Mark may well be onto something, but the '02 season will surely test this car to the limit.
If he does win with the modular, or even challenge the top teams, you may see a shift of power in Ford racing to the modular engines. Regardless, the testing continues, new parts keep coming out, and it sure is a good time to be running a modular.
On a local Saturday night test-and-tune session, the '98-GT-turned-Saleen-Cobra ran a string of mid-9s with no failure whatsoever. The best pass that night was a promising 9.54 e.t. at more than 138 mph with consistent 1.30-second 60-foot times. Mark reports the car has been shipped back to SHM for more upgrades that should follow the release of the '02 FFW and NMRA rule books.
Freddie Horn gets the nod for having the bulk of the chassis structure on his rsum. NHRA legal chrome-moly cage-work can be seen inside. Through-the-floor subframes are hidden underneath the full race car interior. The Hurst shifter is connected to a Performance Automatic full-race C4 transmission with a 6,000-stall Continental converter.
| 5.0 TECH SPECS |
| ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN |
| Block | Stock (prepped by Sean Hyland Motorsport) |
| Cylinder Heads | Stock (ported by SHM) |
| Intake Manifold | Stock (ported by SHM) |
| Camshafts | SHM |
| Power Adder | Paxton Novi 2000 |
| Exhaust | Freddy Horn Race Cars long-tubes, SHM X-pipe, and DynoMax mufflers |
| Fuel Pump | Weldon |
| Fuel Injectors | Siemens 83 lb/hr |
| Transmission | Performance Automatic C4 |
| Rearend | 8.8 with Mark Williams spool, MW 35-spline axles, and 4.30 gears |
| ELECTRONICS |
| Engine Management | FAST |
| Ignition | MSD DIS-4 |
| Gauges | Racepak |
| SUSPENSION AND CHASSIS |
| Springs | AFCO coilovers |
| Struts/Shocks | Anthony Jones Engineering (front)/AFCO (rear) |
| Rear Suspension | Wolfe Race Craft |
| Wheels | Bogart |
| Tires | Mickey Thompson |
| Brakes | Wilwood |