Darren and Walter realistically don't expect to clean up in Pro 5.0 this year, as the learning curve will no doubt be steep. But by building a dual-purpose racer, they've made the most of their considerable investment. And while some might argue any sort of equation between race car and investment, how many other forms of investment can pay dividends in as little as seven seconds?
Under the Vortech 'cooler sits a tidy 328-inch, Paul Silva small-block topped by Trick Flow Street Heat heads and force-fed by an Innovation T-100 turbo. Both heads and the hidden Hogan sheetmetal intake received the Silva porting touch. Certainly not the biggest Pro 5.0 mill out there, the combo nonetheless sung out to the tune of more than 1,600 hp in early testing.
Inside the Phoenix Fabricating 25.1C cockpit, the clutch pedal might as well be installed with Velcro. Though it has some use with the Liberty manual gearbox to be used in Pro 5.0, it's nothing more than a dead-pedal when the Powerglide is slid in place to run the OSCA Super Street series.
Because a race car has few...
Because a race car has few lights and no emissions crap to plumb, you might think wiring one would be a breeze. The folks from Racewire would disagree, and if you look at their handiwork here, you'll begin to appreciate some of the electron complexity of the modern race car.
| 5.0 TECH SPECS |
| ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN |
| Block | Ford Racing |
| Performance Parts A4 |
| Bore | 4.030 |
| Stroke | 3.200 |
| Displacement | 328 ci |
| Crank | Scat billet |
| Rods | Crower billet |
| Pistons | BRC |
| Compression | 8.2:1 |
| Cam | Comp Cams |
| Heads | Trick Flow Street Heat |
| (ported by Paul Silva) |
| Valves | 2.08/1.625 |
| Intake | Hogan sheetmetal |
| (ported by Paul Silva) |
| Throttle Body | 90mm Accufab |
| Injectors | ACCEL 160 lb/hr |
| Headers | Kooks custom |
| Power Adder | Innovation T-100 turbo |
| Intercooler | Vortech Igloo |
| Transmission(s) | Liberty five-speed |
| (Pro 5.0) or Powerglide (OSCA) |
| Rearend | 9.5-in Reider Racing, |
| 4.10 gears, 40-spline Moser axles |
| ELECTRONICS |
| Engine Management | ACCEL |
| Ignition | MSD 7AL3 |
| SUSPENSION AND CHASSIS |
| FRONT SUSPENSION |
| K-Member | Phoenix Fabricating |
| | tubular |
| Control Arms | Phoenix Fabricating tubular |
| Struts | Koni coilover |
| Brakes | Strange |
| Rear Suspension |
| Axle Location | Phoenix Fabricating four-link |
| Sway Bar | Wolfe |
| Coilovers | Koni |
| Brakes | Strange |