As he noticed quite a few red hatches wearing Bogart wheels, Fred turned to Jason Stauffacher and Joe Payne for help in making his car unique. Jason and Joe applied the tribal flames to the hatch in a weekend's time, just before the '03 Bradenton NMRA opener. "I knew then I had a Mustang that was going to stick out at the races," Fred says. That it did, and we just about tripped over ourselves trying to get a chance to shoot it for a feature.
"[It was] the only thing that made my weekend worthwhile" Fred says, "because my first time-trial run resulted in breaking both axles." That occurred on Friday before we photographed his car, so the 5.0&SF curse was not to blame this time. Luckily, Moser over-nighted a pair of axles and Fred was able to make the third round of qualifying and Sunday's eliminations. "My plans are to be competitive in the NMRA and to try and make most of the races," Fred says. After the Bradenton race, there's only one direction Fred can go, and that's up-the Pure Street ranks.
5.0 Tech Specs
| ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN |
| Block | Stock |
| Bore | 4.030 |
| Stroke | 3.00 |
| Cubic Inches | 306 |
| Rotating Assembly | Eagle crank and rods, |
| | Diamond pistons, Total Seal rings |
| Heads | Edelbrock Performer RPM, |
| | SS Performance & Machining–ported, 2.02/1.60 valves, Comp Cams Pro Magnum rockers, K-Motion valvesprings |
| Camshaft | Comp Cams |
| Intake | Edelbrock Performer Air Gap |
| Carburetor | Demon Carburetors 650 |
| | Speed Demon |
| Fuel System | Aeromotive fuel pump and |
| | regulator, Russell lines |
| Exhaust | Bassani full-length |
| | stepped headers, Bassani X-pipe, |
| | Flowmaster one-chamber mufflers |
| Transmission | TTC-Tremec TKO, |
| | SPEC Stage 3 clutch and pressure plate, SPEC aluminum flywheel |
| Rearend | 8.8, Moser spool and |
| | 33-spline axles, 4.56 gears |
| ELECTRONICS |
| Ignition | MSD 6AL, MSD coil, |
| | ACCEL 8.8mm plug wires, Autolite plugs |
| Gauges | Auto Meter |
| SUSPENSION AND CHASSIS |
| FRONT SUSPENSION |
| Struts | Lakewood 90/10s |
| Springs | Eibach drag |
| Caster/Camber | Stock |
| Control Arms | Stock |
| K-Member | AJE Racing tubular |
| Brakes | Aerospace, Hawk pads |
| Wheels | Bogart Drag-On Star 1, 15x3.5 |
| Tires | Hoosier |
| REAR SUSPENSION |
| Shocks | QA1 adjustable |
| Springs | Eibach Drag Launch |
| | w/airbag in right rear |
| Traction Devices | Competition Engineering antiroll bar, HP Motorsport Mega-Bite uppers, HP Motorsport Mega-Bite Jr. |
| | lowers, UPR spherical bushings |
| Brakes | Aerospace, Hawk pads |
| Wheels | Bogart Drag-On Star 1, 15x10 |
| Tires | Hoosier drag slicks, 26x10 |
| Chassis Stiffening | Metal Fabrication |
| | subframe connectors, Competition |
| | Engineering eight-point cage |