Crane Cams
Valvetrain gear is obviously the star of the show at Crane [(386) 252-1151; www.cranecams.com], so the company's new shaft-mount 5.0 roller rockers and 4.6 camshafts were our first targets. The rockers offer increased stability at an affordable price, while the 4.6 cams are optimized for the '99-and-later PI cylinder heads. But it was the electronic gear that caught most people's attention. Crane has long been in the ignition busi-ness, and it has added a trick optical distributor to its lineup. This piece reduces the number of working mech-anical parts with optics and electronics, which makes this unit ultra-accurate. Crane has also moved into electronic tuning with new handheld flash programmers and chips designed to tune up a car for-among other things-a Crane Cam.
Currie Enterprises
Long known for its robust 9-inch rearends, Currie Enterprises [(714) 528-6957; www.currieenterprises.com] is expanding its lineup with complementary parts, such as these Currietrac Adjustable Control Arms. The arms feature rebuildable joints, urethane bushings, and a 30-degree range of motion.
Eagle Specialty Products
A bevy of new internally balanced Ford cranks were the news at Eagle Specialty Products [(662) 796-7373; www.eaglerod.com]. A cast 351W unit in 3.700- and 4.000-inch strokes is the price leader at $229. In more expensive steel, Eagle offered another 351W crank, this time in 3.500-, 3.750-, and 4.000-inch strokes for $589. A 302 version of the steel crank is $499 and available in 3.250-, 3.400-, and 3.470-inch strokes. All these cranks use 2.100-inch rod journals and are available now.
Factory Five Racing
Cobra roadsters never go out of style, but they do get new engines. Factory Five Racing's [(508) 291-3443; www.factoryfive.com] kit, which uses a donor Mustang for its mechanicals, was showing a new modular engine version. As does the well-known 5.0 version, the modular engine kit uses a late-model Mustang for its entire powertrain and many other bits. Expect an approximate $2,000 premium for the modular engine variety over the 5.0 version.
Flaming River
Known primarily for its manual steering racks and replacement steering shafts, Flaming River [(440) 826-4488; www.flamingriver.com] now offers the Sportsman Power Rack Kit, which includes a quick-ratio power steering rack, a steering shaft, and all the necessary mounting hardware. The company also offers a new bumpsteer kit.
Fluidyne
Larger aftercooler radiators for '03 Mustang Cobras were found from most of those in the heat-exchanger business. Fluidyne [(888) 358-4396; www.fluidyne.com] was showing its prototype, finished immediately before the show. The three-row unit measures 311/44 inches thick overall and should retail around $350. Substantial charge-air temp reductions were claimed. Other notables included a Lightning cooler and a 5.0 radiator for early Mustang conversions.
JBA Headers
Mid-length headers is where JBA [(619) 229-7797; www.jbaheaders.com] is differing itself from the Mustang exhaust herd. Claiming the power benefits of a full-length header, but without the installation and clearance hassles, JBA introduced 151/48-inch and 131/44-inch midlengths for late-model 4.6 GTs at SEMA, along with new V-6 short-tube headers. Pricing was not available, but a picture of J. holding a new set of tri-Y headers for his beloved FE engines was.
Lunati
Hard parts were the big Ford news at Holley subsidiary Lunati [(901) 365-0950; www.lunaticamshafts.com]. The heavy hitters were new 4340 steel crankshafts for 302 and 351W engines. Various stroke combinations are available for street and race applications. Lunati also has several new Street Race forged rods good for up to 450 hp.