Project Mondo Stocker Part V: The Last Chapter

Author's Note: What you are about to read is real. It is an account of what happens when you mix the induction system of a 1,000hp engine with the stock bottom end that Ford supplied in a 5.0 Mustang circa 1988. We want to caution our readers that this is a dangerous combination. Serious injury can occur if an engine component were to fail, causing a loss of traction at speeds approaching 150 mph. This was a test performed by the author to examine the limit of the stock bottom end. As you will read, we went way beyond that limit.

On October 17, 1999, a small band of 5.0 Mustang fanatics headed to Great Lake Dragway in Union Grove, Wisconsin, after a long and arduous journey. It had been more than a year since we began the buildup of an '88 5.0 Mustang LX sedan into the magazine car known as Project Mondo Stocker. This day was going to be the culmination of planning, building, and forecasting what happens when you try to push a stock 302ci bottom end further than any sane person has ever done before. Oh, we had heard the warnings, and the daily e-mails and letters told us what our fate would be. Still, the curiosity of such an outrageous combination just begged us to try it. And try we did!

As a quick recap (I promise this is the last time), Project Mondo Stocker had been outfitted with some of the best parts in the industry, surrounding the woefully stock, 60,000-mile-seasoned short-block. Major engine components included a complete Vortech Mondo supercharger package including a J-Trim compressor unit, a ported EFI truck lower intake with box upper, untouched Trick Flow Street Heat heads, and a small Ford Performance Solutions hydraulic-roller cam. Supporting hardware, which we hoped would offset the handicap of the stock short-block, included a full-house Performance Automatic C4 conversion kit; an ACCEL DFI with a Variable Injector Controller and 83 lb/hr injectors (tuned by Jim Summers at ASSC); and a killer, lightweight, front-end suspension package consisting of a Flaming River manual rack and Unlimited Performance chrome-moly K-member, A-arms, and coilover conversion. Other key components included the TRZ stock-type suspension with the antiroll bar, lightweight Bogart rims, and Aerospace brakes.

Our crew consisted of Jim Summers, who had overseen the buildup of the little bomb, Tommy Z to watch over the suspension tuning shores, Tim Huston and Jason Smith of ASSC, Gary Rajtar who was the designated driver for the day, Bob Kurgan acting as cheerleader, and a host of ASSC customers who showed up to be entertained by the carnage. Right away we knew it was going to be a rough day as the thermometer dipped into the 40s and the wind-chill factor hovered around 20 degrees due to the nasty Wisconsin winds. So much for a suntan, but we were here to see what this car could do. We unloaded Project Mondo Stocker, and Gary quickly got it through technical inspection. It didn't take long for the buzz about the car to start. Not surprisingly, there were quite a few fans of Project Mondo Stocker there to cheer the 5.0 Mustang magazine project car down the track. On top of that, we had unwittingly shown up at a 5.0 versus F-body day, and a Mondo-blown 5.0 still causes quite a stir.

As Gary and the crew got the car to the staging lanes, our anticipation of what we were about to see grew out of control. Several of our readers have contacted us to share inspirational stories about their boosted 'Stangs going into the 9-second zone with mostly stock components in the bottom end. But, time after time, they did have some sort of modification, be it rod bolts, a main girdle, or just a fresh rebuild, which seemed to make a huge difference. Honestly, the only thing we had done to prepare this short-block was to change the oil and have the Reverend "Jimbone" Summers say a few words of inspiration before he snugged the cog-driven blower belt.

None of that mattered at this point.

Gary had the car in the burnout box, and Project Mondo Stocker was, for all the world, sounding like a race car--be it for only a short time. Run number one was plagued with problems. It was over in the burnout box actually. Perhaps our biggest mistake in the preparation of this car was to install a 90mm throttle body, clearly with an eye toward the future. It was a beautiful Accufab billet piece which worked flawlessly. The problem was that the Vortech Mondo discharge tubes are designed for a 75mm throttle body. A 75-90mm adapter had been hastily made to solve the problem, but another problem had been created in the interim. The discharge tube simply would not stay on with 30-plus psi of boost coming from the J-Trim Mondo. It popped right off in the burnout box, and Gary made a parade of the first lap with the black exhaust telling us that the motor had lost its wind.

Back in the pits, Jason and Jim quickly reattached the discharge tube, but the same problem would come back to haunt us throughout the day. Other problems arose for run number two. First, the line lock stopped working, and our aftermarket tachometer went bad. When it rains it pours. Now, Gary was blind to rpm through the run, forcing him to shift on the rev limiter which was set at 6,000 rpm in the MSD 6AL ignition box. The good news was that the discharge tube stayed on for the entire run. Gary brought the motor up against the converter and let go of the tranny brake button at the first sign of green. A safe and rich DFI program kept the car from revving up quickly, and it didn't start really moving for the first 100 feet. Once the motor cleared, and the blower came up on boost, the car exploded into action. The front tires actually lifted off the track as the boost climbed past 30 psi in First gear. Project Mondo Stocker blasted down the track, but at 1,000 feet, the rev limiter hit in Third gear, and Gary was forced to lift. Still, the scoreboards registered an 11.161-second e.t. at a promising 130.34 mph.

We had something to build on.

Back in the pits, the first concern was whether the crank was still in one piece. Everything checked out, and Gary reported the car was extremely straight down the track, not having to even touch the steering wheel. Jim jumped in the driver's seat and started putting the tune to the little notch. While Jim worked his magic on the laptop keyboard, Jason placed a 7,000-rpm chip in the MSD ignition box. That went way past our 5,500-rpm safety limit, but we simply had no other choice.

Run number three was going to be the big one. Jim had Project Mondo Stocker running cleaner than ever, and all signs pointed toward a high-9- or low-10-second pass if all went well. Of course, the racing gods would not have it that way. Gary did a moderate burn-out, brought the sedan to the line, and blasted off a 1.419-second short time as the TRZ suspension did its job of planting the power and keeping the car straight. The Performance Automatic C4 nailed Second gear, the boost climbed, and Gary was on a screamer. At the top of Second, just before the gear change, the discharge tube curse came back to haunt us. This time, the explosion of escaping air could be heard from half track, and the nose of the car dropped, signaling the end of the run. A 12.109 e.t. at only 73.56 mph was the result, but a 6.70-second eighth-mile time indicated we were on the right track. Using a quick conversion (eighth-mile e.t. multiplied by 1.56 equals quarter-mile e.t.), we were at least in the low-10s.

Unfortunately, run number four was a repeat of number three, with the damned discharge tube letting go at the top of Second gear, and Gary crossing the finish line with a disappointing 12.151 e.t. at the slowing 89.17 mph. Patience and the weather were starting to wear thin on everyone involved, and run number five was going to have to improve the day's progress. The hose clamps were once again reinstalled around the discharge tube, and everything was airtight.

On the starting line, Gary sat on the tranny brake until the boost and revs started to come up strong. Project Mondo Stocker launched from the starting line with a 1.37-second short time, and we collectively held our breath to see what would happen. Second gear came, and the boost continued to push the supercharged 5.0 down the track faster than it had all day. Then, in a final breath of life, Project Mondo Stocker let out a burble for help, and the short-block expired. Gary pulled to the side, unable to clear the track. By the time we got to the access road, the hood was up, and Gary was talking about a "nasty vibration."

Miraculously, nothing was sticking out of the oil pan, although the front seal had been violated, and the leaking oil indicated internal damage. Back in Cincinnati at Paul's Automotive Engineering, we verified that the block cracked along the main webbing area. Other than that, there was no apparent damage, although the integrity of the rods and crank are certainly in question. While we fell way short of our 9-second aspirations, Project Mondo Stocker continues to be one of the most talked about project cars that any Mustang magazine ever attempted.

We're done with stock bottom ends in this car for now, but if you're interested we can tell you about the affordable (no kidding!) short-block we replaced it with which is capable of withstanding 700-900 hp. We want to thank ASSC, TRZ, Vortech, Performance Automatic, Unlimited Performance, Accufab, ACCEL, Flaming River, and Ford Racing Performance Parts for their support of Project Mondo Stocker. It was fun while it lasted. It just didn't last long enough! 5.0