Someday our little '89 notch...
Someday our little '89 notch will be coming off the porch to run with the big boys-just like Jarad Large's coupe-or at least with NMRA's Rob Kinnan in a little grudge race.
When enhancing your Mustang's performance, be it suspension, power, or braking, there is always the urge to throw the best of the best at your project. Let's face it, we all want 800 hp; 15-inch, six-piston brakes; and the level ump-teen-million suspension package from XYZ's catalog. Sadly, many of us don't have the scratch to feed this kind of urge. This is why we worked with the National Mustang Racers Association to devise the class and rules now known as the 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords Real Street class.
The Real Street class is formulated on building a powerful Mustang with real street-level performance parts. No back-halving, no motor plates, just simple, proven, performance parts commercially available to anyone. Building a car in this manner not only makes racing somewhat affordable, but it also brings back the excitement of who can tune and drive the best-not who has the biggest sponsor and deepest wallet (my apologies to the Pro guys).
The crew at HP Motorsport...
The crew at HP Motorsport ably handled our rear-suspension needs. The company supplied us with its Mega-Bite rear sway bar and Mega-Bite upper and lower control arms. Also shown here are HP's Mega-Bite Alignment Plates, transmission crossmember, and driveshaft safety loop (to be installed later).
Editor Turner discussed the project in the Jan. '01 Bench Racer, and we followed the crew at D.S.S. for the Real Street engine buildup in the July '01 issue ("Getting Real," p. 39). Naturally, being a magazine, our car is going to lean toward the top of the Real Street scale, but you needn't make all the modifications we do. Just keep in mind the top competitors are always going to push the envelope.
This month we prepare our four-cylinder chassis for competition with class-legal parts from HP Motorsport, Anthony Jones Engineering, Tokico, Maximum Motorsports, Baer Racing, Mark Williams, Wild Rides, and Eibach. We also had our previously installed Maximum Motorsports rollcage properly welded up and converted to work with MM's swing-out door-bar kit.
Horse Sense: When building a Mustang for any class of racing, be sure to pick up a rule book from the sanctioning body before ordering a single part. This way you will know what is legal for your class. You can build on your project with the aid of the rule book for fewer problems come race day.
Removing all of the stock...
Removing all of the stock components is the first order. Our piddly 7.5 axle was expunged from our notch many months ago to make another car "go away," so we had to yank only the four old upper and lower control arms to get started.
Before installing the new...
Before installing the new HP Mega-Bite arms, we felt it would be best to reinforce our stock torque boxes with Wild Rides' Battle Boxes for both the upper and lower torque box areas. These bolt-in reinforcements really help the weak factory torque boxes take the power.
In order to make room for...
In order to make room for installation, strip the rear seating from the car and then scrape away any undercoating and sound deadener that will interfere with the installation of the Battle Boxes. If you want to save some real weight, strip your chassis of all this stuff!
Line up the Battle Box outer...
Line up the Battle Box outer brace with the two factory holes in the torque box and drill through one of these holes.
Secure the outer brace and...
Secure the outer brace and inner brace together with one bolt and angled spacer. This will help in drilling the remaining holes.
Drill the second and last...
Drill the second and last vertical hole and secure the Battle Box with another bolt and angled spacer.