If this car looks familiar,...
If this car looks familiar, Rick Anderson has owned the '88 since it was new, and it has appeared in numerous magazines throughout the years. Likewise, it has been run with several different combinations. Rick's latest mission is to see how much power his coupe can make with 93 octane from the corner gas station. Suffice it to say, his goals for the car were anything but modest, and the results were staggering.
Horse Sense: Vortech's YSi-Trim supercharger is an iteration of the V-7 supercharger designed for big performance in a relatively compact package. By big performance, we're talking up to 1,200 hp and 30 psi, depending on the pulley combination. YSi superchargers are primarily seen in the NMRA Renegade class, which gives you an idea of the kind of street cars they build in the Midwest.
When someone says they want to build a fast street car, that can mean a lot of things. Of course, the more open road and racetracks available, the more likely you are to keep pushing the envelope of streetable performance. In the Midwest, where the roads are flat, straight, and surrounded by corn, having a car that goes fast in a straight line is great fun when the weather is warm.
As you know, we often peek in on the goings on at the inconspicuous dyno room at Anderson Ford Motorsport. The main man, Rick Anderson, loves to test parts. Whether he's building a Power Pipe for the latest Mustang or trying to squeeze a few more horsepower out of an NMRA race car, he enjoys learning. When he's not testing on the dyno, he likes to have a fun. And to Rick, fun is a fast street car.
When it came time to freshen up his longtime project car-the famous red '88 Mustang coupe-Rick hatched the idea to see just how much power he could make with pump gas. Yes, all gas comes from a pump, so it would be easy to hedge on that bet. To be more specific, he wanted to see how much he could make on 93 octane. For most of us, that's the best we can do at the corner gas station. In California, 91 octane is all you can get. [Right, KJ?-Ed.]
With that goal in mind, Rick began putting together a Vortech YSi-blown 347 combination that he thought would do the trick. He asked if we'd be interested in following along. Knowing that odds were the results would be good, we obliged before we even heard his power goal. It turns out his goal was north of 700 hp, and that would be enough to get anyone's attention. You probably already looked at the dyno sheet, so you know the result was more than 700 hp. How Rick got to those numbers is just as compelling. Check out the photos, and we'll show you what it takes make the big numbers without race gas.
It was time for a fresh engine in the coupe, and that got Rick on this path down the road to ultimate pump-gas power. As he usually does, Rick turned to D.S.S. Competition Engines in nearby St. Charles, Illinois. If you don't know about D.S.S., it's a longtime Ford-engine specialist refined in the process of building Ford engines in batches, so they build them in a supply ample enough to send them across the country. Rick ordered one of the company's Extreme XR short-blocks ($5,900), based on an FRPP R302 four-bolt main block. It's filled with a 4340 forged crank, H-beam rods, and D.S.S. Pro-X pistons. These short-blocks are good for 1,000 hp and 8-second e.t.'s.
In recent years, D.S.S. has invested significantly in Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) equipment and puts it to good use prepping blocks, porting cylinder heads, and building main support systems. CNC-prepped blocks are the latest rage at D.S.S., as it is believed a properly prepped block results in good ring seal and more horsepower. Rick's R302 received the Level 10 treatment, which includes 35 blueprinting operations and promises 40 hp compared to a standard block. For stock two-bolt blocks, D.S.S. also offers a Level 20 prep package that makes these blocks as strong as possible.
After installing the Meziere electric water pump and an Innovators West damper, Rick made sure the timing pointer was truly at Top Dead Center. This is critical when you're playing with timing on a blower car. If your timing pointer is out of whack with true TDC, you could end up chasing your tail and breaking parts.