The ChallengesWith over a literal ton of horsepower, you'd think there would be enough, but John is racing against turbocharged big-blocks, so more is always better. But he must be careful not to give up his starting-line advantage. His relatively light, compact engine has been tuned for quick response, so it 60-foots quickly, like a nitrous car. There is a tradeoff: Even the sleek Cougar could use more outright horsepower during the second half of the quarter-mile when the competition's blown, 500-plus cubic inches makes itself known.
Backpressure is also an issue. There's over 60 psi between the exhaust valves and the turbos. This results in passive EGR, partially filling the cylinders with junk air, and killing power. More exhaust system tuning is definitely in the future.
Cost, of course, is a real issue. John is his own main sponsor, and if you count just half the time and most of the parts that go into it, then add the travel, entry fees, and so on, the fiscal challenge is clear. Racing being a disease practiced by the afflicted, we'll see John taking the treatments for a while yet.
John is also considering a displacement increase, albeit with mixed emotions. His 4.6 combination could be transferred to a larger-bore 5.4 block without excessive re-engineering, and considering the growing availability of aluminum blocks from Ford Racing, the move seems inevitable at some point. That said, a displacement increase will require bothersome retuning to say the least, and it's more fun to trip giants with the smallest possible engine.
 We could hardly believe the...  We could hardly believe the horrid corrosion damage in the valley of our photo block. It looked like it had been underwater--and it turns out it had. It was a hurricane Katrina victim. Still, John and Fred set out to make it a race block as this damage is more cosmetic than anything after the extensive prep work. |  In fact, our photo block had...  In fact, our photo block had just missed the cut for John's drag engine because of this cylinder-wall pitting. To preserve maximum cylinder wall rigidity (it's nice to have at 52 pounds of boost), John won't bore one of his race blocks more than 0.003 inch, but he'll readily use this block in a mere 1,400hp supercharged customer engine. |  All structural fasteners are...  All structural fasteners are upgraded to ARP pieces because the clamping forces required are much higher. Here the puny stock Ford main-bearing side bolts contrast with the obviously more massive, 12-point ARP units Accufab has specially made. These are torqued to eye-watering specs and have cured a main-cap fretting issue. |
In the meantime, few can approach the Accufab Mercury. Steve Matusek at Aeromotive is the only other modular racer in the same 6-second league, but his 323ci, destroked, 5.4 GT-based engine is a completely different animal. It uses a GT block, GT500 heads, and plenty of spending on the latest-and-greatest supporting pieces such as mechanical roller cams, a trick chaindrive, considerably larger turbos, and more. A shop towel would likely cover the small power spread between the two combinations--we'll give a slight power advantage to Steve because his heavier car has run a little more mph--but note that John makes his power with 40 fewer cubic inches and older technology, yet has run quicker e.t.'s. As Steve Matusek said, "The fact that they are both modulars is about all they have in common." In fact, John and Steve are friends, talk freely with each other, and are mutually complimentary about each others achievements.
And we're beyond impressed by what John has accomplished. Years of hard work and big bills have resulted in more power from a closer-to-stock combination than anyone could imagine. Plus, John has the behind-the-wheel talent and cajones to get it down the track quicker than anyone, and that's big when you have to pull into the lane next to him.
Driven by a quiet, powerfully focused personality, we expect John Mihovetz will be in the forefront of modular engine development for a long time to come. We can only imagine what sort of power will result, but it's bound to be impressive.
Quick KittyThinking he'd run in the then new NHRA Sport Compact series, John Mihovetz bought his race car eight years ago, but the V-8 section of the NHRA class was quickly eliminated, so John moved the program to NHRA Competition Eliminator, and eventually PSCA and FFW West Coast events.
Originally built in 1996 as a Mustang, the Accufab crew rebodied the tube-frame racer with Jerry Haas carbon-fiber Mercury Cougar panels during the winter of 2001, running the car for the first time in 2002. It has been modular-powered the entire time. The race weight is 2,650 pounds with John at the wheel. Of that weight, Accufab engine man Fred Grochulski estimates the completely dressed power plant accounts for a little over 500 pounds.
 "Just a good ol' twist-forged...  "Just a good ol' twist-forged Kellogg crank" is how Fred characterizes the Accufab race cranks. True, but it takes an additional $3,600 of machining and heavy metal to race prep the crank. |  To reduce rotating inertia,...  To reduce rotating inertia, the counterweight's circumference is cut down and the crank is rebalanced with heavy metal. Three slugs are used in each of the front and rear counterweights for a total of six. The slugs are frozen for a press-fit installation; then welded to ensure they can't come adrift at 9,400 rpm. |  Another crank mod is 6.0-liter...  Another crank mod is 6.0-liter oiling, a Chevy term. This technique relieves the oil hole in the main journal in the direction of rotation to act as a scoop. The rotating crank then acts as an oil pump to the rod bearings, a little trick borrowed from NASCAR, says Fred. It requires a fully grooved bearing, which Fred cuts freehand using a whiz wheel! |