The Techco Story
Don't feel badly if Techco is a new name to you; it's a new company. Originally a collaboration of Wayne Grafton and Steve Saleen, Techco (www.techcointl.com) is now solely Wayne Grafton's company. It's dedicated to engineering and building high-end domestic performance parts; their first retail project is the supercharger detailed in the main story.
While owner Wayne Grafton--a Vancouver, Canada, based hands-on car enthusiast who made his considerable fortune in real estate and civil engineering--is often found at Techco, the daily grind is handled by the core of the old Saleen engineering braintrust, several of whom are no strangers to this magazine. Billy Tally takes the mechanical engineering lead, John Spruill handles emissions and engine calibration, Jimmy Moore ramrods production, Carlos Duran spins the marketing story, Bill Krieg focuses on chassis, Randy McGee runs the fabrication shop, Milton Sharp wires the electronics and Andrew Veniziado works mechanical design.
This is an experienced crew. Decades of developing and manufacturing Saleen street and racing Mustangs are on tap here, plus some rather more sophisticated projects, such as developing and building the Saleen S7 supercar, including racing it everywhere from Laguna Seca to Le Mans. Last summer they brought forth the SMS 25th Anniversary Mustang. That was when Saleen's car-building venture SMS was allied with parts-maker Techco, but since then the two companies have elected to operate completely separately.
Now the Techco crew is firmly entrenched in an immense 155,000-square-foot facility in Anaheim, California. All the equipment is new, state-of-the-art stuff, with an emphasis on the latest developments in rapid prototyping and computer-driven manufacturing. From the bank of high-output CNC machines, to Zeiss quality control tables to SLS prototyping, the Techco team has the tools to do the job right--and quickly.
Look for Techco to fill domestic performance niches with surprising speed. Started just a year ago with nothing but a handful of core people and a bare shop floor, Techco has already added impressive design, quality control and machining capabilities, built the SMS 25th Anniversary car, brought their new blower from scratch and developed it for Dodge Charger, Challenger, Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Corvette applications. Projects underway include suspension bits, plus a line of turnkey hot rod engines, so stay tuned.
Hot 302
Given the Techco supercharger's easy horsepower ways, wouldn't it be fun to see it huffing out serious boost atop a built engine? That's coming, with Techco looking at building their take on what we know as the Saleen Parnelli Jones 5.0-liter Three-Valve V-8. These all-aluminum engines are typically 10.5:1 compression in naturally aspirated form and 9.0:1 as blower engines. Highlights of a Techco blower engine would be CNC ported cylinder heads, funny cams and boost somewhere in the high teens. Tally guestimates 800 to 900 hp, which sounds reasonable from an engineering if not a cost perspective! It also sounds like a great article, so we'll be there for you when it happens.
 The Techco coolant crossover...  The Techco coolant crossover is installed in the valley. There is one bypass hose to fit to the crossover casting; the rest is simple bolt-on work. Then fit the thermostat and housing to the crossover. |  All hands are a help for the...  All hands are a help for the big step of dropping the blower assembly into place. It's an easy fit, but there's enough weight here to make two people a requirement and three is a luxury. |  With the supercharger bolted...  With the supercharger bolted up, the simple task of plugging in the various harnesses can proceed. The stock fuel line plugs in, as does the injector harness, mass-air connector, and so on. |
 On Mustangs, about the only...  On Mustangs, about the only way to get the blower belt onto the blower is to remove the pulley, slip the belt over it, and reattach the pulley. It goes on with minimal fight, but you will need the Techco pulley wrench. |  Most installations use some...  Most installations use some form of the cold-air intake. This is the finished installation, which is little more than assembling the hose sections and fitting the air dam. |  Also finished is this installation...  Also finished is this installation of the charge cooler tank on the right shock tower. Early Techco customers will receive a hand-fabricated tank like this (built by bonafide race fabricators); a less labor-intensive tank is planned. No large-mouth reservoir opening is planned as icing the cooler is not a high priority. Techco figures the charge cooler runs plenty cold enough already, plus weight and available underhood real estate are issues. |