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1989 Mustang GT 408 Clevor Drag Test - Running WildProject Leave It to Clevor Makes Its Dragstrip Debut From the March, 2012 issue of 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords By KJ Jones Photography by KJ Jones
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Many of you know there are still a few work-in-progress Mustangs in our fleet (Editor Steve Turner's Fox 500, Tech Editor KJ Jones' Boss 340, and Associate Editor Michael Johnson's Project Roadkill). And, contrary to what might be consensus thought, we still plan on getting those 'Stangs completed sometime before the next millennium gets here. However, while those Ponies toil on the back burner, there are cars in the 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords project-car stable that we're able to work with and report about on a semi-regular basis. Greg Montoya's '89 Mustang GT joins Project Vapor Trail, Project T-top Coupe, and Project Coyote Cobra as an active member of the stable, and one that we've really enjoyed covering. And, as is the case for most of our project cars, the engine in Greg's 'Stang is its featured component.  Greg Montoya's Project Leave...  Greg Montoya's Project Leave It to Clevor, a street-driven '89 Mustang GT, leads an unsuspecting (and a lot racier) opponent through the quarter-mile at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, California. We took the 408 Clevor-powered Pony to the big track for some drag testing as a follow-up to dyno tests (  Optimistic anticipation of...  Optimistic anticipation of running well below the NHRA minimum e.t. for needing at least a five-point rollbar (11.49), Greg had a slick, eight-point bar welded into the cockpit of his 'Stang. Despite the addition, emphasis was put on maintaining some semblance of a  Dragstrip hits were made with...  Dragstrip hits were made with the 'Stang rolling on the same footwear that carries it across the streets and freeways of SoCal--Mickey Thompson's 295/45-17 drag radials. That's right, 17-inch rubber, on stealthy stock Mavromont Pony R wheels. While the Pony Rs definitely are most-cool from a visual perspective, we must note that the wheels and tires are pretty heavy. That makes us speculate about how much better the increments (low-end, mid-track, and top-end e.t./mph) would be if the street setup is swapped for traditional big 'n' littles. We've followed the progress of the Trick Flow Cleveland-headed (and intake'd) 408 Clevor engine in Greg's Pony for the last year, bringing you details on all of the parts that comprise the unique bullet, the ins and outs of installing one in a Fox-body 'Stang, and in our last report, rear-wheel horsepower and torque values for the Coast High Performance-built engine ("Big-Steam Dream," Nov. '11, p. 78). A late-model Mustang's dragstrip performance is just as important as its dyno showing, and when all the stars are aligned, a perfect pass (optimum weather, traction, tune, etc) allows us to physically experience the power where the rubber meets the track. With this being the case, it's only right that our dyno test of Greg's Pony is followed up by runs on the dragstrip that will show us how good the 'Stang's performance is in its standard configuration--17-inch Pony R wheels, drag radials, full interior, tubular K-member, coilovers, and adjustable dampeners.  For the naturally aspirated...  For the naturally aspirated run, tire pressure was set at 18 psi. And, per what seems to be protocol for drag radials, a hard-but-short burnout is done to clean the tires of small debris and make the rubber tackier for a good launch.  Despite the good burnouts,...  Despite the good burnouts, we discovered two things during attempts to make a full naturally aspirated run. The high temperature at Fontana (in the low 100s) and lack of true, event-quality prep on the racing surface promoted nothing but spinning tires and smoke when Greg attempted to launch the Clevor-powered GT at 3,200 rpm. Subsequent efforts with Greg leaving at an idle and slipping the clutch into First gear through 2,200 rpm proved better. However, despite finally achieving forward progress, the GT was not transferring weight (notice there is no front-end extension) and definitely required a shocks/struts adjustments before making any runs with nitrous.  With the tires being blown...  With the tires being blown away on motor only, we knew full well there was no chance of Greg dumping the clutch and tagging nitrous from home during this test. Again, launches were held in check by walking the 'Stang out a bit, then romping on the steering-wheel-mounted nitrous button. With shifts being of the In late summer of 2011, we headed to Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, California, and made a few rips--naturally aspirated and with Greg's thumb mashing down on a 200-shot of nitrous oxide. While several things were learned in the session--including the exposure of serious rear-suspension inefficiencies that Greg plans on correcting--we left Fontana with quarter-mile confirmation that our project 408 Clevor engine indeed is the real deal, as once again, the scoreboard's mile-an-hour displays left everyone on the property amazed at how much steam Greg's docile-looking 'Stang actually makes. Horse Sense: "What's your price (for Project Leave It to Clevor)? Tell me how much you want for this car...right now!" That's the question Greg Montoya was asked by one impressed spectator after blasting off a string of 7.18-7.20 e.t./104.94 to 105.25-mph (1.78 60-foot) passes at Irwindale Dragway in the dragstrip debut of the Cleveland-headed 408 engine we've covered from its inception to present. Unlike quarter-mile tracks, speed/mph (as opposed to e.t.) is king on the eighth-mile at "The 'Dale," which typically draws more than 200 registered, insured, honest-to-goodness street cars (the bulk of them imports and Brand-X cars that can barely muster 90 mph) for its Thursday-night grudge program.  As you see by the dismal 60-foot...  As you see by the dismal 60-foot data (for car 6833), Project Leave It to Clevor had a difficult time getting started, but definitely showed its true colors on the big end, tripping speed recorders at 109 mph. That's an indicator that e.t. should have been in the mid-12s range. We're thinking 11s at 114-117 are where the Pony should be on motor alone (32 degrees total timing). With rear suspension refinements (complete Baseline Suspension control arm system) that will probably be made by the time you read this, those numbers will probably come easy for the 408-powered GT.  Before hitting the track to...  Before hitting the track to test the juice, Greg uses Anderson Ford Motorsport's PMS engine-management system to remap the PCM. You'll recall a  Technically, a nitrous purge...  Technically, a nitrous purge is the venting of nitrous gas and air that is trapped in the feed line to allow liquid nitrous to make an unimpeded trip to the nitrous solenoid. Nitrous vapor can cause a 'Stang to bog before taking off due to air/fuel being rich until liquid nitrous gets to the intake plenum. The cold, white blast shown here actually is liquid nitrous that has instantly flashed to vapor when the purge solenoid opened.  With the tires being blown...  With the tires being blown away on motor only, we knew full well there was no chance of Greg dumping the clutch and tagging nitrous from home during this test. Again, launches were held in check by walking the 'Stang out a bit, then romping on the steering-wheel-mounted nitrous button. With shifts being of the  Autolite's 3923 cold plugs...  Autolite's 3923 cold plugs are gapped at 0.028 for our nitrous passes. After the first lap on the sauce, we noticed that while each plug has the light-brown coloring that indicates a good air/fuel burn, there also was a slight hint of speckling on the porcelain. Removing another 2 degrees of timing remedied this.  Tire pressure is another variable...  Tire pressure is another variable that was adjusted before Greg's final pass. Due to drag radials' stiff sidewall and the heavier weight of most 'Stangs that run on the tires, DR veterans say optimum air pressure typically is above 13 psi. After making hits with 18 psi and then 17 psi, tires were adjusted to 16 psi for the last pass.  We noted earlier that the...  We noted earlier that the '89 GT still carries QA1's single-adjustable front struts and rear shocks. Greg usually keeps the struts set at full loose and the shocks at setting number 5 (50/50) for daily street driving. Given the so-so track surface during our test, as well as the 'Stang's bone-stock rear control arms (and broken torque boxes that were discovered after our test), rear shocks were adjusted two settings firmer before the final pass on nitrous.  Breakage of any sort is always...  Breakage of any sort is always a concern when street/strip Mustangs are taken to the track. Unfortunately, we did experience a little damage during the drag test when the pull-out radio exited the dash and its faceplate made contact with the shifter as Greg hit Third gear. Let this be a lesson, especially if you have a four-, five-, or six-speed tranny in your Mustang--remove the pull-out radio before making a pass! While it was clear early in this outing that Project Leave It to Clevor would not be setting any personal-best e.t.'s, we truly wanted to push speed beyond the 130-mph mark before calling it a session. Remember, the mile-per-hour information on a timeslip represents an engine's power-and-torque performance. The 408 Clevor generates more than 600 horses and just as many pound-feet of torque when influenced by the nitrous hit, and scoring the 132.46 mph proves our unique project engine is legit on the quarter-mile. Based on the data gathered in this test and the numbers from Greg's eighth-mile test at Irwindale (which actually was more successful than this effort), we believe the project Pony probably is capable of pulling 60-foot times that are in the low 1.60s/high 1.50s. Of course, our estimate is made with the assumption that the car will be wearing lightweight wheels and slicks, and that chassis nuances experienced in this test are corrected by the time Greg hits the track again. All in all, when the aforementioned stars do align, we believe the 'Stang is plenty capable of running anywhere in the 10.20s to 9.90s range, with speed of 135 mph--quick and fast for a street-driven Fox.
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