Real Street Eliminator XV Coverage

Bill Salie is an autocross guy. His '99 Camaro is the fourth car he'sowned for cone slaying and was special ordered from SLP Performance withno T-tops, traction control, or leather interior. Bill was able to pickand choose his options then have the car shipped to SLP for exhaust andexterior modifications then back to GM for final inspection then on tothe dealership. A month after the car was delivered, Bill had it on theSolo II course.

So close. Bill stopped in...        read full caption So close. Bill stopped in 104 feet every time. The lighter AMC stoppedin 101 feet. The difference is about 800 pounds.

The interior is stock except...        read full caption The interior is stock except for the gauge pods and Recaro SRD racingseat. Bill's first Camaro was a commuter that he autocrossed onweekends. This car is for recreation only.

Bill is also a drag racer...        read full caption Bill is also a drag racer driving to New England Dragway and Englishtownabout 10 times a year. He had a TNT F1 wet nitrous system for a 150hpshot, but it was untested and therefore unused at the event.

Bill is a constant tinkerer, using several different combinations ofsprings and shocks to get the car to turn in and stick. His primarycompetition are lighter Honda Civics, which he routinely routes on thelonger horsepower courses to place at least top five in the E StreetPrepared category local events.

Otherwise, it's as mellow a car as you'd expect for a '99, and comparedto the earlier iron in the contest, it had to be one of the mostcomfortable. Its strength was its braking capacity and barking LS1. Ifthere was a weakness, we couldn't find it. Bill was so close to FirstPlace in all the categories that just the weight of his car was likelythe difference when he stopped only three feet behind the AMC.

TECH NOTES

What: '99 Camaro SS

Owner: Bill Salie, Boxford, MA

Engine: Stock-displacement LS1 V-8 with SVO 30-lb/hr injectors,and a TNT F1 wet nitrous system.

Valvetrain: Lunati hydraulic roller with 224/224 duration at0.050 and 0.558 lift, with Comp Cams 918 valvesprings

Heads: Stock aluminum with a port and polish from Absolute Speed

Intake: Ported and powdercoated stock throttle-body

Transmission: Stock T56 with a Pro 5.0 shifter, McLeodsingle-disc clutch with an adjustable master cylinder, and an APEngineering 3-inch steel driveshaft

Exhaust: SLP long-tube headers with a Y-pipe and catalyticconverter, Dynomax 18-inch Bullet muffler and ATR Pitbull muffler tokeep the noise to less than 90 decibels at 75 feet to meet localautocross noise restrictions

Front Suspension: Bilstein shocks converted to adjustable styleand re-valved by Shock Tec, GM 1LE 360-pound springs, Addco 32mm solidsway bar, Global West upper control arms

Rear Suspension: Bilstein shocks also treated by Shock Tec, GM1LE 21mm sway bar, BMR tubular lower control arms, LG Motorsports torquearm and Panhard rod, and Global West 1,000-pound springs

Brakes: Corvette C5 Z06 front rotors and calipers, LG Motorsportscaliper brackets, and Hawk HP Plus pads

Wheels/Tires: On the street, 17x9.5 and 17x11 GM Grand SportCorvette wheels with 275/R40-17 and 315/35R-17 Dunlop sp8000s; for thestrip, M/T ET Street 28x11.5-15s; for the track, Weld 15x8 Draglites andAFS ZR1 17x11 wheels with Kumho V710 315/35R-17s

Differential: Moser 12-bolt housing and cover girdle, 4.10:1gears, Detroit Tru-Track differential, and 33-spline forged axles

Special Sauce: Race weight is 3,800 pounds, and best e.t. is12.40 at 113 mph

It was a first in RSE history: a 9-second quarter-mile pass. Previously,we've generally assumed that any vehicle capable of producing such atimeslip would fail the rest of the competition miserably. John Garnerhas changed that. His name and his Mustang have been seen in Car Craftbefore most recently in the August '05 issue, when we were impressedwith the car's 10-second ability, so when he ripped off a 9.60 e.t. at146.38 mph his first time down Norwalk's track, everyone was astounded.Garner himself was elated with the personal best (previous best was 9.96@ 136) and satisfied with the performance, but we asked him to try againfor the cameras. He couldn't resist lead-footing it and turned a 9.43 at148.30. Bear in mind, this is not some street race outlaw car; by NHRAstandards, it's completely legal for the nines.

Looking more like a Saturday...        read full caption Looking more like a Saturday night cruiser, John Garner's '90 Mustang iscapable of turning in mid-9-second drag passes without sacrificingstreetability. The paint and fit-and-finish of the Mustang are as niceas the photos imply.

Garner's convertible features...        read full caption Garner's convertible features a full interior including A/C, heatedseats, full sound system, and an NHRA certified rollcage that Johndesigned himself. Even with the top up, getting in and out is not anissue.

The Edelbrock-headed 347-inch...        read full caption The Edelbrock-headed 347-inch small-block Ford lies beneath theowner-designed intake manifold housing the intercooler. Cold water ispumped through the cooler from a 7.5-gallon tank in the spare-tire wellduring drag passes. Garner also designed the cog-belt blower-drivearrangement, since available systems didn't accommodate A/C, which Johnconsiders mandatory.

The next day, as it had in the past, John's Mustang provided comfortableroad transportation on the ride-and-drive and was unaffected by theinclement weather. The stereo thumped, the heated seats toasted ourbuns, and the noise level was completely unobjectionable. The LentechAOD even shifts itself when the stock shifter is left in Drive.

John scored well in both engineering and craftsmanship, and was probablythe only guy in the group who didn't mind the autocross rain-out, thoughhe was fully willing to sling the 'Stang around the course, even in therain. The only glaring shortcoming of this car during the competitionwas braking, which could use some dialing, as John placed last in thatcompetition. Though by the time you read this, John will likely haveseparated his retinas dialing in his upgrades.

The only observed area where... 

   

  read full caption

The only observed area where the Mustang was lacking was braking, askeeping the wheels out of lockup on the non-ABS Mustang proveddifficult, and adjustments to front/rear bias helped only slightly.

TECH NOTES

Car: '90 Ford Mustang GT

Owner: John Garner, Seattle, WA

Engine: Ford 5.0 liter bored and stroked to 347 ci using Proberotating assembly in a Ford R302 block

Heads: Edelbrock aluminum Victor Jr., 2.05/1.60-inch valves,ported/polished by D&G Motors in St. Louis Park, MN

Induction: Owner-fabricated EFI aluminum manifold incorporatingair-water intercooler to cool charge from Vortech YSi supercharger. Theblower is driven by an owner-designed and fabricated cog-belt systemthat allows factory A/C to be retained. Engine management is by AEM,controlling RC 95-lb-hr low-impedance injectors. A Weldon 2025 pumpfeeds the system and an NOS 150hp shot cools the charge.

Valvetrain: Comp Cams custom hydraulic roller with 230/244duration at 0.050 and 0.602/0.613-inch lift on a wide 116-degreelobe-separation angle. It uses stock Ford lifters and a Ford Racingchain. Roller rockers from Probe maintain stock 1.6:1 ratio.

Exhaust: Out-of-the-box Mac 13/4 long-tube headers feed a custom3-inch full exhaust system utilizing Mac mufflers and Flo-Pro Twisterresonators in an attempt to keep the noise down.

Ignition: A stock Ford EEC IV distributor takes signals from theAEM crank-trigger and ECM and works with an MSD 7AL3 box and coil. Plugwires are from Ford.

Transmission: LenTech-built AOD with a solid input shaft and a9.5-inch converter set for 2,800-rpm stall. The bellhousing andflexplate are SFI-approved.

Rearend: Ford 9-inch housing by Auto Weld fitted with 3.45:1 Fordgears on a Strange carrier with a Ford limited-slip unit and Moser31-spline axles. The carbon-fiber driveshaft not only adds durability,but John reports that is seems to cushion the shifts as well.

Suspension: A QA1 coilover conversion with adjustable shocksworks with stock control arms and steering mounted to a tubular K-memberup front while Steeda control arms mount the rear using sphericalbushings and more QA1 adjustable shocks.

Brakes: Aerospace Components 12-inch four-piston on all fourcorners

Wheels/Tires: Drag: Weld Racing 15x4 and 15x10 wheels with MickeyThompson E/T Fronts and E/T Street Radials in 275/60-15; Street:American Racing AR534 16x8 with Nitto NT01 tires in 245/50-16