Ford Mustang Supercharged - Drag Racing

That Reagan guy called it trickle-down economics. In political rhetoric, it's about feeding an industry resources and taking advantage of the natural tendency of ideas and hardware to spread from the industry guys down to the man on the street. In Car Craft terms, it means watching the racer who blows things up for the sake of winning and adapting his trial-and-error knowledge to the street machine. Since the racer is going to push as hard as he can, he is also going to find inventive ways to use the latest technology. So you can look at the Car Craft Magazine Street Race class as kind of an R&D facility for your street machine. Pay attention, you are going to learn something.

Street Race was developed in connection with Car Craft for stock-appearing vehicles running DOT-legal street slicks or drag-radial tires. Participants are allowed EFI or carbureted engines that are nitrous equipped, supercharged, or turbocharged. Small-blocks are allowed a maximum of 415 ci and big-block engines up to 490 inches. Each car starts with a base weight determined by the size of the engine, the type of power-adder, and the type of tire used. For example, a turbocharged car must be limited to 360 inches and weigh at least 3,300 pounds. If you want to add an intercooler, add 100 pounds, if you want to run an aftermarket fuel-injection controller, you must add 50 pounds. You also can take off 100 pounds for running DOT drag radials to even it out.

Racers are required to use mufflers and can't alter the bodies aside from adding better hoods, and the engines need to run on gasoline. Nitrous guys can only use a single-plate system for carbs or a single-nozzle for injection; no foggers or timers are allowed, and you have to run approved aftermarket cylinder heads. Sound like a street machine? Stick shifts are allowed as long as you pull the handle yourself, but most of the guys are running some version of the Powerglide. So anyone who can bolt on a set of heads and throw a shifter can enter the field that is a mix of turbos, nitrous, and supercharged small-blocks.

What all this means is currently, the ultimate combination for a drag-racing street machine is something like Tim Meagher's '81 Mustang that runs 9.10s all day long with a 357-inch small-block and a turbocharger. He's the '06 NMCA Street Race Points Champion. Check out this sick combo he used to dominate the class.

The Rules
Points and weight penalties conspire to keep things on the level in the Street Race class. The NMCA drops two races from the points average, so it's OK if you can't make every race. The association also adds 20 pounds to the total weight of the winner before the next event, and the weight is cumulative, so fast guys can get pretty fat and slow by the end of the season. The weights are reset for the next year. To join the fun visit fasteststreetcar.com or call 714/444-2426.

The Competition
The other guy who could have taken the crown was Larry Hourcle in his Vortech supercharged '88 Mustang. All he had to do was set the track record, qualify No. 1, and win every round. Unfortunately, the small-block dropped a valve in an early round and put him on the trailer

This is Tim Meagher's Street Race car. Take away the stickers, and you have a vicious street car executing 60-foot times in the 1.30s on a 275/50-15 BFG drag-radial tire.
This is Tim Meagher's Street Race car. Take away the stickers, and you have a vicious stre
The interior is from a '90 Mustang, including the airbag (not hooked up). On the center console is the control panel for the Mallory ignition system (the red box), and the box below it activates the boost control. Data-logging is not allowed in the Street Race class. The bottle contains CO2 that controls the wastegate.
The interior is from a '90 Mustang, including the airbag (not hooked up). On the center co

The turbo idea came from the fact that Tim and his cronies have all owned 9-second street cars at one time. All of them turbo. Everyone told Tim a turbo wouldn't work in the NMCA, so they decided to try it. The Dart block is essentially a 347 that is 0.090 over for 357 inches with 218cc Victor Jr. heads and a Trick Flow TFS R intake manifold. The roller cam is class-limited to 0.555 lift at the valve; the duration is a secret. It makes 850 hp at 6,800 and 780 lb-ft at 5,400.
The turbo idea came from the fact that Tim and his cronies have all owned 9-second street
Casey Upton wired the dual Powermaster batteries. The Mustang uses two batteries run in series through a 16-volt system to keep up with all the electronics. The fuel cell and the intercooler tank are both hand-fabbed and are actually separate and do not share a wall. The electric pump is for pumping ice water to the intercooler.
Casey Upton wired the dual Powermaster batteries. The Mustang uses two batteries run in se

Tim bought an '81 Mustang shell to build a really fast street car, and that year was considered pre-emissions at the time. He also found a '90 in the junkyard for parts. They took every piece of the car down to bare metal before painting it. The cowl is from Cervini.
Tim bought an '81 Mustang shell to build a really fast street car, and that year was consi
Early in the season, Tim and the crew blew up a turbo and an engine. Thinking they were out for good, they showed up in Ohio and found out that the NMCA automatically drops two of the races. Back in the game, Tim dominated for the rest of the season.
Early in the season, Tim and the crew blew up a turbo and an engine. Thinking they were ou
Job Spetter at Turbo People of New York did the math and prepped the Precision turbo. It measures 72 mm tip-to tip on the impeller wheel per the rules. There is no restriction on the exhaust wheel. The fabrication of the stainless tubes was performed by Chris Thatcher in three days.
Job Spetter at Turbo People of New York did the math and prepped the Precision turbo. It m

The handle attached to the top of the rollcage is for the parachute. After Tim drives through the lights, he pushes the handle forward and the cable pops the pin out of the spring retainer that pushes the 'chute into the wind. If you are faster than 149 mph, you need one. The buttons are part of a Firefox fire-suppression system. The upper button is for an engine fire, and the lower button is for a fire in the cockpit. The overhead switch console is from Painless Wiring and the shifter is from Hurst.
The handle attached to the top of the rollcage is for the parachute. After Tim drives thro
Plugged into the back of the HKS 60mm wastegate is a MAP sensor that provides feedback to the AMS 1000 boost controller. A 6-pound spring can produce around 12 pounds of boost with another 1-5 pounds being added by a charge of CO2 through the black tube on the back of the gate for a total of 17 pounds. The boost pressure can be dialed using the controller in the car, depending on the track conditions.
Plugged into the back of the HKS 60mm wastegate is a MAP sensor that provides feedback to
The fuel system uses a Weldon pump that feeds the boost-reference pressure regulator. The ratio is 1:1, and the fuel pressure is set to 42 pounds at idle with no vacuum. To add or subtract fuel during dyno tuning, the crew adjusts the pulse width of the injectors.
The fuel system uses a Weldon pump that feeds the boost-reference pressure regulator. The

The CFM of the turbo dictates the required size of the blow-off valve. If the valve opens and there is still boost in the system, the throttle blades can hang open or surge back into the turbo and damage parts. This system uses a 50mm valve from Tial Sport.
The CFM of the turbo dictates the required size of the blow-off valve. If the valve opens
On the first run of the day, the dense Memphis air allowed for too much boost on the line and popped off the intake tube. This was the only wrenching they did all weekend.
On the first run of the day, the dense Memphis air allowed for too much boost on the line
Robello Racecraft built the 'cage so the car can go as fast as 7.50s without having to change anything. It is an SFI 255 Funny Car 'cage, which simply means it wraps around Tim's head. He also wears a neck brace to keep things attached.
Robello Racecraft built the 'cage so the car can go as fast as 7.50s without having to cha

To get a turbo to work, you need to build boost. The two-step HyFire box breaks up the spark while the car is on the line with the footbrake applied, causing fuel to ignite in the exhaust and spool up the turbo. The car is then switched to the second step connected to the transbrake right before the car leaves the line. If you try to spool up the turbo on the transbrake, you will overheat the transmission.
To get a turbo to work, you need to build boost. The two-step HyFire box breaks up the spa
Even though Tim has a parachute, the brakes have been upgraded to a disc-brake system from Strange Engineering designed to bolt on to the stock Mustang control arms. You never know when the 'chute isn't going to open.
Even though Tim has a parachute, the brakes have been upgraded to a disc-brake system from