Stang TV Forums - Features

Ford Racing To Build Boss 302R for Road Racing

Andrew Casselberry — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:58:13 GMT

Based on the success of the FR500C and FR500S Mustang road racing programs, Ford Racing recently announced their plans to build a 2010 Boss 302R. The original Boss 302 Mustangs were made famous in the glory days of SCCA's Trans-Am series, by drivers like Parnelli Jones and George Follmer. Ford was also successful on the street in 1969 and 1970 with a Boss 302 Mustang package. The engine installed in the Boss 302 was a high winding "G code" power plant with solid lifters and other high performance parts.

It appears that Ford may be trying to bring back the street package for 2011 and the Boss 302R is set to be the race version of the car. The Boss 302R will be limited to 50 units, built on the prototype line at AAI (aka Flat Rock Assembly) and is intended for road race use only.

With the 2010 Camaro set for a full assault in the Koni Challenge Series next year, it appears Ford Racing wants its latest Mustang sheet metal out on the track going head-to-head with the competition. With the five year old FR500C Mustang, Ford has won Grand-Am GS Championships in 2005, 2008 and 2009 and looks to defend its title against Porsche, BMW and the return of cross-town rivals Chevrolet.

Photo Credit: Ford Racing The Grand-Am legal Mustang 302R is based off the successful FR500C program.

Like the previous FR500 Mustangs, the Boss 302R will be a factory built racecar and ready for open track events or wheel to wheel racing in SCCA or NASA races.

The base "turnkey" 302R Mustang will come complete with a 5.0L 4-valve engine rated at 400 horsepower. The engine will be mated to a 6 speed Tremec manual transmission with a race spec hydraulic clutch. A Grand-Am legal roll cage and race seat with safety harness is also installed at the factory.

Ford Racing is offering a $50,000 Boss 302R �upgrade� that will make it legal for the Grand-Am's KONI Challenge Series. The KONI Challenge 302R will feature a sealed 5.0-Liter engine and close-ratio 6 speed Tremec transmission. Suspension updates include KONI dampers and KONI Challenge spec springs, swaybars and bushings. The Grand Am Grand Sport legal Mustang will also feature a seam-welded body, Grand-Am spec roll cage and trunk mounted fuel cell.

Photo Credit: Brenda Priddy The Coyote 5.0-Liter engine is rumored to be powering the 302R, official word should come at the LA Auto Show.

Rumor is that the Boss 302R will feature Ford�s new Coyote 5.0 liter modular engine to satisfy Grand-Am�s request for a street derived engine in the race version of the Mustang. The previous FR500C �Cammer� engine was a 4 valve naturally aspirated motor not factory installed in a �mass produced� Mustang. In 2005, Grand-Am approved the engine for competition but after a few races and protest from other teams, air inlet restrictors brought the horsepower down to the 400 hp range. The Coyote 5.0 Liter engine is planned for the 2011 Mustang GT and the racing environment will be the perfect test before its showroom debut.

The Boss 302R will be built in the AAI Pilot Assembly Line with bodies produced off the mainstream production line.

The Boss 302R is available through Ford dealers that are in the Ford Racing Performance Parts program. Orders will be taken till mid-December and production is expected to begin in first quarter of 2010. The base Boss 302R is priced at $79,000 while the Grand-Am spec 302R package is priced at $129,000.

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Steve Matusek sells Mustang to John Mihovetz to build 2010 Mustang Race Car

mark@stangtv — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:41:50 GMT

Steve Matusek, president of Aeromotive received one of the all carbon fiber Pro Stock 2010 Mustang bodies from Roush recently. The 2010 body wasn�t a car they planned to work on right away, though that all changed yesterday.

Aeromotive specializes in fuel system components. Check out their site at www.aeromotiveinc.com

Matusek has had a successful campaign with his current Mustang, running mainly in NMCA, PSCA, and NHRA competition for a number of years. The car even had a stint in the NMRA when the Pro 5.0 category was still around. The small twin turbo mod motor posted some impressive times and Matusek has come along way lately on a series of experimental parts that have worked out to his advantage. Though we found out the game plan for their racing campaign has completely changed.

Accufab owner and PSCA racer John Mihovetz suffered a bad wreck at the last Fontana race and has ditched his horribly battered Cougar chassis. Mihovetz is a fellow mod motor racer and who was talking to Steve and after a few conversations, Mihovetz decided to buy Matusek�s rolling chassis to be shipped to the west coast. They did keep parts like the electronics, brakes, and some of the suspension that they plan to stick in the new car.

Now it is full speed ahead for Matusek and the 2010 Mustang Pro Stock body. The body currently resides at chassis builder Larry Larson�s shop who will start on a double frame rail chassis shortly. In the mail to Matusek is one of the new iron Pro Stock blocks that they will examine against their mod motor combination, which isn�t out of the picture for the new body. For heads, they will be looking at the Wedge 18 bolt heads and not the Hemi. There is also the possibility of a aluminum version of the 500 CI Pro Stock block. Either way, it will remain a twin turbo and alcohol fed combination. Look for Steve to race the Mustang in NHRA Pro Mod, ADRL, and the NMCA.

Stay tuned to StangTV as we will be doing updates on Matusek�s build as it progresses.

John Mihovetz crash at Fontana

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Come See Us at the PRI Trade Show Dec. 10-12, 2009

Diego Rosenberg — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:34:46 GMT

The 22nd Annual Performance Racing Industry Trade Show will take place from December 10-12, in sunny Orlando, Florida. PowerTV will be there to give you the inside scoop on the show, as it happens, from the North/South Building of the Orange County Convention Center.

This is the fourth year that PowerTV will be bringing you coverage and commentary on the world�s premiere get-together for all things racing. A full cadre of our staffers will be on hand to help you figure out your online marketing needs, so be sure to visit booth #3595, right around the corner from the service desk.

The 20th Annual Advanced Engineering Technology Conference will take place three days prior to PRI, from December 7-9. PowerTV is proud to sponsor this event through 2010, especially because this year�s special theme will be the �Advanced Ford Modular Performance Conference.� StangTV will bring you the chatter from industry leaders and world-famous performance experts about Ford�s Modular V8, including its development and future potential. With discussions on cylinder head design, advanced building and tuning tips for supercharged Modular motors, and unreleased information about Ford's latest technological developments, it�s enough to make a Ford nut think Christmas just came.

Additionally, PowerTV will cover the welcome reception and all of the exclusive AETC seminars and roundtables. Some of the biggest icons in the performance automotive world will be present. It�s designed to be a relaxed atmosphere, where present and past engineering topics will be discussed with experts in the field. Also included will be a new Modular product manufacturer showcase and review, plus an insider networking cocktail party.

Of course, the �main event� is PRI, and what an event it is - over 3,500 booths featuring over 1,200 vendors and suppliers, exhibiting their wares to over 40,000 buyers from over 60 countries, in a place with one million square feet. That�s more new racing products than anywhere else on Earth - and PowerTV will tell you all about it! Think it�s too lofty a goal? Then check out what PowerTV�s roving reporters have in store for you:

� Dozens of product editorial reviews every day.

� Over 60 editorial-style product overviews to be produced for video.

� Previews of the future with the latest advances in racing products and race engineering.

� Highlights about how technology and data acquisition are making for more efficient horsepower delivery.

Since it�s a trade show, PowerTV will also give you an inside view from the buyers for the tens of thousands of racing retail stores, warehouse distribution centers, professional race engine builders and race car production companies, who will all be making their inventory decisions for 2010.

Over 450,000 racers in America - most at the grassroots level - rely on buyers to provide the best products for their local race store or race engine builder. Plus, thousands of professional race teams from all over the world send buyers to PRI, to ensure they are current with today�s race technology. This is a world that most guys on the street don�t get to experience, but PowerTV will bring it all to you, in all of its competitive splendor.

As the pace of technology is running faster than the race cars themselves, and as globalization begins to take hold on the sport, racers interested in having a competitive advantage must keep abreast of the latest offerings from the suppliers. You can count on PowerTV and our PRI coverage for positioning you at the leading edge in hardcore racing components for this rapidly evolving industry.

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Don Bryant's Clean '65 Mustang

JesseKiser — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:01:45 GMT

Don Bryant has had the Mustang since he was 17 - it was his first car. You might not know it from looking at him, but Bryant is a quiet, hard working man from Knoxville, Tennessee.

"I just kind of started hot rodding it little by little," says the somber and serious voice of Bryant. "It's really been my only car." The Mustang came black when his dad gave it to him as a present, but Bryant had it sprayed turquoise almost 20 years ago. Most recently, Dustin Lee at Clyde's Body Shop shot the car with a Turquoise Poly by DuPont.

"[The best part of the car is] just the way people have flocked to it," says Bryant. "Regardless of whether they are a Chevy guy or whatever, most seem to like it." Bryant recently completed his second race in a small 1/8 mile bracket racing series on the east coast, The King of the Street Series.

"We didn't have a good show but man did we have fun down there," Bryant said about his second try at the King of the Street Series. "We just wanted to come out to show support and let them know we're coming next year." He entered the KinMark, King of the Street series at Rockingham during the Holcomb 10.5 Civil Wars Shootout. It was the season ender.

He had a nitrous backfire on the rev-limiter that lost him the race in the early rounds of eliminations at Rockingham. "It's the biggest class I've had to work with," Bryant states, discussing stepping into a competitive class like the King series. He has raced on and off again for most of his life, but he has never been involved with this type of competition. "They have just been the most accommodating guys. I've only been there two times." said Bryant. "They don't make me feel like I am an outsider."

Bryant has run the Mustang in only a few other races. He ran the three Pinks All Out shows, but with little success, making qualifying rounds but never TV time. "I guess you could say I have quite a bit [of drag racing experience]," said Bryant. "But never enough."

He has driven for other owners and built engines for friends in his off season. You can see his name written on his valve covers, but Bryant found it too stressful to pursue engine building as his racing became more serious. Bryant used to build anything that made power with no regard to the brand, but today he sticks with Ford stuff. He works on the power train for his crew member's car.

"I'm just kind of doing my own deal now. Just parted ways with that stuff," said Bryant. "It was mostly when I wasn't racing my own stuff." Drag racing was not Bryant�s necessary initial intention with the car. He just wanted to build a cool Mustang, and he did. "Heck, I drive to work sometimes," said Bryant. Though not too often, as he runs a C16 VP fuel that is rated at 114 octane.

Unfortunately, Bryant's drag racing career has been on the back-burner recently; he works at the local Honda dealership selling parts. When he's not working, he's been caring for his mother, who has health issues. "I just don't have the time to race like I want to. It's hard for me to break away," Bryant says. However he does find the time once in a while to take this 'street car' to the neighborhood cruise behind the local K-mart, and he sometimes participates in the occasional rod run in Pigeon Forge, TN.

There are a lot of unsung heroes of this ultra clean '65 that have helped Bryant to make his high school car what it is today. David Gill with GillWelding.com handled most of the fab work, Rob Urwand handles the hook-ups to the laptop and other computer tuning work, and Rick Anderson escorted Bryant to his first King of the Street run at Rockingham and handles the machining work. Finally, Rob Nockes and Don Dasha act has Bryant's track day crew.

THE CAR:

Engine:

320ci Ford (smallest in class)

Edelbrock Victor heads and intake Pro Systems Carb

Transmission:

Doug Nash 5 speed with Liberty gears

Misc:

Runs mid to high 5.00s on an 1/8th

Mickey Thompson 28X10.5

Tubbed chassis

Edelbrock/Steve Johnson Nitrous--180 shot and above

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20th Anniversary AETC Conference Preview

mark@stangtv — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:38:40 GMT

Twenty years ago the Advanced Engineering Technology Conference (AETC) was an unheralded meeting of engine builders held in Colorado Springs, Co. But despite humble beginnings, it was practically the only way for engine builders, manufacturers and racers to get together and share information in an unbiased environment, and the idea quickly caught on.

For more information, please check out the AETC� website at www.AETConline.com.

Today, we have the internet, discussion forums, teleconferencing and all sorts of technology that wasn�t possible back in 1989, but the AETC has still grown to become the premiere gatherings of horsepower professionals anywhere. These days, the conference is held annually just before the PRI Trade Show in Orlando, FL. This year it will take place December 7-9, with the PRI Show beginning on the 10th in the very same building.

What the AETC is all about

If you�ve never been before, the AETC serves two purposes. First, the conference focuses on a particular engine-building topic and brings in many respected experts in the industry to speak on a subject involving that topic. And second, the AETC provides three days filled with opportunities to network with other engine professionals and build relationships.

�Last year we enjoyed the most successful AETC conference that we�ve ever had, even with the down economy,� explains Scooter Brothers of Comp Cams. �And it was successful in just about every way you could measure it: attendee feedback, the number of sponsors at the conference and the feedback they gave us, the number of door prizes we were able to give away to the attendees, media exposure, even the feedback we got from the people at the PRI show. It was just tremendous, and we�re aiming to set the bar even higher this year.

�Now we�re looking for another great event for 2009,� he continues. �Even though the economy still isn�t as healthy as most of us would like, I believe people understand how important this conference is in terms of learning and sharing information, and the benefit that can have. Besides that, the sponsor support is at least equal to what we saw last year, and when you realize that you can practically get back your money in door prizes and parts discounts, it looks like a really good deal.�

Over its history, the high level of discussion held at the AETC has led to quite a number of very important announcements. For example, the first official announcement by GM of the groundbreaking LS series of engines was made by Ron Sperry at the AETC when he freely revealed the company�s design goals for the engine. Another year, Chrysler representatives spoke about the development of the new Chrysler V8 for NASCAR racing before the design was even complete! There has even been a frank discussion of a Formula 1 racing engine development program, which is quite surprising given the secrecy that usually surrounds most F1 organizations.

What to expect for this year

For 2009 the conference will zero in on the topic of Ford�s Modular engine family. Since its introduction in 1991, the Modular engine family has been produced in the millions and can be found in everything from Ford Mustangs and GTs on the performance end to Lincoln Town Cars and Ford pickups. A modern engine design based on overhead cam architecture and computer-controlled fuel injection, it is quickly gaining a following among performance enthusiasts and has proven to be a more-than-capable performer in high-horsepower drag racing applications as well as endurance-oriented sports car racing. The Modular engine has been accepted by everyone from casual performance fans, to professional racers, to the aftermarket

The Speakers

You can go to www.aetconline.com to see a complete list of speakers as well as the conference schedule, but just a few of the planned speakers include John Maddox of Roush Yates Engines who will discuss how RYE developed a championship-winning endurance sports car racing Modular engine, Jim D�Amore of JDM Engineering who will speak on supercharging secrets, and Sean Andrew of Diamond Racing who will reveal the results of Diamond�s research into the best piston designs for these motors.

�I�m looking forward to hearing many of these presenters myself,� says Roush Yates Engines� Maddox. �There�s a lot that can be learned from these people, and I think some of the best discussions will be when we can all put our heads together during the round tables or even at lunch.

�Everybody there will have their own strengths,� he continues, �but that may help spark an idea for someone that they may take in a totally different direction. Take us, for example. What we are doing with the sports car racing program may be pretty out there. But the thing that we�ve worked on is endurance. We build engines that make good power and can survive in a pretty harsh environment for extended racing periods. I hope somebody can take what I�m able to share and really build upon it.�

And even if your area of interest doesn�t include Ford�s Modular engine family, you shouldn�t make the mistake of thinking there is nothing for you to learn at an AETC. �Just being around all these very intelligent, very focused people in the industry can be a tremendous advantage,� Brothers says. �That includes the attendees as well as the guest speakers. Besides the opportunity to network and make new connections, just the casual conversations that can be had before and after the sessions can be quite informative.

�Plus, technology is technology, and what you are going to learn here you will be able to apply across any engine platform, whether it�s GM, Chrysler or even an import. It doesn�t matter; the concepts we�re talking about will work anywhere. I really think that everyone who attends this year�s AETC has the potential to take something away that will really benefit their program.�

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