Ford Mustang - Quad-Cam Clash

It was the worst of days for a track test. Awash in the dreadful leftover soup that was Hurricane Dennis, we soldiered on in search of the fastest normally aspirated Four-Valve street Mustang.

At 10:30 a.m., our Altronics weather computer noted a tem-perature of 87.6 degrees and a density altitude of 3,074 feet. By noon, it had risen to 93 degrees and 3,388 feet-density altitude. It was a sticky day and thankfully so was the track, as you can tell from the lead photo.

Since Vero Beach's Al Papitto was the only competitor equipped with a 5.4-powered car, we had a feeling he would be the man to beat, and we were right. Al was over a second faster than the rest of the competition. A combination of cubic inches and having the lightest curb weight of the group did the trick.

The next six places were separated by a mere four-tenths and the last-place finisher probably would have been midpack in the main group had he come equipped with slicks and skinnies.

Though the air was hot, the competition was even hotter, with the guys really hammering the gears toward the end of the session looking for that extra tenth that would move them up in the rankings. Gunning for 11s in this type of weather was a challenge, too--one that a few of the guys met.

Check out the pictures and tech files to see what it takes to make it happen with a Four-Valve motor, and make sure you check out the extended photo coverage of the event.

Shootout Rules

• 1. No power adders of any sort.
• 2. 4.6-5.4-liter Four-Valve engines, strokers allowed.
• 3. Overdrive automatic or manual transmissions only.
• 4. No gutted race cars. Significant lightening OK, but up to our discretion. Rear seat removal OK. Racing seats OK, but two required.
• 5. Cars/drivers must possess all required safety equipment per NHRA rules for elapsed times.
• 6. Slicks, skinnies, drag radials OK.
• 7. All cars must be muffled and not be louder than 94 decibels. No open headers or bullet-style mufflers allowed.

Al Papitto
1st place
10.03/133.88

Al Papitto competed in one of our shootouts a couple of years back, and since then he has swapped out his iron 5.4 block for a Ford GT aluminum piece. This knocked 110 pounds off the front of the car and led to it carrying the lightest curb weight of the group.

Built by Al at his Boss 330 Racing shop, the 5.5-liter engine cranks out 538 hp to the wheels. As you can see, it ran consistently, until later in the day when it was retired due to a rattle under the valve cover. The point was certainly made, though.

Al's all-time best e.t. of 10.03 was achieved by short shifting at 7,000 rpm. The Mustang has 9-second potential, but not a 9-second rollcage, yet.

Jeff Schmell
2nd place
11.44 /119

Currently ranked Second in the NMRA Factory Stock class, Jeff Schmell of Jackson, Michigan, sold his '98 Cobra and picked up one of the first production Mach Is in November 2002.

Racking up a total of 6,500 miles so far, the Mach hits the 11s with ease and still maintains most of the amenities offered by Ford.

Carlos Sobrino
3rd place
11.58/116

Banging gears in the NMRA factory stock ranks, Carlos Sobrino is currently ranked Fourth in the point's race. While behind the wheel of his own '86 ex-Florida Highway Patrol Factory Stock racer, Carlos often found himself in the opposite lane of one Bob Cosby, whose '99 Cobra had taken him to the championship.

During a rain delay, the two were discussing the sale of Bob's motor, and a deal was struck to buy the whole car. At our shootout, Carlos battled clutch problems, first snapping a cable and later having trouble finding the proper adjustment and subsequent gear selection. Still, his one and only clean pass was fast enough to take him to the Third-Place spot.

Mike Pope
4th place
11.90/115.4

At a mere 19 years of age, Mike Pope has one hell of a hot rod and, with a bit of help from his dad, has taken this relatively stock Mustang into the 11s naturally aspirated.

This may be Mike's first stick-shift-equipped ride, but he can powershift like nobody's business. Lessons from Dad have helped and so have the Ford Racing camshafts and substantial suspension mods.

Dave Dur
5th place
11.95/113.63

Purchased in stock form, this '99 Cobra was to be a nice cruiser as its owner, Dave Dur, already had a Windsor-powered '87 LX to beat on at the track. When the Windsor went down for the count, the Cobra was called in for substitute duty, and Dave liked racing it so much more that he sold the hatchback. The snake has gone as fast as 10.89 on a shot of nitrous, but Dave likes racing normally aspirated to keep the motor together longer.

Peter Attanasio
6th place
12.4/109.5

While the Terminator Cobras of 2003-2004 have received much admiration lately, Peter Attanasio opted to get a Mach I instead. "I testdrove both back in November 2003, and the Mach felt great," he says. "I really liked the retro theme."

In March 2005, the Four-Valve motor suffered an oil pump failure, so Peter had Mustang Magic rebuild the motor with FR500 cams, Cobra rods and crank, and a set of JE forged pistons for a bump in compression. This was his first time out with the new motor, and the results were promising despite the intolerable heat.

Bill Applegate
7th place
11.97/113.10

Having missed his opportunity to buy an affordable early Mach 1, Bill Applegate jumped at the chance to pick up this '03 model. He had sampled the Terminator Cobra, but found the Mach's lighter feel, solid axle, and unique styling more appealing.

The right modifications have made the Mach 11-second worthy, and Bill thanks his wife, Lisa; Mitch Wilson; Bob Cosby; Joe Lynch; and Jeff Schmell for their help and encouragement.

Jim Vaccaro
8th place
11.90/114.91

Jim Vaccaro brought the second biggest engine of the group at 324 ci. The stroker motor has taken this full-weight (and heaviest of the group by 100 pounds) street car into the 11s on several occasions when equipped with slicks. The 18-inch wheels that were on the car at our track day were no doubt heavier and didn't quite get the 60-foot time down to where it usually is.Happy with the low 12s that the Mach ran in the heat, Jim is adamant about not allowing this Mustang to become unstreetable, which has happened to some of his previous cars, and opting to run the drag pack wheel setup in a competition is one slippery slope he'd rather avoid. Jim's car was also the only one equipped with an automatic transmission.We feel there were definitely 2-3 more tenths in the Dark Shadow Gray colt with the stickier and lighter wheel/tire combination though, and the trap speed showed it.