LaPoint of No Return

The latest trend in the world of hot rods is turbochargers and their impact on racing sanctions is well documented. The unbelievable horsepower has raised quite a few eyebrows and their reputation for speed carries heavy penalties in the rulebook. Most people point out that this amazing power adder can help even the mildest engine become a serious player. That makes them perfect for an all out, MM&FF True Street Challenge effort. Running two turbos under the hood of your Mustang will certainly produce a record breaking, earth-shattering car that will dominate the competition and make the crowd cheer uncontrollably.

Greg LaPoint did just that and shocked the FFW Norwalk racers and fans when he captured the True Street title last July with an awesome 8.85 average, the quickest in the history of the series. His accomplishment also netted him the MM&FF True Street Editor's Choice award.

The road to True Street stardom began a few years ago for LaPoint behind the wheel of a Factory Five Cobra replica. The wild wheelstanding Cobra ran in the high 9s with a supercharged engine, but as LaPoint put it, "The engine made too much power for the short wheelbase kit car." After some prodding from his longtime friend Ken Yeager, the decision was made to get a Mustang and build a suitable platform for drag racing. Getting a car was as easy as walking behind LaPoint's shop and into his wreckage yard. A beat up Mustang six-cylinder had come from the Hertz Rental Car Company and was just begging to be turned into a street/stripper. Over the next year, the transformation took it from a dented, banged up Stang into an '01 Cobra look-alike with a twin-turbo engine. LaPoint also added a Saleen wing and Cobra R hood.

A 12-point rollcage tied the Mustang together in a safe manner and would prevent any flexing from the unibody construction. The front and rear suspension feature race bred components to plant the Mickey Thompson ET street tires. LaPoint contacted TRZ Motorsports about its legendary rear suspension package. TRZ has been in the stock suspension business for quite a few years so the folks there knew exactly what this car needed. The kit consisted of adjustable upper and lower control arms with its trademark anti-rollbar. Adjustable rear shocks and custom springs from QA1 put the finishing touches on the rear suspension. A QA1 K-member and A-arm assembly has been given the task of transferring the weight to the back tires when LaPoint leaves the starting line under boost. A set of adjustable struts and a coilover conversion kit manage bumps in the road and handle the dragstrip action with no problems whatsoever. Weld Racing Aluma-Star wheels sit at each corner and Mickey Thompson provided the Sportsman front runners and ET Street rear tires. Wilwood disc brakes at each corner have been given the task of stopping the full weight Stang from the 160-plus-mph blasts.

Once the chassis was properly prepared for a serious quarter-mile assault, attention then turned to the engine. "My Cobra had a blower, but I wanted twin turbos because they are cool," commented LaPoint. Twin turbos tend to bring the boost in progressively unlike a large single turbo head unit. This setup starts to build boost at mere 2,500 rpm making it a deadly piece off the starting line. A pair of Turbonetics T66 turbochargers provide upwards of 22 pounds of boost. A dash-mounted Spearco aftercooler chills the hot air. The exhaust was custom built using stainless steel tubes to help endure the near 2,000 degree temperatures from the exhaust.

The receiving end of the pressurized air is a 347ci engine that LaPoint built himself in his shop. A FRPP R302 engine block was selected and the cylinders were punched out to 4.030 inches. SRP forged dish pistons create an 8:1 compression ratio and Oliver connecting rods were chosen for their strength and durability. The crankshaft was forged from 4340 steel and has a 3.400-inch stroke. The induction system is made up of TFS Twisted Wedge R cylinder heads, a healthy solid roller Cam Motion camshaft, and Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake manifold.

The TFS heads feature Manley 2.08-inch intake valves and 1.65-inch exhaust valves. The camshaft opens the intake valves .698-inch, while the spent gases escaped through the .688-inch lift of the exhaust valves. Electronically the engine uses a F.A.S.T. fuel injection system and MSD Digital 7 ignition system. LaPoint tunes the engine himself, but has received some valuable pointers from ASSC Racing, where he purchased the system. Weldon fuel pumps and filter deliver race fuel to 85-pound injectors.

LaPoint first showed his pride and joy at World Ford Challenge 5 in the Wild Street class, where he took top qualifying honors. Wild Street is very similar to True Street except on Sunday the competitors square off in heads-up competition. The black beast qualified number one with an awesome 8.60 average after the cruise. On Sunday the car dropped into the 8.40s during the first round thanks to a cold engine and fresh tank of ice water for the aftercooler. We caught up with LaPoint at the 2003 Fun Ford Weekend event at Norwalk Raceway. It was there that he set our True Street record with an amazing 8.85 average. The first pass after the cool down period was a jaw dropping 8.72, the quickest single run of all time. His backup was an 8.98; due to the large amount of competitors (over 140 True Street cars), unusually hot weather and unforeseen delays, the FFW officials decided to end the competition after the second round.

Anyway you dice and slice it, LaPoint's performances push the limits of a street car, but based on our requirements he has one of the quickest street Mustangs of all time.