 Simplicity is the theme under...  Simplicity is the theme under the hood. A carburetor'd 358W with a shot of nitrous produces 803 rwhp on Pro Speed Performance's chassis dyno. |
 The tailpipes are easy to...  The tailpipes are easy to see here. They run under the axle and exit behind the rear tires. Bell Chassis built the exhaust system, and it also narrowed the rearend and installed mini-tubs. This allowed Matt to have a deep dish on his Weld wheels and tuck them under the fender nicely. The meaty Mickey Thompson Drag Radials look right at home in the wheel opening. Matt also received an enormous amount of help from Pro Speed Performance. |
 9.35 at 144 mph on drag r...  9.35 at 144 mph on drag radials... |
 This Stang is a two-seater...  This Stang is a two-seater courtesy of a 10-point rollcage and two giant NOS bottles sitting in the spot where the backseat used to belong. |
Matt was pleased with his Stang, but it was time to make it one of a kind. The car went right from the chassis shop to Stiles Paint Works. From the beltline up, the car was sprayed to look like carbon fiber, with the black and dark gray weave that makes up the carbon-fiber look duplicated in paint. It is so much of a top-secret process that owner Dewayne Stiles wouldn't let anyone into his shop to see how he lays the paint down. The antenna and fuel door were filled in to help make the body look sleeker. At this point, Matt was excited about the next step-it was time to add the horsepower to go along with those stellar looks.
Being from Marietta gave Matt an advantage in that he shares a hometown with Steve Petty of Pro Line Racing Engines. Petty's engines are found under the hoods of a lot of quick Outlaw 10.5 cars, and he worked his magic on Matt's street bullet. A nitrous-injected Windsor engine is something that Petty has played with for over 15 years. He knew exactly what parts to pick and what engine size to build to achieve the low nine-second requirements set in front of him by Matt. Stock Windsor blocks are getting harder to find these days, and Matt picked up a '93 Lightning block for his foundation. Pro Line bored it 0.030-over, putting the displacement at 358 ci thanks to a 3.500-inch crankshaft from Eagle. Venolia pistons help create 13:1 compression, while Eagle steel rods connect the pistons to the crankshaft.
The upper half of the Windsor engine consists of Fox Lake-ported TFS Twisted Wedge R cylinder heads, an Edelbrock Super Victor intake, Pro Systems 4150 carburetor, and an NOS Pro Race fogger system. The camshaft is from Ultradyne, and Petty spec'd out a beast of a cam for this engine. The solid roller stick boasts 0.683 inch lift on both the intake and exhaust lobes. Duration at 0.050 inch is listed as a lumpy 273/281 with a centerline of 108. The 2-inch headers and 3.5-inch exhaust system was built by Bell Chassis. A pair of Flowmaster Series 40 mufflers attempt to quiet everything down before dumping the exhaust out through the tailpipes that exit behind the rear tires. Speaking of rear tires, this ride gets it done on Mickey Thompson Drag Radials. In DOT legal trim, Matt wheeled his hot rod to a best of 9.35 at 144 mph-first time out with the new combination.
Some may debate the idea that the higher compression voids Matt's claim to this being a street car. The truth is, we watched his coupe make the required 30-mile cruise during True Street competition. He would later be removed from competition due to out-of-date SFI safety items.
Sure, he runs the coupe exclusively on high-octane fuel, but that's his choice. It doesn't mean the car isn't street worthy-just expensive to cruise around for long periods of time. For those who question its street-legal status, Matt has 803 rwhp and a license plate that says his car is not only fast, but legit, too.