1997 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra - Getting Medieval on the Competition

Cars, bikes, trucks, or small airplanes-it doesn't matter what the vehicle is because Eric Dillard's '97 SVT Mustang Cobra is ready for anything that comes its way. Lately, it seems 900-plus-rwhp Supras and nitrous-injected Hyabusa motorcycles are the only competitors who attempt to hang on the back bumper at 160-plus mph. Once this Cobra gets into high gear, it starts to pull car lengths on them, too. This Stang is a beast of a different kind, but it can still be driven anywhere with ease.

Eric has built himself a ride that has become the status quo for today's sickest hot rods-a subtle exterior with a demented motor under the hood. We have come across quite a few of them lately, and Eric's Cobra fits in perfectly with those street assasins. It is reminiscent of two previous feature cars that belted out 800 and 1,020 hp to the tires. Eric's car is different, however, as his powerplant is a mod motor that displaces only 284 cubes and is based on a stock block with a pair of ported Cobra four-valve cylinder heads. The Precision 88mm turbo helps this tiny 4.6 make stupid power levels.

At just 22 years old, Eric has the keys to the candy store. He is a partner in Pro Line Racing Engines. His shop turns out some of the sickest powerplants around, including the one used by Tim Lynch in his record-holding six-second, Outlaw 10.5 ride. Noted engine builder Steve Petty works out of the Pro Line shop, and the technology and tricks the company uses in its race engines have been applied to its street division. When it came time to build an engine for himself, Eric jumped on a quad-cam 4.6. Not because it was different, but because he wanted to show his customers that the shop does both pushrod and modular motors. The result is a piece that churns out 892 hp at the rear tires with 24 psi of boost. On the street, the turbo kicks out nearly 30 pounds of boost. Conservative estimates put the power number around 950 now.

The final product has been three years in the making, and this streeter is capable of mid-to-low-9s at 150-plus at the dragstrip. We can only estimate the quarter-mile performance because this car was built to run from 40-mph rolls and not specifically for drag racing. Using a smaller 76mm turbocharger and an automatic, Eric ran 9.80 at 141 mph. Things are different now with a Tremec TKO-600 and McLeod dual disc clutch backing the engine. A larger 88mm turbo from Precision upped the power big time, too.

A 40-mph rolling start has become a new standard for street racers across the country-not that Eric is an avid lawbreaker, but he has cracked off a few hits on the street-who doesn't do that every once in awhile? At this point, all of us at MM&FF and Eric want to make it clear that street racing is not only illegal but highly dangerous, too. We do not condone such actions. We also want to mention this car has a 12-point rollcage and five-point racing harnesses-it strictly conforms to NHRA safety standards for the performance it is capable of producing.

Eric thrives on facing competition such as the many turbocharged Supras lurking around the neighborhood. He also doesn't mind running against street bikes. We also wouldn't be sur-prised if this car cleans up the competition at the local dragstrip's grudge days. The cage is barely visible from the outside, and with a turbocharged powerplant, it sounds sedate. This is the exact type of car your friends warn you about, but it's just so tempting when you look at the 18-inch Boyd wheels, full interior, and the fact the car is driven everywhere rather than being trailered. The Stang even rolls on drag radials, further down-playing its capabilities.