Heads-up racing veteran Tim Essick is ready to make a comeback to the small-tire racing world behind the wheel of this stunning new 2018 Ford Mustang. Over the past two years, Essick has been spending his nights and weekends building this car at home with the help of a few friends. This home built hot rod is set to make its debut in full Outlaw 10.5 trim and should be a contender out of the gate.

Essick has been a fixture in the Outlaw 10.5 racing ranks since the class began. He has owned several different cars, and his most recent was a 2003 Mustang that saw action in several different organizations, including the NMRA, where it did very well through several different combinations. It didn’t matter where the race was being held, Essick’s name would always be towards the top of the qualifying sheet.

As time went on and technology advanced, Essick soon found his Mustang was lagging behind some of the cars on the track and it was time for a change, so he went all-out.

“It was getting to the point that they were opening up the class rules and I had built that car to the specifications of the old rules and it was starting to show. The 2003 Mustang was a good car, but it wasn’t on the level of what was being built to the newest standards and rules packages. I sent an application to Ford to get a body-in-white for the new body style Mustang. After a year they contacted me and said they were willing to sell me one that could be used for our new build. We picked up the bare steel body practically off the assembly line and brought it home to start the project,” Essick says.

The plan for Essick originally was to have the car ready for the start of the 2017 season, so he got started building his own chassis jig and the other items needed to fabricate a car of this caliber in his home shop. Soon he began running into issues with getting parts, since the car was so new and nobody had anything ready for him to use.

“We ran into a problem with the carbon fiber front end that took a year to get, it was a big delay for us. Some of the other carbon parts, the steering rack, and the other suspension parts, took a while, as well. Everything got pushed backed and I just had to work on what I could based on the parts I had. It’s been a long two years of working nights and weekends on the car … I’ve put a lot of time into it,” Essick explains.

Essick built most of the major parts of his new Mustang from the chassis to the engine himself. The 481X that calls the Mustang home uses the newest Alan Johnson Performance Engineering block and Stage 4 cylinder heads. Inside the engine is a Winberg crankshaft, GRP connecting rods, JE Pistons, and a Crane Cams camshaft. Essick fabricated all of the piping for his F-136 ProCharger and used Tim McAmis Performance Parts on anything he couldn’t make himself throughout the car. Backing the engine is an ATI transmission and lockup converter combination.

The engine and supercharger choice for this Mustang was a very calculated one for Essick — he saw an opening in the rules that really hadn’t been used much. Under the current rules package, a centrifugal blower has a fairly light base weight, and that is a very good thing for a racer like Essick who knows how to make a car work.

“My original game-plan was to transplant the driveline from my old car into this one. I had a guy contact me about buying that car turnkey, so that gave me the opportunity to go all brand new with this engine and get exactly what I wanted. The 481X looked like the best option because Alan Johnson has all the parts in stock, it’s well built, and easy to maintain. Using the ProCharger made sense because it’s allowed to be at a really light weight that was practically at the same level of a small block twin 88mm turbo combination,” Essick says.

Going with this total package for the Mustang and keeping it a secret for so long was a choice Essick made in hopes of flying under the radar and gaining an advantage this year.

“I think it has some big advantages that will make racing with this package a lot easier. It will have the benefit of doing better in the heat of the summer and the power management is easier with this combination. The blower will be something that can provide more repeatable results based on how it functions. There’s no penalty for using the lockup torque converter either, and that will keep the blower in a happier power range on the track,” Essick explains.

The new Mustang will be used in Outlaw 10.5 and Radial vs The World class racing this season. Essick plans on testing the car in the next three to four weeks before it makes its debut at the next Cecil County Outlaw 10.5 race. The main goal is to run with the top teams in the country without getting smacked with the dreaded lead trophy for running too well.

“All of this wouldn’t be possible without the help of some great people: Dan Whetstine has been critical in getting this project completed every step of the way. Jason Norris has helped out with his CNC knowledge by making lots of specialty parts and powdercoated the chassis. Dave from ProCharger also helped in making this work well, along with Tim McAmis and their great parts,” Essick says.

Tim Essick’s new Mustang is one of the best home-built racecars you will ever see. His attention to detail and quality craftsmanship is on par with the best shops in the world and his new combination has the potential to hurt a lot of feelings in the Outlaw 10.5 racing world.