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Adapting an engine built primarily for the aviation market is further evidence of the eclectic character that rear-engine dragsters provide the racing community.
This lightweight digger sports a 180ci flat-4 from Revmaster Aviation, a specialty manufacturer of sport aircraft engines that evolved from classic VW architecture. But to help driver Chad Blackshire get down the quarter mile a little quicker, car owner Mike Ballard and Revmaster’s Joe Horvath converted from a supercharger to a BorgWarner 81mm turbo that provides 22 to 25 pounds of boost, and the trio also built a custom fuel-injection system controlled with an AEM ECU. All of the exhaust and intake fabrication was performed by the team, including crunching airflow numbers through an online calculator.
Three views of the turbo system.
“The runners are 16 inches from the intake valve to the plenum,” says Blackshire.
A Wilson 80mm throttle body manages the intake charge while a pair of 45 mm TurboSmart wastegates control the boost. The team built its own 2-stage dry-sump oil pump. The Revmaster cylinder heads feature dual spark plugs.
Check out that shift light in the cockpit. The owner says he doesn't want the driver watching a tach, so the team replaced the gauge with a LED taillight that has dimmer switch for nighttime racing.
The car currently weighs 1,350 pounds with Blackshire in the seat. EngineLabs caught up with the team at a recent NMCA event where it was running in the Edelbrock Super Quick class and has posted a best of 8.30 at 160 mph. In addition to running national VW events, the eventual goal is to move up to Top Dragster and get down into the 7.70 range.
The car has run a best quarter-mile of 8.30 at 160 mph.
