The Car & Chassis

The team purchased tools upon arrival and had a handful of components shipped after a thorough cleaning. Their determination began to pay off as the team scored exactly the car they wanted: the 1996 Ford Mustang.

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“It looked like a pretty clean car,” described Thompson. “Immediately, Don and Brandon started on the rearend while the rest of us got to dismantling the overall car.”

The stock V6 powerplant was dropped with the front suspension, and the bare body was outfitted with a supplied Chris Alston Chassisworks X-brace style, 10-point cage assembly.

With both front and rear suspension removed, both were equipped with a selection of aftermarket components. A BMR Suspension driveshaft loop, upper control arms, lower control arms, and anti-sway bar were installed along with spherical bearings. QA1 High Performance adjustable shocks, coil-over springs, and front control arms set-up the Mustang suspension for the ‘strip.

The front brakes were set up with a Wilwood drag racing kit. A Steeda adapter helped mount a Wilwood aluminum compact master cylinder in the stock firewall location. The team chose to rebuild the existing OEM rear drum brakes to keep the budget in check.

The Mustang received the name “White Boy Rick,” based on the 2018 motion picture. “We have built several budget-oriented street cars around the LS-powered Mustang,” Thompson said. “When we removed the interior for the chassis and cage work, we wanted to put it back to original appearance.”

The Powerplant

Arriving without their flood-damaged engine, the team found a deal on a used 5.3L LS engine and went to town creating their desired powerplant. They utilized the used iron block, crankshaft, rods, and engine hardware; the best they could score was a pair of slightly mismatched cylinder heads.

A Moroso oil pan and HV oil pump were ordered to ensure proper oiling. A set of custom MAHLE pistons were combined with Total Seal piston rings to complete their block.

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"We worked with COMP Cams and picked an optimum .624 lift, 239/243 duration camshaft (Part #54-467-11,)" noted Thompson. "We saved our budget for other hardware knowing the remainder of the valvetrain would hold together."

The Team Out In Front valvetrain is finished out with new GM roller lifters and lifter guides, and a BTR Performance valvespring kit, plus used 7.400-inch long pushrods from BTR. E3 Spark Plugs filled the heads and were mated to E3 plug wires and ultra-high output LSX coils.

We run a few cars back home on what we call whiskey, so we chose E85 fuel from Renegade Racing Fuels. We thought that would be the safest setup on an engine build with last-minute parts. We can produce all the power we need with E85, the turbo, EFI, and our laptop. – Marcus Thompson

For fastening the engine set-up together, a wealth of ARP fasteners were utilized for the head and main studs along with balancer bolt, header bolts, and transmission bellhousing bolts. Various gaskets were ordered from Victor Reinz for the cylinder heads and other points.

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Front and rear racing tires and slicks were provided by Mickey Thompson. The team chose 3005s (28/10.5/15R) rear slicks and 30071 front tires. They scored a set of four Sander Engineering wheels for a good deal which helped with their budget.

The Mustang is topped off with Lucas Oil lubricants like Lucas SYN SAE 10W-40 racing oil, Sure Shift ATF fluid and SYN L9 racing gear oil. The shop was also filled with Lucas racing engine assembly grease, brake parts cleaner, and contact cleaner for the teams.

Induction, Power Adder, and Fuel Supply

The 80mm BorgWarner cast turbo was one of the biggest “hits” out of the team’s $7,000 gift card from Summit Racing Equipment. Decisions were made to combine this turbo with a Summit Racing intercooler (#SUM-260005) and a single VS Racing 60mm wastegate. The boost combination was completed with a Fuel Air Spark Technology boost control solenoid kit and aluminum intake tubing from Summit Racing.

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Supplying the E85 to the injectors, the team ordered a Magnafuel 750 Series fuel pump and Aeromotive 40-75 psi regulator. The system is completed with a wealth of Vibrant and Summit Racing braided hoses and fittings and a used five-gallon plastic fuel cell.

Used part scores were few and far between with the current COVID restrictions, but the team scored a used Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake, fuel rails, and performance throttle body, which also helped their budget. That intake was then outfitted with Holley Performance 120 lb-hr injectors, a FAST air temp sensor, and a Holley Terminator X engine control unit.

Drivetrain

The used GM Powerglide that the Out In Front team found back home did make the journey to the build contest. It was combined with a used 8-inch torque converter they found online. The ‘glide is mated to the engine with a PRW flexplate and shifted using a new B&M Quarterstick shifter fitted within the original center console.

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When this team is back home, they're proud of the budget street-race cars they build with such details as stock appearing looks. They took the time to properly reinstall the factory interior following installation of the roll cage. That included a clean install of the Ron Francis wiring system and original stereo.

An 8.8 rearend from a GT model was found local and filled with Moser Engineering 35-spline axles, spool, housing ends, and much more. The team chose a 3.55 ratio Spicer ring and pinion and U-joints to complete the assembly.

Safety Equipment

Impact Racing Products outfitted the teams for safe racing. Marcus Thompson chose the Impact Vapor SNELL15 helmet, G6 SFI 3.35 gloves, 5-Layer, Nomex SFI 3.2A/20 pants, and jacket. A Summit Racing engine diaper, transmission blanket, and rollbar padding completed the safety shopping.

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The original 8.8 Mustang differential was completed with Moser and Spicer components to live on the dragstrip. The rear suspension retained its factory geometry with the inclusion of BMR control arms and anti-roll bar. QA1 set the car up with single-adjustable shock on all four corners. A Stroud chute was cleanly fabricated through the bumper.

The Dyno

Before a fallout with the team’s tuner, the Mustang suffered severe torque converter damage while testing and spooling of the turbo. This damage repair resulted in valuable time ticking away from the window of chassis dyno opportunity.

Between lengthy repairs, some wastegate rewiring, and a conservative tune to begin in the engine control software, the team squeezed in three pulls during their allotted time. They walked away with data printouts showing just over 500 horsepower between all three sessions.

“I’m not sure what was going on,” Thompson shares. “We began with a baby tune and added more and more boost from there. It sure seemed to be making more power, but the dyno kept reading the same. We’re ready to race, but I’m just not happy with the dyno results.”

Summary

Despite time crunches, flooding, and damaged parts, Team Out In Front would not have their competition spoiled. “We are the youngest overall team to compete on the show,” Thompson states proudly. “We were determined to put our same teamwork to use that we have back home and come out on top.”