S550 Gets Reimagined With Wild Hood-Exit Turbos

At the 2021 Mod Nationals an S550 struck a chord with my brain. It wasn’t the cowl hood, parachute, or wild paint scheme either. It was the rear wheels that seemed to peak my interest. The perfect drag stance alluded to the fact this car had more than just a solid rear axle swap under its beautiful body work. After seeing the car launch and make a 7-second pass, my suspicions were confirmed.

S550

Joe Holt’s build at the 2021 Mod Nationals centered around a 98mm big single turbo. The new build changed everything from forced induction to paint scheme.

The owner of the car is Joe Holt of Holt Auto Body And Performance. The car is more than just a shop car though, it’s been a labor of love and a way to showcase Holt’s talents across the automotive spectrum. At Mod Nationals he informed me that he would be completely revamping the car from its 98MM turbo to something even more wild. Knowing his capabilities, it was a painstaking process not to message him weekly for updates.

Fast forward almost a year and the pictures have started to circle the internet. Instead of concealing the large-frame turbo, a pair of bug-catching Precision 7675 turbos emerge from the hood’s lines. The original bumper-exit exhaust has now been relocated to fender-exit exhaust on GT350 style fenders. The blue and black paint scheme has now been exchanged for a subtle Leadfoot Gray that is infused with Citrus Illusion Candy Orange and white livery in the rear. Even the cage was color matched to the new scheme!

Aside from the almost unnoticedable turbos sticking out from the hood, Joe Holt's S550 features a variety of new products and

The engine remains a Fast Forward Racing Engines’ product that boasts 2,500 horsepower capabilities. Tuning is handled by Eric Holiday at JPC Racing through a Fueltech FT600. Transmitting the power from the extremely potent V8 is a Hughes Performance Powerglide with a custom converter. A carbon driveshaft heads towards the rear before the power finally reaches the RC Components double beadlock wheels. While all these new items are eye-catching, what one might not catch is all the hidden fabrication that went into Holt’s newest rendition.

As you can imagine, hood-exit turbos have not caught on in the mass production market. Holt took it upon himself to design and build the turbo kit. The custom 4-link rear stayed in place, but Holt picked up the welder and fabricated the tube front end and upgraded the cage. As drag and drive events have become quite popular, Holt also added an oversized radiator, custom fuel cell, and two transmission coolers.

S550

Holt fabricated his own tubular front end. Not only did this save engine bay space, it allowed easy install of the twin-turbos.

To say we’re excited to finally see the new build would be an understatement. The thought of seeing the S550 Mustang not only attack Mod Nationals, but drag and drive events as well, has us stoked! Holt has once again produced another fantastic version of his beloved S550. We look forward to seeing his newest times at the dragstrip.

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About the author

James Elkins

Born into a household of motorsport lovers, James learned that wrenching takes priority over broken skin and damaged nerves. Passions include fixing previous owners’ mistakes, writing, and driving.
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