Ryan Hargett and team are inching closer to the debut of their brand new Jerry Bickel-built 1970.5 Camaro in the ADRL’s Pro Nitrous division. The car will initially be powered by a freshened and expanded 780 cubic inch, Motec electronic fuel injected bullet that was previously between the framerails of their 1953 Corvette in NMCA Pro Street and NHRA Competition Eliminator, and recorded quarter mile elapsed times in the 6.5 second range. Family patriarch Dennis Hargett is busy preparing a new 858 cubic inch fuel injected powerplant, which he and Ryan hope will make them very competitive in the ultra tough all-nitrous class.
Once completed, the Camaro will showcase several unique parts and systems, both through Ryan’s own ingenuity and his relationship with Motec, Nitrous Express, and other manufacturers. For more information and photos, visit www.hargettracing.com
Following the application of the flame-themed paint scheme in the Hargett’s signature Hugger Orange and Purple Passion colors at Air Brush Alley and Gish’s Auto Paint in Robards, Kentucky, Ryan has been steadily progressing on the car. Much time has been spent wiring and plumbing items – such as the Motec Data Acquisition System, NX nitrous system, fire bottles, and the brake, fuel, oiling, and cooling systems. Much of his focus of late has been on the wiring for the fuel injection system and working on various aspects of the car to shed some pounds in order to be competitive in a class that lacks a minimum weight.
Q&A with Ryan Hargett
PowerTV: What stage in the preparation are you at currently?
Ryan Hargett: I’d have to say its in final assembly. It’s kind of hard to say where I’m at exactly, because I’ve been working on so many different things at the same time.
PowerTV: What areas of the car are you currently focusing on?
Ryan Hargett: I’ve gone through and swapped over every steel-braided line and fitting on the engine and of course the stuff for the car to a new lightweight Aeroquip product, which has taken up a lot of my time here lately. I’m also working on plumbing all of the nitrous lines and the Nitrous Express system right now. I’ve taken about 10 pounds off the intake just doing little things trying to lighten it up. And I’m also in the process of mounting up all the Motec LTC O2 sensors and installing the Motec fuel injection and data acquisition system.
PowerTV: What are some things that have been checked off as completed thus far?
Ryan Hargett: We’ve put the doors together along with the door windows and the rear wing is assembled. I’ve finished a lot of the plumbing and wiring, and the fuel system is plumbed and completed. The rear end is put together and installed and the axles are in it. The fire bottles and brakes are installed and plumbed up. The front struts and front suspension, rack and pinion, radiator, fuel pump, seat – along with an ISP seat insert, steering shaft, fuel cell, Motec SDL Data Logging dash, air parachute release and parachute cables, and pedal assembly are all installed. We’ve also put in all the carbon fiber interior, such as the tubs, and everything in the back as far as interior goes.
PowerTV: What are the primary things left needed to get the car on track?
Ryan Hargett: Wiring. Which is a lot, being as it’s fuel injected. That’s really the biggest thing that’s left.
PowerTV: What are some of the more unique features of the car?
Ryan Hargett: The car has a Motec distributorless ignition system with individual coil packs for every cylinder. There are a few turbocharged and Procharged cars out there like that, but I don’t know of another Pro Nitrous car like that.
PowerTV: When do you expect to debut the car?
Ryan Hargett: We aren’t going to make the first [ADRL] race, but we’re hoping to make the second race down in Georgia. But I really don’t want to say for sure [when it’ll be completed] and be a month off, because some of the things are out of my control.
PowerTV: What is the current status and timetable of the new engine?
Ryan Hargett: At this point we’re just trying to gather all the parts together, but it is in the process of being put together. We’ll probably have the car out and running before that engine is done, so it’ll probably be a mid-season changeover.
Ryan would like to thank many of his sponsors, including Nitrous Express, Diamond Pistons, Mickey Thompson Wheels and Tires, GRP Connecting Rods, VP Racing Fuels, NGK Spark Plugs, and Motec Management and Data Acquisition Systems.
You might also like
SEMA 2025: Edelbrock’s Muskrat is a Twin-Turbo V8 Tesla
Edelbrock’s Muskrat is the wildest build at SEMA 2025. It’s a 1,500hp, twin-turbo big-block Chevy stuffed into a Tesla Model S body.
