Chasing the Ghosts of LeMans - Thunder - Project 487 Super Snake

[Ripped]

Hi Guys

So to start off the theme of this thread, Thunder is not just a pretty face. It is driven, and driven on the track. There are some more chassis upgrades on the radar, but with a hurt engine, I'm starting the thread there.

Without getting into too much history, this engine has already been in and out of the 'stang several times.

1st, the good 'used' engine, was not so good, bad bearings, and 60 grams out of balance. That was toast. The only things saved from that engine were the block, crank and timing cover.

The first rendition of the 428 looked good. Not for long though.
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Next we had a bad camshaft grind, leaking intake gasket, and valve seals.

Next we had an oiling problem on the rear main (oil starvation)

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All was going well for a while. Quite a while. A great, relaible street engine, with lots of torque.

I took it to track day in 2011, and melted the rear tires on the track. It was a lot of fun. The suspension was not great, and neither was cornering.

Then I took it to the drag strip last year. Snapped the pinion 30 feet off the line, on the first run.



Time for a rear suspension upgrade. Caltracs on, specially designed for the lowered suspension.



They were great.

Then getting ready for track day 2012, I stretched the front fenders and added wider front tires. Completed the cooling ducts to the rear brakes.

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Track day was great. Handling was much better. Cornering was awesome.

Unfortunately I spun out, while trying to push my trail braking later and later. Probably the tires grabbed and the engine ran backwards, after the spin, until I got my foot into the clutch.

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[I've updated the thread with some more historic photos of the build from early on]