03/04 Mustang Mach 1 in NHRA Stock???
 

Does anybody know if there are any 03/04 Mustang Mach 1 running in NHRA Stock?? I just came across a good deal on a 03 Mach 1 and was thinking about building a stocker out of it. Just was wondering if any body has 1 in stock

Re: 03/04 Mustang Mach 1 in NHRA Stock???
 

Oh, you silly, silly boy.... Just what does the NHRA have to do to keep you from running a Ford in class?

According to Nitro Joes latest stats, there are no '03 Mustangs in stock. You can't run it as an '04 as there are no specs for 2004 Fords. For '03 Mach 1's, the NHRA has decided, without any previous experience or examples, mind you, that the factory 300 HP 4.6L engine should be rated at 320 HP. Nevermind that there probably isn't a single example of a Ford Mod motor in NHRA class racing anywhere in the country, someone in the NHRA just knows that the factory 300 HP is wrong and that the motor should start out with a 20 HP hit right off the bat.

Anyway, if you ran as an '03 Mach 1 you would be a natural "E" car with an index of 12.00 for an automatic and 11.95 for a stick. Plan on running 11 flat to have a prayer in class runoffs. Minimum race weight in E would be 3370 with you in the car. If they had left the HP alone you would be a natural F with an automatic index of 12.15, or 12.10 with a stick. Race weight would be 3320 lbs.

Good luck!

Re: 03/04 Mustang Mach 1 in NHRA Stock???
 

their is only one mod motor stocker I know of it's a 98 GT 2 valve motor factory 225hp NHRA rated@210. Rob Goins runs it in Div.3 O/SA 13.45 index. as for your 03...it's a natural E add weight to F or lighten to D...in F trim it would have to weigh 3530 with you in the car. I'd say that would be the way to go...?

Re: 03/04 Mustang Mach 1 in NHRA Stock???
 

Go for it! It would be nice to see how well the 4 valve Mod motors can compete against the 2 valve pushrods. The Ford dohc heads flow better then the LT1s so that's where you would have the advantage from the start. Bret Velde is building an 03 Cobra to race in stock. His is the supercharged version factored at 390 hp. If he gets his car running well, I think he can be a real threat in the A/S class. Here is a link to another forum that has some of his car's pictures.

http://www.modularfords.com/forums/s...ock+eliminator

Re: 03/04 Mustang Mach 1 in NHRA Stock???
 

I won't pretend to know how the minds of the NHRA officials work but I have an idea on how the 320 hp rating for the 300 hp came about. If you look at the 2001 year Classification guide for the Mustang, the Cobra has a 320 hp engine and NHRA had it factored at 320 as well. This engine is similar to the one in the Mach1 so that's where they decided that it should be rated the same as the 01 Cobra.
The one that I can't figure out is the 05 Mustang. It's factory rated at 300 hp and NHRA factored to 320 hp...It's a 3 valve SOHC head, a lot different than the 4 valve DOHC of the Cobra or Mach1. Without any stockers ever running and no similar engines, how can they just give it hp?

Re: 03/04 Mustang Mach 1 in NHRA Stock???
 

I think NHRA does that for all new combinations so that if someone brings out a new car for competition, it will be a "terd". They will then have to wait on AFHS and/or send in letters to get the HP rating down a little.
They would rather do it that way than have someone bring out a new combination and be at the top of the qualifying sheets.

I really like those Mach I's. I'd like to have one as a street car, or maybe even find one to put a 392 stroker in or something like that.

I think I saw someone else mention that Evan Smith is building a 5.4 mod Shelby for SS/B.

I don't know if the mod motors will catch up for a while in class racing, but they are pretty big in the Fun Ford and NMRA series. They pay some pretty big purses at their events.

Re: 03/04 Mustang Mach 1 in NHRA Stock???
 

Hey Fred,
The engine specs for the '05 4.6L 300 HP factory rated engine says that it is a DOHC 4 valve head, which as you stated, it isn't. It's a SOHC 3 valve head. Whether the head casting number is right, who knows. Its listed as a RF-2C5E064-AF. Anyone know if that is a 3 valve or 4 valve casting? Supposedly these spec sheets come from Ford. Are they just flat out wrong?

Re: 03/04 Mustang Mach 1 in NHRA Stock???
 

Bill,

They have it wrong. That is the part # for my 03 cobra head which is a DOHC head. I don't know where they got those # ' s but the 05 is a 3V head and Ford should have to correct this.



Bret Velde
3028 A/S 03 Cobra

Re: 03/04 Mustang Mach 1 in NHRA Stock???
 

Hey Bret,
Thanks for clearing that up. These engine blueprint specs are just plain wrong in several other places as well. How is your new car doing? When is your first race?

Re: 03/04 Mustang Mach 1 in NHRA Stock???
 

Good afternoon all Ford fans,
Mike Pustelny at MPR has said that NHRA and Ford are currently working on the specifications for the '05 and up 4.6L and 5.4L (Shelby) combinations and the Roush cars as well. Stay tuned.

See you at the races,
Wayne Kerr