We hold guys who race stuff in special esteem. Not professional level racers, but guys who race stuff period. Racing takes lots and often gives back little. The failures are public and the triumphs are often unheralded, so the people that do it and dedicate themselves to it, are special in our eyes. Such is the case with one of the neatest project cars in the BangShift universe. This is BangShift.com member Horsewidower’s (Bob) 1989 Mustang road race car. It’s powered by a turbocharged four banger engine and competes in the NASA American Iron series and is legal for SCCA ITE action. It totally rules.
Most of the cars in the American Iron series run small block V8 engines because they’re growing on trees and can make the class mandated 300hp with ease. The drawback is that they’re heavy and in the world of road racing, car balance, weight distribution, and obviously cornering ability are king. By choosing to run the 2.3L four cylinder engine, Bob and his team went the route far less traveled and we’d argue, far more complicated. The benefit is the fact that they have a race car that tips the scales at less than 2300lbs dry and is more balanced and nimble than the V8 cars could ever dream to be. Oh yeah, that little 2.3L motor makes power in spades as well. In fact, the guys had to back the thing way off in order to not over power the class rules.
Bob has been documenting his progress with the car since January of 2009 and it is great reading. The trials and tribulations of racing, especially with an uncommon combo are shared with brutal honesty. Bob dropped a starter on his face and actually documented that he was on his way to the hospital to be sewn up last October. That’s reality kids!
Hit the link below to get all the info on the car and read Bob’s tale of wrenching, racing, breaking, fixing, tuning, loving, and hating this car. It’s riveting stuff and really opens a window into the devotion/obsession involved with running a competitive race car at any level.
LINK: The American Iron Turbo-4 1989 Mustang Road Racing Coupe
I’ve been thinking about turning my daily driver 89 GT into a track car someday. Your project looks really good! I dig it.