Nick Burch of Farmington, Missouri, is a self des-cribed "Mustang nut." His affliction dates back to his first Mustang, which was a '95 5.0L GT. Nick didn't waste any time going for the big time in Mustang performance and his first car was soon running 11.60s at 122 miles per hour in the quarter. A Kenne Belle supercharger along with a sturdy reciprocating assembly helped him do it. His next love was an '03 Mach 1. Nick tells us that he was amazed with what a set of 4.10 gears and a 100 horse shot of nitrous did to wake up the already rev-happy 32-valve engine. The eighth-mile times for the Mach 1 were good at 7.83 at 90 miles per hour.
Then one fine day Nick and a friend were having a discussion about the S197 Mustang styling and performance improvements. While happy with his Mach 1, the two friends decided to adjourn to the local Ford dealer to further study the question. While there, a salesman took the time to explain the deals available on a new car. Nick says that he was "curious," and asked what the monthly payments would be. They were calculated and the next thing you know Nick was driving home in a new '06 Mustang GT.
A month later he called and ordered an HP Performance 60mm turbo kit for the new car. It didn't take long for Nick and a couple of buddies to get the turbo installed and running right. "The fun of the new turbo kit was fine," Nick tells us, but he wanted more.
Nick started at the bottom of the engine and worked his way up, beginning with Modular Mustang Racing's MMR 900 short-block assembly. Using a cast-iron '04 Cobra block as a basis, the engine was going to be up to the challenge of the bigger 70mm turbocharger he had planned. Combined with a Lethal Performance heavy-duty fuel system and a very careful tune, now Nick has his '06 GT running hard-going 11.30 at 128 miles per hour in the quarter.
As we look at his third Mustang we can't help but notice the persistent pattern in his story. In each and every Mustang Nick has owned there is the common denominator of immediate performance improvement. In every case he didn't waste any time in expanding the car's performance envelope, making each Mustang into the specialized machine he desired. We salute Nick as the enthusiastic sort of person whose persistent passion for high-performance Mustangs drives the hobby forward.
Firm Foundations
Modular Mustang Racing (www.modularmustangracing.com; (805) 650-1853) now offers several replacement short-block assemblies for an advanced modular engine project. Beginning at the 600hp level, these offerings all use the '04 Cobra Mustang cast iron cylinder block for maximum strength. This block was borrowed from the 32-valve Ter-minator engine, but can be used with any of the modular cylinder heads, including the Two-Valve, Three-Valve, and Four-Valve units. Moving up to the 800hp version, the cast iron crankshaft is replaced with a 4340 forged steel piece.
The 900hp assembly, which Nick has in his car, includes super stout Manley H-beam connecting rods and pistons for normally aspirated or blown applications, which are part of the customer's choice. Use whatever upper end you decide to use, with this specialized short-block assembly as a basis for your project, things are going to stay together no matter how much power you're planning on making.