Let's look at a few things regarding 5.0 Mustang Fun Ford Weekend racing.

1] With the advent of the big boost centrifugal superchargers, many racers have had to install 10-rib or cog blower drive belts in order to keep the standard belts from slipping. These big belt drive systems have been causing a problem, however. Because the blower pulleys are cantilevered in front of the accessory drive belts, there have been a rash of crankshaft failures. The nose of the crankshaft of a small black Ford is none too sturdy and there is a tendency for them to break off with the extra load from the big superchargers. If this is a potential problem for you I would suggest changing your brackets around in such a way as to move the blower drive belt back toward the crank dampner and possibly moving the accessory drive in front of the blower drive. This effort may save you a bunch of money.

2] You nitrous guys also have a potential problem, particularly if you are running a fogger system with the nitrous/fuel nozzles mounted in the port runners of the intake manifold. There are quite a few racers that have lost engines because on nozzle became clogged up and got a whiff of full nitrous and no fuel. Bang. There went that cylinder and usually the engine. One thing that you can say about a plate system is that what ever happens, it will effect all of the cylinders equally. You might try building a fogger type system running into a plate rather than individual intake manifold ports. Also, have you ever seem the guys who "purge" their nitrous system after the burnout and before staging? Not too long ago I saw a solenoid stick open during a purge and all of the nitrous escaped from the tank before he left the line. What fun. Now, we do the purge in the staging lanes while waiting to run. This way, if there is a problem, someone can run back to the trailer for another bottle.

3] When was the last time that you changed the fluid AND the filter in your automatic transmission? The best way to avoid transmission and converter problems is to change the fluid and the filter after every weekend at the drags. This may sound excessive but the particles and dust that comes off the clutch packs under full power runs and mixes with the tranny fluid, and gets pasty and gooey. This will kill the trans and probably the converter. I asked Art Carr to install a drain plug on the oil pan of our C-4 trans and he refused to do it. His feeling was that if I could drain the oil without removing the pan, I would probably never change the filter. Since we have been doing this simple and cheap maintenance, we have never had a trans or converter failure.

4] If you are using a trans brake in your automatic, make sure that you charge the battery between rounds. The solenoids used on the trans brake draw a lot of juice when you are on the brake and can cause a sever drain on your battery. I have seen the solenoid let go because of a low battery condition and the car will red light.

5] If you are racing with a T-5 5-speed trans, here is a money saving tip. Replace it with a heavy duty stick trans (4-speed or Tremec) r an automatic before you break it. Even a used T-5 is worth something. If you break it (and you will), they are almost worthless. Sell it before you break it and put the money toward the new trans.

6] If you are still using the 28-spline axles and also running drag slicks, you will break the axles sooner or later. Nothing can ruin your race weekend quicker than spending money on the flat bed tow truck to get your car home. This usually is more expensive than the 31-spline axles would have been, and guess what? You still will need to install the new axles. An ounce of preventions is worth a pound of cure.

7] If you are running hard and using good size slicks and also are using some kind of "lift" bars, you will damage the front torque boxes on your chassis. I can guarantee it. I you haven't ruined the torque boxes yet., have your local welding or chassis shop brace and strengthen the rocker box area. The upper torque boxes (for the upper arms) should also be inspected on a regular basis and bead welded before they pull out from the floor. An ounce of prevention... etc.

8] Unless you have a trailer, always bring enough money (cash) to have your Mustang towed back to your home, just incase you break it. Most two companies will not take checks though some do take credit cards. I know that you don't want to think about this, but sh--t happens.

9] Torque straps are cheap and will eliminate the strain on your engine mounts during a hard launch. You can make them yourself out of a piece of strap metal or a hardware store turnbuckle. The bracket where the anti sway bar is (or was) located on the drivers side is a perfect location on the chassis to fasten the strap. Just use an unused bolt hole on the drivers side cylinder head for the other end of the strap.

10] If you engine is real hot after a run, did you know it will cool off quicker if you run the heater full blast while you are driving back to your put? If you are using an electric fan and/or an electric water pump to cool off your engine between rounds, refer to paragraph #3.

11] How many times have you pulled the end of your spark plug wires off between rounds when removing them from the spark plugs? When the engine (and the wires) get hot, the Teflon coated silicone wires seem to get slippery and it is not to hard to have the boost and copper contact separate. There is a special spark plug wire removal tool that is available cheap, but better bring at least two extra wires (long ones) along for insurance, just in case.