Stock Car Build - Project Mini Stock

Long ago, our Project Mini Stock buildup project took on a life and personality of its own. We took in an orphaned hulk of a street car, gave it a little love and attention, and before we knew it we had raised a moody teenager. If any of you out there are long-time racers, you probably aren't surprised to learn that the thing has developed a voracious appetite for new parts. It keeps taking up more and more of our lives, and we still aren't to the point where we can get it out of the house to get any use out of it. But we are finally nearing the point where our teenage race car is ready to make the transition to adulthood and compete with the grizzled veterans, but we still have a bit of work to do.

A few months ago we reached the stage where we thought we were ready to hang the body, so we took the Mustang to a friend's race shop for some help. Since then, we've written in installments how the car has been reborn thanks to Chris Hargett and his crew at Hargett Race Cars (formerly H&W Race Car Fabrication). While the car has been living at his shop, we've reworked everything from the radiator location, to the suspension, to even how the pedals are mounted to the car.

Chris races dirt Late Models, and he has shown us several tricks we never would have thought to incorporate into the Mini Stock. The car even has a bit of a Late Model feel to it; we especially like the tubbed driver's section and the flat decking across the car. Decking a car like this can be tricky because we are trying to keep as many of the original body lines as possible. We made pattern after pattern using tape and poster-board before cutting aluminum.

Under The HoodAfter the body was complete, we took everything apart, painted the entire rollcage silver, put it all back together, then carried the car back home for more work. The engine and Fluidyne radiator were in place, but we had yet to get it running. EARL'S Performance Plumbing provided us with all the hardware we needed to connect the ATL fuel cell to the engine, including the fuel filter. We are using No. 8 braided-steel line throughout the car, which provides maximum protection with only a minimum weight penalty. We are also using all-aluminum hose ends from EARL'S that do not require crimping, so plumbing the fuel lines was simple. The only tools needed were a set of wrenches and a hose cutter.

The intake manifold has to be a stock piece, and we have to run a restrictor plate with two 1-inch holes. We are, however, allowed a carburetor spacer up to 2 inches tall between the two-barrel carburetor and the restrictor plate. Johnson's Machine Shop, our engine builder, sent us a trick phenolic piece with radiused holes that gently slope from the exit of the venturiis in the carburetor down to the exact size of the restrictor-plate holes. This should help the air/fuel charge flow much more efficiently than it would if it were flowing through an open spacer and then slamming into the restrictor plate.

On top of the carb, we are trusting a K&N filter to clean the air without restricting flow. K&N also has a neat filter cover made specifically for Holley two-barrel carburetors. Longacre made the air cleaner stud we are using as well as a complete throttle rod kit, which greatly simplifies connecting the gas pedal to the carburetor