Craig Kiddoo's 306 Vorteched 1993 Mustang LX

September 1, 1999:

I am still planning on getting my heads etc... done by the end of the summer. Unfortunately, my daily driver ('94 Lincoln Town Car) was driven for 500 or so miles 3 1/2 quarts low on oil (By my 17 year old who decided that the warning lights were not important). As a result I have to replace the engine before I can tear down the Mustang. The Lincoln should be done by the second weekend in September, at which time I am going to have the original Mustang engine bored .030 over, rods resized, crank ground, new pistons, balanced. I decided I want a sturdy foundation so that I can pump 14-15 pounds of boost without problems.

September 24, 1999:

The Lincoln is now fixed and we have started tearing down the Mustang. We have identified two problems right off the bat that explain the poor performance of the Mustang and the low boost numbers I have been generating with the Vortech. First of all, the Mustang failed (miserably) a compression test (I knew the engine was in need of some TLC). Second, when we pulled the piping for the Vortech we found oil in the intake and discharge tubes of the blower (pooled up by the blower outlet, and going all the way to the throttle body). Vortech says it is a bad seal (luckily the unit came with a 3 year warranty), so I am confident that when we get the replacement head unit on I should see significant gains.

September 27, 1999:

The 302 is out of the Mustang and is going to the machine shop today!!! Hopefully it will be put back together in the next three weeks or so.

October 18, 1999:

Have the engine back from the machine shop, and all of the parts are in. Willis is just as excited about it as I am, so I know he will have it together as soon as humanly possible.

November 18, 1999:

Car is ready for me to test drive tomorrow. After hearing the motor run, and seeing the results I am very pleased. Sounds mean as hell...and looks like I will finally have the power that I have been wanting. As soon as it is broken in, I am taking it up to Alternative Auto in Michigan to have a chip burned, and get some dyno results.

November 21, 1999:

Car runs great...still a few bugs to work out, and it is going to run rich until I get the chip burned. I am hoping we can get the final details ironed out over the next week or so, so I can get the chip before the snow arrives. Will post dyno results as soon as I have them.

April 22, 2000:

Taking care of the last few glitches...now that busy season is over. Should have the car back on the road by the middle of next week and up to the dyno in the next month or so for the custom chip.

October 27, 2000:

Done working on the car for the season. Had some unexpected family related expenses come up so it will be next spring at the earliest before I get the chip or get the car on the dyno. Otherwise the car runs great...have the fuel a little rich right now, but better safe than sorry. I feel a lot better about waiting to lean it out when I have an experienced tuner who can tune the car in a safe configuration. Have some new times, and the car is going to a 1/4 mile track tomorrow so I will finally have some idea of what the car can do. Until I get my torque boxes welded, and some 31 spline axles with c-clip eliminators I can't launch too hard or I am afraid I will break something, so there will be room for improvement once I take care of the few remaining items on my list and start running 10" slicks.

November 16,2002:

Well, I haven't updated the web page for quite some time. I haven't really had the time to drive the car myself, but Willis has been taking it to the track on and off. I have updated the times, but not too much has been done to the car since my last post. I did spring for the new rear end and axles, as well as the battle boxes, and had to put a new harmonic balancer on it when the original came loose (luckily it was noticed before any major damage happened). With the proper amount of practice, I think the car could get into the low 11's with the current setup. With a custom chip (or PMS) and a little more capacity for fuel delivery, I think the car should easily see the 10's. With my new job I hope to have more time to drive the car myself starting next spring after busy season, and maybe I will be able to spring for a used PMS to play with.