Accufab Racing

John started racing with pushrod 5.0s during the Fox era, and helped Jim Bell lay down impressive times with some of the first Kenne Bell-supercharged Mustangs. In 1995, a deal from a Ford insider put John in a 4.6-powered Fox Mustang. The car was an old FoMoCo engineering hack, and it set John on what's proving to be a life-long modular development program.

One of the modular pioneers, John has arguably gone further than anyone when it comes to extracting power from these somewhat intricate engines. For years now, he's been racing a tube-framed Mercury Cougar in NHRA and mainly PSCA, the Pacific Street Car Association. John was runner-up in the '07 PSCA Pro Street and slugged his way to the '08 class championship with four wins. He's also the three-time AA/AT and three-time BB/AT NHRA Competition Eliminator record-holder with the same car.

The Cougar is a dedicated Lenco-transmissioned drag car; to date, it's run a best of 6.31 seconds at 229 mph, and is a proven, steady laboratory for John's ceaseless modular engine development, which hovers at an astounding 2,300 hp. That makes it the undisputed horsepower-per-cubic-inch champion of the modular world, and one of two contenders for the straight-up most powerful modular engine in history. The accomplishment also puts the modular Ford far ahead of any current domestic engine in its ability to make and survive such power.

The "Stock" Combination. What makes John's power and speed so impressive is the small displacement and stock source for major portions of his engine program. Displacement is 282 ci--call it a stock 4.6 liters--using a stock aluminum Cobra block; stock old-style, "B" dual-port, Four-Valve cylinder heads, as found in a '95 Lincoln; and a stock 4.6 Cobra crankshaft. Twin Garrett turbochargers supply a mind-bending 52 pounds of boost on top of an over 11:1 static compression ratio on gasoline!

Frankly, the combination is so unbelievable that some members of Ford Racing recently came by to inspect the engine firsthand. They went away shaking their heads, with reset expectations of what regular production parts can generate. We'll admit to a similar reclocking, not only of how much power the stock parts can muster, but also by the attention to detail required by 8 hp per cubic inch, plus the amazing in-house capabilities of modern racers to manufacture their own supporting pieces.

The “New” Combination.  For 2011, the Cougar has finally been put to pasture and a new Pro Street car has emerged, based on the body style of the new model Mustang.  Development in the engine department has given horsepower increases, with better turbochargers and Ford GT cylinder heads.  In this business, standing still is the same as moving backwards.  The new chassis is stronger and lighter, a better platform to handle the increased power (now over 2,500 at 9,200 rpm).  Although there is more to go, the new Mustang has already run 6.19 @ over 235 mph.