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Story: George Pich Photos: David Gates
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I
n 1999, as a young 19 year-old Marine, Jake Conant was driving by a local Dodge dealer and noticed a black Dakota R/T pickup. “I thought it was the coolest truck I had ever seen, so I bought it,” Jake remembered. Not too long after, while on weekend leave, Jake was invited to the dragstrip by some friends; Cecil County Dragway in Maryland. He ran the truck down the strip and busted out a 14.50 elapsed time at 95mph, and right then and there, he was hooked! The truck would get some mods over the next few years and would eventually hit the mid-thirteen second zone in the quarter-mile, but Jake was about to experience the next level in drag racing.. While spend-
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THE WORLD OF EXTREME HORSEPOWER IS A CLICK AWAY
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PARTS PRO FULL 1
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This Shelby GT500 tribute started as an OEM steel body in white and if it looks like the real deal, that’s because it’s covered in Ford OEM parts and painted as a 2014 Shelby GT500. Factory bumpers, steel roof, fenders and quarters were kept and even the strut towers and OEM inner fender panels remain.
Is this a real GT500? You decide...
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ing some time home in 2002, he had the opportunity to go for a ride in a new 2003 Mustang Cobra; “I was floored and immediately traded the Dakota for a brand new silver ’03 Cobra,” he said with a smile. The Cobra would be Jake’s daily driver for the next several years and he spent time in his parent’s garage adding parts whenever possible. Since he knew he would be racing the Cobra, at 4,000
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miles on the odometer he decide it was time to swap in a solid axle in place of the independent rear suspension, and while at it he also added a cat-back exhaust and intake. Before long he was running mid 12s and would eventually get the car down to 10.98 at 125mph with the stock engine and T56 trans. An automatic transmission was next on the list and after racking up 34,000 miles on the street, and
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The hunger to go fast never left Jake...
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getting the car to run 9.80s at 135mph, in 2011 the stock engine finally gave out. This led Jake to heads-up racing with various engine and supercharger combinations in the Cobra and today it runs 7.30s at over 175mph with a 5.4 Mod motor. The hunger to go fast never left Jake and he needed to feed that hunger with something a bit different, and that’s where this Mustang GT500 tribute comes into the picture. “I had 15 years of successful racing with my 2003 Cobra that to this day (I believe) still holds some ‘micro’ records like the quickest Eaton and OEM engine Cobra. Almost the whole time I have been drag racing I’ve been a Mod motor guy, so moving into this car was a no brainer for me.”
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The GT500 was not initially built by Conant, however he does have insight into its history. It started as a 2010 body in white sent to Victory Racecraft for a complete 25.3 chassis. While Victory has since ceased operations, it was Jason Enos, Bill Gilsbach, and Jamie Miller that built the Mustang. If the car looks like the real deal, that’s because it’s covered in Ford OEM parts and painted to disguise it as an authentic 2014 Shelby GT500. Factory bumpers, steel roof, fenders and quarters were kept and even the strut towers and OEM inner fender panels remain.
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NEAL CHANCE
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Victory Racecraft built a complete 25.3 chassis and cage for the Mustang which incorporated sections of the factory floor, but that’s about where the stock parts end inside the Mustang. A fiberglass dash is void of equipment as the Racepak display relays all vital signs and pertinent info to Jake.
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An array of electronics and wiring are trans tunnel mounted on the passenger side and the supercharger cooler sits in place of a 2nd seat.
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The Shelby had sat dormant for a couple years and in 2018 Jake came into the picture to bring it back to life. While it had previously ran solid 7.1s at 188mph in X275 trim at over 3300lbs with a Vortech Xi, over five years had now passed and a lot had
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changed in the world of heads-up drags. “My main goal was to make the car competitive,” says Conant. With a solid plan, Jake set out to create an Ultra Street contender while doing most of the work himself in his home garage. “I wanted to
enter the car into Ultra Street, and based on the rules, I knew I had to get weight out of the car and move down on blower size. I opted for the ProCharger F1A94 based on the weight I thought was attainable and made some de-
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2014 Ultra Street Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Tribute Chassis Type & Mods:
Transmission & Converter:
25.2 chassis, done by Victory Racecraft (Jason Enos, Bill Gilsbach, Jamie Miller)
M&M 3 speed Turbo 400, Neal Chance NXS billet converter, Precision Performance shifter.
Suspension:
Rear Differential:
Santhuff struts and shocks valved by Viscous Performance. Tubular front K-member, Racecraft spindles and TBM brakes. Rear 4-link coilover.
Custom 9” floater with Strange 3rd member and Strange 40 spline axles and spool.
Body & Paint:
Tuning handled by Craig Pachar of Triangle Speed Shop.
Began as a Ford Body in white and was built with all OEM parts except for Ultra Carbon doors and Optic Armor windows. Steel roof, steel 1/4s, steel fenders, engine bay all OEM steel. OEM front and rear bumpers.
Engine: L&M Racing Engines 5.4 Mod Motor. OEM aluminum GT Block, Bryant billet crank, Manley rods, L&M Racing Engines custom Diamond pistons, King bearings. OEM aluminum GT heads with work done by Modular Head Shop. L&M Racing Engines custom Comp cams and L&M Racing Engines/Accufab timing components.
Wheels & Tires: Mickey Thompson tires 275/60/15 ET Street R. Weld V Series wheels.
Best ET & MPH: 7.08 @ 190mph in 1/4 trim, 4.51 @ 155 in 1/8 trim
Thanks To:
ProCharger F1A-94
Thank you to Mr and Mrs P! My wife and crew chief Amanda Crew - Derek & Dom Bills Gilsbach, Jason Enos and Jamie Miller for building a car that goes straight as an arrow every single pass. • 1170 Designs • Rich Pinto • NGK Spark Plugs • JW Racing • Ray Leathers
Electronics:
Sponsors:
Haltech Elite 2500T, Racepak V300, Racepak Smartwire. Go Lithium batteries.
ProCharger, NGK Spark Plugs, 1170 Designs.
Induction & Fuel Delivery: Hogan’s intake and Wilson throttle body, PT3000 intercooler. Billet Atomizer 245s, Weldon mechanical fuel pump, Ignite Red fuel.
Power Adder:
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Tuning:
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L&M Racing Engines created the 5.4 Mod motor to power the Mustang. An OEM aluminum GT block is filled with a Bryant billet crank, Manley rods and Diamond pistons. Factory GT cylinder heads were re-worked and a ProCharger F1A94 provides boost.
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cisions on parts to get the weight down so I could hopefully be competitive.” The stunning GT500 exterior is what you see, but there’s much more to this venomous beast than meets the eye. A 25.2 chassis and cage were fabricated while integrating the factory floor into the build. Santhuff struts valved by Viscous Performance are coupled with a tubular front K-member, Racecraft spindles and TBM brakes up front, while a 4-link coilover setup in the rear hangs a custom 9” floater with Strange 3rd member, 40 spline axles and spool. L&M Racing Engines built a killer 5.4 Mod motor to power the Mustang and started with an OEM aluminum GT block.
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PBM Performance Engine
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Packin’ the ‘c
Inside, a Bryant billet crank swings Manley rods pinned to L&M Racing Engines custom Diamond pistons with King bearings. OEM aluminum GT heads were worked over by the Modular Head Shop and L&M Racing Engines custom Comp cams and Accufab timing components were also used. A Hogan’s intake is mated to a Wilson throttle body, while fuel delivery is handled by a Weldon mechanical fuel pump. An Ul-
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tra Street-legal ProCharger F1A-94 with PT3000 intercooler shoves additional atmosphere down the throat of the Mod Motor, and a custom Turbo 400 trans with Neal Chance NXS billet converter transfers power rearward. Tuning is the job Craig Pachar of Triangle Speed Shop and to date the Mustang has clocked a best of 7.08 at 190mph in the long haul and 4.51 in 1/8-mile trim.
A 4-link coilover setup in the rear hangs a custom 9” floater with 40 spline axles and spool. Twin DJ Safety fire bottles fill the space between carbon tubs in the trunk of the Mustang. Struts valved by Viscous Performance are coupled with a tubular front K-member, Racecraft spindles and TBM brakes up front.
chute on the brute...
This step takes patience, attentiveness and a great deal of care. A ‘chute that fails to open can have some catastrophic results.
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To date the Mustang has clocked a best of 7.08 at 190mph in the long haul and 4.51 in 1/8-mile trim and won Ultra Street at the 2019 World Cup Finals at Maryland International Raceway with consistent 7.1s through all rounds of competition!
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This slick Ultra Street 2014 Shelby GT 500 is more than just another Mustang, though. With an OEM body, top-shelf chassis and wild blown Mod Motor, it grabs attention wherever it runs, not to mention doing what a race car should…winning races! And Winning the World Cup Finals in 2019 at Maryland International Raceway is the highlight of Jakes adventures with the Shelby to date. “I had just gotten the car together with some major changes after I took the program over in December of 2018. We only had the car out two times previously in 2019 before going to this race and qualified #6 out of 29 cars with a 7.19 at 190. We stayed consistent running 7.1s every round with a best of 7.13 at 190 in the semi-final and ultimately won the event!”
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