After a disappointing season with a short-lived naturally-aspirated 406, Hess began laying the groundwork for a new powerplant. It too would displace 406 cubic inches, but this time breathing would be assisted by way of a Vortech T-trim supercharger. "I had ridden in a friend's 306 S-trim powered Mustang. This was a low 10-second street car," he told us, "and I just couldn't believe the power! I thought 'this is it' and that supercharging must be the way to go. I was shooting for 10.50 with a supercharged car."
Hess found a fresh 400 4-bolt block and had it bored .030-inches while he ordered components. A Cola-forged crank and Eagle ESP 5.7-inch rods were teamed with 9:1 Wiseco forged pistons. "I did a lot of research on the Internet before making a decision on the cylinder heads. I ended up ordering a pair of AFR 210 heads, fully assembled. I did no port work on them and installed them straight out of the box." A Comp camshaft (230/244 with .510/.540 lift and 114 LSA) was selected and matched with a set of Comp Pro Magnum rockers. The SuperRam was replaced by a MiniRam intake and a 58mm BBK throttle body was added. Hooker Super-Comp long-tube headers and Mufflex exhaust were re-used from the ill-fated n/a motor. Hess installed a Weldon 2025 fuel pump and -10 fuel line, insuring that he need never worry about his fuel system again. Lastly, he bought and installed a Moser 9-inch, filled with 3.70 gears, 35-spline axles and a spool.
When the time came to order the supercharger, Hess took the route less traveled. "My buddy Don Barnett had already bought and installed the kit on his own car, so he gave me a lot of advice. Don recommended that I skip the kit and buy the components I needed piecemeal. They send you a lot of hoses and clamps and fiddley-diddley stuff that isn't necessarily the highest quality. All those parts are things you can find at the hardware store and save yourself some dough. Or, you can do it right the first time and get high-quality aftermarket equivalents." Hess wound up ordering the T-trim head unit, mounting brackets and discharge tube. "I saved a lot of money over buying a complete kit." Hess never used a serpentine belt drive on the big Vortech. Instead, he ordered a custom cog belt drive system from ASP.
"I knew the 700R4 was going to be on borrowed time with the new combination. I had already broken three of them, so I knew it was just a matter of time." Turns out he was right on the money, as the four-speed slushbox gave up the ghost the second time Hess had the car on the street. A call to ATI set him up with a manual Turbo 400 and a 10-inch converter. Durability issues? Not likely with this stuff.
While the drivetrain was under the knife, the car was at Rhodes Custom Auto undergoing installation of the 10-point roll cage. While there, they also added a Next Generation stock appearing rear spoiler before wet sanding and buffing the nine-year-old paint. How's it look? Like no other nine-year-old paint job we've ever seen!
Hess then installed a DFI box to control the new bullet and took the car to Second Street Speed for a good base tune. At just 12 psi, the car made a very stout 578 rwhp. "It took me almost two years to get the car together. I was just amazed at how well it all came together.
"I took it to the track the next week where it ran a 10.18 at 138 with a 1.60 right off the trailer." Was he still happy? Not exactly. "The converter was way too tight, and caused a bog off the line." Another call to ATI secured him an 8-inch converter. The bog was gone, but now the car was spinning the tires on every pass. I knew I had a suspension problem, but couldn't find the cause." In spite of the 28X12.5 ET Streets, the car just refused to hook.