Looking For Six

In the world of drag racing there are fast cars, and there are those that can peel the paint off your house. Ray Sanchez's 2002 Camaro belongs to the latter group, which is why when he painted his car silver to match his previous hot rod, a 1967 Camaro, he used more than three coats. Without the benefit of modern aerodynamics his '67 reached the quarter mile in 7.42 seconds, and his latest ride is proving no less impressive as it has already surpassed his previous 60-foot times with a 1.18 initial run before tuning.

After driving the first supercharged Chevy across the 8-second barrier, Sanchez set his sights a bit higher with his '02 Camaro. "When I started building this car I knew that I wanted to have the first 6-second Super Street 10.5-inch Camaro in North America," said Ray.

Words are cheap, however, and building a six-second car is not. It was going to take a lot more than lofty goals and a penchant for speed to surpass Billy Glidden's Mustang, which Ray sighted as another of his goals. The most common means to this end is some wild racing engine with an enormous bore and stroke running on high octane, leaded race fuel and at the edge of its limits; Sanchez wanted to go a different route. He wanted something that was cheaper to run and maintain, and also capable of producing maximum horsepower.

With this in mind Ray and Jamie Wagner of Performance Solutions put their heads together to develop one of the first fuel injected engines to use alcohol as the main fuel source. Entering uncharted territory of course meant working out a number of bugs, and also having to fabricate a number of pieces. Since alcohol requires twice the amount of fuel for proper combustion, the first thing they would need was a custom fuel harness to support more than twice the normal amount of injectors. After building the harness Wagner then had to tune this unique fuel injection system, which would then have to run so rich an air/fuel mixture that it's off the charts. Before they could do any of this, however, they would need a very durable powerplant that could handle heavy boost pressure from a supercharger, in addition to the unique and unknown stresses of alcohol injection and possibly high compression ratios.

When looking for such an engine Sanchez's first thoughts turned to his old friend Pat Musi who built the engine for his '67. Musi Racing Engines of Carteret, N.J. are renowned as being one of the best in the business, its specialty being the Donovan block. Similar to a Bowtie block, the Donovan is a very durable engine perfect for racing applications. "The Donovan has a wider main bearing than say an LS1 making it a much stronger engine, and in this case a (410 ci) big-block with a short stroke seemed the perfect fit for a car that is intended to be supercharged and make 2,000-plus horsepower," Musi said.The next step was adding a custom camshaft from Cam Motion, and Ray Franks Aluminum Heads that Musi ported and polished. By using 2.40/1.88 Manley titanium valves, Venolia forged aluminum pistons, GRP aluminum connecting rods, and Childs & Albert rings they managed to save some weight yet at the same time increase durability. Manton 7/16 tapered pushrods enable the surprisingly small 3.2-inch stroke, which is considerably smaller than an LS1.

Just like Ray's '67, a ProCharger F-3R would be responsible for providing the tremendous amount of boost that would propel his '02 Camaro into the stratosphere. I guess you have to stick with what works, and 38 psi is nothing to scoff at. As a matter of fact, Sanchez said that with the modifications ProCharger's Chris Spies made to the blower it can actually produce over 42psi. The purple housing to the supercharger, Sanchez admits, was another motivation for sticking with the F-3R, which when combined with the color coordinated plumbing adds a show quality appearance to the engine bay.

Once the engine was complete it was taken over to Performance Solutions where Wagner added the custom fuel harness, modified the fuel system, and tuned the EFI 4.0 ECU. Interestingly enough, Wagner and Sanchez both say that while the engine does run on alcohol it is more closely associated with a normal EFI street motor than an alcohol funny car. "For one the motor is fairly mild for a hot rod, and secondly alcohol funny cars are carbureted and therefore a great deal more inefficient," Wagner said, "the only difference between this engine and a regular engine is that it has more than twice as many injectors." Indeed it does, as the custom fuel harness supports two injectors per cylinder and there are two additional injectors placed downstream of the inlet air just aft of the ProCharger and just behind the throttle body leading into the intake manifold. Wagner said, "the advantage of placing the injectors in these positions is to help cool the air coming from the supercharger, which would ordinarily be routed first through an intercooler. However, a chemical property unique to alcohol--the latent heat of vaporization, which pulls the heat out of the air (as it is mixed) in order to vaporize just prior to combustion--negates the need for an intercooler." This also helps them save a considerable amount of weight where an air to water intercooler is normally required in racing applications.

Often, a fundamental problem with using alcohol as your main fuel source is that it is difficult to reach a normal operating temperature suitable for proper combustion. They solved this, however, by using ordinary pump gas as a secondary fuel source. The result is a relatively inexpensive car to run and maintain, as both fuel sources are cheaper than leaded race fuel and nitromethane.

Another challenge with alcohol injection is supplying an extremely large quantity of fuel to the eight thirsty combustion chambers. While eighteen Bosch 160 lb./hr. injectors may seem like a lot, it is still not enough. Plans are in the works to add two more injectors to the charged air stream following a slightly disappointing showing at the OSCA Nationals. While winning the OSCA Super Street Championship and setting a new OSCA ET record is ordinarily an impressive feat, when you consider the power this car can develop, it is hard to settle for 7.557 at 189 mph. "We ran our fastest time coming right out of the trailer," Ray said, "I had to short shift to keep the engine from backfiring because it wasn't getting enough fuel." An 11 percent shortage of fuel cost him a great deal of speed going down the track as this car has yet to come anywhere near its potential. Adding the additional injectors, though, will not be a problem for the heavy duty Waterman mechanical fuel pump (capable of supporting over 3,000hp at a flow rate of 15 gpm) and the massive -16 line. The EFI 4.0 ECU is tuned to an air/fuel ratio somewhere south of 3.6 to 1, which is the limit of the O2 sensor. Despite the massive amount of fuel, an MSD Digital 7 ignition system provides a more than sufficient spark.

The next challenge with building such a powerful hot rod is finding out how to get the power to the asphalt and then down the track. In this arena Sanchez could not think of a better candidate for building a tranny than his own company, Mister Transmission based out of Toronto, Canada. To maintain durability past 2,000hp, he swapped the stock 4L60E for a modified Powerglide with a 4.16 gear set complements of Keith Neal and a TCT 5000-stall torque converter. He even built a spare tranny as added insurance against this alcoholic monster of an engine.

The last and one of the most crucial links to applying the engine's power to the road is the suspension. For this Sanchez turned to a tried and true name in racing chassis and suspension, Parker Chassis of Columbus, Georgia. From the heavy Chrome-moly driveshaft to the 4-link rear, complete 25.2 chassis (from the firewall back), and 5 point racing harness, Dan Parker lived up to his reputation in fabricating such custom pieces. Parker even fabricated a pair of 2.5-inch stainless steel headers to clear the intricately supported chassis as well as control arms for the front suspension, which were then mated with Santuff spindles and Strange shocks (the rear suspension utilizes Koni shocks and springs).

Between the Musi big block, the custom heads, cam and other engine components, the 38psi of boost, and alcohol injection, Sanchez's claim that the engine produces 2006 horses at the flywheel seems extremely modest. With the potential to increase boost to over 42psi,it seems there is little to stop Sanchez's Camaro from becoming one of the fastest cars in Outlaw 10.5. And just as this story went to print, he came one step closer, running 7.40 at 192. A new set of 184-pound injectors should be installed by the time you read this--will it be eough for 6s?

Safety has to be a priority...        read full caption Safety has to be a priority in a car that generates so much power. A Simpson five-point harness is found inside the cockpit while a complete 25.2 chassis from Parker Chassis keeps Sanchez snug as he launches into the stratosphere.

It's amazing what forced induction...        read full caption It's amazing what forced induction and alcohol can do to create 2,000+ horsepower. The purple blower and induction piping highlight this showroom quality engine bay, while the 18 different injectors hint that this engine is more than just looks. The custom designed fuel rail supplies each cylinder with two injectors to accommodate the massive amount of fuel required with the use of alcohol, and two additional injectors can be found in the pipe just aft of the blower and another in between the throttle body and the intake manifold.

The interior is not exactly...        read full caption The interior is not exactly bare bones, maintaining a great deal of stock materials. The aluminum pedal kit, traces of fireproofing, roll cage, racing style shifter, carbon fiber tabs, and powder coated sheetmetal reveal, however, that this car is anything but stock.

The power meets the pavement...        read full caption The power meets the pavement through massive 33x10.5-inch Mickey Thompsons mounted on Weld Magnum rims.

urple power! This modified...        read full caption urple power! This modified ProCharger F-3R can produce over 42 psi of boost.

If you happen to be racing...        read full caption If you happen to be racing Sanchez in his silver '02 Camaro this is most likely all you will see until his parachute deploys to slow him down from nearly 200mph.

Built for speed this stunningly...        read full caption Built for speed this stunningly silver Camaro has over three coats of paint courtesy of Johnstons Body Works.

This attractive carbon fiber...        read full caption This attractive carbon fiber cowl hood is one of a kind produced by fellow Canadian Joe Van Overbeek, and helps save a significant amount of weight while also being flame retardant.

This 17 Channel Data Logger...        read full caption This 17 Channel Data Logger from Autometer mounted in between the seats provides accurate information on the engine's performance facilitating proper tuning.

A Hurst shifter enables the...        read full caption A Hurst shifter enables the hefty Powerglide built by Sanchez's company Mister Transmission and Keith Neal.

The 4 link suspension and...        read full caption The 4 link suspension and wheelie bars are complements of Parker Chassis in Columbus, Georgia.

With the rear hatch popped...        read full caption With the rear hatch popped you can see the fire extinguisher nestled in between the wheel wells which were remolded to accommodate the massive 33x10.5 tires, and the powder coated sheetmetal flooring provided by Performance Coating in Jonesboro, Georgia.

The silver and purple color...        read full caption The silver and purple color scheme is carried even to the control arms made by Parker Chassis, which connect to Strange shocks.

These Weld Racing Spindle...        read full caption These Weld Racing Spindle mount Magnum wheels are extremely strong, provide plenty of venting for the Strange brake calipers, and look fantastic wrapped in M/T tires.