VIDEO INSIDE: PETER VOLPE’S LDR 3,669 HORSEPOWER ON THE FUELTECH HUB DYNO

Thu, 2021-04-15 10:10

 

If you’ve paid attention to radial-tire drag racing for any length of time, you will recognize this Mustang — it’s the record-setting, race-winning Mustang formerly owned by Josh Klugger. The Mustang is the first car to ever crack into the 5-second zone in the quarter-mile on the radial tire, the first car into the 3-second zone in the eighth-mile in the Pro 275 class, and also captured an NMCA Radial Wars championship. It’s safe to say that it’s part of radial-tire racing history and has been one of the trendsetters over the last several years.

But nearly every car finds a new owner at some point, and this legendary machine is no exception to that rule. A couple of years ago, New Englander Peter Volpe purchased the car and raced it a couple of times in Pro 275 with his father Peter Sr., then put his plans on hold when rules makers allowed Pro Mod cars into that class — until now. A planned winter revamp turned into more of an overhaul, and his team prepared the car for its assault on the Limited Drag Radial class.

“We were looking at making some changes. We started talking with Eric Dillard and Jamie Miller [of Pro Line Racing], and everyone was on the same page about going into LDR. The weight that they require us to run fits this car really well,” says Volpe.

It is relatively rare to get a look at a class-legal car such as this getting down on the dyno, and we’re thankful that our friends over at FuelTech are willing to share these intimate sessions with us. FuelTech’s Chief Technology Officer and Radial Vs. The World racer Luís de Leon discusses the car’s features and its history with crewmember/jack-of-all-trades Johnny “Drama” Maguda.

Under the hood, the well-executed Pro Line Racing 481-X Stage IV powerplant feeds the 88mm LDR-legal Garrett turbochargers. One reason why the 481-X platform has become such a staple of classes like LDR and Pro 275 is its reliability. The 481-X’s basic configuration has been around for many years; it is a symmetrical-port 4.84 bore-space big-block Chevrolet/Oldsmobile-based engine with several improvements to the camshaft area and lifter spacing to improve durability and maintenance. The 481-X is used extensively by NHRA Blown Alcohol racers; its ability to handle far more power than it sees in applications like Volpe’s Mustang has made it a popular choice for Pro Line Racing customers in these tire-limited classes because it provides the durability they need.

“We had a Pro Line Stage III 481-X, and we replaced it with a Stage IV 481-X — it was Ken Quartuccio’s old engine. We also changed the turbos from the 94mm turbos from Pro 275 to the 88mm class-legal turbos from Garrett. Jamie Miller wanted to get rid of the Pro-Mag 44 [ignition], so we took that out, had the car rewired to go from the FT500 to the FT600 and the coil-on-plug ignition. That turned out to be a really good move tuning-wise. We also added a bunch of sensors, including wheelie control,” he says.

The car was touched by several professionals over the winter: Maguda installed the engine in teammate Tim Dutton’s garage, then the car went to Jamie Miller for some fabrication, then it moved down south to Homier Fabrications where Jonathan rewired the entire car, and RK Racecraft completed more fabrication work to finish it up before the dyno session.

Volpe’s Boston-based construction business keeps him on his toes, which means he doesn’t get as much time away to go racing as he’d like. In 2021 he and Dutton will field a two-car team when Dutton’s new RvW Corvette is complete, so it naturally made sense to offer Dutton the opportunity to shake the car down early in the 2021 season at Lights Out 12.

After one race with Dutton behind the wheel, it’s clear that the offseason work paid healthy dividends. With crew chief Paul Thompson turning the screws and Jamie Miller dialing in the chassis and setting the tuneup in the FuelTech FT600 engine management system, Dutton went all the way to the final round before losing to Paul Gargus. Shane Wilson, Amber Marie, and Jason Gates also lent a hand with crew duties at Lights Out 12 to play a part in the car’s success its first time out with the new setup.

Enjoy the sights and sounds of 3,669 Steve Petty-tuned, turbocharged Pro Line Racing horsepower setting the FuelTech hub dyno aflame!

 

 

 
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