"Body in White"
Kevin McDonald's '93 LX
If you have been around cars very long, you have probably heard the term: "body in white". In manufacturing terms, this refers to the stage when the body of the car has been totally welded together, and is basically a bare shell. Brands like Ford and GM actually sell cars in this condition to builders, that want a brand new car to turn into a track only piece. You can buy a brand new Mustang right now in this condition. Ford sells them in different stages, including totally bare, with suspension, with interior, with exterior trim, etc. The cars aren't legal for street use, and you must present racer credentials in the application process to purchase one of these cars.
““Having run a best of 7.97 @174, on 17” pony wheels, it just doesn’t get more sleeper than that””
Ford never sold the fox body Mustang in this state, but Kevin MacDonald essentially made it happen anyway. Back in 2009 he picked up this low mile 4cyl notch, that was finished in Oxford White with blue interior. For all intents and purposes, he had a body in white fox.
Kevin lived in Tampa FL at the time, and used the car to commute back and forth to his job with Diablo Sport. The shenanigans began when Kevin decided to gut the entire drivetrain, and convert it to mod motor. What better a car than a low mile, 4cyl notchback to use as a project? Aside from the paint, and interior, everything in the car has been replaced in the name of big power. The first step was taking the car to Ryan Lowther at Demon Fabrications to fabricate the roll cage, and all of the custom turbo kit piping. Dennis at DMC Racing hooked him up with a set of mini tubs for the car, which Kevin handled himself. After the rear was narrowed an inch on each side, the car could swallow up some larger meats, which would be required to lay down North of a thousand horsepower.
To achieve the ridiculous power levels Kevin was looking for, he began with a forged 4.6 3V short block from MPR. The heads are stock castings that were heavily massaged by JPC, and finished off with a set of Crower cams. The intake is a custom piece from JPC, and was designed to channel massive amounts of boost via the twin Precision 62mm turbos. The turbo kit features Precision wastegates, and air to air intercooler. Feeding the beast was no small feat either, requiring buckets of E98 fuel to keep it happy. Eight Injector Dynamics ID 1700 injectors work overtime to make sure it never runs lean.
Moving on back, Kevin settled on a fully built 4R70W transmission from FB Performance, with a PTC converter, for shifting duties. The final piece to the drivetrain puzzle is the aforementioned 8.8 that was trimmed an inch on either side, and was fortified with Strange 35 spline axles, and a Strange spool.
To plant the ridiculous power to the ground, Kevin began with a Racecraft mod motor k member and A arms up front. Out back, a set of Racecraft upper control arms, Racecraft anti-roll bar, TRZ lower control arms, and Team Z relocation brackets positively locate the rear end. Finishing off with Menscer shocks, struts, and springs at all four corners. With the car now hooked up, Strange brakes were bolted on to haul it back down.
The results of all of this madness is a car that looks like a daily driver, sitting on 17" Pony R wheels, yet can run faster than many purpose built race cars. With the parachute removed, only the cowl hood gives any hint to what this monster is capable of. CR