In the last five years, professional sports have taken a beating in the media for a chemically-conducive atmosphere, thus amping up any competitive advantage. Such is the case when the difference between winning and losing could be the difference between getting a free ride to college or paying for one, making it to the pros or being stuck in the minors, or being a star rather than a benchwarmer.
On the automotive front, bereft of the cubic inches necessary to create remarkable quarter-mile times, power adders have become all the rage. Nitrous and forced induction (whether through a crank-driven supercharger or an exhaust-driven turbo), all provide additional grunt. They are part and parcel of the modern performance movement; they’re accepted and certainly don’t carry the stigma of steroids.
They do, however, share the positive performance results: artificially cramming in extra air and fuel to increase power dramatically. The show is improved, the timeslips are proof of accomplishment, and the drivers reach eye-watering speeds with what are relatively small-cube engines.
Not all racers have bought into the power adder is better philosophy, however. Take, for example, Michelle Skyy and her eye-opening ’00-model Trans Am. The factory LS1 remains—the block isn’t even bored 0.030-over (just honed for new rings, resulting in 347 ci) and she passed on the stroker crank options. And yet, despite running in the 9s, there isn’t a power adder to be found—no blower grinding air molecules into submission, no nitrous bottle in the trunk, no turbo whooshing away. Oh, there’s the Ram Air hood, but that’s the equivalent of a Breathe-Rite strip across the bridge of the nose.
It would have been a lot easier...
It would have been a lot easier to go 9s with some kind of power adder but Michelle insisted on doing it with stock cubes. The move to 14.5:1 compression necessitated other changes, including MSD ignition coils, beefier internals, and an Edelbrock throttle body and intake.
Let’s not bury the news. This machine has racked up a 9.97-second, 141-mph timeslip under those grippy Hoosier slicks; Michelle figures that’s good for about 725-750 hp, give or take (an issue with the torque converter prevents her from getting an accurate chassis-dyno reading). “If I had 800 hp, I’d be deeper in the 9s,” she surmises.
So what’s the secret to her success? A deft combination of strength and lightness; a judicious choice of components; a great lead wrench in her husband, Sean Valdez; and more than a little talent behind the wheel. That talent has been developed over a decade, starting as a spectator at an all-Trans Am racing event and being amazed that a car like hers could go that fast. She hones those skills at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Dallas Raceway in Crandall, and the eighth-mile Texas Raceway in Kennedale.
Today, she and Sean have sorted out a wild combination. A stock-stroke Callies Compstar forged crank and forged H-beam rods add the needed strength and rigidity for a set of forged, 13.50cc domed Wiseco pistons, which combined with the AFR 205cc Mongoose heads and their 59cc combustion chambers, measure in at a whopping 14.5:1 compression. (Thank a fuel cell full of 116-octane gas—the closest thing you’ll see to juicing here—for the lack of detonation.) The Comp Cams bumpstick (0.630 lift, 244/252 duration, 111-degree lobe separation) works a set of Crane 4130 chromoly pushrods, Crane Gold Race 1.8 rockers, and 2.05/1.60 valves.
Edelbrock’s 4500-model throttle...
Edelbrock’s 4500-model throttle body is good for 2,000-cfm of air through those four 2.25-inch inlets; the cowl trim had to be notched for clearance.
The car was converted to speed-density, which Sean tunes via HP Tuners software. It informs the other components, including a 2,000-cfm Edelbrock 4500 throttle-body atop a Super Victor LS1 intake, 48-pound ACCEL injectors, and a set of MSD Blaster coils that replace the stock GM pieces. Exhaust is handled via a set of open Texas Speed & Performance long-tube headers with 1.875-inch primaries—and nothing else, as the exhaust system has been pulled altogether. To deliver the torque to the trans, a Yank PT 4,600-rpm stall converter was installed.
Rather than go the tried-and-true Turbo 400 route, Michelle and Sean elected to stick with the factory 4L60E transmission, augmented with a complete performance build by Trent at Specialty Transmissions and the addition of a B&M flywheel, Trans-Go shift kit, Derale deep trans pan, and B&M cooler. The driveshaft remains stock, though it’s reinforced with Spicer 1350 u-joints. And not a delay box in sight.
It looks like the factory...
It looks like the factory Chameleon Green from this angle, but a fresh coat of PPG Poison Ivy has hints of blue and purple within. The bodywork remains stock, including all factory ground effects and wing.
Here’s how you can tell that...
Here’s how you can tell that a) this is a real race car, not some poseur-rod, and b) the thing gets air on launch: That bright red BMR K-frame is good and scuffed, doubtless a function of coming down hard on those front wheels after they catch some air.
Nary a stock component is...
Nary a stock component is in sight under here (not even a fuel tank or exhaust). A 4.56-cogged 12-bolt by Moser, Afco shocks, BMR lower control arms and Panhard bar, Wolfe drag bar, and a Spohn adjustable torque arm all help the fat Hoosier slicks stick and scoot.