FAST - Factory Appearing Stock Tire Class - What to build?

[TTA89]

I came across the rules and love this idea, I wished they raced closer to me. https://www.fastdrags.com/fast-rules  I have been hallucinating about which FE powered car would have the potential to go faster following the rules.  I think the biggest factor here would be the head and intake rules:

"2.03 Cylinder Heads and Intake Manifold MUST be correct* OEM casting, have correct* original casting numbers and be of correct* original material.
This may very well be the most important and teched F.A.S.T. rule.
Note: Any cylinder head or intake manifold that is not the correct* casting number, must be approved and published on the F.A.S.T. website.
Casting date codes are not looked at and are not part of the tech process."


Stroker kits, roller cams (Must have stock idle), head porting are all allowed if you can't see them.  The rules aren't clear but I assume aftermarket blocks are not allowed.  If you were to build a clone of something to take advantage of blocks and heads what would it be?

These are the three cars I think have the best potential for being the fastest examples if built to the rules:

1. 67 Cougar GT-E with 427SO/C6  With a stroker kit would anything else beat it?
2. 68 Mustang GT Coupe with 428CJ/C6
3. 67 GT500 with 428PI/C6  I'm not sure if the factory dual quads would be a better advantage?

What do you think?  Built strictly to race in this class, how quick?  Mid 10s?

[FASTLane]

If you are set on FE, ask yourself, what FE head flows the best that was offered in a production car?

[jayb]

My friend and former Drag Week trunk monkey Joel Nystrom ran FAST for several years; if I recall correctly his Hemi GTX was the first FAST car in the 10s, years ago.  Anyway, since you can lighten the car to death and make internal engine mods, including more cubic inches, as long as the car and engine appear stock, I'd be looking at something with a medium riser 2X4 intake like the 67 Shelby or a 66 Fairlane.  The Fairlane may have an advantage due to the medium riser heads, but if you could port the factory PI heads that came on the Shelby to flow the same as ported medium risers, it would probably be a wash.  The Fairlane would probably hook better on those skinny tires, though...

[chilly460]

As stated, I'd be building a '66 Fairlane R code.  Best true production heads, best production intake, big bore, big valves, stronger block. 

[pbf777]

     "There will be a 560 cubic inch limit on all engines except the Ford 429/460 based power plants which will be allowed 620 cubes."

     Yes, I agree the '66-'67 Fairlane would make a good competitor, but I just might lean toward the '71 "J" code 429SCJ Mustang with the above statement in the rules.     

     I'm kinda amazed at this ruling, though not complaining, as GM has had way to many favors in the rule making over the decades, but still............?     

     Scott.

[chilly460]

Well ported CJs for a 385 series approach 400cfm, but I'm wondering if there's a factory intake that wouldn't hinder the combo, seems the factory SCJ deal would be way too small to feed it. 

[e philpott]

The exhaust manifolds is what's hurting on a 429 compared to the other makes ?

[Hemi Joel]

Jay, my GTX was not the first FAST car in the 10's, that was Wayne Nelsons 68 ZL1 Corvette. My Hemi GTX was the first FAST Mopar in the 10's and the first FAST 4 speed car in the 10's. 

I think a dual quad 67 Fairlane 427 would be one of the best FE powered choices. I would love to see a Cougar GTE running strong, but the Fairlane will probably have better weight distribution and of course the extra carb with open air filter is a big plus.   A 1966 427 Fairlane might hit this roadblock: "The car year, make, model, body style and engine combination must all have been produced and available to the general public in the year claimed, in an actual car.”


One of my very favorite things about FAST is that it is REAL RACING with no break-outs, no index, no handicaps, no weights, no HP/LB rules, and you can never lose by going too fast. There is no attempt by the organization to create "parity". No classes, all run together. The better cars have an advantage, just like the day they were built, and they will not be punished for being better. But still, the stock tires are the great equalizer and there are many upsets and surprises, and the outcome of any given race is unpredictable. Driver skill is of paramount importance. The quickest 8 qualifiers go at it in a heads up pro ladder to determine the top eliminator. Qualifiers 9 and slower go into a best of 3 shootout with their closest qualifying competitor, so they all get a good, fun, close race.

That is why picking the right car is so important. Some stuff to consider when picking a car for FAST: Most of the factory bottlenecks must remain. Some are a deal killer. Correct heads- how much will they flow? Correct block - how many cubes and how durable will it be? Can the oiling system support high RPM without external modifications? What is the flow capability of the stock air filter assembly, the intake manifold, carb(s), exhaust manifolds?  What is the potential weight and weight distribution?  It is all important.  But what ever car you choose, you will have an awesome time with great competition, lots of challenges, and one of the best bunch of racers you will meet.

 Go for it, good luck!

[pbf777]

 "..................the Ford 429/460 based power plants which will be allowed 620 cubes."


     Maybe, just go for the cubes, slow the revolutions in order to fill the cylinders (the cast iron SCJ intake does have a lot of internal area, & the SCJ exhaust manifolds aren't that bad.), trick out the carburetor as much as possible, use an aggressive (big!) requiring lower R.P.M. to keep the valve train stable camshaft, be conservative on the gear ratio, ................ and let it pull!   

     Scott.

[FASTLane]

Or you could purchase the Red 1971 mach 1 that ran in FAST, its for sale.

[mike7570]

     "There will be a 560 cubic inch limit on all engines except the Ford 429/460 based power plants which will be allowed 620 cubes."

     Yes, I agree the '66-'67 Fairlane would make a good competitor, but I just might lean toward the '71 "J" code 429SCJ Mustang with the above statement in the rules.     

     I'm kinda amazed at this ruling, though not complaining, as GM has had way to many favors in the rule making over the decades, but still............?     

     Scott.

620ci Boss 429 

Correction 1967 AC Cobra

[frnkeore]

"2.03 Cylinder Heads and Intake Manifold MUST be correct* OEM casting, have correct* original casting numbers and be of correct* original material.
This may very well be the most important and teched F.A.S.T. rule.
Note: Any cylinder head or intake manifold that is not the correct* casting number, must be approved and published on the F.A.S.T. website.
Casting date codes are not looked at and are not part of the tech process."


Stroker kits, roller cams (Must have stock idle), head porting are all allowed if you can't see them.  The rules aren't clear but I assume aftermarket blocks are not allowed.  If you were to build a clone of something to take advantage of blocks and heads what would it be?

It would seem to be hard to get past the above, underlined rule or, is it ignored?

"The car year, make, model, body style and engine combination must all have been produced and available to the general public in the year claimed, in an actual car.”

Would this include the T-Bolt? From the stock idle rule, it might be the best.

Edit:
I also like the Cobra but, traction might be a problem.

[427John]

     "There will be a 560 cubic inch limit on all engines except the Ford 429/460 based power plants which will be allowed 620 cubes."

     Yes, I agree the '66-'67 Fairlane would make a good competitor, but I just might lean toward the '71 "J" code 429SCJ Mustang with the above statement in the rules.     

     I'm kinda amazed at this ruling, though not complaining, as GM has had way to many favors in the rule making over the decades, but still............?     

     Scott.

Sounds like they wrote that rule to nullify any advantage to using an aftermarket block since that is about where the stock BBC block will top out,while you can easily exceed 560 with a stock 429/460 block if you find a thick one.

[pbf777]

    Just as an example to what I might be suggesting in the way of low R.P.M. pull:  We built an N.A., 600 cu. in. 385 series, with ported CJ heads, Weiand Stealth dual plane intake (unmodified, maybe a gasket-match), an out of the box 850 Holley (with tuning of course     ), big fat roller cam that I discussed with Dave Crower over, this for an airboat installation, aka, low-speed torque with very limited R.P.M. capability due to maximum allowable prop speed (max engine R.P.M. with the gear box ratio being used was 5200 R.P.M.'s +/-; but in the end the customer blew-up the 84"(?) 4-blade "Maximus" - "Wide-Blade" carbon-fiber prop, which sank the boat!     ); it produced in excess of 600 ft. lbs. of torque @ 2000 R.P.M.'s, topping out at 660 ft. lbs. +/- @ say 4200-4600 R.P.M.'s, and didn't drop below 600 ft. lbs. until about 5200 +/- R.P.M.'s with perhaps major valve train stability concerns at anything over say 6500 + R.P.M.s.

    Now this wasn't any kind of astonishing feat, but it was intended to use "pump" gas (<10:1), to be reasonably reliable with extended operating periods at speed and always under load, simple to maintain as the owner wasn't a "wrench", enduring a rather harsh environment (engine operation on airboats is a lot like being on the dyno full-time     ).  In a car with an automatic transmission with a reasonably tight converter and appropriate gear ratio(s) (might still use a low gear set in a C6), I would bet it would accelerate thru the quarter rather briskly.   

    Scott. 

[427John]

As far as the OP's original question,I would think the 427 TP would be at the top due to the TP top end and the 427's .100 larger bore will make the displacement just that much bigger with the stroker crank over the 428.Do FAST cars have to be cars that were originally built with that engine or can they be clones?If clones are allowed can Cobra kit cars be used if it is a faithful reproduction?