To go along with the new timing set I used Comps’ thrust bearing equipped retainer plate for cam retention. The plate has a Torrington bearing on the cam side and is flat on the gear side. The Ultimate timing gear has a roller bearing also that rides on the plate making for a low friction setup. The only problem I had initially was that the bearing on the back of the timing gear was hitting the retaining bolts for the plate and wouldn’t allow the gear to go on all the way. A quick call to Chris P. at Comp was in order. I found out that I had not received a set of instructions that would normally come with the Ultimate set instructing the user on how to counter-sink the retaining plate fasteners and using a tapered fastener they would end up flush with the plate. A simple fix and I was assured that future Ultimate sets will include the proper fasteners and instructions. Not a big deal and definitely a rockin’ setup!

This is the required Moroso oil pump pickup tube for use with the cap girdle.

To button up the bottom end I used a Moroso oil pump pickup tube (part # 24519) made especially to fit with the Moroso Cap Girdle. Then I capped it off with Moroso’s street/strip replacement type oil pan (part # 20521) -- a factory replacement made to fit with the pickup and has a 1 quart deeper sump. It is not a kicked out sump so it should be legal for Stock Eliminator. As usual for Moroso it all fits and I had no issues.

Now that the bottom end was finished I cleaned up the x302 heads and reinstalled them using Ford head gaskets. The only top-end change I made this year was the installation of Comp Cams full roller aluminum 1.6 ratio rocker arms (part # 1043-16). No, they're not legal for Stock Eliminator on this particular Crate Motor, but I’m going to mostly run brackets this season and maybe throw in a few Open Comp type races along the way. When I do race at a sanctioned IHRA event I will re-install the old stamped steel rockers from last year.

The only reason I decided to run rollers most of the time is because they are easier on the valve stems and don’t try to wear out the guides as much, basically reliability. Interestingly enough, I have tested roller vs. non-roller rockers before and there was only a slight .01 hundredth difference in performance. Anyway, the Comp rollers are stone reliable and I have used there rockers for years without fail. Connecting the rockers to the lifters is a set of Comp Cams Hi-Tech 5/16 6.350” long pushrods. I bolted on the single plane intake and the Muscrates’ bullet was ready to rock!

The shiny gold piece is Competition Engineering’s late model Mustang specific Torque Link. Nice, simple, and effective.

The installation was straight forward and the only real change was the addition of Moroso’s late model Mustang specific Torque Link (part # C 4010). Actually this is a Competition Engineering product which is owned by Moroso. It is a nice piece that bolts directly to the factory sway bar mounting pad on the driver's side and the other end connects to the cylinder head. It bolted on without issue and is a nice clean way to help control engine torque / chassis flex.

Muscrate was now ready to rock, but I made one more change to the car that I wanted to make last season. I had been using the factory fuel tank with a self-made 3/8” pickup that I fashioned out of steel brake tubing. It worked fine but because of the factory fuel tank baffling inside the tank I had to have the end of the pickup facing forward in the tank and of course I had to run adequate fuel levels not to starve the Aeromotive pump. Aftermarket fuel cells are legal in Stock but I didn’t want to cut a hole in the floor, recess the cell, build a steel enclosure, and make a firewall to isolate the cell from the driver's compartment as per IHRA rules. Too much dinking’ around if you ask me.

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So, I got a hold of Aeromotive Fuel Systems and they gladly sent me one of their bolt-in factory replacement tanks with a real sump at the bottom back of the tank and uses -10 ORB fittings. Now we're talking! The tank simply bolts in utilizing the factory mounts, hardware, sending unit if you wish, and filler neck. How much simpler could it get? Now with a real sump at the back I can run 5 gallons of Sunoco Race Fuels instead of at least 10, and know I’m getting fuel to the pump.

It will also be handy if I need to drain the tank for whatever reason. I ran a single -08 braided hose to the Aeromotive Street/Strip pump and plugged the other hole in the tank. Now, finally, we are ready!