“Easier to race, faster street car” - Devin

“Our Goal is an easier to race, faster street car” - Devin Vanderhoof

Devin Vanderhoof makes big upgrades to the Big Ern Foxbody Mustang

Devin’s convertible Foxbody Mustang was already one of the top tier car builds that are drag and drive capable. Devin has the car back from the chassis and powdercoating shops and is planning to document the rebuild as he prepares the car for the Holley booth at PRI 2024!

Devin tells us the car is a ¾ chassis car, a “real car” in his explanation. He decided to keep the stock front frame rails, stock firewall location, stock front suspension location and original geometry, retaining a bolt in K-member up front. In my opinion, this is to keep his options open for class racing at several events across the country. They did move away from the factory suspension to parallel 4-link for the rear axle to allow for much better geometry on a 275 Radial, although he did say you may see the car on a 315 at some point. The rear suspension change was necessary as the car would begin to rattle the tires at 100’ into the run since the factory suspension style limited the geometry needed to apply the power to run the numbers they were looking for. The car had been in the 6.3xs in the quarter mile, giving a glimpse of the potential of the car.

Weight savings:

Spindle mount front wheels with TBM Brakes look amazing

Lost 12 lbs on the Air-Jack mounts

Deadhead fuel system with Racetronix pumps and Corvette regulator in tank with single line that runs to the front

Methanol cell designed to operate with less fuel than before (in theory) so they can carry 3-3.5 gallons less fuel per pass - another savings of 20lbs

The car is not just a racecar, it also has great color choices for paint and powdercoat. The cage is powdercoated in Cadillac Gray and the exterior paint is Yeulong White from a late model Range Rover Discovery that is a single stage base/clear for ease of repair. 

Earlier in the disassembly, Devin asked his fans to guess the weight of the before/after of the bare chassis. The bare chassis weighed 587 lbs before the changes made by the fabricator. With the updates, and the powdercoating, the car now weighs 416 lbs! A savings of 171 lbs!! Previously the complete car weighed 3280, and Devin’s goal for the rebuild is sub-3000lb! 

Initial goals for the car are:

Car drive into the Holley booth at PRI 2024!!

Test ahead of Sick Week. 

“Print 3.9xx ⅛ mile slips and street drive it anywhere.” - Devin

There are several cars that are being built to run at the front of the drag and drive events and this is one we are watching very closely. You can follow along with the build at Devin Vanderhoof on Yutube.