Now, onto the heart of the truck. Open the custom Fairlane Company hood and you won't find an ordinary 302 or 351 here. This engine came from the same place as its 8.8-inch rearend: a race-prepped Crown Victoria. The Crown Vic was built by Ford to run in the One Lap of America, a race series that challenges car builders to build a vehicle capable of driving their cars in a grueling road trip with stops at race tracks along the way. Ford donated the entire drivetrain, including the 4.6L engine, four-speed automatic transmission, and driveshaft. The power and drivability of the 4.6L "Terminator" motor was a perfect choice for both the Crown Vic, and the F-1. With the help of overdrive pulleys, the Kenne Bell supercharger adds 15 psi of boost to the engine to wring out 540 hp and 520 ft-lb of torque. Considering the amount of steel that was replaced by fiberglass, you can imagine what those 540 horses can do in this truck. Ray Evans, John Heider, and Dev Saberwal, whom are all from Ford, helped with the install of the engine and 4R70W transmission, including the engine wiring.
We mentioned many people donated their time and/or products for this build, the interior was not an exception. Just one example: Toys for Noise helped get Alpine and Rockford Fosgate audio components to fill the custom center console that the students built. Bass thumps from 12-inch Alpine Type-R subs behind the seat, while RF separates deliver the mids and highs from the kick panels and upper cab corners. The view from the Sparco driver seat is one of a custom hammer-formed black dash and aluminum, pure hot rod. A Grant steering wheel and ididit column match the Lokar shifter and pedals and the custom Classic Industries gauges that feature WCC logos. The Alpine CDA-9883 head unit was mounted into the glovebox to keep the custom dash uncluttered, and faux leather and ostrich covers the headliner all the way down to the black-loop carpet for a sleek interior. WCC gives praise to Mike Carr Custom Upholstery in Homer, Michigan. They were able to complete the entire upholstery job from seat to doors to headliner in just two weeks.
Goodyear donated tires to fit the Ford GT wheels, 18 inches in front and 19 inches in the rear.
We didn't get to meet Justin, but all of the guys at WCC we did meet were happy to be working on the build. As far as we're concerned, anyone who wishes for a classic truck is our kind of guy. If all goes to plan, this truck will have traveled to several auto shows by now, wrapping up at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, where it will finally be delivered to its deserving owner.
The Washtenaw Community College Team Leaders:
Gary Sobbry: Department Chair, Auto Body Repair and Custom Cars and Concepts
Joe Ortiz: Lead Tech, Fabrication Leader
Tim VanSchoick: Lead Instructor, Crew Leader
Jay Mosquera: Lead Tech, Paint Leader
Bob Lowing: Senior Instructor, Body and Mechanical Leader
Scott Malnar: Senior Instructor, Body and Mechanical Leader