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Ford
Racing Performance Parts FR100
By: Michael Levine Posted:
11-07-02 03:00
© 2002 PickupTruck.com
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The Big Three
are serious about creating high performance aftermarket crate engines
for their customers and Ford's Racing Technology group has created a very
special package to wrap its new 5.0-liter Cammer crate engine up in -
the FR100. The FR100 is a race ready tribute to the best selling vehicles
in Ford's fleet, the F-series pickups, based on the 1953 F-100 pickup.
The trucks
pictured in this story are the only two FR100s in existence. Both were
purchased by Ford Racing Technology after a search on the Internet. Tom
Berkey, a parts marketing manager for FRT, figured two to three trucks
would be needed to complete the project vehicles for SEMA.
The trucks
were torn down and rebuilt from the ground up at McLaren Performance Technologies
in Livonia, Michigan.
FRT wanted
to preserve the exterior aesthetics of the original F-100 even though
during the project almost every panel was modified. The only original,
unaltered panels are the hood and doors. The cab was actually lengthened
by 6-inches to provide more interior room and to fit a custom roll cage
for driver protection.
Inside the
truck is a brand new dash with retro-style gauges. Its bucket seats are
from the Ford Ranger, reupholstered in leather and tweed cloth, and the
steering wheel is shared with Ford Racing's Mustang. A Harman/Becker TrafficProII
nav and audio unit is mounted in an overhead console with a Sirius radio
receiver for entertainment.
The FRT team
tried to keep the original frame but suspension concerns dictated building
an entirely new chassis for the trucks. They wound up substituting a frame
from an FR500 Mustang project car with similar rail spacings to the F100.
The front
and rear independent suspension components also came from the Mustang.
The front suspension is bolted to a set of frame tubes that serve as the
front frame rails. The rear frame was modified to accommodate the rear
suspension control arms.
After disassembly
the F100 parts that stayed and the F100 parts that were kept stood almost
equal in height on the floor of the garage.
The 5.0-liter
Cammer Crate Engine that powers the FR100 is an all aluminum, overhead
cam V8 that finds its roots in the 4.6-liter SVT Mustang's powerplant.
The displacement difference comes from larger cylinders. The Cammer is
rated at 425-horsepower and 370 lb-feet of torque with a high compression
rating of 11.0:1.
To reduce
the difficulty of installation, the Cammer uses a 4.6L-4V wiring harness
that provides all of the electrical connectors needed, including terminals,
a fuse box, power distribution box, switch connectors and fuel pump relays.
Dan Davis, Director of Ford Racing Technology says, "for once (with
a crate engine) you get the whole thing without the difficulty of trying
to figure out where to mount to all of the electrical components."
The FR100's
Cammer is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission to realize the engine's
full potential. During test runs in the FR100 it ran a 2-mile, 10 turn
road race course with an average time of only 2 seconds less than an FR500
Mustang. It pegged the 120-mph speedometer while only in fourth gear and
FRT engineers still aren't sure about its top speed.
Depending
on demand, Davis estimates the price for the Cammer to be over $10,000
when it comes to market in the springtime of 2003. You will be able to
purchase a Cammer from a Ford dealer or warehouse distributor. Davis is
hoping to initially sell at least 100-200 engines.
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