MM&FF LUXOBARGE SHOOTOUT

We have worked with the MM&FF staff on a few occasions to help bring some of the smaller niche markets some exposure. We have been successful in doing this on a few occasions for the Lincoln Mark VII crowd and we are currently working on doing the same for the 2.3 Turbo crowd. This page is dedicated to the Most recent event which was held back in October of 2001. This was an invitation only event and these are the behind the scenes pictures during the day of the shootout. This article is in the February 2002 issue of Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords and is available at your local newstand.

This is our own LSC-R #002 helping out for a picture that ended up on the cover of the Magazine. The 3 guys wearing the controversial T-shirts are regulars on the Hotrodlincoln forum at FordvsChevy.com.

The day began with a driver meeting. There were a total of 10 cars involved in the actual shootout and the drivers were supported by a couple of close friends and family to help them during the day.

Vinnie Kung(left) & Evan Smith(right) were in charge of the event and spelled out the basic rules and overview of how things were going to be run throughout the day.

Chris Lanigan, tired from the long trip up from Florida takes a few minutes on a nearby comfy car trailer to take a nap while everyone gets ready.

Everyone used the staging lanes as a pit area.

Our first casualty came about when Anthony Petrone sprung a radiator leak in his Mark VII. After traveling all the way from Florida, this was the worst thing that could happen since he had just pulled it off the trailer. Track officials told him that he could not run with it leaking.....what to do? We discussed going into town to find another radiator but Anthony was nearly broke after making the long trip and didn't want to go into debt if he didn't have to....but he was HERE and the Shootout was about to take place! Vinnie casually mentioned that there were some junk cars over near the airport runway that they used from Monster truck shows to crush. So I told Anthony to grab some tools and we were off in my LSC!

Anthony and I were lucky enough to find only one car with a good radiator in it....A Crown Victoria(ex Cab). With a minimal amount of tools we managed to remove the radiator. I would not let Anthony put a dirty radiator in my car and the trunk was full so he had to hold it out the window while we drove back to the pit area. Everyone came running with their cameras, this was a photo opportunity that could not be missed!

Anthony begins working furiously to remove the old radiator so that he can get into the fun. A small crowd joined in to watch this Nascar style radiator swap!

Anthony kept a good attitude during the whole ordeal, this would be enough to send some people completely over the edge but he didn't miss a beat and just kept working!

We had one problem...no drain pan! Luckily someone donated an empty gas can so that Anthony could make a custom drain pan to catch the anti-freeze.

Now that we have the repairs finished, we can get on with the show.....Next are the competitors....

This is Anthony Petrones 1988 Lincoln Mark VII....known as "BIGANT 2". We affectionately named the hood scoop "The Moose Lodge" and the little scoop is "Mini Moose". Lots of people make the mistake of laughing at this car because of the hood....until they see nothing but taillights. Don't let this car fool you, it is equipped with a 351 Windsor block sporting 357 cubic inches, ported Trick Flow Twisted Wedge heads, Trick Flow R-series intake manifold, Ronnie Crawford custom grind camshaft, C-4 automatic transmission with manual valve body and 3.55 gears in the factory 8.8 rear end. The suspension is stock with the original Airsprings.

Anthonys interior is nothing but business...racing buckets and aftermarket gauges. Even with the work to remove weight, this car weighed in at 3729lbs with driver!

Right out of the box, Anthony ran consistent 12 second ETs! His best time this day would be 12.78 @ 105.34MPH!

Our next contender gets the Sleeper award for most underestimated car! From the outside with the hood shut, this Mark VII screams STOCK with the only hint of performance being the drag radials. John DeFina did an excellent job of surprising EVERYONE with his Mark VII!

Johns Mark VII is equipped with a 347 with Edelbrock Performer heads, FRPP GT-40 intake manifold, Comp Cams roller camshaft topped off with a Vortech S-trim supercharger. Transmission is an AOD outfitted with a Precision Industries 9" torque converter. Rear gears are 3.73 and the suspension is the stock airspring suspension. This car weighed in at 3918lbs with driver and ran a best time of 12.449 @ 112.12MPH!

This Extraordinarily CLEAN '88 Mercury Cougar belongs to Keith Uhler. The car was meticulous in every way.

Keiths engine is a 306 topped off with TFS Twisted Wedge heads, TFS EFI Street intake, TFS EFI hydraulic roller camshaft and backed by a Tremec 3550 5-speed transmission and 3.73 gears.

Keith had just had the 5 speed conversion done so he had to re-learn everything he knew about the car. His Cougar weighed in at 3654lbs with driver and his best time this day would be a 13.618 @ 100.85MPH.

Gene Angelino(Geno) owns this wicked '95 Lincoln Mark VIII. This car has a lot of subtle and not so subtle changes from it's original configuration. Notice the custom cowl hood, grill and molded rear spoiler. This is also a custom paint job which changes to many colors.

Genes Interior is also heavily modified and very tastefully I might add. Body color treatments throughout, a tasteful addition of SVT emblems on the door panels and his own custom white faced gauges.

Genes engine is a '98 4.6 DOHC with stock ported heads and Manley valves. The intake and cams are stock and the transmission is an AODE with Precision Engineering 3000 stall torque converter. The suspension is totally stock air suspension on Genes Mark VIII.

Gene had a lot of traction issues with his new converter but the car still left with conviction!

Genes Mark VIII weighed in at 4026lbs with driver and managed a best time this day of 14.253 @ 95.30MPH. Don't let this time fool you, with any form of traction, this car is capable of MUCH more! This car has it all....stunning looks with performance to back it up!

Dave Gillis made the trip all the way from Florida as well with his '90 Lincoln Mark VII LSC Special Edition.

The interior is stock with the exception of the Monster Tach and manual transmission conversion. That is a vintage 4 speed toploader you see there making this a VERY unique setup!

The engine in Daves LSC is a 306 built by himself topped off with stock E7TE casting heads, FRPP GT-40 intake manifold, FRPP B-303 Camshaft and a Top Gun Nitrous kit(200 shot). The transmission is a 4 speed toploader and the gears out back are 4.10. The suspension is stock with airsprings and a 1987 Turbo Coupe front swaybar. This one weighed in at 3904lbs with driver and managed a best time of 13.789 @102.20. As a note, this time was without the Nitrous...Dave ran out of Nitrous and the local Mustang shops did not offer Nitrous refilling services which we think is ridiculous considering how close they are located to the Dragstrip!!

Matt Dolan brought out his gorgeous LSC to the event. Matt used to own a Saleen before it was stolen which is what gave him the idea for his paint scheme and wheels. His street wheels match the rear wheels in this photo and look great!

Matts Engine is a DSS 331 topped off with Edelbrock Performer heads, Custom camshaft, a Vortech T-trim supercharger, Nitrous Works 50 shot and GT-40 intake manifold. This was another VERY clean car inside and out. We were all VERY impressed with this LSC!

Matts interior was outfitted with many autometer gauges and his stereo was custom mounted on the passenger side of the dash.

Matt could REALLY smoke the hides on his LSC......

This would be the fastest car of the day! This car would launch hard and fly down the quarter mile! This LSC was also equipped with stock air suspension and weighed in at 4010lbs! The best time would be 11.639 @ 116.84MPH!!!!! Unfortunately Matt did not have the Required safety equipment(roll cage) and he had to park it for the remainder of the day.

Chris Lanigan brought his '92 Lincoln Mark VII LSC Special Edition all the way from Tampa, Florida. This LSC features a STOCK 302 with STOCK E7TE cylinder heads, GT40 lower intake with box upper, FRPP F303 camshaft and a 200 shot of Nitrous. Chris also equipped his car with a Tremec 5 speed transmission and 4.30 gears. Chris took the auto train to Virginia and then drove the remainder of the trip...after the event he drove back to Virginia and took the auto train home...this is one durable stock 5.0!!

Chris is all worked up and ready to go show what his car is made of!

This one weighed in at 3960lbs and managed a best time of 12.943 @ 106.93MPH. Chris also ran out of Nitrous later in the day...he was not allowed to transport NOS on the auto train so he also fell victim to the lack of Nitrous refills in the area.

This is how Chris ran...with a full trunk!

Keith Steinberger brought out his '84 LTD sedan. Equipped with a stock '88 GT 302 with stock heads, stock cam, stock AOD, 3.73 gears and a homemade Nitrous kit(100 shot).

Keiths LTD weighed in at 3540lbs and managed a best time of 13.594 @ 103.61MPH. This is another sleeper to watch out for. For a very small investment, Keith is having a blast with this LTD!

Jim Michener brought out this clean '85 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe from Pennsylvania.

The engine is an owner built 306 with Edelbrock Performer heads and Trick Flow intake then topped off with a 70-shot of Nitrous. The transmission is a T-5 with King Cobra clutch and 3.73 gears outfitted out back. Suspension mods include Kenny Brown rear control arms and Eibach drag springs.
 

Jims Thunderbird weighed in at 3406lbs and he managed a best time of 12.478 @ 110.70MPH.

Walt Kucinski brought out his clean '96 Lincoln Mark VIII for the event.

Walts Lincoln features a Lincoln Motorsport built 4.6 DOHC with stock heads, intake and cams. The transmission is an AODE with Pro-Torque 2400 stall converter and 3.73 gears on stock suspension. This Lincoln weighed in at 3982lbs with driver and managed a best time of 14.200 @ 96.08 MPH.

Here is Vinnie fixing his Chevy Suburban the only way you can fix a Chevy....with a HAMMER! Vinnies starter hung up for most of the day so we loaned him our LSC to make his runs to the scales and elsewhere during the shootout. Fortunately the Suburban was up and running again at the end of the day so that Vinnie could make his trip home.

The infamous "MooseLodge" and sidekick, "Mini Moose" of Anthony Petrones Mark VII.

There were lots of burnouts being done for photo shoots but only a few were good for photos since you couldn't see the cars with all the smoke!

The now infamous "Honda Sucks" shot.

With the end of the day at hand we all loaded up and prepared to leave for the trip home.

Time to gas up and stretch our legs. Chris yells out "Behold! and Be Very Afraid!"

It's not often that you see a group of black Lincoln Mark VIIs in a rest stop parking lot....Kind of looked like a mafia staff meeting!

All done and said we had a great day, nobody had any mechanical problems(aside from Anthony and his radiator) and everyone went home happy. We all made new friends this day and experienced something new giving those involved some well deserved recognition for their efforts and nice rides.