URBAN WARFARE
MARK ARBLASTERLUCKY SEVEN
FABIAN HUFF’S 12 0 0HP XE ESP FALCON IS CHASING SEVENS AT DRAG CHALLENGE WEEKEND
I
’VE always had a bit of a soft spot for the XE
ESP Falcons; my first WAR car – WAR351 –
was an XE ESP, after all. So when we spotted
this monster XE, owned by Queenslander
Fabian Huff, we had to find out more.
Fabian has surrounded himself with some
great help and transformed this former
302/auto combination into a 1200rwhp killer
aimed squarely at the seven-second zone on
275 radials.
The car came from Fabian’s stepfather, and
was pretty cherry when he got his hands on it. It’s
had a number of different combinations, the most
recent being a 383ci 4V-headed stroker that ran
10s. But this latest transformation has taken six
years, with the goal of making the XE a seven-
second street car, so there was plenty to do.
Much of the work has been performed
by Kyle Hopf from 6boost, with Terry Seng
from Paramount Performance also playing a
prominent role, and Robby Abbott from Abbott
Engine Reconditioning and Stuart Henry
providing other pieces of the puzzle.
The engine used to run in Stu’s Capri, but after
a night at the drags, Kyle convinced Fabian that
this was the package for him. The turbocharged
420ci small-block Ford offered all the goods
with a Dart block, Scat crank with Eagle H-beamrods and CP pistons, and topped with a set
of 3V alloy heads ported by the captain of the
Australian drinking team at Hot Rod Drag Week,
Robby Abbott. The package was machined by
Robby and assembled by Stuart.
It’s a wet-sump deal with four-into-one headers
by 6boost and an 82mm turbo (275-legal) that
is maxed-out.
Two 50mm Racegates are plumbed in on the hot
side, with a generous bar-and-plate intercooler
by Matt Rogan feeding a CHI inlet manifold with
16 injectors – eight Bosch 2000cc primaries
with 2300cc Moran secondaries. While the
Bosch injectors are enough to feed the motor
on E85, the second set will come into play if and
when the conversion to alcohol is made.
To feed the engine, a belt-driven Waterman
pump runs off the front of the motor, fed by a
custom rear tank, and it is also T-pieced to an
Aeromotive EFI pump that is used to prime the
motor. A Weldon rising-rate regulator handles
fuel pressure, while a System 1 filter keeps the
junk out of the injectors. The engine is controlled
by a Holley ECU with Holley smart coils on the
ignition side.
As with most EFI deals, there was a bunch
of wiring required, which Fabian and Terry took
care of, and Fabian also re-pinned the MoTeCwiring loom that came with the motor to make it
Holley-compatible.
To get the mill fitted with the existing hot-side
plumbing, Fabian had to notch the towers and go
to a strut front end with rack-and-pinion steering.
Backing up the mill is a USA-built Keith
Neal two-speed Powerglide with a ProTorque
converter. The whole rear end has been
overhauled by 6boost, with a chrome-moly
sheet-metal nine-inch rear housing fitted with
40-spline axles and a floater kit. The centre
section is a Strange bolt-through affair, with
3.2:1 pro gears swinging 275 radials.
On the dyno the 420ci mill punched out
1200rwhp on just 22psi.
Fabian is pretty comfortable shooting for the
seven-second barrier. “I wanted to own a seven-
second street car and this is what I have built,” he
says matter-of-factly. “From here we just need to
run the numbers, and I want to get straight into
it at Street Machine Drag Challenge Weekend.
But first we are going to pull the engine and get
Robby to fit a Torrington bearing on the thrust
side of the crank for good measure. The clock is
certainly ticking, but we will get it done.”
Drag Challenge Weekend will have been run
and won by the time you read this, so stay tuned
to see how Fabian fared. sPH
H
OTOT
OSOS
MM
ITIT
CHCH
H
CH
HHHHH
EMEMEMEM
MIMIMIMIM
NGNGNGNGN
M