There is no denying the Fox Mustang is an amazing platform to use as a foundation for a drag race or street/strip project. Through the years there have been plenty of cool engine swaps for the platform, including powerplants from the red-hot LS engine family. We can add Fiscus Motorsports to the list of enthusiasts not afraid to add a Brand X engine to the Ford chassis but they took quite a different route than the normal swappers.
The Ohio-based speed freaks added a Buick Stage II V-6 engine and it is setup for Ultra Street and other small-tire categories available in the Rust Belt area of the country. It is true, you don’t normally see a V-8 tossed in favor of a V-6 but in the world of heads-up racing, it is all about the weight breaks. The team grabbed a few hundred pound weight deduction and the 76mm pumped V-6 has helped the team run right into the 4.80s at several different Ultra Street competitions.
Owned by Dave Fiscus, he made a name for himself in the Grand National community before swapping the running gear into the Mustang, which was built by Tin Soldier Race Cars. Under the watchful eye of Cal Hartline and Jason Struckman, the Fiscus Motorsports Mustang was bolted to the in-house Mainline Hub-Dyno to get sorted out before hitting the track in 2020.
The fabled Buick Stage II V-6 is controlled by a FuelTech FT600 engine management system, which includes dozens of standard features for running a turbocharged drag race vehicle. The record-breaking, championship-producing ECU includes sequential injection and ignition, O2 closed loop, Traction Control, Data Logger, Delay Box, Boost Controller, and much more. The PowerFT line of ECUs double up as a data acquisition unit and features a touchscreen LCD, eliminating the need for a separate system. The streamlining of data allows the tuner to analyze the data and make changes using FTManager software.
The LCD screen provides live data for the driver and allows tune changes without the need for a PC computer hook up. The Ultra Street category and other tire-limited categories require the power to be managed properly in order for maximum traction. The FuelTech PowerFT ECU products not only allow a custom timing curve but the internal Boost Controller allows ultimate control over the turbocharged setup in Fiscus’ Mustang.
The FT600 is also capable of traction control and wheelie control for when traction goes away or the track had a little more bite than anticipated. The Fiscus Motorsports Mustang features a CDI Ignition and it performs flawlessly in the methanol-fueled combination. Obscure engine swaps for traction-limited categories while chasing weight breaks is one of many combinations that the PowerFT ECU can handle.
It is why you’re seeing #FuelTechEverywhere