Over the years, one of the interesting things that we have observed is the large number of vanity plates on our customer’s cars.  It’s not surprising considering the nature of our business, but it got us thinking about all the different variations of “smack down” you can fit into 7 letters or less.  Here are a few examples of our customers’ and employees’ vanity tags.   We’d love to see yours, too!  If you’d like to share your vanity plates, email webmaster@thunderracing.com, or  post them on our Facebook wall.

Recently Thunder Racing had a customer bring us his 2008 GT500KR to do some upgrades on an already impressive machine.  The Mustang GT500KR is the special “King of the Road” edition of the famous Shelby GT500, featuring a 540 horsepower 5.4L supercharged V8 with Ford Racing Power Pack upgrade, 3.73:1 rear axle ratio, short throw shifter and a beefed up suspension. Exterior cues include a unique Carbon composite hood, 18-inch wheels and special 40th Anniversary badging along with GT500 KR striping.  This rare steed has been immaculately kept with only 800 miles on the odometer.

Installed were a set of Kooks 1-3/4″ headers, X-Pipe w/ Cats and Kooks 2-1/2” catback.  We also installed a Metco Auxiliary Idler Kit for added boost (about 3-4 more psi).  After a custom tune, 525 rwhp and 539 rwtq were easily achieved on a Mustang Dyno!

Recently we had the pleasure of having one of our very first customers come back for some work on his car.  We first worked on this 1995 TransAm back in…well, 1995…when both the car and Thunder Racing were brand new!  The customer has put many miles on the car with the bolt-on parts that we installed back then, but after 15 years, he figured it was time to make a few changes and give the car a complete check-up.

The first thing the customer wanted to do was a cam swap.  On a car this age, we opted to go a little farther with it and do a complete tear-down and inspection, and re-gasket the engine.  We dropped the engine out and took that opportunity to clean up some battery acid damage on the frame, and give the engine bay a good scrubbing!

Once on the stand, the engine was brought down to a short-block, then completely cleaned before replacing all of the seals and gaskets and adding a new set of LS7 Lifters.  It was then buttoned up with a Melling oil pump and a Canton road-race oil pan.

For the valvetrain, Shane spec’d a custom camshaft with 224/230 duation and .573/.568 lift to give the customer just the right amount of “bump.”   We added Patriot Extreme valve springs and hardened pushrods, along with a set of Comp Cams 1.6 ratio Ultra-Pro Magnum Rocker arms.  The rocker arm studs were upgraded to 7/16″ for added strength.

The original plan was to re-use the customer’s Arizona Speed & Marine mid-length headers, but they were quite corroded after so many years.  After checking them over, the customer decided to go with a set of Kooks stainless steel long-tube headers with dual-cat y-pipe.  We replaced the old “factory location” Taylor plug wires, with a new set of wires using our Over-the-valve-cover wire kit.   To keep with the customer’s red theme, we used matching red Taylor fire sleeves.   A Powerbond balancer replaced his factory one that was in poor shape.

We kept the customer’s original Vigilante torque converter, but added a B&M Transmission Cooler to help keep the temps down.  To finish things off, the rear end was torn down, inspected and sealed back up with fresh bearings, gasket and fluids.  The TA also got the full treatment of Red Line fluids in the engine and transmission.

The end result:  A very, very happy customer!  We took his 15 year old car, increased the fuel economy, drivability, and horsepower, and did a lot of extra clean-up and general maintenance to add the finishing touches.  The customer has done such a good job keeping the interior and exterior of the car up over the years, we were happy to help him get the rest of the car back into shape.  It’s our belief that it’s the little details that keep customers like this one coming back to Thunder Racing year after year.

An update to our post about mini-tubbing an LS1 Camaro SS, the finished product is finally here!  In the mini-tubbing process, Wizard Racing in Holden, LA shortened the axles and housing on the the Moser 12-bolt rear end, added Wolfe Racecraft spring relocation perches, AFCO springs, custom relocated lower control arms, and a shortened panhard bar.  With the additional clearance, the rear end is now stuffed with massive 17″ x 13″ Fikse FM5 wheels sporting Toyo Proxes TQ P345 40R 17 Drag Radials! The Camaro also sports a Thunder Racing built 410 CID Iron block with custom Diamond pistons, Callies Compstar crank and rods, ETP LS7 cylinder heads, GM LS7 intake manifold, a custom Thunder Racing camshaft, 1-7/8 to 2″ stepped Kooks Headers, and a Meziere electric water pump. As if that weren’t enough to get the convertible moving, a TNT Nitrous 250 dry-shot system tops it all off!

This 2002 B4C (Police Package) Camaro recently received an engine and transmission transplant, replacing the stock motor with a freshened-up version, complete with Thunder Racing’s TRak cam and a full complement of bolt-ons.  The 4L60E automatic transmission was also swapped out to a T56 Manual transmission.   Thunder Racing’s Shane Burgess built the custom exhaust, affectionately nicknamed “The Boom Tube,” with a 4″ bullet muffler and turn-down.

And here are the results:

im·mac·u·late/iˈmakyəlit/Adjective

2. Free from flaws or mistakes; perfect

When Jim Bates first bought this 1996 Impala SS brand-new in 1995, one of his first visits was to Thunder Racing. Jim, who is still a regular customer,  stopped by this morning for some routine maintenance.  His 1996 Impala SS is running a stock short-block with 11.2: 1 compression, Thunder Racing custom LT1 camshaft, and AFR 195 Competition ported cylinder heads.  It has a Thunder Racing ported stock intake-manifold and a custom cold-air induction system.   The exhaust consists of Clear Image 1-3/4″ long tube headers mated to a Thunder Racing custom x-pipe and a Hooker catback exhaust.   The rear-end is equipped with 3.73 gears and transmission modifications include a TransGo shift kit and a Vigilante 3200 stall torque converter.

364 rwhp / 330 ft/lb torque

This 2009 V6 model Pontiac G8 will be hugging the curves all the way to the National G8 meet this weekend in Bettendorf, Illinois, compliments of his new stiffened suspension. We installed BMR adjustable toe rods, subframe connectors, and tunnel brace, as well as Spohn upper and lower rear trailing arms.  After a quick alignment, the customer will be on his way to meet up with other G8 enthusiasts.  Look for the guy in the Thunder Racing t-shirt and make sure to say hello!

This beautiful 2008 Atomic Orange Metallic Corvette is under the knife right now getting the latest go-fast goodies.  We had previously installed Kooks 1-3/4″ long tube headers and x-pipe with high-flow cats, B&B Exhaust, and a Vararam ram-air intake.  Combine that with our new CheaTR v3 camshaft and required accessories, and you’ve got one hell of a street ride. 

Update — Here are the dyno numbers as promised!

We took a little trip over to Holden, Louisiana today to drop off a customer’s car to be mini-tubbed.  Check out these pics of Wizard Racing’s showroom!  Not only does Jason do awesome fabrication work, he’s the main creative force behind Wizard’s amazing designs.   Here’s also a couple of pics of the project that’s heading into reconstructive surgery.  The wheels are Fikse FM5′s, 17″ x 13 1/2″ wide, wrapped with Toyo Proxes TQ P345 40R 17′s.  Pictures of the finished product will be posted ASAP!

We are starting to see the new 2011 Camaro starting to roll in.  We have one here at the shop today and we also have another scheduled in Friday for a cold air intake from Halltech and a Corsa catback exhaust system.