I started stripping off parts of the car that I won't be using. I started by removing engine and transmission. I then started removing the interior. I tossed out the instrument cluster, seats carpet, wiring, and anything that did not contribute to making the car faster. I'm kind of a weight conscious freak. I'm into the power to weight ratio game.      Now the car is just a bare shell. I started making the motor mounts. Since this is a race car I decided to set the engine back 6 inches and make the motor mounts out of 2x2 steel box tubing. I used the oil pan from an 85 Mustang SVO, it cleared the factory cross member perfectly. The motor was a bit close to the firewall, so I carefully massaged it with a large hammer. I modified the original Pinto transmission crossmember I already had by adding 1X1 tubing and mounted it in its original location.      Next I placed the car on jackstands and started measuring rear axle location. I then dropped the original rear axle and fuel tank, then started cutting the floor board along the frame rails. I cut out the area behind the front seat location and the trunk area. I also cut out the door crash beams, and inner door skins. I also removed all the glass except for the windshield for easier access to the interior.      I started making the ladder bars and brackets. I also made the front cross member and welded it to the subframe connectors and inserted in the existing frames. The rear end is an 8" from my 1965 Ford Mustang, it is nearly as strong as the Ford 9". Some say that the 8" is weak, I think it's a bunch of crap because the axles are the same as 9" and ring and pinion are just as thick. The 8" rear end is 40 lbs lighter than the 9". The weight difference alone was worth the effort. To accommodate for wider tires, I cut the rear end down to 49" from flange to flange. Now the only thing limiting tire width is the factory frame rails. The slicks I'm using are 28X10.5WX15. I will be using 4.11 gears with a mini spool, chromoly cross pin and 31 spline Dutchman axles, because of problems I had experienced with the Turbo Pinto I ditched the Detroit Locker. I mounted the shocks in the vertical position and spot welded all areas I cut to prevent metal separation. I made the wheel tubs out of .032" aluminum and trunk area out of 24 GA sheet metal. I mounted the 5 gal fuel tank( from a dune buggy) in the trunk and also mounted the Aeromotive 1100 hp pump.      I started to make floor board out aluminum and the tunnel out of sheet metal. I ordered an 8 point roll bar and welded in all in and tying the subframe together. After modifying the original door hinges, I made possible to remove the doors to make it easier to work on in my garage. Once the roll bar was in, I modified a steering wheel quick release from a circle track car so that I can get in the car with little effort, since I'm 6' tall and this car is made for a little Japanese guy. I started installing the clutch master cylinder I acquired from an 80's Jeep, it fit with little modification to the fire wall opening. I fabricated a mount for the slave cylinder out of 1x1 tubing, that mounts to the block and positions the slave perfectly with the existing clutch fork. I incorporated a line lock in the clutch system for those consistent launches. I fabricated an adapter plate and mounted the original master cylinder in its original location without the power booster, I rerouted the brake lines and incorporated a line lock to the front brakes.      After finishing the brake system, I started installing the EEC IV harness and computer. I wanted a clean engine compartment so I routed the harness inside the drivers compartment using the existing wire holders that used to hold the dash harness, and only ran the necessary wires through the firewall. So the only wires that are under the hood, are wires that are vital to engine function. Meanwhile I took measurements and had the original Pinto drive shaft cut down to 33.5" and rebalanced. I went to the junkyard( my second home) and located a mini starter from a 93 Ford Ranger 2.3L and installed it. I also found a mini alternator from an 88 Chevy Sprint, it has a small plug and is a two wire setup. I made a scatter shield out of 1/4" flat plate. It surrounds the bellhousing 360 deg. I had to cut the floor and the firewall to make it fit right, but I'm going to replace the floor and made a new drives shaft tunnel. Next, I made a 4 into 1 header with 1 1/2 primaries and a 4 inch collector that reduces to 2 inch at the turbo flange.The relocation of the turbo gives it nearly a direct shot at the throttle body. I had to relocate the VAF meter and the filter to the otherside of the car. I removed the windshield to save 22 lbs. I have already finished the fuel system. I used a sump pump stainless steel strainer from Grainger and 1/2 inch fuel line to the modified ranger fuel rail. I plumbed the 3/8 return line to the tank. I made the dash out of .032 alum., and installed the gauges and switches. The 7AL is mounted under the dash. I had a hard time drilling the front rotors to 5 lug,so I decided to go with the '85 GLSE front suspension since it had the larger 4 bolt pattern. I looked through the salvage yards and found two aluminum space-saver spare tires that are 15X4 with the proper offset. Now I just purchased the EEC Tuner and converted the car to a 5.0 mass air meter. I made a newly designed upper intake that replaces the poor existing one. It is made from 3" tubing attached to a 56mm 5.0 throttle body, this system flows more air than the older system.       I purchased a sheet of 1/8 lexan and made the all the windows and the rear hatch. The hatch was the hardest part since it opens for refueling.I used flat 1 1/2 aluminum to make a frame and riveted it to the window.      I launched the car around 6000 rpm and it hooked up and pulled REAL Hard up to 3rd where I ran out of street, but due to a sticking slave and a leaky clutch master, I ditched the hydraulic setup and fabricated cable pull system. Using the adjustable clutch cable from a 78 Pinto I fabricated a bracket welded to the original clutch pedal.      The car is running much better but Pinto engine is Puking oil from the breathers, I guess the 3 years of high boost (25psi) finally took it's toll. So my friend J.D from MSD Ignition helped me drop in a bone stock 88 TC 2.3 motor I had lying around, it only had 125,000 on the clock. It took nearly 2.5 hrs to degrease and install the stocker into the RX-VO. I hope It will live with 30 psi !      The next day my friend Keith from Dallas was in town and helped me tune the car with the EEC-Tuner. We started changing the startup map and the A/F map, then we started to remove the emission values and remove all the factory retards that the EEC-IV uses. I tested the car out with the stock motor and surprisingly it runs good with 5 psi boost. J.D and I are going to install the new MSD Digital BTM and make an adapter plate to fit between the upper and lower intake that will hold four #30 injectors. We will adjust all the values inside the BTM and control all timing. The EEC-IV is only going to be used to control the fuel delivery .      We finally got the car to the El Paso Dragway to make a few shake down runs. The weather was kind of bad, the wind was blowing across the track at about 15 mph. The traction was the usual poor, this track never lays down VHT because its too expensive. I got the car in the water box and heated the slicks. Using 2nd gear for the burn out, I noticed that the car was not making any boost at 5000 rpm. I goosed it and the boost immediately jumped up to 15 psi. I proceeded to the staging line and launched at 5000 rpm. The car leaped forward and then began to spin the slicks, the slicks continued spinning through all of second gear. As I made my way down the track as if the car was on ice, I missed 4 th gear and to my amazement still clocked at 12.90 on it's maiden voyage!!..After 2 more attempts at a good run, we had a best run of 12.54@112, the car still spins 1st and second and third.      We made it to Arroyo Seco Motorplex and made three time trials. The temp was around 82 and low humidity. The first run was done with a 4500 rpm launch at 5 psi, the car bogged off the line due to TOO MUCH TRACTION ! and netted a 12.77@109 mph For the next run we raised the launch to 5500 rpm which resulted with a 12.16@113 mph. The final time trial netted a 12.27@112 mph with no changes done. During first round just after the burnout I lost the brakes, the cotter pin on the brake rod broke and the rod dropped to the floor.      My friend Jason and I, decided to test the car on a Friday test and tune at El Paso Dragway. The weather was perfect 97 during the day and 18% humidity, no wind. The temp at night was 86 deg and the first pass netted an 11.98@119.4 mph with the car drifting the length of the track. The next pass netted a 12.17 because of a missed gear. The third pass that night was the best run of the night, 11.87@119 mph with only psi at lanuch. The last pass netted an 11.97 at 119. The car seems fairly consistent but the mph and the ET do not agree. After reviewing the video of the cars launch, the slicks are spinning in the first three gears.      I double checked the rear suspension set up and realized that when I originally built the car I never set the rear suspension with my weight in the drivers seat. After readjusting the preload in the ladder bars, I noticed that the rear shocks have been bottoming out during the run. I installed a higher rate rear coil spring to give enough ride height and shock travel. Now the car should leave much nicer and hopefully with more traction. I have also been working on the front suspension. Im converting from the stiff factory coil spring to a universal coil spring that I can get various spring rates and lengths. This will also help me with transferring weight to the rear wheels at launch... Jan 2002, We'll here I go again, cutting the car up. I cut the entire rear fame out of the car, and started adding a tubular rear frame. I did this to reduce the overall weight in the vehicle and strenghen the chassis. I am adding a 5 gal fuel cell and steel braided/teflon lined 1/2 hose. Ive also relocated the battery. It is about 40% complete. Feb 2002, The rear section is nearly complete. I still need to make a Y axle locator and drill and thread the 4 link bars. June 2002 The 12 pt cage is finally finished. Joey Vasquez at Off Road Productions made tha halo, dash bar, added frame rails and tied everything togther. Scream'n Mad J.D. started making the card board patterns for the interterior sheetmetal and tunnel.