The anticipation is over with one of the wildest machines seen on Australian drag strip is back.
Since the early 60’s, Altereds have captured the imagination of racers and fans alike as embracing the true spirit of what Drag Racing is all about – to go fast! Altereds start their build by basing it around the body design of a 1923 Model T Ford. From there on it’s anybody guess as to what combo the chassis guy will do from 115” up to a 125” wheel base – same goes for the power plant, transmission and diff.
Fast forward to 2004 and the opening of Sydney Dragway, a local performance parts shop called Motorsport Connections (MSCN) rolled a 23 Model T Altered out of the trailer with a modern twist – a huge single turbo and EFI. With the supercharger missing in action the team weren’t sure if people would like the look. It was soon apparent that it appealed to the younger generation who would stand there and try explain to their “old school” dads how the whole turbo deal worked. It was a hit!
It was at this meeting new friends were met for driver and owner Mark Hinchelwood, (Andrew Musgrave and Chris Manks). This friendship would take them on a journey spanning 20 years working together on the original MSCN Turbo Altered and seeing Andrew eventually take on driving duties and running it to a best of 6.30s at 225mph. Running with an old chassis eventually didn’t make sense. With the speed and ET getting dangerously fast the decision was made to retire the old girl on a high and work together on a brand-new build.
Now to finding the car. Andrew had heard rumours of a brand new Richard Botica chassis built to T/A spec with BB Chev power plant potentially coming up for sale as an unfinished project. After a few calls, a road trip was planned and the car was successfully acquired from the Arnell family.
The engine from the old car was sent to BK Race Engines and changed from a 540cid combo to 580cid, with a full birthday of goodies inside to make sure more boost and rpm could be used with the new chassis. With the motor back home, it was time to start the jigsaw puzzle. The motor fitted like a glove, but with every step forward we took a couple back. Chuck in a pandemic and all of a sudden 8 years goes by.
With some motivated people keen to see the project finished, a new burst of energy and some late nights working on the build has been finished and back on track. Chris Manks is the main driver of the car with Mark Hinchelwood planning on having an occasional steer.
The car re-debuted at a recent test and tune at Sydney Dragway but a crank trigger sensor issue derailed the day. With that resolved the team were back at a NSW Track Championship event where they now are coming grips to taming all that boosted horsepower.
The altered’s first shot in anger saw the altered singing with a .993 sixty and 4.02 at 180mph to half track before shutting off on only half the boost the engine was test with on the dyno. Since then the team have been hard work managing tyre shake and spin to be able to put a run together at both ends and run well into the five second zone.
The MSCN Turbo Altered team would like to thank the following people and businesses for their help.
Engine: Bill Kaglatzis (BK Race Engines)
Chassis: Richard Botica
Blowoff and Wastegate: Turbosmart
ECU: Haltech Nexus R5
Water System/550 Lite: Speedflow
Brake Lines: BMRS
Turbo and Injectors: Precision
Transmission: Protrans
Paint/Graphics: Airbrush World
Wiring: Tuned By Dale Heiler
Fabrication: Groove Ryder
Wing Fabrication: Jim DenaroBody Work: Terry Jackson
Towing: JTS Towing
Very special thanks to Andrew Musgrave and Chris Manks for all of their help, late nights and support.
Car Owner: Mark Hinchelwood – Motorsport Connections (MSCN)
Driver: Chris Manks
Crew: Ray & Lynn Kelly, Ben Mooring, Matt Dunbar
The Build:
