Engine: The 509ci Rat motor is the same engine Richard used in his last car. The iron Bow Tie block sports a big 4.500-inch bore spinning a 4.00-inch-stroke Eagle forged-steel crank and Eagle forged-steel rods connected to a set of 13:1 pistons designed to run on straight methanol. The Comp cam offers 280 degrees of duration at 0.050-inch tappet lift and 0.680-inch valve lift. The heads are a pair of as-cast Brodix -2X heads with 305cc intake ports he purchased from Reher-Morrison in Texas. The heads feature 2.25/1.88-inch stainless steel valves and are fed with a single four-barrel Weiand Team G single plane and a 1,050-cfm Dominator carb converted for methanol by Jim Evans Racing. Of course, we can't forget the 300hp NOS Fogger system plumbed right into the manifold and the plate just for good measure. Richard's TNT Racecraft built the stepped 2 1/4- to 2 3/8-inch headers that feed into a pair of DynoMax 4-inch mufflers. According to Richard, the power numbers come in a 780 at 7,200 on the engine and a nice, even 1,100 under the influence.
Transmission: Richard Terry's uncle, Richard Furgeson, built the engine and the TH400 trans that have survived for years. Another key component is the 4,500-rpm stall speed A-1 Marv Ripes torque converter that's cooled by a TCI heat exchanger.
Rearend: That's a ubiquitous Ford 9-inch stuffed underneath the sheetmetal fitted with a Strange aluminum centersection, 4.10 gears, and axles.
Suspension: Here's where we think the real story is lurking. Except for a Madman & Co. manual rack and a pair of QA1 adjustable shocks, the front suspension is pretty much stock. Out back, Richard added a BMR adjustable torque arm and sway bar, along with a Madman & Co. Panhard bar and QA1 shocks. Even the springs are still in the stock location
Wheels/Tires: The sticky meats on the rear are a pair of Mickey Thompson Drag Radials measuring 315/60R15 that plant almost 12 inches of tread on the ground mounted on a pair of 15x10-inch Weld Racing wheels. Up front, thin is in with a pair of 15x4-inch Weld Magnum wheels mounted with 25-inch-tall M/T ET Front tires.
Interior: The Jaz buckets are virtually surrounded by the TNT Racecraft side-by-side Funny Car-style 'cage that brackets the stock console and B&M shifter. The rest of the interior includes a brace of carbon-fiber-faced Auto Meter gauges and a shift-light-fitted Monster tach. True to its street heritage, much of the OE interior remains, including the functional factory stereo and the power windows. When was the last time you saw an 8-second car with power windows? Despite all this, the Camaro weighs in at 3,260 pounds sans driver.
Crew: The help includes Richard's wife, Amy, daughter, Bailey, along with Mick Boyer, his father, Dwight, and certainly all the care and attention to detail Richard Ferguson put into the Camaro.
That hasn't taken anything away from the car's brutal nature. It has run a 9.68 at 134 mph on just the engine, but the quick times are assisted by a 300 shot about 60 feet off the line. The Camaro's best so far is a stout 5.60 in the eighth-mile and an 8.84 at 153 mph on a single stage with the big Rat feeding on a high-octane cocktail of methanol through the carburetor chased with a shot of nitrous and gasoline. "We run it on methanol so the engine runs a lot cooler and doesn't overheat." The Rat combo is as simple as it is elegant. Take a 4.500-bore Bow Tie block, stuff it with an Eagle crank and rods and 13:1-compression pistons, drop in a little mechanical mayhem with a Comp roller cam, bolt a set of off-the-shelf Brodix -2X heads ("We just took 'em out of the box and bolted 'em on"), and then top it all off with a Dominator carburetor, a plate, and a Fogger.
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