CLASSIC FORD MAG: TEAM DARKHORSE DRIFT 100E
from http://speedhunters.com/archive/2012/03/15/builds-gt-gt-classic-ford-magazine-team-darkhorse-drift-ford100e.aspx
Like walking into the door frame of your bedroom, this 100E is so painfully obvious it's a wonder it's not been done before. But there in lies it's beauty for us, Classic Ford magazine showcased this build being undertaken in Worcester, England by Mark 'Hux' Huxley of Huxley Motorsport and we wanted to see more.
Hux has been running his own restoration, tuning and fabrication shop since July 2009 after it out grew hobby status. Last year he ran his 250bhp, SR20 powered KE70 Corolla in the British Drift Championship and he'll be back for more in 2011. Interestingly enough, the Toyota runs a Hi-Lux back axle, common in Australia and NZ maybe but yet to fully catch on over in the UK. You can see the Corolla in action thanks to Stephen Brooks excellent 2011 round up video.
So we've established he knows a thing or ten about building a retro based project. So if it's not been built before, why is this 100E so obvious? To classic Ford fans the world over the theory behind fitting a larger capacity engine and going sideways is nothing new, couple that with the advent of drifting and the increased awareness of what can be done to a car to increase lock/steering angle and it would all seem to be so formulaic.
Take a look at the engine and you start to see the differences in this project, it's not just a Pinto engine, it's an alloy block, Cosworth cast Pinto displacing 2.2ltrs.
Sucking in molecules through a pair of brand new twin 45 Webers. Old school maybe, but very much at the top of the class. This project has got some high profile sponsors, the engine for one coming from Burton Power. Renowned tuners in the Ford scene, they've also helped out with plenty of other parts like the five-link kit and roller top mounts.
Tran-X have come on board too with a four speed box, in fact the whole drive train is built as strong as it can be to withstand the complete abuse that is to come.
So just how potent is it going to be? Well Hux is aiming for over 70 degrees of lock...
With an all up weight of somewhere around 700kgs and a power figure of 218bhp, that weight will be in all the right places thanks to the enlarged trans tunnel enabling the engine to be mounted right back.
The attention to detail put in to this build is what really sets it apart and another reason why we haven't seen something like this before.
Hux is in to cars, not just classic Fords, although he'd had a fair few of them. So he's approached this build with the eye and mind of a car guy, making everything work whilst not following a formula that's been brewed before.
Okay so you'd be right in thinking we're not looking at anything ground breaking here, take every step on its own and you can feel comfortable, maybe you've taken it yourself? Put them all together and it becomes something greater than the sum of the parts. Built for drift, drag and whatever the owner wants to throw at it, this little 100E is going to show that the classic Ford scene is alive and fighting into the new era.
As you were.
-Bryn Musselwhite
Photos: Classic Ford Magazine
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