The Fastest Mini Warthog: Build Part 2

Grant goes through the updates to the Warthog Pit Vehicle he uses at Grid Life events. Complete rewire, lights, 3D Printed hubs and more

The Fastest Mini Warthog - Pit Vehicle Build

When you first saw the M12B Mini Warthog were you blinded by its majesty? Paralyzed? Dumbstruck? No? Well here is the full build video on how it was assembled. Kudos to my wonderful wife Lisa for excellent driving.

The Spectro Racing 2008 Mustang GT

BUILD LIST

UPDATED 3-09-25

POWER MODS - 607whp 561wtq dyno’d
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• Roush R2300 TVS 2.3L Supercharger

• Grip Tech 2.7” Pulley

• VMP Twin Jet 67mm Throttle Body

• VMP Ported Elbow

• VMP Intercooler

• Manley 4.6 / 5.4 3V 6.5cc Dished Piston
  [4.6 / 5.4 Bore Size:+.020" Over Bore (3.572")]

• Molnar Billet H-Beam Rods

• King High Performance Rod Bearing Set

• Clevite High Performance Main Bearing Set

• VMP Triple Pass Heat Exchanger relocated to trunk

• 2014 GT500 Heat Exchanger Pump

• Dual Heat Exchangers. GT500 Front, VMP Triple rear with HVAC rear plenum

• Mishimoto Radiator

• Meizer Electric Waterpump

• Ford Racing High Volume Oil Pump

• Fore Innovations 07-12 GT500 Fuel System Upgrade for E85

  Dual Pump

• Injector Dynamics ID1050X Injectors

• Canton T-Pan 8qt Oil Pan

• Canton Windage Tray

• Comp Cams Stage 2 Blower Cams 127350, XE261H-1 6.5, VALVE SPRINGS, 1.101" H/L FORD,

  STEEL RETAINERS, 3-VALVE

• ARP Head Studs

• VMP Custom Dyno Tune

• MGW Shifter - Competition Bushings - 1/2lb weight Pony ball

• Exedy Mach 600 Stage 2 Cerametallic Clutch

• Exedy Lightweight Racing Flywheel

• Ford Racing 3.73 gears

• SR performance steel braided clutch line

• BBK long tube headers & X-pipe

• SR Performance Mufflers

• Ford Racing aluminum driveshaft

• Ford Racing FR500S T2R Torsion Differential

• Ford Racing 2013-2014 GT500 7 Blade Fan

• Mishimoto Oil Cooler with 185 Degree Thermostat

• Mocal 17-311 Transmission Oil Cooler (HMS TR3650 Oil Cooler Kit)

• Reische Performance 170 Degree Engine Coolant Thermostat

• Custom JLT Series 3 Oil Separator (driver side)

• Royal Purple fluids: Engine/trans/gear

• VP X85 Fuel

• Ford Racing Air Conditioner delete

• Stock 4.6 Block & Crank

• 26 Spline Tremec 3650 with 0.81 5th

HANDLING MODS

• Ford Performance six piston caliper Brembo brake kit

• 2014 GT500 Girodisc 2 Piece Rotors

• 2014 GT500 Rear Rotors

• GLOC R12 Front R16 Rear Pads

• Castrol SRF Racing Brake Fluid

• Ford Racing 2014 GT500 dust covers

• Steeda adjustable upper control arm

• Ford Racing sway bar front

• Steeda bump steer kit & X5 ball joints

• Steeda X-brace & back seat removal kit

• GT500KR Engine Strut Bar

• BMR red lower control arm relocation brackets

• BMR red lower control arms with spherical bushings

• BMR spherical differential bushing

• BMR tubular radiator support

• Motion Control Suspension Coilovers - Rebound

• Hyperco Springs 650# Front/ 275# Rear

• Vorshlag Rear Ride height adjusters

• Vorshlag Camber/Caster Plates

• Enlarged Shock tower holes to gain more camber

• Whiteline Camber Bolts

• Whiteline Endlinks (from some mysterious different car)

• Whiteline rear sway bar

• Whiteline Performance Watts link rear end

• Whiteline Anti Dive Kit (rear front control arm only)

• Ford Boss 302R Delrin front control arm bushings

• Full Interior and functionality

• ARP 3" Front Studs

• ARP 3" Rear Studs

• AJ Hartman Aero American Iron Carbon Fiber Splitter (hard mounted to tow bar and radiator brace)

• AJ Hartman Aero American Iron Wing

• AJ Hartman Aero Canards (4)

• Speed Form Pre-Painted Chin Spoiler

• Track Spec Hood Vents S197 GT2 full kit

• Race Louvers Fender Vents

• Race Louvers Upper Fender Vents

• Andersen Composites Carbon Fiber Trunk Lid

• 2014 GT500 Steering Wheel

• Speed Form Back Seat Delete Kit

• 66 Polar Customs Rear Diffuser (more of just a gap cover)

• Antigravity ATX20-HD Lithium 12v Battery - relocated to trunk

• Sparco Ford Racing Steering Wheel

• Made steering rack limiters removable (10 degrees more angle for drift)

WHEELS & TIRES

• 19x10 ET40 APEX EC-7 Satin Bronze

• STREET & Track Battle ; 285/30/19 Bridgestone RE-71RS

• DRIFT: 265/35/18 Federal RSR on American Muscle 18x9 “2010 style OEM wheels” 20mm Offset, 1.5 inch spacer

• APEX Lug-nuts

SAFETY

• Black Armor Circuit Pro Helmet

• Simpson Racing Hybrid S (Neck Restraint)

• AlpineStars GP Tech V4 Race Suit

• AlpineStars Tech-1 ZX V4 Gloves

• AlpineStars Tech 1-T Shoes

• AlpineStars Undergarments

• OMP Full Containment Seat(HA/780E/N HTE-R Black)

• OMP Harnesses

• SR Performance 8 Point Roll Bar

• Fire-charger Engine Fire Supression

• Fire Extinguisher

• OMP Rear Tow Hook

APPEARANCE & DatA

• SCT Tuner for IAT2 Temps

• Garmin Catalyst

• Front clear corner blinkers

• Color matching mirror covers

• LED license plate light

• LED third taillight/Interior LED’s/Fog light LED’s

• Boss 302 gloss black roof vinyl

• BOSS 302S Tow Hook Bar

• Flush Hood Latches

• Hood Scoop Removed

• Billet Performance Grill

• Ford Racing Oil Pressure Gauge

• Autometer Oil Temp Gauge

• 2010 Mirrors

• 2010 OEM style taillights w/ custom wired in dual LED reverse lights & sequential brake/turn lights Switchback LED front blinkers (runs white, blinks yellow)

• Yi Dash Cam

• MANY DECALS THAT TOTALLY ADD A TON OF PWER!??!

Alignment - 1-26-18

• Camber: -3.5

• Caster: 7.2

• Toe (out): .125

Tracks Its Run

• Roebling Road Raceway

• Florida International Rally & Motorsports Park (Full)

• Road Atlanta Raceway (Full)

• Daytona International Speedway (Rolex) (154mph)

• Sebring International Raceway (Full)

• Atlanta Motorsports Park

• Carolina Motorsports Park

• Gingerman Raceway

• Road America

• Lime Rock Park

Other Notable Events

• Heavens Landing Airport Half Mile Drag Race

• 100+ Autocrosses

• Canadian Autoslalom (Autocross)

• 30+ Quarter Mile Passes

• Drift Events

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

The SR Mustang was purchased as a Certified Preowned 2008 GT Premium with 39,000 miles. This is the first few photos i have of her! At the time I was driving a 2008 Mazda Miata. Needed something with a bit more space and power!

THE MODS BEGIN - STREET/SHOW CAR

I can almost never leave a car stock. Once i bought the Mustang I quickly realized that I started wanting to put some money into it. First thing i did actually was to buy another beater to drive to work. Cue the car everyone hates! Police Crown Vic! Loved that thing! Some basic power mods and some handling mods at this point.

DISCOVERING RACING IS A BAD THING FOR YOUR WALLET

in February of 2012 I stumbled across Bucks Crazy looking Toyota Yaris (seen here in this review video). Asked him what the heck sorta racing he does with it. He said that fateful word.....AUTOCROSS. The moment after my first training event I went nuts with handling parts! This album below includes some of the begging handling parts i bought.

Dyno Run

COMPETING REGULARLY IN AUTOCROSS

After my first season as a rookie I decided to go out, get race slicks and a trailer. The Mustang doesn't make the best autocross car but it sure is fun.

NATIONAL AUTOCROSS COMPETITION, TRACK DAYS AND BEYOND

Starting in 2015 I placed 2nd in my first regional event. The car is getting more and more into a serious hardcore track car. 

2016 Autocross Season

I LOST MY MIND

At the end of 2016 I was determined to make the car a fully prepped Street Mod car. That meant buying a race set of coilovers and bumping up the power somehow! MCS Coilovers and Roush R2300 TVS!

The ultimate money pit!

In 2017 the car was beat up a bit. The wing flew apart at a track day and some more tweaking was done. A new wing is coming and larger wheels. The end is near as the motor build is coming too!

The end is near?

In 2018 the car underwent a transformation to fit 335 size Hoosiers. This involved fender flares and significant modification. The motor build is coming which means there isnt much left to do!

FENDERS!

2023 Track Build

Introducing our fully electric 2022 Mini SE

The latest addition to the Spectro Racing stable is a 2022 Mini Cooper SE. That’s S for sporty and E for electric. Mini’s attempt at a production fully-electric BEV has been met with some pretty harsh criticism due to its anxiety-inducing maximum range of just over 100 miles on a full charge. In fact, the SE is receiving a complete ground-up redesign within the next couple of model years to address this shortcoming.

1,000 miles and a couple of months of ownership in, I’d like to share what the Mini Cooper SE is, and what it is not. Bottom line up front, I absolutely love this car and it has met or exceeded all of my expectations. That being said, those expectations were pretty well managed before I bought the car.

Here is what the 2022 Mini Cooper SE is not:

1. An only car. With the rare exception of a single person whose automotive needs were strictly urban, with at-home access to level 2 charging, I don’t see how this would be a good only car. You’ll somewhat regularly need to transport more than one passenger, or an item larger than a basketball.

2. A long trip vehicle. People are road tripping these cars, but it becomes an endeavor. It is capable of DC fast charging, but non-tesla DC fast chargers are hard to come by. Furthermore, the ones that are out there are generally unreliable and expensive.

3. A speed demon. It is no Tesla Plaid. I'm not sure it can even reach triple digit speeds. The 0-60 is a bit slower than the regular Mini S.

If we accept that it will never be any of these things, however, we start to address what it can do and we find that it does them extremely well.

First and foremost, it is fun. The difference between the SE and other “budget” BEVs or PHEV like the Bolt, Volt, i3, Leaf, Prius, etc is that the SE is a fun car first, and a futuristic transportation appliance second. Especially from the car enthusiast crowd, the early generations of EV’s all get a bad wrap because they are boring to drive (the first gen Leaf 0-60 is exceptionally depressing at 10 seconds) and they are styled obnoxiously. Much like a Dodge Challenger with a stick-on spoiler and underglow screams “I have terrible credit,” a BMW i3 or a Chevy Bolt shouts that not only are you not fun at parties, but you feel content commuting in a coffee maker. You appreciate the carbon fiber roof in the i3 not because of the lowered center of gravity, but because it offers more head room for your man bun. You enjoy taking the bus. No matter how hard one tries to appreciate the tech, these are tough cars to enjoy because they are simultaneously obnoxious and uninspiring to experience. Come to think of it, they are actually good arguments for taking the bus.

The Mini is a standout in this regard. You wouldn’t know it from any other Mini on the road unless you looked closely at the SE-only details like the green badges or the lack of a tailpipe. It announces the same thing that every other Mini does: the driver of this vehicle is fun at parties, they like to have fun, and they don’t take themselves too seriously. I have found that girls universally love the car, and that guys either embrace it as fun or dismiss it as being entirely too small to transport their massive, yet fragile ego. I’m not trying to claim that there aren’t times when one needs a big pickup truck, V8 sports car, or SUV. I certainly have used all of those regularly. If we are honest about our true transportation needs, however, the Mini SE is more than capable of providing those with comfort, style, economy, and enjoyment.

Here are my takeaways from the first 1,000 miles:

1. It is a good-looking car. I probably look a little silly driving it, but all in all I think it is an appealing car that mixes modernity with classic Mini style. The lights and the vertical front bumper vents are my favorite design details. The front and rear splitters are properly sporty.

2. It is well-equipped. The base model has everything you really need. It has wireless Apple CarPlay, heated seats and wheel, and a decently large touch screen infotainment with predictive lines on the backup camera. Other driver assists include haptic lane departure warning (which I turned off) and collision avoidance warning with optional auto-braking. I think it is silly to upgrade to the mid or Iconic trim packages for this car, but I think it would be nice to have an auto-dim rear view mirror and automatic radar cruise control. Skip the moonroof; the car looks great with a slick top and the headroom benefits considerably as well

3. It is exceptionally good at regular transportation. The car’s one-pedal regeneration is easy to learn and makes for very easy and smooth driving in real-world conditions. My favorite thing about the car is just how smooth and quiet it is to drive or ride in compared to a car with gears. The interior is surprisingly roomy and easily fits two people and a small dog or some groceries, which is to say the stuff you transport 90% of the time. The driving modes (Sport, Mid, Green, Green+) not only make sense but actually work as intended. I mostly drive in Mid and Sport.

4. The ability to “refuel” at home is extremely underrated. The only issue people discuss with EV’s is how slow they are to recharge and how much of a burden that is and why they need hundreds of miles of range to mitigate this issue. Charging speed is an issue only on long trips where you exceed the vehicle’s range. For regular driving, even with the Mini’s limited range, you’re unlikely to need to recharge before you park it for the night. It is a huge luxury to plug it in where you park it and never have to worry about scheduling a gas station stop.

5. The car is undeniably fun to drive. It isn’t fast but it is very quick; in most of the real-world scenarios where you need to quickly put on some speed stoplight to stoplight, it absolutely rips. The immediacy of the electric drive train makes it effectively faster than it is on paper. Furthermore, its quietness makes you feel like you can hoon under the radar without disturbing the peace. The stock suspension is, and I mean this sincerely, the best handling of any stock car I have driven. The ride firmness is spot on, and the low center of gravity provides tenacious grip. It handles like it has lots of negative camber and stiff swaybars, even though it doesn’t. My only complaint is that the car has a lot of torque steer. Front wheel drive, open diff, and lots of torque will do that.

I ordered this car thinking I would take the $7500 tax credit and run, quickly dumping the car for something else. Instead, I have fallen in love with the experience of commuting in this fun Cooper. It offers the “driving a slow car fast” experience of turning a boring commute into a fun driving experience, all the while without the guilt or expense of burning a bunch of gas or making a lot of noise. I cannot overstate what a luxury that charging at home is, either. After driving the SE for awhile, I drove my E39 M5 again for a couple of weeks and I felt like I was putting gas in it every day. Now, the M5 isn’t the most fuel efficient vehicle, but I found that I was having to plan my days around filling the M5 up and would be annoyed when I got in it in the morning and it was running low. The M5 is a blast to drive, but caring for it is a lifestyle. The Mini is fully charged every morning. It requires basically zero maintenance, and has a warranty. The regen works so well that the brakes will probably last forever. Furthermore, I’ve found that unless you’re driving more than about 60 miles a day, you can get by just fine with the included Level 1 110V AC charger. The level 2 charger is nice to have for sure, but generally speaking you very rarely require the increased charging speed at home.

Would I prefer to be piloting a face-meltingly fast quarter-million dollar Taycan Turbo S? Sure. Is the Mini SE fun, exceptionally convenient, and economical at roughly $25k after tax credit? Absolutely.

D3LTA V - 2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance

Below is an overview of our 2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance.
Buying a Tesla? Use my referral to get 1,000 miles free supercharging http://ts.la/grant12906​

Modification List

Updated 8/26/21

• Autocross Wheels: 19x8.5 Bronze Burst Forgestar F14

• Autocross Tires: 265/35/19 Falken RT660

• Unplugged Performance SCCA Super Street Class Autocross Dampers

• Unplugged Performance Street/Track Brake Pads

• Unplugged Performance Rear Sway Bar

• Castrol SRF Racing Brake Fluid

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Racing in our friend's honor. Our new track toy!

Introducing our new dedicated track car. A 2003 Volkswagen GTI 1.8T. This GTI belonged to a great person and dear friend, Elijah Swabb. Sadly, Elijah, passed away and we are honored to have his beloved GTI. We now embark on a journey to build and race this little VDub in his honor!

Spectro Racing Inherits the GTI!

The GTI was lightly modified. We however will need to change it around slightly and not make it as slammed as it currently sits. First however a shakedown was in order to see what would break!

Shake Down at the FIRM!

MORE TO COME AS WE PREP FOR FUTURE HPDE!