Street Sweeper: Lonnie Tibbs Seven Second Mustang Street Car

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The adrenaline rush that racing provides is what gets people hooked; the younger the age you experience that rush, the deeper the hooks go in. Lonnie Tibbs began racing early in his teens, then progressed through different cars and platforms over the years as his need for speed grew. His newest car, “Lucky Bear”, is a boosted Fox body Mustang that’s a legitimate seven-second street car and his quickest ride yet.

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Racing for Tibbs began at a really young age … so young he actually didn’t even have a drivers license. “I started racing at 15, before I was licensed driver. My dad worked second-shift so I would take our family car, a Chevy Lumina, to a local track to race it whenever I could. If I went rounds or there were any delays, I would leave early to have the car back and cleaned before he got home,” Tibbs says.

When he could finally legally drive and race, Tibbs started out like most racers in the bracket racing wars at the track. His first years competing were spent with the import scene, until he wanted to go quicker, so he stepped over into the domestic side of things.

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Tibbs had a 2000 Mustang that was on pace to be his first seven-second street car, when a mechanical failure caused a spectacular and costly accident at Summit Motorsports Park during testing. The search for a new car began after the crash, and the “Got To Have It Green” 1990 Mustang roller his new car is based on was found in Virginia — and thus, project Lucky Bear was born.

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Tibbs took the car to Big 3 Racing, where Alex Olivo began stripping the car for Chuck Stefanski to commence the wiring process. Rick Trunkett fabricated the new turbo kit from scratch that gets boost from a 94mm Precision Pro Mod turbo.

 

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Powering Lucky Bear is a 385 cubic inch small-block Ford that was built by Bill Klein at On The Bumper Performance Engine. The engine is topped with a set of ported Trick Flow heads and Eldelbrock Victor Jr. intake. Controlling the motor is a Holley Dominator ECU, along with a Davis Technologies traction control unit and bump box.

Backing the might blue oval motor is a FTI Powerglide transmission with an FTI 10-inch Pro Mod torque converter, while a stock-style suspension full of Team-Z goodies and AFCO shocks help to plant the power.

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Lucky Bear made over 1,285 horsepower on the dyno at Big 3 Racing at just 20 psi of boost. Tibbs’ current personal best is a 7.85 at over 184 mph — not bad for a street car. Some might question just how much of a street car Lucky Bear is, and that would be a mistake. The boosted Mustang has won True Street in both the NMRA and the NMCA this year, goes on weekly cruises, and will be running in Hot Rod Drag Week next month.

Tibbs has taken his long obsession with drag racing and turned it into one of the quickest street cars in the Midwest. Look for Lucky Bear and Tibbs this year at Drag Week and other street car shootouts across the country in 2017 … it’s a hard one to miss.

About the author

Brian Wagner

Spending his childhood at different race tracks around Ohio with his family’s 1967 Nova, Brian developed a true love for drag racing. Brian enjoys anything loud, fast, and fun.
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