You’ve probably heard the term “max effort” thrown around lately if you’re a car enthusiast and you’re a fan of vehicles from “The Big Three. It’s a term used to describe a vehicle that has reached its performance pinnacle. Well, what exactly constitutes that? Is it, say, making nearly 1,000 horsepower at the rear wheels? Or, is it reaching the potential of the factory components?
Everyone’s max-effort definition might be different, but rest assured, this 4.6-liter Two-Valve Mustang GT built by the guys at Batten Motorsports out of Veazie, Maine, is just getting started. The starting point for this New Edge Mustang commenced with a challenge from its owner, Scott Hughes.
It goes back to math and science. We needed greater efficiency and volume. — Coty Batten, Batten Motorsports
Thus, the folks at Batten Motorsports, in conjunction with a friend Jason Smith and Ken Bjonnes of Palm Beach Dyno, the team was able to retrofit a 3.6-liter supercharger setup to a 2.8-liter lower manifold, creating a first (and possibly not last) of its kind and engineering the KB setup for extreme power output.
The result the first time around was more than 900 horsepower and 868 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels. If you’re finding you are asking yourself how this was done, keep reading…
With Scott’s Two-Valve Mustang backstory in mind, you might be asking yourself how the magic happened. Fortunately, the folks at Batten Motorsports don’t mind filling in the blanks for us in this instance.
“The biggest challenge we were faced with during the build was engineering serviceability into our setup,” Coty Batten, owner of Batten Motorsports, told us. “With a supercharger that size consuming the engine bay, we certainly had our work cut out for us.”
He reaffirmed that the assembly process of this car is where he and his team feel at home, and that they know these cars better than most. Call it custom, if you will.
“We knew what it would take to make the first round of power with the 2.8-liter supercharger; above that figure is where we had questions in the back of our minds,” Coty explained. “It goes back to math and science. We needed greater efficiency and volume. We needed the 3.6-liter supercharger. To make the 3.6 work, we needed some mock up parts first. We reached out to Kenne Bell with our idea, and they hit the ground running! They sent out all of the mock-up parts we needed to start our design and engineering.”
Coty and his team incorporated components from the Shelby GT500 kit, such as the inlet and drive. This attention to detail displayed by Coty and his team employs the blower on the manifold with serviceability in mind — a massive benefit for any enthusiast, no doubt.
Moreover, Coty says it is much easier to swap spark plugs, injectors or coils without pulling the complete unit off the manifold. His kit allows for the inlet to be removed, allowing full access to the unit. Coty and his team built an offset adapter which mates the larger 3.6-liter supercharger to the original 2.8-liter intake manifold.
Boost-Proof Long-Block
Engine: D.S.S. 5.3-liter mod-motor V8 (4.6-liter based), 9.4:1 compression, and iron Boss engine block
Cylinder heads: Trick Flow 44R heads
Camshafts: Customer supercharger camshafts
Induction: KB Mono-throttlebody, KB 5-inch true cold air intake, BA5000 MAF, and JLT catch can
Exhaust: American Racing long-tube headers, X-pipe, Magnaflow side-exit exhaust
Power adder: Kenne Bell 3.6LC supercharger via Batten Motorsports’ 3.6 Adaptive System
Boost: 26 psi
Drive System: ATI 10-percent overdrive balancer, eight-rib pulley conversion, Metco idlers, Ohio Generator alternator, and electric water pump
Fuel: VP MS109E fed by ID1050x injectors
Intake: Kenne Bell lower manifold/intercooler from their 2.8 system
Clutch: SPEC flywheel and clutch
“Typically there are many revisions before the parts are put to the test. We are proud to say that we nailed it the first shot,” Coty added.
If you’re looking to replicate this exact setup for your Two-Valve Mustang, you’re in luck. Batten Motorsports has plans to produce its adaptive system for those interested in making the move to a larger, 3.6-liter supercharger. He says that, due to the size of this blower, a cowl hood and an aftermarket K-member lowering kit are required.
Keep an eye out in our next segment on this car, where we dive a little deeper into Scott’s Two-Valve Mustang and the rest of its combination.