In a community full of traditional big block drag racers, Brandon Janes of Hillsdale, Michigan has always strayed from the pack.

His Mustang “with a twist” as he calls it, is no exception. Brandon purchased a 2000 Mustang without a motor or transmission from Craigslist and found a 6.0-liter Chevrolet engine on a local AM radio show called “Sell and Swap Shop.” The 2000 GM 3/4-ton pickup engine was fitted with an Edelbrock Victor Junior intake and L92 GM heads. MSD supplied the brains for the electronic ignition and a GM TH400 was the transmission of choice. Brandon’s next step was driving 60 miles to the race track, lighting up the scoreboard with 11.6-second elapsed times, and driving home.

With step one completed, Brandon then declared it turbo time. With the lack of an off-the-shelf turbo kit for his unique combination, he turned to his brother Adam Janes, an out-of-the-box fabricator. Together they modified a set of Summit Racing shorty truck headers and fabricated all the brackets to mount the BorgWarner S475 turbo charger. They custom bent and welded all the tubing required to direct the exhaust to the turbo and the boost to the Pro Systems 950 cfm blow-through carburetor. The brothers added a Ford 8.8 rear end with 3.31 gears and Mickey Thompson Drag Radials. Brandon dialed the turbo boost to 9 PSI and it was time for step two. He again drove 60 miles to Milan Dragway, but this time ran 10.60’s at over 141 MPH and then drove home.

In the fall of 2011, with step two completed, Brandon set his eyes on a date with prime time. The SPEED Channel show “Pass Time” made its way to Michigan’s Milan Dragway and so did Brandon and his Mustang.  After hours of lawn chair time, Brandon received the nod that the Pass Time crew needed another black car, so he was in. Pass Time’s Paige Simpson directed Brandon to the burnout box where he was introduced to the host, Brett Wagner. Ken Herring and the contestants asked questions, but forgot to ask about a turbo.

The show hasn’t aired yet so we won’t spoil it, but he ran late at night and fell off a couple of tenths. The show is scheduled for
April 25th at 7:00 PM Eastern. The Janes brothers are already working on step three, which includes Eagle bottom end components and a roll cage, allowing them to turn up the boost. The plan is to rip off nine-second laps – driving to and from the track, of course.