Brake control would be the job of a Tilton dual-master cylinder and pedal assembly, and PS Engineering supplied the pin drive, 15-inch rollers (7.5 fronts, 9.5s in the rear) that were shod with Goodyear Eagle Sport Special bias-ply rubber, 26.5x10.50-15s in the rear and 26.5x8.00-15s up front. The car comes from Upstate with a six-point rollcage, but Joe added more tubing to create a 12-point system with diagonal bracing running through the door openings and a hoop around the windshield/dash area. A dummy plastic engine block (backed to Ford T56 transmission) was used during the build up to locate the drivetrain during assembly.
Eddy isn't the type to install a stock motor in anything, and with his penchant for racing, decided to go all-out with the engine in his Daytona. Assembled by Greg Grosset at Total Performance (Santee, CA), the 302R block Ford was stroked to 331 cubes using a 3.250-inch Eagle 4340 forged crank. Eagle H-beam rods (5.400-inch) and SRP flat-top pistons (set-up at 10.2:1) were also used, as were a set of Gurney-Eagle aluminum heads (with T&D full roller-rocker valvetrain, Ferrea valves, and a Crane hydraulic roller cam), and a throttle-body induction system created by Injection Perfection (controlled by an ACCEL Gen VIII spark and fuel management system).
A MSD ignition system and distributor was installed, as were custom headers from Mark Morton, which flow through twin glasspack mufflers (two per side). A Pro 5.0 shifter helps select the gears in the T56 trans, while a McLeod aluminum flywheel and double-disc hydraulic clutch system makes shifting a snap.
While the engine was going together, Joe attended to fabricating and installing the aluminum panels that would make up the bulk of the car's interior. Special attention was made to the car's details, such as using buttonhead screws and Nutserts instead of rivets, which would allow easy removal if there were a need for repairs in the future. LaPorte also redesigned and fabricated a new window frame for the rear hatch, and then built a buck for the Plexiglas rear window, which was formed at Archer Plastics in San Diego.
Using screws instead of rivets also helped in the disassembly of the car for the necessary bodywork before painting. Pasi's Place (San Marcos, CA) got the call to do the work, which was carried out flawlessly before the PPG Deltron Wimbledon White base and Guardsman Blue racing stripes went on. The appropriate stickers were located and applied, all except for the "Gurney for President" sticker, which Roland has but hasn't added to the rear hips as of yet.
Eddy and LaPorte attacked the reassembly of the coupe with their usual high level of attention to detail. Inside the cockpit, toggle switches and Stewart-Warner gauges were added to the dash, and a Moto-Lita steering wheel was fitted with a custom quick disconnect set-up from LaPorte.
Being more of a track car than one for the street, leather-lined aluminum bucket seats were installed, as were a set of Simpson five-point racing harness belts. North County Upholstery (San Marcos, CA) added what little leather there is to the seats because the rest of the interior is a combination of flat-black anodized and cleared aluminum panels.
The car was finished in March of 2004, and it debuted at the Fabulous Fords car show at Knott's Berry Farm in Southern California the next month. A few weeks later, the Daytona made an appearance at the AHA's Fun in the Sun show at Knott's, where it won KIT CAR's Editor's Choice award for its flawless workmanship.
Recently, the car to was taken to Mark MacNeal at The Dyno Shop (Santee, CA), so the final tuning and adjustments could be made to the motor. Weighing in at about 2,800 pounds (wet, with driver), the coupe delivered a front/rear weight bias at 46/54 percent (with driver). On the dyno, the Daytona was able to produce 444.7 horsepower at the rear wheels at 5,600 rpm with a peak torque rating of 420 lb-ft at 4,700-4,900 rpm.