NMRAPaul
03-24-2006, 04:29 PM
Silver Stallion
Dan Paolini might be new to Hot Street, but with two wins in ’05, he’s out of the gate in a big way.
Story by Cale Aronson. Photos by Jake Amatisto and Paul Rosner
This is a summary of a car feature that will appear in the July, 2006 issue of Race Pages magazine. Check out the printed version for the full story.
http://www.promediapub.com/vbulletinimg/nmra/rp0706f1/lead.jpg
While every class in the NMRA could be described as “competitive” in one way or another, Edelbrock Hot Street has its own special challenges for those who would try to fight their way to the top. Dan Paolini, however, has been able to just that within a very short time. Together with his father he has been able to put together a class-threatening 1993 Fox-bodied car that utilizes many of the best parts imaginable. With a personal best elapsed time of 9.02 seconds at more than 149 mph, he has shown his ability to be a very strong threat to the class and all of it’s competitors.
http://www.promediapub.com/vbulletinimg/nmra/rp0706f1/paolinihead.jpg
Dan started out the 2005 season running a 359 cubic inch Tim Davis-built monster under the hood of his silver notchback and was running the car at 2850 pounds, until he later changed it over into a 399 cubic inch engine and added in 200 additional pounds. He has seemed to have very little trouble with either combination and shows that he has the potential to be a threat no matter what cards he is dealt. An agile mind, able to quickly adapt to new situations, is an asset to a racer, and as an engineer and group leader for the Prototype Fabrication Dept. at Honda R&D Americas, Inc., the 30-year-old Paolini certainly fits that description. With help from his parents he has quickly become one of the major players in the class that is known for it’s ruthless ability to force competitors to fight it out using only chassis and engine with no form of power adder.
http://www.promediapub.com/vbulletinimg/nmra/rp0706f1/bumper.jpg
Unlike some of the cars he races against, Paolini’s 1993 Silver Mustang Coupe is a DIY project built with the help of his father. The pair completely constructed the beast from top to bottom, purchasing only one component in the otherwise home-fabbed chassis, a Skinny Kid K-member. With a custom-built rearend housing (put together by the Paolinis, of course), a 4130 cage, ladder bars, and notched frame rails they have shown their ability to really put the power to the ground in a short amount of time. The car utilizes Strange struts and springs throughout the front and back giving it great adjustability and reliability. The car rolls along in style sitting atop a set of Weld Magnum Drag wheels. The homebrew rearend is stuffed with Moser 40 spline axles, turned by torque supplied via a Turbo 400 automatic transmission. Although most of the battle was won right away by making this pony gallop, Dan made sure it could stop just as well by installing Strange brakes all the way around. Also, in order to lighten up the car a lightweight VFN hood was installed to take a few pounds of the horse’s nose.
http://www.promediapub.com/vbulletinimg/nmra/rp0706f1/tech1.jpg
Though the chassis is largely the result of his own effort, Paolini turned to Tim Davis when it came time to build power. The pair originally put together a 359 cubic inch engine that Dan ran for the first part of the year, but the combination evolved into a bigger 399-cube mill. The foundation of his current setup is a Dart block stuffed with a top-of-the-line Sonny Bryant crankshaft to make sure it would be up to the task. Aluminum GRP con-rods mate that crank to a set of JE pistons and shave precious grams off the rotating assembly, an important factor in a high-winding naturally-aspirated application where rpm equals power. The short block is capped with a pair of Edelbrock Glidden Victor heads massaged by Davis to support the deep-breathing requirements of this potent mill. Feeding it all is a custom Davinci carburetor perched atop an Edelbrock Super Victor manifold.
http://www.promediapub.com/vbulletinimg/nmra/rp0706f1/interior.jpg
On the exhaust side, Hooker headers carry away spent fumes, and a pair of Flowmaster mufflers make sure that the motor’s bite is worse than its bark. A MagnaFuel pump keeps the VP flowing, and an MSD Digital 7 Programmable ignition box lights the fires that spin the tires. While all the individual components are familiar to anyone with even a passing interest in Mustang racing, Paolini’s silver bullet is proof of the idea that the whole can add up to more than the sum of its parts.
VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS:
DRIVER, AGE: Dan Paolini, 30
HOMETOWN: Columbus, Ohio
OCCUPATION: Engineer (Honda R&D Americas, Inc)
OWNER: Dan Paolini
CREW: Mom and Dad Paolini
CLASS: NMRA Edelbrock Hot Street
CAR WEIGHT: 3,050 lbs.
BEST E.T./MPH: 9.02 at 149 mph
ENGINE/SIZE: Tim Davis/399 cid
CYLINDER HEADS: Edelbrock Glidden Victor
EXHAUST: Hooker Headers
CAMSHAFT: Comp Cams
CHASSIS: Built by Dan and his father
FRONT SUSPENSION: Strange
REAR SUSPENSION: Strange
TIRES & WHEELS: Weld Magnum Drag
REAREND: Custom made, Competition Engineering-based
TRANSMISSION: Turbo 400
EFI/CARB: Davinci
FUEL SYSTEM: MagnaFuel EFI Pump and Filters
POWER ADDER: None
SPONSORS: Royal Purple, Denso, The Right Stuff Detailing, VP Fuel
Dan Paolini might be new to Hot Street, but with two wins in ’05, he’s out of the gate in a big way.
Story by Cale Aronson. Photos by Jake Amatisto and Paul Rosner
This is a summary of a car feature that will appear in the July, 2006 issue of Race Pages magazine. Check out the printed version for the full story.
http://www.promediapub.com/vbulletinimg/nmra/rp0706f1/lead.jpg
While every class in the NMRA could be described as “competitive” in one way or another, Edelbrock Hot Street has its own special challenges for those who would try to fight their way to the top. Dan Paolini, however, has been able to just that within a very short time. Together with his father he has been able to put together a class-threatening 1993 Fox-bodied car that utilizes many of the best parts imaginable. With a personal best elapsed time of 9.02 seconds at more than 149 mph, he has shown his ability to be a very strong threat to the class and all of it’s competitors.
http://www.promediapub.com/vbulletinimg/nmra/rp0706f1/paolinihead.jpg
Dan started out the 2005 season running a 359 cubic inch Tim Davis-built monster under the hood of his silver notchback and was running the car at 2850 pounds, until he later changed it over into a 399 cubic inch engine and added in 200 additional pounds. He has seemed to have very little trouble with either combination and shows that he has the potential to be a threat no matter what cards he is dealt. An agile mind, able to quickly adapt to new situations, is an asset to a racer, and as an engineer and group leader for the Prototype Fabrication Dept. at Honda R&D Americas, Inc., the 30-year-old Paolini certainly fits that description. With help from his parents he has quickly become one of the major players in the class that is known for it’s ruthless ability to force competitors to fight it out using only chassis and engine with no form of power adder.
http://www.promediapub.com/vbulletinimg/nmra/rp0706f1/bumper.jpg
Unlike some of the cars he races against, Paolini’s 1993 Silver Mustang Coupe is a DIY project built with the help of his father. The pair completely constructed the beast from top to bottom, purchasing only one component in the otherwise home-fabbed chassis, a Skinny Kid K-member. With a custom-built rearend housing (put together by the Paolinis, of course), a 4130 cage, ladder bars, and notched frame rails they have shown their ability to really put the power to the ground in a short amount of time. The car utilizes Strange struts and springs throughout the front and back giving it great adjustability and reliability. The car rolls along in style sitting atop a set of Weld Magnum Drag wheels. The homebrew rearend is stuffed with Moser 40 spline axles, turned by torque supplied via a Turbo 400 automatic transmission. Although most of the battle was won right away by making this pony gallop, Dan made sure it could stop just as well by installing Strange brakes all the way around. Also, in order to lighten up the car a lightweight VFN hood was installed to take a few pounds of the horse’s nose.
http://www.promediapub.com/vbulletinimg/nmra/rp0706f1/tech1.jpg
Though the chassis is largely the result of his own effort, Paolini turned to Tim Davis when it came time to build power. The pair originally put together a 359 cubic inch engine that Dan ran for the first part of the year, but the combination evolved into a bigger 399-cube mill. The foundation of his current setup is a Dart block stuffed with a top-of-the-line Sonny Bryant crankshaft to make sure it would be up to the task. Aluminum GRP con-rods mate that crank to a set of JE pistons and shave precious grams off the rotating assembly, an important factor in a high-winding naturally-aspirated application where rpm equals power. The short block is capped with a pair of Edelbrock Glidden Victor heads massaged by Davis to support the deep-breathing requirements of this potent mill. Feeding it all is a custom Davinci carburetor perched atop an Edelbrock Super Victor manifold.
http://www.promediapub.com/vbulletinimg/nmra/rp0706f1/interior.jpg
On the exhaust side, Hooker headers carry away spent fumes, and a pair of Flowmaster mufflers make sure that the motor’s bite is worse than its bark. A MagnaFuel pump keeps the VP flowing, and an MSD Digital 7 Programmable ignition box lights the fires that spin the tires. While all the individual components are familiar to anyone with even a passing interest in Mustang racing, Paolini’s silver bullet is proof of the idea that the whole can add up to more than the sum of its parts.
VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS:
DRIVER, AGE: Dan Paolini, 30
HOMETOWN: Columbus, Ohio
OCCUPATION: Engineer (Honda R&D Americas, Inc)
OWNER: Dan Paolini
CREW: Mom and Dad Paolini
CLASS: NMRA Edelbrock Hot Street
CAR WEIGHT: 3,050 lbs.
BEST E.T./MPH: 9.02 at 149 mph
ENGINE/SIZE: Tim Davis/399 cid
CYLINDER HEADS: Edelbrock Glidden Victor
EXHAUST: Hooker Headers
CAMSHAFT: Comp Cams
CHASSIS: Built by Dan and his father
FRONT SUSPENSION: Strange
REAR SUSPENSION: Strange
TIRES & WHEELS: Weld Magnum Drag
REAREND: Custom made, Competition Engineering-based
TRANSMISSION: Turbo 400
EFI/CARB: Davinci
FUEL SYSTEM: MagnaFuel EFI Pump and Filters
POWER ADDER: None
SPONSORS: Royal Purple, Denso, The Right Stuff Detailing, VP Fuel