A long way in a short while…
With a 9.95 second @220km/h quarter mile pass, Shaun Pillay now drives the second fastest Ford Pinto set-up in the country.
His royal blue Ford Escort Mk1 is his first race car since he broke into the drag scene four year ago. In that time, well, he’s been chasing the times.
Considered a novice racer with just four years experience under his belt, Shaun proved that he’s more than a capable driver this past weekend at Tarlton.
The fastest Pinto powered Escort belongs to Talha Daniels, who ran a 9.925 “years ago”, according to Joel Silva of Speed and Sound.
His journey to 9 seconds hasn’t come without its pitfalls though. Last August, the engine broke and underwent a rebuild shortly after.
Yogan Naicker of Yogan’s Trix is the brain behind the build and according to Shaun, he “basically did everything”.
What’s in it?
The fully forged 2 litre Ford Pinto engine is attached to a Toyota Cressida 21R straight cut gearbox. The gearbox and rear differential were built by the renowned Ken Westermeyer of M-Trac.
After the break in August last year, Shaun has replaced the entire bottom end, including pistons, rods etc. He kept the head from the old engine.
The car runs on a Dicktator 60-2 ECU which Per4mance Tuning handles the numbers for the ethanol it runs on.
“I’m racing for the past four years now and its all thanks to Yogan and Sugan from Yogan’s Trix in Shallcross. I really like the engine and gearbox combo.
“I had a Escort 1600 Sport some years ago and used to race that on the streets. It obviously was not as fast as this but that’s how I got the hang of rear wheel drive cars,” Shaun told Auto Rush.
The Tarlton Experience
On Saturday, May 31, Shaun broke into the 9 second for the first time in his Escort, an experience he said was rewarding.
Shaun made four passes on the day, a 10.9s , 10.1, 10.1 and then finally the 9.95s @220km/h.
The 9.9 second run was done on 2.8 bar boost. The car, however, is tuned to 3 bar, which is why Shaun thinks he can go a little deeper into the 9’s.
“I broke out of the class so I couldn’t get another run complete but I do think she can go faster. The 9.9 was also at altitude so I am proud of the time. Hopefully we can run a faster 9 at the coast,” he added.
Auto Rush
