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Written by Admin
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Sunday, 07 October 2007 |
It's well past midnight, on a deserted industrial district back road in Houston. About a dozen cars are here, in the darkness, to witness a showdown. Groups of guys haggle back and forth, bets are made, and cash changes hands. A few moments later, the two beasts awaken, and the sound of horsepower rumbles against the quiet surrounding trees and warehouses. A phone call is made to ready the eyes at the finish line, as well as to the spotters around the block keeping an eye out for the Law. The two hot rods are pulled up to the line, VHT (sometimes in the form of Dr. Pepper) is laid down, and the tires are now creating huge white clouds of smoke and burnt rubber. The flagger readies the cars, and drops his arms. The two cars launch with the front wheels hanging in the air. Wide open throttle sounds penetrate the night sky, and we see the taillights getting smaller. Hazard lights come on in the left lane, signifying a winner. Cash changes hands again, and two more cars line up.
Those races were a normal routine for Steven "Worm Boy" Fereday, who started street racing at 17, and decided to go legit and take it off the streets back in 2003. Fereday, now 23, had earned a very successful street racing reputation in his hometown of Houston, Texas, and spent every paycheck and all of his street earnings on his 1998 Camaro Z28. It is a speed addiction many readers will identify with, as Steven has taken this Camaro that was once his daily driven high school and college commuter car, and turned it into a 7-second turbocharged monster.
Since Fereday's start in organized racing, his list of victories has grown extensively. He has won First Place four different times at LS1TECH.com national racing events, and has won First Place at three Clash of The Titan events in the True Street and True 10.5 classes. Those victories were sweet, but his most recent accomplishment is becoming the first Gen-III LSX-powered vehicle to run 7s on stock-type rear suspension, with his blistering 7.98 at 175.23 mph pass (1.29 60-ft!) at a recent event. This is not a back-halved car with a four-link or ladder bars, it's a car that still runs the Fourth Gen torque arm and lower control arm setup, as well as a GM 12-bolt rear end! Fereday regularly competes in the regional "True 10.5 Tire" racing classes, and has maintained an even more successful record on the track than he did on the street. In doing so, he has gained a few racing sponsors such as Late Model Engines, Thunder Racing, Madman Racing, and Rossler Transmissions. Even more impressive is that Steven and his buddies still do all the wrenching on this car, instead of having shops build it.
 Getting this 3,295-pound Camaro down the track in the 7-second zone on 10.5 inch width tires took quite a bit of power. Fereday's engine is an LME-built 398ci Gen III based iron block, borrowed from a 2003 GM pickup. Inside the short-block, an Eagle cast crank is held in place by custom LME billet main caps, and spins a set of GRP aluminum rods and Wiseco pistons. The heads are AFR 225 castings, prepped by ET Performance, and are secured by custom half-inch head studs. The valves are slammed open and closed by a custom COMP Cams solid roller camshaft and T&D rocker arms. The intake manifold is a GM performance parts carb-style intake, with a Wilson elbow and a 90mm Accufab throttle body. This high-power hauler relies on an ARE dry-sump oiling system and expels the fumes through a set of custom 1.75-inch primary headers built by Josh Ledford. Attached to those headers is the real source of power, a Precision Turbo 91.5mm turbocharger with a custom air-to-water intercooler system that passes through the firewall. For engine management systems, Fereday chose the F.A.S.T. system with MSD Digital 7 ignition box, which was tuned by Mike Murrillo. A set of 160-pound fuel injectors is fed from a Weldon pump and Aeromotive regulator. When this potent combo spins the Dynojet rollers at 19.5 lbs of boost, 1,197 horses are unleashed.
In order to harness this power and get it to the ground, Fereday relies on a Rossler built Powerglide tranny with a Neal Chance torque converter. The narrowed Moser 12-bolt rear end with 3.73 gears is turned by a custom 3.5-inch diameter driveshaft. Contacting the pavement is a set of Mickey Thompson 29.5x10.5x15 drag slicks, mounted on a set of 15x10 Weld Aluma-Star billet drag wheels. Up front, a set of Goodyear 26x4.5 runners rides on a set of one-piece billet Weld Aluma-Stars. For suspension, Fereday selected a K-member, lower control arms, and Panhard rod, all from PA Racing. The torque arm is a BMR unit, and Alston subframe connectors tie the front to the rear. For stability, Strange adjustable rear shocks and Santuff front coil-overs are used. The car is slowed down from its 175-mph passes by a set of Strange racing brakes, and a custom parachute system built by Robert Follmer.
To say this Camaro has come a long way since its commuter-duty days is an understatement. Your author personally remembers seeing this car cruising around Houston in bolt-on form, back when it was a 12-second car. It then evolved into a mid-9-second, nitrous-equipped street racer, and has now become the quickest stock-suspended LS1 in the country. It's a safe bet that Fereday has no regrets about graduating from the street racing scene and going into organized racing, and we are sure this is only the beginning for him.
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