"My dad told me there are just a few cardinal rules of racing: power to weight, gears and tires, and cubic inches. That's why I went with a Corvette Z06."
-Andrew Spada IV (talking to VETTE, March, 2007)
It's a good thing Dodge has silly rules, or Andrew Spada IV might be driving a Dodge Viper today. As the son of a professional racer, Andrew's predilection for fast cars was virtually preordained. That he would eventually settle on a Corvette was far from certain, however.
First, a little background. Andrew Spada III is a former NHRA Division II racer. He competed from 1965 to 1985 with AA/Gas cars, injected 472 Hemis, and Top Fuel dragsters. He ran the 1978 Winternationals and the 1981 Snowbird Nationals, beating Shirley Muldowney in the latter event's time trials.
The younger Andrew grew up in Wesley Chapel, Florida, and learned to love drag racing at an early age. He began racing professionally in 2002 and races a Super Comp class dragster at Gainesville Raceway. He is currently studying with two-time world champion Top Fuel and Funny Car racer Frank Hawley, in the hopes of moving up to alcohol-class racing.
In 2003, Andrew enlisted his father to help him find a street/track car. First, they looked at an '02 Pontiac Trans Am outfitted with a stock LS1 engine. Although Andrew liked the look of the TA, the LS1 was crammed so far back in the subframe that the modifications he had in mind would have taken a superhuman effort to perform. He passed.
Next, the two set their sights on an '03 Dodge Viper SRT-10. But Dodge had a decree: Only current Viper owners could buy the latest version. Here's how the conversation went:
Andrew: "So if I handed you $80,000 cash, you wouldn't sell me this Viper?"Salesman: "If you handed me $180,000 cash, I couldn't sell it to you."
So the pair made a trip to a Chevrolet dealer, where the younger Andrew fell in love with an '03 Z06. The two men studied the Z closely.
The elder Spada had thirty years of drag racing history behind him. He told his son, "If we're going to buy a Vette to race, it's got to adhere to my cardinal rules." The men looked at the motor, they looked at its output and its weight, and they looked at its capabilities.
According to Andrew, it didn't take long for the Z06's merits to become obvious. "We did a little more research, and after looking at the specs, we knew that the Corvette was the best platform. The first thing we looked at was how the engine was placed in the car. Then, we looked at the weight. These two areas checked out fine. We looked really hard at the Z06. We felt it offered the best bang for the buck, especially if you're going to do modifications."
As an up-and-coming NHRA racer, Andrew was hot to boost the LS6's output above its factory rating of 405 hp. He added a wilder cam, a FAST 90mm intake, a set of Kooks 1 7/8-inch long-tube headers flowing through a 3-inch midsection and B&B Tri-Flo mufflers. In dyno tests, the Vette hit 438 hp and 401 lb-ft at the rear wheels. It was a good start.
Andrew then pulled the stock "243" heads and sent them to Pete Incaudo of VMAX Motorsports in Land O' Lakes, Florida. Pete tells VETTE the heads were CNC ported and polished, then outfitted with REV valves and dual springs good to 0.650-inch lift. Angle milling to 57 cc created an 11.5:1 compression ratio. The intake ports flow 310 cfm open (292 cfm with the intake installed), while the exhaust ports flow 225 cfm with no pipes installed.
To support that airflow, a Comp Cams custom grind with 244/248-degree duration, 0.612/0.620-inch lift, and a 114-degree lobe-separation angle was installed. Post-install dyno tests produced 478 rear-wheel hp. Life was good.
Unfortunately, those good vibes wouldn't last. During a series of follow-up dyno pulls, the LS6 sheared a piston, ruptured a water jacket, and basically converted itself into a hyper-expensive, 450-pound aluminum paperweight. Although devastated, Andrew was not to be sidelined.
He called Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center in Lubbock, Texas, where sales specialist Marty Morris suggested one of the company's 402 short-blocks to replace the crippled LS6. Andrew agreed and waited patiently for his Vette's new bottom end to arrive.