It Was a Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod World
this year at the Ford Special Vehicle Team Owners Association / Camp Steeda event, held the first weekend in May under clear Florida skies at Sebring International Raceway. Between the stunning cars on display and the action-on-track, you walked the historic grounds of Sebring and the adjoining Chateau Elan Hotel and Spa, somehow wishing you had more eyes in your head, there was that much there to see!

The festivities began Friday with the Vendor Meet & Greet. Sales Manager Gus Irizarry from Steeda Autosports, the Event's Main Sponsor, was joined by reps from Vortech, Tokico, Nitto, Auburn Gear, Powerslot and Hawk in presenting go-fast goodies to the SVTOA members in attendance. The staff of Modular Power was on hand as well, and we're happy to report that as interest and support for the Mod Motor grows, so does our subscriber list!

Dawn broke Saturday with a haze that slowly lifted, as if Mother Nature provided a buffer to prevent sensory overload. While race team participation has been a staple of Camp Steeda since it's inception, this year's presence of the SVTOA added a Show and Shine element to the weekend. A tip of the Mod Power hat goes to Ed Zerbe from the South Florida Chapter of the SVTOA for adding the "Show" to an event with considerable "Go." The field was comprised of a great mix of the cars and trucks you'd expect - Foci and Mustangs and Trucks, with a couple of Wild Cards thrown in.

Ashley Weiss' 1965 GT-350 Shelby Fastback looked like a nice, simple resto from the curb, black with gold stripes and Bullitt Wheels. Racing seats and a roll cage in the mostly stock interior tipped you off to the fact that the pony car could run, and when builder / father Bruce Weiss lifted the lid, you saw a completely re-engineered engine bay stuffed with a 4 cammer reported to deliver just under 500 hp to the rear wheels!

Another standout was Scott Gabriel's '57 Fairlane. While the two-toned blue beauty had push rod power, it was in the form of a 428 cubic-inch dose of Cobra Jet. If the factory had offered the CJ as an option, it would have looked like this. While talking to Scott, we learned that he had previously conspired to shoehorn a Mod Motor into a '48 Lincoln Cosmopolitan! Features on the Fairlane, as well as Ashley's Shelby are in the works.

Plenty of later model Fords found their way onto the show grounds, too. Notable among the herd were two South Florida-based Mustangs piloted by Roy Boccadifuoco and Josh Laddin. While many are content to personalize a specific year and model, both took liberties with their 'Stangs, mixing factory and aftermarket parts to create a couple of one-of-a-kind pony cars.

Meanwhile, SVTOA Lead Instructor Jeff Lacina headed up the classroom training, which featured Tech Talk with Dan Carlson of Team Steeda. How the car works, and how the drivers need to work within them were covered. What makes a car loose? Are the driver's feet, hands or eyes the most important? If you were there, you got the answers to those and many other questions which were a great means of preparing for the on-track training to follow.

On-track instruction began on the skid pad - a flat, paved area with a large circle painted on it. A sprinkler in the center makes the driving surface slick, and drivers drive around the circle at ever increasing speeds to get the feel of the car spinning out. An important first step in controlling your ride is learning what it feels like as your car loses traction, and the skid pad is the best place to learn.

Armed with a better feel for the car, students then proceeded to the autocross area, where a twisting course was laid out with orange traffic cones. Drivers got a chance to work on steering, braking and acceleration skills. Not a race or timed event, the objective was to cleanly navigate the course at speed without knocking over a single cone. Most drivers showed marked improvement throughout the day, knocking over fewer cones with each successive pass - although at one point a wildly spinning Mustang smoked the tires, and the SVTOA Volunteers became the fastest moving things on the course! In the end, all of the drivers and turn marshals recovered, as did all of the little, orange cones - except for one that went to little cone heaven.

Relaxation and celebrations were the bywords at the banquet Saturday night. Lead Instructor by day, emcee by night, the versatile Jeff Lacina introduced speakers that included Tom Scarpello from Ford SVT with his insider's look at Ford, the SVT program and the growth of the SVTOA. Steeda's Jo-Ann Orlando introduced the vendors who contributed prizes to the raffle. Thousands of dollars in prizes were awarded, including a Vortech 5.0 Supercharger, sets of Steeda Ultralite Wheels, Nitto Tires, Tokico Shocks and more. A John Coletti-autographed print of the Ford GT was put up for bids, with the proceeds benefiting the SVTOA, and a moment of silence was observed in memoriam of the one little, orange cone that didn't make it at the request of the Pylon Preservation Society, emceed by the hilarious Roger Leeper.

Sunday saw the action move to the racetrack. Under the trees in the infield, enthusiasts and their families gathered to relax, toss around the occasional pigskin and of course, talk about their Fords. The SVTOA sent drivers out grouped by skill levels one through four, with one being the novice level, for circuits around the historic Sebring Course. Team Steeda piloted both their personal vehicles as well as the company's race cars, and treated the Modular Power staff in attendance to some thrill rides throughout the day. Pro drivers including 1990 GTU Champion Lance Stewart, piloted a Steeda #20 Q400R Mustang around the abbreviated Sebring road course. Little can compare to the sensation of having a Modular Motor pin you to the seat at close to 130 mph, and then a second later, feeling your chest press into the five point harness under hard braking as the driver sets up for a tough right hander! The rear breaks free for an instant, but the driver corrects with a small flick of his wrist and the skinny pedal meets the floor yet again. Breathtaking!

This event had it all - new and old Fords, show and go Fords and plenty of Modular Power. Check out the SVTOA web site at www.svtoa.com for other events scheduled around the country in 2004. And remember, it's not too early to start packing for next year's Camp Steeda!

Raffle Prize Winners
Vortech Super Charging System:	George Marino	Oldsmar, FL
Nitto Tires 1:	Jack Clemmons	Palm Harbor, FL
Nitto Tires 2:	Chad Gieseke	Clearwater, FL
Steeda Set of 17 X 9 Wheels:	Jack Stewart	Crystal River, FL
Chin Motor Sports Driving School:	Jered Clemons	Orlando, FL
Tokico HPK Suspension Kit:	Terry Lee	Hypoluxo, FL
Power Slot Front Rotors:	Shawn Fuller	Jacksonville, FL
Auburn Differential:	Richard Nickels	West Palm Beach, FL
Hawk Brake Pads (full set):	John and Suzie Banks	Tampa, FL
Ford GT Auction Winner:	Peter Dudas	Lake Worth, FL
JBA Shorty Headers:	Marshall Scialdo	Naples, FL
Car Show Winners
BEST SVT	John & Susie Banks	03 Min. Grey Cobra Coupe
BEST STEEDA	T.L. McPherson	97 Cobra Pacific Green
Steeda Runner up	Tedd Siegel	02 Steeda GT Coupe Zinc Yellow
Best Mustang	Roy Bocadifuocco	99 Black GT
Runner Up	Josh Laddin	00 GT Black Coupe
Best Classic Mustang	Ashley Weiss	66 GT350 Black
Mustang Runner Up	T.J. Tschanz	82 GT Copper
Best Cobra	Bennie Sorgie	03 Blue
Cobra Runner up	Dave Siegel	03 Anniv Conv. Silver
Best Lightning	Jan Yantz	03 Red
Runner Up	George & Julie Lindsay	02 Blue
Best Focus	John Fleishman	04 Blue SVT Focus
Focus Runner Up	Martin Matthews	03 Black SVT Focus
Best Ford	Scott Gabriel	57 Fairlane
Best Engine	Steve Procko	97 Cobra Coupe Chrome 5.0 Mod.
Best Paint	Jerry Miller	A/C Cobra
Best of Show	John Handel	03 Roush Red Convertible