Words & Photos: Tommy Parry

Land speed cars are odd creatures. Designing them to remain stable and surefooted at terrifying speeds over a slippery, salt surface is demanding enough, but they also usually lack much downforce and sometimes the engine sits over the wrong axle. That entails a whole number of different demands and compromises we don’t have time to get into, but if there’s one asset land speed cars are known for, it’s power. Having enough torque to move an ocean liner is one of the main requirements for achieving anything these days at Bonneville, and thankfully, this ‘28 Ford Roadster is not lacking in the grunt department.

With 1,000+ horsepower, nobody is going to argue the potency of this motor. The choice of powerplant might strike some people as a little odd, though. Instead of a NASCAR V8 or a classic BBC, the guys at White Goose Bar Racing opted for Toyota’s 2JZ-GTE. A three-liter, iron-block, inline-six optimized for turbocharging, the 2JZ-GTE came in a number of Toyota’s sports cars and sedans in the 1990s and early 2000s.

It has a serious following and has earned the respect of die-hard domestic enthusiasts, since it’s so receptive to modification. The formula is simple and proven. Take a 2JZ, bolt on a massive turbo and all the supporting mods, turn the boost up and go. The turbocharger of choice here is the watermelon-sized Exile Turbo GT4204, which is connected to a five-inch downpipe and an ITS header. With a redline set at 9,000 rpm, the sound is simply amazing and must be heard.

Though some would argue the bulletproof 2JZ doesn’t need any special internals to make that sort of power, the bright minds at White Goose Bar Racing have the long haul in mind – so their motor uses a bottom end from Real Street Performance, Wiseco pistons and ARP fasteners.

That amount of power from a 3.0-liter motor requires a lot of boost, and therefore a ton of fuel. Quenching the engine’s thirst are RC 1600cc injectors, a Magnaflow 625 fuel pump and an Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator, and keeping all the whole system cool is a heavy-duty water-to-air intercooler. Not a mild street build here; this motor’s got all the fixin’s for a bonafide racing engine.

Keepin the whole system in one piece is an AEM V2 EMS, and the AEM 4 Channel UEGO keeps an eye on the air-fuel ratio on those 200 mph+ runs. The entire package is reliable, manageable and makes more than enough power to turn the world backwards. Though traction is limited on the salt flats, having a quick-shifting, sturdy transmission is a must. Those 1,000+ horses are driven through a custom GM Turbo 400 transmission prepared by none other than John Kilgore.

With a slippery shape, that monster of a motor can push the ‘28 Roadster well beyond 200 mph. It might not be the most stable of setups, but when it works, it’s a low-flying aircraft. Clocked at 230 mph in Bonneville, this subtle machine holds several records and continues to be driven like it owes its owners money.