Chris Kulp's Super-Gas Plymouth Arrow
Mark Schiffner's 1970 Ford Torino
Mark Schiffner is the owner and driver of this beautiful 1970 Ford Torino Cobra. Since Mark was a young boy he had an interest in engines & horsepower, thanks his Grandfather. When he was just a junior in high-school, he built a big-block Ford 460, but he needed a body to place it in. Mark was lucky enough to get a killer deal on this Torino for only $650.00.
Mark has raced other types of vehicles in the past such as snowmobiles and won Super Pro and motorcycle classes at his local track on a Mach Z Ski-Doo in 2006 but Mark said this was the first car he ever raced.
The Torino was built originally as a 429 Thunder-Jet N-Code
automatic transmission car. It now features state-of-the-art parts his
high-school self could only dream of. Mark built the engine, starting
off with the bottom end, the rotating assembly stretches the big-block
to the tune of 545 cubic inches !
The fuel is squeezed with a pump gas friendly 11.0:1 Cr, the valves are in tune with a solid-roller camshaft by Randy Malik, the top end is capped off with AFR 280 cylinder heads and an 1150 CFM Dominator style carb by Pro Systems. Backing up all the venom this snake dishes out is a Ford-C6 transmission built by Broader Performance, its filled with all the goodies and a 3,900 RPM torque converter gets that big-block into its sweet-spot fast.
The chassis is all factory Ford with the exception of subframe connectors and custom anti-roll-bars that were fabricated by Brandon Compson. Bringing up the rear is a Ford 9-inch housing holding 3.89:1 gears that spin a pair of heavy-duty Moser 33 spline axles.
Mark's favorite place to race is Beach Bend Raceway in bowling, Kentucky with Norwalk as a close second. He also raced at Brainerd International, Interstate Raceway.
Last year Mark traveled the now defunct NMRA circuit and he won the 2021 Ford World Finals in the Ford Muscle class. In 2024 he won the NMRA event in Martin, MI.
Mark's future goals include winning a national championship in Nostalgia Muscle or Nostalgia Super-Stock and he would like to race at Indy. When Mark isn't racing he likes to restore classic snowmobiles and cars, and in the winter he participates in a curling league. Mark and his wife own a Venom Products, they manufacture parts for the power sports industry.
Mark's best E.t. was a 10.152 @ 130 MPH
Mark thanks his wife Kelly for all of her help & support, Mark said he couldn't race without her.
Photos courtesy of Mark Schiffner 2025
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