Free Need for Speed by Brian Kelleher

would not fit.
    They didn’t know why. They’d checked and rechecked their measurements. Everything seemed okay. They checked their clearances—but again, nothing was askew. They spent three straight days and nights trying every way they knew to get the shaft connected, yet nothing worked. They even machined down the ends of the very expensive shaft, hoping to gain a few precious millimeters, but once again, it was no soap. And because they’d designed that portion of the drivetrain to fit this particular exotic driveshaft, there was no alternative out there for them to buy to replace it.
    So they had to invent one.
    Joe Peck and Finn pulled an all-nighter at the height of the crisis, and when Tobey came in the next morning, he found them both asleep or passed out—it was hard to tell which. But on the workstand was a new, completely original driveshaft they’d constructed out of carbon fiber material.
    Tobey was astonished. They were all good at connecting things to cars, putting on parts bought from manufacturers, and making them go. But to manufacture something like this on their own?
    He woke Joe long enough to have him swear the new driveshaft fit and would work. And as a bonus, it would lighten the overall weight of the car, a very important factor.
    After a few hours’ rest, they put the new piece of equipment to the test—and sure enough, it fit perfectly and ran perfectly.
    It was that morning that Tobey knew something very special was happening inside Marshall Motors.
    * * *
    The brake work came next—never a favorite for any mechanic. But while it went slow—attaching fourteen-inch six-piston disc brake calipers and brake pads in the front and thirteen-inch ones in the back—it also went well. Everything worked after just a few adjustments. The wheels came next—hugely expensive, but critical, as they would have to hold on tight to the
enormously
expensive racing tires the crew had bought.
    But that’s when their monster became cranky again.
    It happened the day they put the engine inside the car—this was to be a huge step toward completion. After weeks of working on the motor and the body separately, now the car would be getting its 700 horsepower–plus heart.
    The engine went in fine—but when they tried to put the hood on, it was a no-go. The supercharger they’d installed was just a little too big and the hood they’d purchased a little too small. It just wouldn’t close.
    They tried every adjustment they could think of, including lowering a lot of the gear sitting on top of the engine, but it was futile. The fucking hood just would not fit. Of all the things to go wrong, they never saw this one coming.
    Now what? They’d waited four weeks for the custom-made hood to arrive. They couldn’t bear waiting another month for a new one, even if they could find one to fit.
    So Joe Peck and Finn went back into their mad-scientist mode—this time with Tobey helping out. It took twenty-four hours straight of hard work, but they fashioned a completely new hood, once again from carbon fiber, making it sleek and workable.
    It was then that Tobey thought,
Maybe we’re actually getting good at this.
    * * *
    Everything ran smoothly after that—at least for a while. The electrical system went in with no problems. The same was true for the fuel lines, the wiring harnesses, and the cooling system.
    It was a happy day when all five of them pitched in to mask off the car for its primer coats, and then, with Benny as the main artist, spraying on its gleaming silver and blue finish.
    When Tobey asked his gasser just how much the paint cost, Benny replied, “Only a gazillion dollars.”
    But the results were worth it. Once put together and painted, the Mustang looked so sleek and so aerodynamic, it seemed to be traveling 100 mph even as it was standing still.
    They brought in a Chassis Dyno and programmed the FMU computer