Engine Masters - Winter 2015

433 CID
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ON THE DYNO:
MASSIVE FORD
HEAD TEST
TESTING HOLLEYS
ULTRA DOMINATOR
HANDS-ON TECH:
HOW TO ASSEMBLE
A SHORT-BLOCK
BONUS BUILD:
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ON A BUDGET
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46
Contents
WINTER 2015 Volume 17 No. 4
ENGINE BUILDS
18 MOPAR ON A BUDGET
Building a Bolt-Together Street 440 28
28 FEROCIOUS FORD FE
711 Street Horsepower From Fords
Classic Big-Block
36 POWER UNIT
Building 996 Normally Aspirated Horsepower
From a Conventional Chevy Big-Block
46 DOES SIZE MATTER?
Testing the Effect of Head Port Volume
on Power
56 SUPER DOMINATION! 56
Testing Holleys Ultra HP and Super Dominator
DEPARTMENTS
6 FROM THE EDITOR
8 EMC PRODUCTS
10 NEW PRODUCTS
14 UP FRONT
64 TECH TIPS
70 PRO SHOP
74 ON THE WEB 70 18
WINTER 2015 ENGINE MASTERS 3

The most advanced piston kit for your high JE can manufacture pistons for your
performance LS engine now includes
application in an average of 3 weeks!
skirt coating! Designed specifically for extreme levels of
CNC Machined
Lightweight 4032 alloy FSR forging nitrous/boost, these are the toughest LS7
Strong, lightweight designs
Includes a 1.2mm (LS7 style) steel top ring, pistons available!
8 High Performance Coatings available
1.5mm napier 2nd ring and 3.0mm oil ring
Ultra-strong 2618 alloy 100% CNC precision Designed and Manufactured in USA
60% less top ring wear when compared
FSR forging machined Forgings available for most applications
to ductile iron!
Smooth radiused .927" x 2.250"
Available for standard and stroker combinations 3, 5 and 7 day expedite services available
22cc dish premium wrist pins
Premium wrist pins and wire locks included
Enlarged valve reliefs 1.5mm, 1.5mm,
for aftermarket cams 3.0mm JE Pro Seal
and oversized valves ring package
15312 Connector Lane Huntington Beach CA 92649 714-898-9763 Fax 714-893-8297 www.jepistons.com
EDITORIAL ADVERTISING
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FROM THE EDITOR By Steve Dulcich
TRUCK MOTOR
S
o, its been pretty busy in the
shop with a couple of projects
going forward at full speed.
After getting suckered into
what I would consider newer vehicles,
the practicality and simplicity of familiar
classic transportation have come sharply
into focus. No more smog inspections,
needless and failure-prone electron-
ics, or high insurance and registration
feesIm going to move back to old
iron. Up until the last decade, my daily
transportation was a 69 Dodge Dart,
running a 7,000-rpm solid-cammed 340
and a four-speed, the last in a line of
real Detroit metal beginning with my
frst 440-equipped Dodge Charger at the
age of 16. So the windows are roll-up,
there is no navigation system, automatic
door closers, or butt warmersthere is a
motor plainly visible when you pop the
hood, and the lights turn off when you
push in the switch.
Im taking a two-pronged attack to
my automotive ambitions, simultane-
ously working a car and truck combina-
tion to fulfll my automotive needs. Lets
look at the truck half, a story that comes
with an unexpected twist, and engine
decisions yet to be made. the fact that it had already lost First gear. look the part of a serious vintage muscle
I was well on my way to fulflling The clutch pedal pulled me in and sealed truck, but the 318 2V just isnt ftting the
my truck requirements with a sweet 72 the deal. I bought the whole truck. No, Mime. On the other hand, its a driver,
Dodge D100 Fleetside. It was a little it wasnt in the vehicles for sale section, and the big-cammed 360 in the previous
rusty, coming from the Bay Area, but but a doomed machine up on blocks in truck could easily peel 80 bucks a day
being factory air equipped, powered by the yard. Gone already were the distribu- in fuel. The two-barrel BBD carb on
a 360 small-block, this truck seemed tor, two-barrel carb, and taillamps, but the 318 may be the most effcient fuel
like a good starting point. In went a most of the rest was intact. metering device created by the hand of
477hp 360 and an A-518 overdrive The carb and distributor are off- man, but its just a 318 two barreland
trans, and all was looking good until a the-shelf junk around here, so with a thats the dilemma. With todays new
hit-and-run driver plowed the front and detailed rebuild of a core Carter BBD trucks pushing the 400hp mark, a 200-
box side. The damage was superfcial, carb and a Chrysler electronic distribu- horse 318 is just not going to cut it in a
so the search was on. Body parts for tor, the old 318 was fred to life. Zero hot rod pickup.
these underappreciated Dodge trucks blow-by and silky smooth. The trucks So now Im pondering itwhats
are abundant in West Coast wrecking three-speed yielded to an A-833 over- the build going to be? The objectives are
yards. In Bakersfeld, California, I came drive four-speed and passenger car bell, fuel effciency, reliability, and enough
across a 74 D100 stepside with every- with a steel fywheel and Centerforce power to outperform todays trucks.
thing neededmint metal throughout, clutch. The insides got a factory air With the old Dodges weight advantage
the early bumper valance, and a pristine suitcase and dash and the full re-do, and absence of emissions constraints,
core support. and the butchered wiring was reworked late-model trucks are an easy mark. The
As I made laps around the forlorn from bow to stern. simple solution would be a Gen III Hemi
Dodge, it just kept looking better and As this project comes together, the swap, but a traditional small-block offers
better. Nearly perfect factory paint, zero engine once again comes into the cross- plenty of intriguing possibilities. I still
rust, and the capper was a three-speed hairs. Sure, it was a fun afternoon of have not come up with the fnal game
manual trans hooked to the 318 2V fddling to get the original 318 running, plan, but youd better bet it will be more
engine. I got to thinking about the new but is that going to be it? So far, this than you can buy off a dealers lot.
518 auto in the wrecked 72 truck, and junkyard refugee has been reworked to -Dulcich
6 enginemasters.com
Yo u r S o u r ce t s !
Were i n e - B u i l d i n g P a r
fo r E n g
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Some parts are not legal for use in California or other states with similar laws/regulations. Please check your state
D I S T R I B U T O R
and/or local laws/regulations. Typographical errors and errors in description or photography are subject to correction.
2014 AUTOSALES, INC.
SOURCE CODE: WHSEEM14
2015 EM CHALLENGE PRODUCTS
SPEED-PRO PISTON RINGS CHAMPION
SPARK PLUGS
Federal-Mogul designs and engineers piston rings to meet the
most demanding street performance and racing conditions. The Champion has been on top of
company draws on more than 100 years of Federal-Mogul engine the spark plug game for years. The
experience to enhance the piston ring and its seal. Its Speed-Pro company has been an innovator in the
brand is recognized for being a winner in every form of racing and area of spark plug technology as long
is the proven horsepower leader in oval track and drag racing. as anyone can remember. Back in the
Speed-Pro has built a reputation for performance engine 1970s, Champion pioneered the frst use
components. Meeting specifc needsfrom increased durability to of iridium in spark plugs. Its stabilizing
reduced weight, higher temperature demands, or excellence in oil effect has now become the choice of
controlSpeed-Pro can give you the many top engine manufacturers. They
advantage. For more info, click on are known for long-lasting, durable spark
over to federal-mogul.com or call plugs that you can get for just about any
(248) 354-7700. engine. If its a high-tech import, your
daily driver, or a competitive Engine
Masters Challenge entry, Champion has
a plug to ft the bill. To fnd all the plugs
the company makes for your car, visit
alwaysachampion.com.
FEL-PRO
GASKETS
Engine gaskets are hardly a
glamorous part, usually only attracting
attention when they fail. What the average guy SCAT CRANKSHAFTS
may miss is what the professionals all know: Gaskets
are no place to skimp on quality. Engine gaskets must seal against For more than 40 years, Scat has been manufacturing and
fuids such as oil and coolant, as well cylinder pressure, a critical distributing parts for the performance aftermarket. Scats success
task assigned to the head gasket. At the least, a faltering gasket has been built on innovation, quality, and customer service. Scats
will result in embarrassing oil leaks. At worst, it will allow water commitment to excellence is why its products have been a leading
contamination of the oil system or loss of critical cylinder pressure. choice by many of the engine builders in the AMSOIL Engine
The stakes are too high for builders to simply roll the dice and hope Masters Challenge.
things will hold together. SCAT has been, and continues to be, a force in the performance
Fel-Pro continues to be a popular choice for competitors who aftermarket providing crankshafts to many of the countrys top
know how important gaskets are to their powerful motors. Thats racing teams. From IndyCars to Top Fuel Dragsters to World of
a resounding vote of confdence, and for good reason. Fel-Pro is Outlaw Sprint Cars and Winston Cup, SCAT always fnds a way to
continuously advancing the construction and materials used in the winners circle. Whether building a custom street engine or a
automotive engine gaskets, profession race powerplant, SCAT
and they are the frst choice has you covered. To fnd out
of many of the countrys about Scat and its high-
leading engine builders. end cranks, simply go to
Find out more at scatcrankshafts.com or
federal-mogul.com. call (310) 370-5501.
8 enginemasters.com
CLEVITE
ENGINE
BEARINGS
Since their development
of the frst precision
insert-type bearing in
1929, Clevite 77 engine
bearings have set the pace
for engineering quality.
Clevite 77 engine bearings RHS CYLINDER HEADS
are built above industry
standards for strength and Racing Head Service (RHS), the legendary innovator of cylinder
durability. The majority of head technology, is back with the latest in high-performance
Clevite 77 engine bearings cylinder head design. Utilizing the expertise of the industry-
utilize a TriMetal design leading COMP Performance Group engineering team and the most
frst developed by Clevite advanced cylinder head manufacturing foundry in the world, RHS
50 years ago and perfected over time. This design incorporates the has emerged as a leader in performance cylinder heads.
strength of a copper-lead alloy layer on a steel back and fnally, a RHS has released a wide range of cylinder heads for a variety
precision electroplated white metal babbitt surface layer. of popular engine combinations. The heads are designed with
The Clevite 77 line offers extensive coverage for just about any outstanding power, durability, and long-lasting value as the primary
engine you can think of. Its no wonder that Clevite 77 is used more goal. This makes RHS cylinder heads perfect for both race and street
often than any other bearings in cars worldwide and is seen in performance applications. To fnd out more, you can check them out
many of the Engine Masters mills. In addition, Clevite 77 has been on the web at racingheadservice.com or call (877) 776-4323.
in most winning engines at Indianapolis and NASCAR. And thats
why, year after year, quality engines everywhere spin on Clevite 77
bearings. To get info on the companys complete line of bearings,
visit engineparts.com.
DIAMOND
PISTONS
Diamond
EDELBROCK CYLINDER HEADS Pistons has
always maintained
Using highly effcient ports and state-of-the-art combustion a position on
chamber shapes, Edelbrock cylinder heads offer improved the forefront of
performance throughout the rpm range for great throttle response performance piston
and top-end horsepower. Top quality features include threaded technology. Much
inserts in rocker stud and exhaust boltholes for superior strength more than typical
and durability, and manganese-bronze valveguides. off-the-shelf parts,
Cast at the Edelbrock Foundry and machined at Edelbrocks Diamond offers racers
manufacturing facility in the USA, Edelbrock heads consistently offer and engine builders
the best in quality. With applications running from the companys alike a wide range
budget E-Street line to the race-orientated Victor CNC heads, of choices in piston
Edelbrock is serious about specifcations with quality that is second to none. If you can dream
performance. To get specs it up and it goes in an engines bores, chances are Diamond has
on its wide array of heads, you covered.
simply go to edelbrock.com When taking up the challenge of the annual Engine Masters
or pick up the phone and dial competition, engine builders need to rely on the ultimate in quality,
(310) 781-2222. where a fraction of a percent in power can be the difference
between winning and an also-ran. Quality manufactured parts are
a must, and a companys ability to deliver is all part of what it
takes to achieve success. Diamond has the capabilities to meet
the requirements of the most demanding builders. You can share
in the excellence that Diamond has to offer by incorporating
these excellent pistons in your next engine build. To learn
what the company has to offer, call (877) 552-2112 or visit
diamondracing.net.

NEWPRODUCTS
EDELBROCK CRATE ENGINES
Edelbrock has packaged its most popular crate system, and two 600-
engine, the RPM E-Tec, with its popular E-Force cfm Performer Series
Enforcer supercharger system to deliver a powerful carburetors or throttle
modern supercharged crate engine that also looks bodies. The result is a
great. This 350ci engine is built from a brand-new GM 9.5:1 compression engine
ZZ4 short-block with four-bolt mains and a one-piece that delivers, 519 hp and
rear main seal. It features a forged steel crankshaft and 507 lb-ft of torque in an
powdered metal steel connecting rods with hypereutectic electronic fuel-injected setup and 518
aluminum pistons. hp and 500 lb-ft in a carbureted setup.
The Enforcer crate engines are hand-assembled in-house Custom-build requests are welcome, and
by Edelbrock technicians. The heart of the performance every Edelbrock crate engine is backed by a two-year,
is the Edelbrock Total Power Package, including: E-Tec 200 unlimited mileage warranty and is built to order. Find out
heads, an RPM Hydraulic roller camshaft, E-Force Supercharger more at edelbrock.com.
JON KAASE RACING BOSS NINE

Jon Kaase has introduced the Boss Nine in a new kit form. Kaase
includes his noted semi-hemi cylinder heads with accompanying
pistons, pins, and rings as well as pushrods, shaft-mounted rockers,
and induction system. Everything to complete the full assembly
is supplied. Power production may vary from 500 to 1,000 hp in
naturally aspirated form and up to 1,500 hp under forced induction.
Stroke is increased from the original specifcation of 3.590 inches.
Those big-port heads dont like stroke lengths shorter than 4
inches and respond enthusiastically to 4.150 inches, 4.300 inches, or
4.500 inches, all of which we use, Kaase contends.
I never planned on building a Boss 429 head until driving back
from the Engine Masters Challenge in 2007, he continues. Though
virtually everything wed built at my shop had been a derivative of
that engine, I knew if we used stock parts in an EMC contender,
it would fall apart. So we decided to build it with new, revised
components. This approach allows anyone to build the engine entire project because the banks were failing and everyone worried
using the popular passenger car 385-series block. It seemed a if theyd still have a job!
commonsense approach, but we wouldnt have started the venture if For further information, contact Jon Kaase Racing Engines, Inc. at
not for the EMC. And six months later, we would have dismissed the (770) 307-0241 or visit jonkaaseracingengines.com.
DILLON AIR CHUCK JAWS

Dillon pin-location top jaws hold small and delicate parts such as
those often machined using air chucksfrmly without damaging or
marring their surface. The jaws are milled with very close tolerances
to correctly ft the chuck. Two types of jaws are offered, blank or
(blocks) top jaws in 1018 steel or 6061 aluminum, or full circled
or (pie-shaped) top jaws in A356 aluminum, 6061 aluminum, or
1018 steel as standard materials. Other materials per customer
specifcation can also be used. They are ideal for all types of air
chucks, including Northfeld, Microcentric, and more.
Dillon Manufacturing, Inc. manufactures a complete line of chuck lubrication, and more. All products are made in the USA, and
standard and custom work-holding solutions, including chuck jaws, Dillon is ISO 9000:2008 registered. For additional information, visit
chucks, vise jaws, soft jaws, hard jaws, collet pad jaw systems, dillonmfg.com or call (800) 428-1133.
10 enginemasters.com
CRANE CAMS CRANK TRIGGER DISTRIBUTORS
Crane Cams announces the addition of Crank Trigger Distributors to its highly successful
Race Billet Distributors product line. The four new part numbers are equipped with a large-
diameter, low-profle distributor cap. This design helps avoid clearance problems. In addition,
the caps are manufactured with solid brass lugs, which enable the transfer of the maximum
amount of spark energy. The lightweight lower housing is machined from billet aluminum.
All of these new models include the use of a stainless steel shaft to increase the longevity
of the distributor. The precision alignment of the shaft is achieved by the upper end being
supported by a sealed roller bearing and the bottom end supported by a sintered bushing.
The overall endplay of the shaft is held to a minimum during the manufacturing procedure.
All models come complete with an aluminum bronze material distributor gear. To learn
more about these made-in-the-USA distributors, contact Crane at (866) 388-5120, or visit
cranecams.com.
LUNATI BOOTLEGGER CAMSHAFT SERIES

Lunati Bootlegger Camshafts are an aggressive new series of cams provides tons of low- and midrange power, exactly where you need
for hot rodders who play by their own set of rules. Theyre most it for back-road adventures and stoplight-to-stoplight performance.
powerful series of street performance cams ever produced by the Better yet, the cams also provide a killer exhaust note that sends a
Lunati design team and they build on the popular Voodoo Series, but message before you even arrive.
feature even faster opening rates, a controlled closing, and far more For more information and to check available applications, go to
area under the lift curve. bootleggercams.com, or call (662) 892-1500.
Bootlegger Cams are designed with a 108-degree lobe-separation
angle and a 104-degree intake centerline for overall nastiness that
cannot be found anywhere else. This extremely aggressive design
RHS 23 ALUMINUM SBC MANIFOLDS

RHS 23 Aluminum SBC Intake Manifolds are designed to provide
power and a strong torque curve throughout the mid-rpm range
for both EFI and carbureted small-block Chevy applications. These
intake manifolds are engineered specifcally to port match ft RHS
23 small-block Chevy cylinder heads. Additionally, these manifolds
are the only ones designed with a 4150 fange and bolt machining
to ft all versions of SBC heads, including classic originals, Vortec crossover, and dual-sided distributor mounting points. Female
GM heads, and late-model perimeter corner vertical bolt-style crate pipe fttings at all four corners allow external water lines for
engine heads. They provide the power and strong torque curve reverse cooling applications. RHS and sister company FAST
throughout the mid-rpm range that is required for performance have also teamed up to design a port fuel-injection version of
street, circle track, and drag race applications up to 434 ci. the manifold. For the full scoop on these new manifolds, visit
The manifolds also feature auxiliary water ports, integral water racingheadservice.com or call (901) 795-2400.

NEWPRODUCTS
COMP CAMS CONICAL VALVESPRINGS
Built for street and race applications, the new line of conical
valvesprings from Comp Cams represents a revolutionary
advancement in high-performance valvespring technology. Expected
to become the new standard in high-performance valvespring
design, these valvesprings utilize round wire and feature a diameter-
driven and progressive pitch-driven natural frequency. This design
increases the valvetrain rpm limit while reducing resonance concerns
and decreasing dynamic spring oscillations. The result is longer
spring life and the ability to run more aggressive camshafts.
The constantly decreasing diameter of the spring from bottom
to top reduces active mass, thereby decreasing applied dynamic
valvetrain forces. This translates into an increased life span for all interference contact. Superfnish surface processing adds even
valvetrain components. The design lowers horsepower losses and more to the lift capability and spring life without the extra mass of
nets more power as well. The conical design accomplishes damping increasing wire size. To get the complete info, contact Comp at (901)
without wear, heat, friction, or risks such as fat dampers from 795-2400 or visit compcams.com.
HOLLEY GEN 3 ULTRA

DOMINATOR
The original Dominator took is 516 inches taller than the previous
carburetion to another level in generation, which allows for larger
1969 when it was developed for radius air entries that have been optimized on
NASCAR racing. It has been refned Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software.
over the years and is now receiving Each Gen 3 Ultra Dominator received a new
its biggest change ever. Holley is calibration optimized for todays larger engines
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Dominator featuring an all-new main tested to ensure performance.
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bowls, and new larger sizes. They come in a variety polished fnish with Red or Black metering blocks or hard
of new sizes from 950 cfm, 1,350, 1,425, and all the way anodized Hard Core Gray main body with Black metering blocks. To
up to 1,475 cfm. They are also available in the standard 1,050, fnd out the technical details, call Holley at (866) 464-6553 or visit
1,150, and 1,250 cfm racers have come to expect. The main body holley.com.
HOLLEY ELECTRIC FUEL PUMPS

Sometimes the beneft of an electric fuel pump is just what you need,
but the application does not call for a giant race-style fuel pump. For the
daily driver or street cruiser, a moderate capacity pump is easier on the
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action, your carbureted street machine will no longer be plagued by dry
bowls and prolonged cranking after periods of non-use.
Holley is proud to introduce the all-new Holley Mighty Mite electric
fuel pumps. Theyre big on performance but small in size and price.
Theyre quiet, easy to install, and work with gas, diesel, blended alcohol,
and E85. They will support up to 400 hp on a carbureted engine. They
are self-priming and have a 12-inch dry lift capability for more fexible
mounting. They are proudly made in the USA, so its easy to see why
you should make Holley Mighty Mite pumps part of your project. To get
the inside information, check out holley.com or give them a call at
(866) 464-6553.
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UPFRONT
READERS LETTERS
Editors Note: We at Engine Masters strive to give you, our readers, the kind of engine tech that you really want to see. To keep us informed
on what you would like in these pages, we welcome any comments, praise, or criticism, just to let us know where we stand, and where we
might need to go. Keep the comments coming and let us know what you think. I will read every email at steve.dulcich@sorc.com.
2009 issue of Engine Masters, you tested wondering where you sourced the pushrods.
three camshafts on a 383 Mopar B engine. I feel that this cam would go very nice in
I liked the mild hydraulic roller so much, I my 69 Charger that I have owned for over
ordered one from Comp. The companys 45 years.
representative was not very helpful. When I I am also wondering if you have any
asked if it was a cast rather than a billet, he interest in vintage B engine heads. I have
said, Absolutely not. I spoke with one of acquired some NOS 1964 300K heads and
Comps representatives at last years SEMA some NOS 1967 440 heads 915 castings.
show and he indicated as you did in the The 1967s are the 1.60 exhaust pocket for
article that a cast cam was available. the Chrysler, easily opened up to 1.74. I
DIRECT CONNECTION I am using this cam in a 451 stroker bought them from a former Mopar rebuilder
I always chase down the latest Engine with 10:1 compression and 440 Source that had them since I left the parts business
Masters and really enjoy it. As a former aluminum heads. My previous camshaft in the early 1980s. They also had original
Mopar parts guy at one of the original had a lifter fail, requiring a teardown. The 273 short-blocks if anyone should want one.
Direct Connection dealers, I favor them. previous cam had less vacuum than I would Tony Gadis
The creativity in all the builds no matter like on a street engine. I am using stamped
what brand is refreshing. In the summer rockers and hydraulic roller lifters and was Tony, that sounds like a great driving
street combination. There is no way you
would remember me from those days, but
INDUSTRY NEWS you were my go-to parts guy at the old
Alhambra Dodge dealership in the late
FIRST LIST OF SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED FOR 25TH ANNUAL AETC 70s/early 80s! I didnt have the dough
to be a big customer, but you stood out
The frst lineup of speakers and topics as the counter guy who would dig up the
for the 2014 AETC has been announced. NS1 (code for discontinued from Chryslers
As always, the conference will feature a parts system) parts when no one was
variety of esteemed experts presenting restoring old muscle cars. You got me the
seminars on hot topics in the performance last OEM stripe kit to be found for a 71
industry. Charger R/T, as well as the last dashpad
The 25th Annual Advanced Engineering in Mopars warehouse inventory. The dash
Technology Conference is poised to be one is still on my car. Lots of other stuff, too. I
of the most memorable editions in its two- remember you to this day because of your
and-a-half-decade history. The foremost outstanding effort helping a young kid put
event of its kind, the silver anniversary Experts on topics including ignition, his hot car together. Back then, most dealer
version of AETC will bring together a wide engine building, tuning, and much more parts guys would look at you as some kind
variety of industry authorities with engine will host seminars on their particular areas of nut looking for obsolete parts for those
builders, shop owners, design engineers, of expertise. A total of nearly a dozen old heaps. Thanks, Tony.
parts manufacturers, media members, and speakers are expected to take part. The
more for two days of seminars and one- 2014 conference is slated for December ODDBALL STUFF
on-one interaction. 9-10 at the Indiana Convention Center in I keep meaning to write in and ask about
The speaker list is still being fnalized, Indianapolis, Indiana. As in previous years, getting some articles on oddball stuff and
but it already includes some of the it will take place just prior to the PRI Trade fnally remembered now after reading the
best-known names in the performance Show at the same venue. Registration letter in the fall issue from Greg Hammon.
world. On the list are Fred HusherCrane is now open, but space is limited to just Im into AMC V-8 and six-cylinder engines,
Ignition, Bill HancockArrow Racing 350 attendees. The $399.95 fee covers and also Pontiac OHC 6 cylinders. Id also
Engines, Chris BrownARP Fasteners, Joe both days of the conference, along with like to get into Iron Duke or Ford 2.3L four-
RogersXceldyne Technologies, Ioannis lunch, admission to the PRI Show, the cylinder engines. Maybe even the Ecotech
AndrianakisPlex Tuning, Larry Widmer opportunity to win thousands of dollars GM four-bangers.
ENDYN, Mark ChollettCometic Gasket, worth of giveaways, and irreplaceable It would be cool to see a few articles
Bob MorrealeThe Tuning School, and contacts. To register, visit aetconline.com based on engines like these. Even a couple
Mike GilesSuperFlow. or call (866) 893-2382. a year would keep me happy! The only
other thing I would love is to be able to get
Jeff, the thing about the less popular
engines is that by their nature there
are far fewer of them being built for
performance. We are up to our elbows in
mainstream performance engines, so that
is what we favor. Im going to
keep my eyes and ears tuned
for innovative builds featuring
uncommon engines.
SIXES AND FOURS

I just read Engine Masters Fall 2014 and I
agree very much with Greg (in the readers
letters).
There are tons of V-6 and I4 four-valve
engines that have been made with great
potential that are totally ignored by the
a subscription. Its really hard to fnd the mainstream. Please, lets do something
issues here in British Columbia, Canada, and differentI am so tired of reading about
its normally a month late. the same 40-year-old engine combo, I a variety of applications. Modern DOHC
I really like the all-out high-buck builds could scream. fours and V-6 engines defnitely have great
and the all-out low-buck builds, and I love L J Burton potential. If there is one drawback, it is
the innovation present in all your builds. a lack of aftermarket support for most,
Thanks for your time, and keep up the L J, Ive put together all kinds of hot fours tending to make them more expensive
great work! over the years, though almost all have been to build. Again, Ill keep an open mind to
Jeff Prins antiquated pushrod or SOHC engines for featuring these engines going forward.
READERS TECH Q&A:

PAN ADVICE
I enjoy your articles and the reasons Thanks for taking the time to read
behind them. One area that hasnt this. Again, I enjoy Engine Masters
been addressed much is oil pan and look at every nut and bolt
construction. We know the bathtub shown in the pictures. One last
style (deeper the better) works on thing, the double-sump Mustang
the dyno. What about the street? pan does not do much for me
Im working on a Factory Five trapped oil cant get to the pump.
Racing kit car and have to make Shirley Payne
choices on whether to go with more
oil pan or better air flter. Im using Shirley, there is no question that
and a 95 Ford 351W, stroked to oil control is an important aspect
408 ci, with Mustang convertible of both power and longevity. You
solid engine mounts that lower the are correct to deduce that the
engine. From the bottom of the full-length bathtub-style pans
block to the bottom of the frame is seen in some of the previous
approximately 712 inches. If this was Engine Masters Challenge events
a Chevy, there are lots of pans to choose from. are aimed at dyno duty. In fact, to make the oil pan selection
There is nothing from the front pulley to bellhousing to get in the more relevant to a real-world application, the rules were changed
way, just the pavement, speed bumps, and potholes. This is a street to specify a commercially available pan with a front, center, or
car that will be driven a lot, I hope. I have been collecting parts for rear sump.
approximately two years before getting the kit. The engine will get For your application, a road-race-style pan is the best choice.
RHS heads with 215cc ports and 2.08 intake valves, an Air-Gap These pans are designed to offer improved oil control whether
intake, a Comp EFI cam, No. 35-775-8, and a Scat stroker kit. The accelerating, braking, or cornering. They also feature a lower profle
drivetrain will include a T-5z transmission and 95 T-bird IRS rear with design than a deep-sump drag pan. Milodon offers a couple of
3:31 gears and a limited slip. catalog choices for your application, or you can have a custom pan
There are lots of good parts that need a good oil supply. I didnt built by a company such as Stefs.
want to put a so-so combination together just to be unhappy with Baffes, screens, trays, trapdoors, and similar features are all
the results. Back in the day, we would cut up one or two oil pans and there to help control the oil. The thing to remember is to take an
make some 8-10-quart pans that caught everything on the road. integrated approach. For instance, some pans are designed to work
Seems like my options are to fabricate a pan or pay 500-plus for with, and beneft from, a separate windage tray, while others are
some big-name oil pan. What is your viewfront versus rear sump, specifcally made to work without one. I would follow your chosen
and overall caps, screens, scrapers, slogs gates? manufacturers recommendation on what additional parts to use.
I still have a ways to go in assembling the cars sheetmetal and Finally, my preference is a rear sump where possible, since an engine
suspension. Im trying to pay as I go and not break the bank doing is typically most highly loaded during acceleration, and thats when
so. Getting the basic Cobra kit was a hit on my limited piggy bank. the oil is wanting to slush to the rear of the pan.

UPFRONT
MORE UNUSUAL ENGINES than other Chevys. Ive never seen a good
Yes to different stuffmaybe things like the comparison of the Z28 302 versus
2.5L Iron Duke, Ford Cosworth, a Jeep the Ford Boss 302. Maybe the 427
four-banger, or historical perspectives of Ford versus Ferarri of the mid-60s?
signifcant engines. Perhaps a retrospective They faced each other in competition
on the top-performing Chevy small-block from completely different angles. I
(whatever that is) and what makes it better really enjoyed an article about the frst
Reyer-Morrison big-block Chevy Camaros in

Pro-StockThe Rat That Roared, Elapsed
Times, Fall 2013. Great historical perspective
there! Im not too concerned about
real oddball stuff unless it is historically
signifcant for some reason.
Matt
Matt, I caught that article in Elapsed Times

and also enjoyed the historical perspective.
Like you, I also like the comparative articles
framed in a historically signifcant way. We
are developing just this kind of content for
future features in Engine Masters.
MUSCLE SHOOTOUT
Steve, I would love to see a Muscle
Challenge portion of EMC. Each year, choose
two Challenge Engines, say the 427 Ford
versus the 427 Chevy, and two teams for
each engine. The two teams can be chosen
by the previous years EMC contestants.
Limit bore and stroke modifcations to
+/- 0.060 inch, and the factory block and
heads. I think this would be an excellent and
compelling addition to EMC without diluting
the main competition!
Matt
Matt, you may be in luck with this one.

We are seriously considering this kind of
category of competition for an upcoming
Challenge, only broader.
in other types of
engines as well. I
would like to see
a regular section
on other engine
layouts, like V-10s,
V-6s, inline-sixes,
as well as boosted
engines. I would
even be interested
in seeing import
engine builds such
as Porsche V-8s
and Toyota V-8s, as lengths, port volumes, or cylinder head fow
these engines are fgures for the particular heads used in the
everywhere. Engine Masters article Revenge of the
Pete Kurc Wedge? Looking for real-world numbers...
if possible. Nope, Im not afraid of a few
Pete, we have aluminum chips or epoxy in the port.
had quite a bit Thanks, Steve, for wrestling any
of response information you can get.
on the idea of Clark Riddle
featuring non-
LAST ODD ONE mainstream builds. If our readers know Clark, it is best to go straight to the source
Just wanted to let you guys know that I about feature-worthy engines of this type for information as detailed as this. The
love the magazinejust wish it was thicker. going together, drop me a line at sdulcich@ cylinder heads you are referring to were on
Im not a professional engine builder, just enthusiastsnetwork.com. Jesse Robinsons Chrysler big-block Engine
a hobbyist who loves anything to do with Masters Challenge entry. Some of the
engines. I realize the focus of your magazine HEAD HUNTING modifcations may have been specialized
is normally aspirated V-8 engines, and I have not gotten my hands on a set of for the intended application and rather
American V-8s will always be my frst love. Procomp cylinder heads for the B/RB esoteric. You can contact Jesse at SKMFX
However, I have been recently interested engine yet. Would you happen to have port Racing Engines at (613) 525-5982.
BUILD
MOPAR
on a Budget
Building a Bolt-Together
Street 440
By Steve Dulcich
C
hryslers big-block wedge has always been a
staple of Mopar street performance for good rea-
son. As the engine with the biggest factory dis-
placement, the cubes are already there for ample
power production, and the rugged bottom-end components
are built to go the distance. Sure, we would all like a mon-
ster stroker engine combo flled with a catalog of aftermar-
ket parts, but a sweet street cruiser with plenty of punch is
as simple as building on what the factory delivered. For the
budget-minded Mopar fan, the 440 offers an abundance
of cheap power with a few basic upgrades to step up the
areas where the factory 440 is a little short.
Whats HotWhats Not

Looking at the plus side, as mentioned, the 440
has the size, and most also have a factory forged
crankshaft good for a reliable 6,500-plus rpm. All
Chrysler engines up to 1973 came with the 1053
carbon steel forged crank, but even the cast crank
found in post-1974 440s has proven brawny enough
to handle revs in the 6,000-rpm range. Thats good
enough for us. Next, we have the connecting rods, which
were forged steel in all Chrysler big-blocks. As with the
crank, a simple recon, inspection, and a set of bolts will
yield a set of rods capable of reliable service to the same
six-handle rpm range as the crankshafts. Although the most
powerful factory stock 440 engines produced a rated 390
gross horsepower, the OEM blocks can take power in the
600hp range and survive practically indefnitely at the
500-550hp level. Mopar built quite a bit of strength into
the bottom end of these engines.
All factory 440s came with cast-aluminum pistons, and
although the OEM units were surprisingly capable, the
compression ratio requires consideration. Even the early
high-performance 440 Magnum engines, rated at 10:1 com-
pression, actually fell short of that specifcation. Later 440s
suffered a signifcant drop in the compression height of the
pistons, resulting in abysmally low compression ratios. For-
tunately, these days affordable high-compression forged pis-
tons are readily available from a number of manufacturers.
We can pretty well throw out the pistons as a shortcoming,
since they are a replacement item in any real rebuild.
Up top, some of the factory combos defciencies start to
By keeping what we
could of the factory
components, our cash
outlay was very modest
for a performance-
minded build.

BUILD
MOPAR ON A BUDGET
Costs can be kept down by keeping machining to just the We went with the economical and reliable Clevite bearings
requirements. Our block received a cleaning and inspection, and for both the rods and mains. The Fel-Pro Viton upper rear seal
then the only machining operations involved were having the block was sealed into place with Hylomar sealant in preparation for
bored 0.030 inch and square-decked to zero-piston deck height. crankshaft installation.
If the Chrysler 440 has one weakness in the bottom end, its the The factory forged steel crankshaft is very durable, especially if
propensity for cap walk. Though at our expected power level this it has led a soft life loafng along in a large C-body. We ground
issue should not be a problem, we added a set of Milodon main the crank 0.010 and installed it with Clevite bearings using
studs as extra insurance. Milodon studs.
become apparent. Although the valve- by virtue of the materials better ther- of Imperial. In contrast, the high-
train offers excellent geometry and is mal characteristics and the elimination performance 440 did receive a larger
quite capable, the cylinder heads were of the outdated open chamber design of version of the Carter AVS carburetor,
marginal for an engine of the 440s the factory iron. which is a fairly capable piece in a
displacement. Even the best of the As with the cylinder heads, the milder performance application. But
standard big-block heads really deliv- induction system is a prime area for an tuning parts for these carbs have never
ered small-block-sized airfow. While effective upgrade. Unless we are deal- been very readily available, and the air-
extensive porting of the factory iron can ing with a factory Six Pack setup, the fow becomes a limiting factor when the
remedy this situation, the economics 440 was saddled with a marginal iron combination is substantially stepped up.
involved dictate that a replacement set two-plane manifold. Chrysler consis- Finally, we have the camshaft. With
of cylinder heads is the most practical tently used the same manifold across even the 440 Magnum cams specif-
upgrade. The upshot here is that a cylin- the board, so even if you have a factory cations of 213/225 duration at 0.050,
der head swap to aftermarket aluminum high-performance spec engine as a 0.450/0.458-inch lift, and a very wide
heads will support a higher compression starting point, the intake manifold is the 115-degree lobe separation, 440 cams
ratio, improving detonation tolerance exact same part ftted to a New Yorker were very conservative grinds. With
Probe fat-top forged pistons are a very
good value and very durable in a street/strip
application such as this. The fat-top pistons will
deliver 10.25:1 compression with our combo.
We went with the proven SpeedPro Plasma Moly ring set in a

fle-ft set for our 4.350-inch bores. The top ring gap was set to
0.018 inch, while the second was opened wider to 0.024 inch.
In spelling
out the 440s
strength and
weaknesses,
we basically
laid out our
entire build
plan.
Factory big-block rods are strong forgings and reliable in milder

performance applications to 6,500 rpm. The heavy-duty Six Pack
rod, left, features a heavier beam than the standard rod, however, With the intention of retaining the factory valvetrain, a hydraulic
most failures are at the fasteners. We had our standard rods fat-tappet cam was the only possible choice. The Comp XE285HL
resized and ftted with ARP bolts. is a Mopar-specifc grind with a very fast profle.

BUILD
MOPAR ON A BUDGET
To drive the cam, we did not need anything exotic, just a standard The front of the engine was closed with a stock timing cover, while
replacement-style double roller timing set. The stock bolt was the OEM damper was deemed serviceable and reused. A simple
replaced with a slightly longer grade 8 replacement bolt and was tool made from 5/8 UNF bar stock easily draws the damper onto
installed using blue Loctite. Be sure the fastener does not bottom the crank nose.
in the cam nose and use the factory-style oversize retaining
washer.
Our timing set did not come with

provisions for altering the cam timing,
using a single pin location and keyway.
The cam checked right at 106 degrees
intake centerline, so no adjustment was
necessary. The cam gear can be drilled for Downstairs, we clean and reinstalled the stock pick-up tube and added a factory windage
a pin bushing, if cam timing adjustment is tray. The tray simply sandwiches between the pan rail and pan but requires an extra pan
required. gasket for installation.
todays camshaft technology offering Power It Up hard parts as the high-performance

much more aggressive rates of accelera- In spelling out the 440s strength and version. The blocks, cranks, and rods
tion and velocity, there is plenty weaknesses, we basically laid out our in most engines were the same across
of room for improvement here, even entire build plan. The cost effectiveness the board. Exceptions here that matter
when sticking to a hydraulic fat tappet. comes from modifying the areas where include the heavier duty wide beam
Large power gains are possible here the factory combination falls short, Six Pack rods used in 1970 and later
without going wild and seriously com- while retaining the components that will high-performance 440 engines, and the
promising street driveability and vac- serve well in a basic street performance factory windage tray and large capacity
uum. A modern aftermarket hydraulic combination. Our build starts with a oil pan exclusive to these performance
fat-tappet cam is a very cost-effective factory 70 440 as a core. This was not engines. The other items where there
upgrade, and the additional lift potential a muscle car engine originally, but just was a difference in specifcation involve
will work to perfectly complement a standard 440 out of a C-body. While parts that are going to be replaced in
the improved high-lift fow of a set the HP stamping on the engines data the course of a normal rebuild, such
of aftermarket cylinder heads for pad may be a point of pride to some, as the pistons, timing set, cam, and
improved output. the standard 440 used most of the same valvesprings.
Holding the oil is a factory high-performance 6-quart pan. This Oil is circulated via a Melling high-volume oil pump. While even a
pan features oil control baffes and has more capacity than the stock oil pump will deliver the required oil pressure at higher rpm,
standard unit. with bearing clearances to the loose side of specs, the pressure at
hot idle may become embarrassingly low. With the external pump
location, peak pressure can easily be adjusted by altering the relief
valvespring.
A set of Edelbrock RPM cylinder heads is a major upgrade in airfow and come complete, ready to bolt on.
The many advantages of these new heads make it a practical upgrade compared to factory iron.
The factory Mopar valvetrain is a shaft-mounted non-adjustable

stamped steel arrangement. Although it seems inadequate, the
rockers are very light and have good high-rpm capabilities
Even the best of the

standard big-block heads
The heads were bolted on with a set of Fel-Pro 1009 gaskets
and ARP bolts, and then the valvetrain was installed including
really delivered small-
Comp 822-16 lifters and 7412-16 Magnum pushrods. The tubular
pushrods are considerably lighter than the solid steel stockers. block-sized airfow.
BUILD
MOPAR ON A BUDGET
With top-end power in mind, we went with Edelbrocks single-plane Hooker Comp headers were bolted on to handle the exhaust. These
Victor intake manifold. The long-runner Victor offers good lower headers feature 178-inch primary tubes and 3-inch collectors, just
end torque for a single plane, but a two-plane Performer RPM about the ideal size for an engine in the 500-550hp bracket.
would be the best choice in a milder street application.
Our 440 was topped with a 975 Race Demon carb, again emphasizing top-end We equipped our 440 with a beltdrive
performance. The big Demon featured annular boosters to help response lower in and OEM-style mechanical water pump.
the rev range. An electric pump would have shown a
bigger peak power number by reducing
parasitic losses.
Boiled down, our 440 received the favored by many Mopar engine build- Up top, the airfow improvement
basic machining operations, including ers for their lighter weight and factory came with simply opening the box on a
cleaning and inspection, a 0.030-inch internal balance. The OEM steel crank set of Edelbrock Performer RPM heads.
overbore and hone, and a decking to a was cleaned up with a 0.010-inch The heads certainly stepped up the fow,
zero piston deck height. The only real regrind on the rods and mains and with a rated peak intake fow of 292
upgrade to the bottom end was sub- installed with a set of replacement cfm, in contrast to fow in the low-200-
stituting a set of forged Probe fat-top Mahle Clevite bearings. We used a set cfm range for a set of stock castings.
pistons for the cast stockers and ftting of Milodon studs to improve the clamp- Besides eliminating the cost and time
the factory connecting rods with a set ing with the factory main caps, a simple involved in rebuilding the factory heads,
of ARP bolts. Our rods are the standard and cost-effective upgrade. SpeedPro the Edelbrocks come equipped with a
LY rods rather than the beefer Six fle-ft Plasma Moly rings seal the pis- fresh set of high-performance springs
Pack units, but the standard rod was tons to the bores. Although there are with all-new hardware and larger-than-
well proven as up to the task in pre-70 cheaper rings, the wear resistance and stock 2.14/1.81-inch valves. A further
high-performance engines, and when durability of the moly rings make them upshot is that these heads can handle
the stock rods are retained, they are well worth the added cost. considerably more valve lift without
retainer-to-guide clearance issues, and SPECIFICATIONS: 446CI MOPAR
come equipped with positive-style valve BORE 4.350 INCHES
stem seals for improved oil control.
We also went with an Edelbrock STROKE 3.750 INCHES
component for the intake, opting for CID 446 CI
the tall single-plane Victor manifold. BLOCK FACTORY 1970 CHRYSLER 440
While a Performer RPM two-plane COMPRESSION RATIO 10.25:1
manifold is generally a better choice for
ENGINE FASTENERS MILODON MAIN STUDS
a street cruiser, our 440 was going to be
more of a street brawler, destined for a CRANKSHAFT STOCK FORGED
Plymouth Duster with deep gears and CAMSHAFT COMP XE285HL
a stall speed approaching 4,000 rpm. TIMING CHAIN COMP
Here, the torque advantage of the RPM
LIFTERS COMP HYD. FLAT TAPPET
would be mostly lost, while the top-end
advantage of the single plane will be PUSHRODS COMP 516-INCH 0.080 WALL
welcome. To top the intake, we again SPRING EDELBROCK
went large, going with a 975-cfm Race INSTALLED HEIGHT 1.850 INCHES
Demon RS carb. Like the intake mani-
RETAINER EDELBROCK
fold, the carb favors top-end power in
keeping with the intended application. INTAKE DURATION 241 DEGREES @ 0.050
The fnal item on the hit list was the INTAKE LIFT 0.545 INCH
camshaft. We wanted to use a cam that EXHAUST DURATION 247 DEGREES @ 0.050
takes advantage of the more radical pro- EXHAUST LIFT 0.545 INCH
fle possible with the Mopar engines
large 0.904-inch-diameter lifters. Comp ROCKER STOCK 1.5:1
offers a line of high-performance cams LOBE SEPARATION 110 DEGREES
ground to Mopar-specifc specifca- INSTALLED CENTERLINE 106 DEGREES
tions, and you might notice the lift for TOP RING SPEEDPRO MOLY 1/16
any given duration number is higher
TOP RING GAP 0.018
than their standard cam offerings. This
is because the maximum velocity of a SECOND RING SPEEDPRO 1/16
fat-tappet cam is limited by the tappet SECOND RING GAP 0.024 INCH
diameter. With a large factory lifter, OIL RING SPEEDPRO 3/16 STANDARD TENSION
cam designers can take advantage of
PISTON PROBE FORGED
the more aggressive cam profles pos-
sible with Mopar-specifc cams. Our MAIN FASTENERS MILODON
stick is a Comp Xtreme Energy High RODS STOCK FORGED LY
Lift hydraulic fat tappet, with specifca- BEARINGS CLEVITE
tions of 285/297 degrees gross duration, MAIN BEARING CLEARANCE 0.0025
241/247 duration at 0.050 inch, and
0.545/0.545-inch lift. Admittedly, this ROD BEARING CLEARANCE 0.003
is a big cam that will defnitely make CYLINDER HEAD EDELBROCK PERFORMER RPM
its presence known with that boulevard PEAK INTAKE FLOW 292 CFM
lope that echoes horsepower. Comp also PEAK EXHAUST FLOW 223 CFM
offers Mopar-specifc hydraulic fat-tap-
pet cams with more conservative speci- INTAKE VALVE DIAMETER 2.14 INCHES
fcation that would be more appropriate EXHAUST VALVE DIAMETER 1.81 INCHES
for milder street-orientated builds. CYLINDER HEAD GASKETS FEL-PRO 0.040-INCH COMPRESSED
Finally, we had the valvetrain to PISTON QUENCH CLEARANCE 0.040
contemplate. We had a set of factory
INTAKE MANIFOLD EDELBROCK SUPER VICTOR
stamped steel rockers from our core
engine in very good condition and a CARBURETOR RACE DEMON RS
hydraulic fat-tappet cam stabbed in the HEADER HOOKER 178 COMP
engine. While a solid cam would force IGNITION MSD DIGITAL 7
an upgrade to a set of adjustable rockers
DISTRIBUTOR MSD BILLET
to replace the non-adjustable stocker,
the hydraulic can work with the factory SPARK PLUG WIRES MSD
rockers. Though the OEM rockers are DAMPER OEM
anything but attractive or high tech, WATER PUMP MILODON
they are extremely light and surpris- OIL PAN OEM 6-QUART
ingly durable. We were a little over the
edge as far as the valve lift at which we OIL PUMP MELLING HV

BUILD
MOPAR ON A BUDGET
would consider the stock rockers 100 500hp mark, a level that is more than ON THE DYNO
percent reliable, but many years of dyno enough to move our lightweight Duster 440 CHRYSLER BIG-BLOCK
testing big-block Mopars show that in a hurry. Upon fring the engine for
RPM TORQUE HORSEPOWER
they are effective and rpm exceptionally adjustment and break-in, the gener-
well. With the moderate spring load of ous camshaft specifcation made itself 3,600 527 361
the Edlebrock valvesprings, we decided known with a defnite idle lope and just 3,700 525 370
to run them. We just cleaned up the under 8 inches hg of vacuum. With the 3,800 526 381
rockers and bolted them on. timing set to a conservative 36 degrees, 3,900 528 392
we went into the power pulls and found 4,000 533 406
Runnin for Numbers the combination easily pulled past our
4,100 534 416
Our 440 was essentially a mild rebuild 500hp target, with a peak of 537 hp
with selected upgrades of the heads, coming in at 57-5,800 rpm. That is 4,200 535 428
cam, compression, and induction. By substantial power at an rpm range that 4,300 537 440
keeping what we could of the factory the engine can survive at for a very 4,400 538 451
components, our cash outlay was very long time. 4,500 538 461
modest for a performance-minded Looking at the torque, the numbers 4,600 538 471
build. To quantify what such an engine were also impressive, especially con-
4,700 535 479
is capable of, we trucked the fresh bul- sidering the substantial cam timing and
let to Westech Performance Group for a the large single-plane intake manifold. 4,800 532 486
ride on the companys SuperFlow 902 At the lowest recorded rpm point, the 4,900 530 494
engine dyno. Packed along with the engine was well over 500 lb-ft, reading 5,000 527 501
engine was a set of Hooker Comp series 527 lb-ft at just 3,600 rpm. That is sure 5,100 524 509
178-inch headers and an MSD distribu- to be a powerful hit with a loose drag- 5,200 521 516
tor. We would also be using the MSD style torque converter. At peak, we had
5,300 518 523
ignition box and coil that is part of the 538 lb-ft, spanning from 4,400-4,600
dyno facility to generate the spark. Up rpm, showing a relatively fat torque 5,400 513 527
front, we had a stock iron water pump curve through most of the powerband. 5,500 508 532
housing and a beltdriven stock replace- Power numbers like these from such 5,600 502 535
ment water pump. As a nod to vintage an unassuming combination just go 5,700 495 537
style, we bolted on a set of our favorite to prove what Mopar enthusiasts have 5,800 487 537
old Mickey Thompson valve covers and known for yearsfor power on a real-
5,900 477 535
were ready to run. world budget, the Chrysler 440 delivers
Our goal was power cresting the the goods. EM 6,000 467 533
SOURCES:
ARP
(805) 278-7223
arp-bolts.com
COMP CAMS
(901) 795-2400
compcams.com
EDELBROCK
(310) 781-2222
edelbrock.com
FEDERAL MOGUL
SPEEDPRO/FEL-PRO
federalmogul.com
HOLLEY/WEIAND/HOOKER
(270) 781-9741
holley.com
MAHLE/CLEVITE
mahleclevite.com
MILODON INC.
(805) 577-5950
milodon.com
MSD
(915) 857-3344
msdignition.com
PROBE RACING
(310) 784-2977
On the dyno, our 440 responded with power that you would not expect from such a simple probeindustries.com
build. Horsepower peaked at 537 at 57-5,800 rpm, while plenty of torque was on hand,
recording 538 lb-ft from 44-4,600 rpm.
MANUALMATIC removes wasted operator motion
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MANUALMATIC
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machining with Touch Screen buttons that mirror manual guide concentricity in the industry.
operation. The SG9MTS can be learned quickly even if operators Precision Carbide UNIPILOT Tooling,
have little computer experience. MANUALMATIC combines supported on our balanced air oat
Workhead, oat/clamp, guide centering & spindle power into one Workhead, provides precision centering in the valve guide.
automated operation.
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centers the spindle for fast & accurate locating of the pilot
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POWERED BY variance.
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www.rottlermfg.com Kent, WA 98032 USA
www.youtube.com/rottlermfg
+1 253 872 7050
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contact@rottlermfg.com
THE CUTTING EDGE 1-800-452-0534
BUILD
FEROCIOUS
FORD FE
711 Street Horsepower From Fords
Classic Big-Block
By Steve Dulcich Photos by Robert McGaffn and Johnny Hunkins
W
hile Fords Total Performance approach to motorsports defned the
companys racing successes in the 1960s, the FE big-block engine
series defned success by being the Total Everything engine. Intro-
duced in 1958, the FE was an integral part of Fords performance
effort during this era, serving as the powerplant for legendary racing packages rang-
ing from the lightweight Galaxy drag package cars and later Fairlane Thunderbolts,
to sports cars such as the iconic Shelby Cobras and the GT40. In its long production
run up until 1978 in heavy-duty FT truck engine form, variations included everything
from the rare and exotic Tunnel Port and SOHC race engines, to standard passenger
car and light truck engines and a wide range of industrial, marine, and medium truck
applications. The versatile FEs history literally includes everything from the worlds
most successful sports racing cars to municipal garbage trucks.
Barry Rabotnicks Survival Motorsports is a company that is dedicated to keeping
FE performance alive and well through specialty engine building and parts develop-
ment. A major step toward that goal was the recent introduction of an all-new alumi-
num cylinder head casting from Survival. Aided by years of experience with the FE
architecture, the new cylinder head is designed as a direct replacement for a factory
cylinder head in the common Medium Riser layout. As a longtime competitor in
our annual AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge engine building competition, Barry
saw the 2013 Challenge as an ideal venue to debut these new heads and show the
world what they can do.
Bottom-End Beef
When it comes to performance FE blocks, the largest bore version was the cov-
eted 427 with a factory bore size of 4.23 inches. These low-production blocks are
extremely diffcult to come by today, making the smaller bore 360/390 or 428 the
staple of production-based builds. Needless to say, for a serious FE build, OEM
block choices are limited. Barry opted to go with an aftermarket block from Genesis,
for its many advantages. Genesis as a company no longer exists, he says. The guy
who did the original design of the block has restarted the company under the name
of Side Oiler Garage. The new block has many of the same features. The aftermarket
blocks allow a much larger bore than any of the factory blocks did. The factory 427
blocks were very thin walled, and once you get up to 0.030 to 0.040 inch overbore,
they become very marginal. The Genesis block or the Side Oiler Garage blocks
allow a bore up to 4.400, though I have never gone that far. We regularly go to 4.350
or 4.375 inches, as compared to the factory 4.230 inches, so we are more than 0.100
inch larger on bore than the factory blocks.
Barry continued, The factory Ford blocks were cross-bolted mains, as are the
aftermarket blocks, but unlike the factory setup that used spacers between the caps
and side of the block, the new block sizes the main cap to precisely bridge the crank-
case. The main caps are billet steel rather than cast iron as used in production. These

BUILD
FEROCIOUS FORD FE
blocks are a side oiler design in terms of oiling, but it is a bit

of a hybrid as it still has oiling to the lifter gallery to allow
hydraulic lifters. A lot of the factory 427 blocks up until about
1968 were solid lifter only, with no lifter oiling. My particular
block is a Genesis block, but it is one of only two that were
cast with a short deck. It has a 9.900-inch deck instead of the
normal FE 10.170-inch. The reason we used it in this case was
because I had it, but there are certain advantages. When you
shorten the deck, you narrow the width between the banks,
and it takes weight out of the assembly. It allows you to run a
shorter and lighter piston with a given stroke; it makes every-
thing shorter and lighter.
Filling the block was an unusual combination of parts,
designed to greatly reduce the weight of the internal assem-
bly. As Barry details, I was trying to reuse parts that I had
available, and that included the crank and connecting rods. Looking into the crankcase of the Survival FE Ford, the sheer beef
The crank started out as a 391 FT truck crankshaft out of of the Genesis block eclipses the strength of any production FE
block. The billet main caps of the aftermarket side oiler block are
something like a dump truck or a heavy-duty truck. The nor- precision-ft wall to wall, in contrast to the production cast caps
mal FE crank has a much smaller snout than the FT, so I had ftted to the block with spacers.
Adney Brown from Performance Crankshaft reduce the snout
diameter to FE specs. He re-machined the fywheel side and
removed a ton of weight from the counterweights, as these
cranks are very heavy. If you do not take a lot of material out
of it, the crank will be very diffcult and expensive to balance.
The crank was machined to the small journal small-block
Chevy 2.00-inch rod journal diameter. This reduces bearing
speed and friction, and the other thing it does is it makes the
parts lighter. A standard FE rod journal is 2.438 inches, so we
are nearly a half inch smaller in diameter. That makes the bot-
tom end of the rod much smaller, so there is a ton of weight
taken out of the assembly. The rods are H-beam Carrillo units
at 6.700 inches in length, whereas the standard FE is 6.490
inches, so we have a much lighter and longer rod. The long
rod allows us a shorter and lighter piston, so we again take
quite a bit of weight out of the internals.
The block was bored to 4.350 inches, and the cylinders The crankshaft is actually a forged production FT (Ford Truck)
were flled with custom forged pistons from Diamond, made unit, coming from a big, gasoline-powered Ford 391 truck engine.
to Barrys specs. The primary design criterion for the pistons The crank was heavily modifed by Performance Crankshafts, with
extensive work on the counterweights, a massive reduction in rod
was to meet the compression ratio and piston ring rules of the journal diameter to 2.000 inches, and a reduction of the snout
Engine Masters competition, and we built the pistons around diameter to ft the lighter-duty FE.
those. The pistons are a spherical dish to give us the compres-
AMSOIL
sion ratio we needed at 11.4:1, and the valve pockets are spe- 20w-50
cifc to the angle and the location of the cylinder heads. There synthetic
is a skirt coating applied to the piston, and the ring package is motor oil is
pushed through
0.043/0.043/3 mm. The rings were supplied with the pistons the engine
by Diamond and manufactured by Total Seal. The ring set via a stock
uses ductile iron plasma moly top rings and cast-iron second replacement
Melling oil
pump. The
The versatile FEs pickup tube is

an OEM Ford
big truck piece,
history literally includes which works
with a stock
pan.
everything from the
worlds most successful
sports racing cars to
municipal garbage
trucks.
To top the engine, Survivals new cylinder
head was the star attraction. These heads
are designed to the common medium riser
confguration to take all of the readily
available aftermarket parts but fow a
massive 369 cfm in CNC-ported form.
Holding the oil is an OEM full-length pan, commonly

found on Ford F, LN, or C series trucks used in industry.
Barry Rabotnick of Survival Motorsports tells us on
the dyno the deeply skirted FE block does not show a
signifcant gain with a high-performance oil pan.
Pistons are custom units from Diamond cut for a 4.350-inch bore While the Survival Motorsports heads are direct bolt-on
size specifcally for the new Survival Motorsports cylinder heads. replacement pieces, the ports and chambers are state of the art
The Carrillo H-beam rods feature 2.000-inch rod journals to match within the conventional architecture. Chambers measure 76 cc in
the crank and measure 6.700 inches. SpeedPro bearings and Total the as-cast heads.
Seal rings complete the package.
The Genesis block is heavily reinforced in the lifter valley, with The valves were manufactured by Ferrea, with a large-diameter
webs cast in to tie the banks into a solid structure. Note the 2.250-inch intake valve and an exhaust diameter of 1.71. The
standpipes in the center drain back positions to force the oil valvetrain consists of Morel hydraulic roller lifters, 0.135-inch
return to the blocks forward and rear extremities. wall Trend pushrods, PAC springs and retainers, and T&D shaft-
mounted rockers.

BUILD
FEROCIOUS FORD FE
rings. The pistons feature lateral gas ports to the top ring and
are run with a tight vertical clearance of under 0.001 inch. We
back-cut the rings to reduce friction, so it is a very light ten-
sion package.
With the superior side oiler lubrication circuit, this 7,000-
rpm FE is remarkably simple in terms of its lubrication
system. Barry tells us, In my experience, the FEwith its
deeply skirted blockdoes not respond well to wild oil pans
and things like that, especially on the dyno. The pan I used
is out of a factory 391 FT factory medium truck application,
as is the oil pump pickup. It has a standard volume oil pump,
and there seems to be a small power advantage to the standard
pump. The pump is just a detailed and blueprinted Melling
replacement pump. There isnt a lot of oil pressure in the
motor, and looking at the dyno sheet, even at 7,000 rpm, the
pressure recorded was 52 psiand the bearings look great.
The bearings are Federal-Mogul Speed-Pro race bearings, A key to making the most of the engine combination was
with a coating on the rod bearings only. Clearances were set achieving suffcient valve lift to tap into the potential of the
cylinder heads, while maintaining reliability and stability. The
to 0.0025 inch on the mains and 0.0023 inch on the rods. high-ratio 1.9:1 T&D shaft rockers do the job.
Barry did take steps to control windage by reducing the
amount of oil spilling onto the rotating assembly. One of the
things we did is to try and control oil drain back. I did want to
control the oil draining back onto the crankshaft, so I installed
standpipes through the middle where it normally drains back
and forced the oil to drain only at the front and back.
Powering Up
The bottom end package provided a bulletproof combination
with a lightweight internal package that would be at home
making high-rpm power. The challenge was to get the most
out of this foundation with a capable power formula featuring
the cylinder heads, induction, and camshaft. You can pretty
much forget about digging up a factory tunnel port top end to
feed one of these beasts today. Taking center stage here would
be the new cylinder heads from Survival. Barry flled us in
on what his goals were in developing this new casting, The
original design parameter of the heads was to have something
that would sit within the envelope of existing parts, such as the
intake manifolds and exhaust. This fxed the port locations and Passing the airfow to the heads is a Blue Thunder dual-plane
manifold with provisions for port injection. Barry tells us the
their general sizes. We came up with a cylinder head casting dual planes long runners provide a torque advantage.
that externally looks relatively similar to other FE heads on
the marketplace, but internally is very different.
The heads have a much more modern heart-shaped com- CNC version of the head, which achieves an intake port fow
bustion chamber and radically modifed intake and exhaust of 369 cfm at 0.700 inch lift. It is a really good cylinder head
ports in terms of the contour, shape, and layout. With many for the traditional FE footprint. This head is compatible with
of these heads already out in the marketplace, the next logi- readily available, commercially available intake manifolds
cal step for development was to see what we could do from and headers.
a porting perspective. As-cast with just a valve job and bowl The heads, as installed on this particular engine, took mod-
blend, the intake port goes 288 to 289 cfm at 0.600 inch lift. ifcation to a higher level as Barry relates, As-cast, the cham-
We also developed a CNC program for the head. Once we ber volume is 76 cc. We angle-milled the heads, which means
refned the port and got what we wanted, we developed the we took over 0.100 inch off of one side, bringing the chamber
volume down to 68 cc. The stock FE has a 13-degree valve
angle, and after angle milling, this was reduced to 12 degrees.
You can pretty much When we angle-milled it, the other thing we did was move
the head on the block by 0.050 inch toward the centerline of
forget about digging up the block. This is almost a result of the angle mill, since it
moves the head boltholes at the bottom, while at the top it is
a factory tunnel-port top pretty much at the stock location, requiring just a spot facing.
The upside is it moves the valve face farther from the cylinder
end to feed one of these wall, improving the airfow into the cylinder.
Of course, with the low-deck block and the repositioned
beasts today. and angle milled cylinder heads, ftting the manifold becomes
The intake manifold was the subject of a lot of modifcations, with Barry favors EFI for its quick and accurate tuning ability. His
extensive porting, conversion to EFI, and ftment to the unique system of choice is the FAST engine control, which handled all
engine combination requiring skilled custom work. of the fuel and spark management. A modifed MSD distributor
provided the cam sync, with an MSD crank trigger calling the time
and MSDs Digital 7 and coil generating the spark.
The headers are a stepped primary setup with a Tri-Y confguration Up front, the powerful FE was treated to an ATI Superdamper,
at the collector. This layout produced a broader power curve than a topped with the crank trigger arrangement, while a Meziere water
typical four-into-one design. Barry tells us the collector length had pump circulates the coolant.
a dramatic effect on the engines power curve.
a project in itself, The manifold is a Blue Thunder intake carbureted induction. With the EFI, there are two things that
that has been radically modifed. In order to use it with the go into it. One is the ability to quantify the fuel changes and
moved cylinder heads and the short deck block, we had to mill mixture changes by looking at the data. This allows me to
a ton off the face of the manifold both in terms of angle and add or remove fuel or spark at any point in the curve and do it
width. To illustrate how much things moved from the original fairly easily. Next, there is a tuning advantage there in terms of
arrangement, the manifold mounting boltholes are slotted by speed of tuning and fexibility of tuning. I have a lot of famil-
about inch. If you look at it, you will see the fasteners are in iarity with the FAST system, and I think it works extremely
a way different location than the original mounting bolts were. well. We are using the XFI 2.0 and it is very reliable and very
Between milling and slotting the boltholes, we were able fexible. The throttle body is an Accufab 1,200-cfm piece
to get the manifold to nest down on this package, but it was with a 4150 fange, while the injectors are 65-lb/hr units. My
not easy. There was not a machined surface on the manifold machinist Willie Blair made the rails and hold-downs.
that didnt require work. We also had to radically modify the Making up the ignition side of the EFI system was a simple
pushrod holes, where the pushrods travel through the intake but effective application of conventional ignition parts tied
manifoldsomething that is unique on the FE. We even had into the FAST EFI system. Here, Barry applied a modifed dis-
to modify the valve cover mounting holes. The dual-plane tributor along with an MSD crank trigger and ignition. The
manifold may seem like an unusual choice in an EFI applica- distributor is a normal MSD billet distributor, No. 8594. What
tion, but the dual plane has long runners, which helps with we did was remove seven of the teeth from the reluctor and
torque, and a dual plane just has a functional advantage there. then used the remaining tooth in the reluctor as the cam sync.
Compete control of the engines running parameters was Down below on the damper we used the MSD crank trig-
Barrys motivation for selecting an EFI system over a simpler ger and these trigger the FAST box. The ignition is the MSD

BUILD
FEROCIOUS FORD FE
VITAL SPECS
433 FORD FE
BORE 4.350 INCHES
STROKE 3.640 INCHES
DISPLACEMENT 433 CI
COMPRESSION RATIO 11.4:1
CUSTOM COMP HYDRAULIC
CAMSHAFT
ROLLER
VALVE LIFT 0.713/0.724 INCH
ROCKER AND RATIO T&D 1.9:1
PISTON RINGS TOTAL SEAL 0.043 INCH
PISTON DIAMOND FORGED
BLOCK GENESIS LOW DECK
CRANKSHAFT PERFORMANCE CRANKSHAFT
RODS CP CARRILLO 6.700 INCHES
An array of MSD ignition components lights the fre, with a Digital
SURVIVAL MOTORSPORTS 7 box providing the control and an HVC coil generating the spark.
CYLINDER HEAD
CNC
INTAKE VALVE DIAMETER 2.250 INCHES angle, making the best power curve installed at 104 degrees.
EXHAUST VALVE DIAMETER 1.710 INCHES We used Morel hydraulic roller lifters; Morel makes very
INTAKE MANIFOLD BLUE THUNDER DUAL PLANE
good hydraulic lifters. The adjustment was special to improve
the valvetrain stability at high rpmthe lifters were set to
THROTTLE BODY ACCUFAB
within 0.010 from the bottom of the hydraulic plunger travel.
SURVIVAL MOTORSPORTS Even though it was a hydraulic lifter, we ran it more like a
HEADER
FABRICATED solid and it gave us an rpm advantage and helped valvetrain
ENGINE MANAGEMENT FAST control. The springs are from PAC, and they were 255 pounds
DAMPER ATI at the seat; this is a solid roller spring. The pushrods come
OIL PAN OEM FORD TRUCK from Trend and are 38 inch; there was just no room to go any
bigger on the pushrod diameter, but they are 0.135 inch wall,
FUEL VP 100 UNLEADED
which helps stiffness. The rockers are T&D, and in order to
OIL AMSOIL 20W50 mount the bedplate, the tops of the heads need to be machined.
The 1.9:1 ratio is about as much as I could go without running
Digital 7, but we handled the ignition timing functions via the into clearance problems, but the high ratio gives 0.713/0.724
FAST system. inch lift at the valves.
On the other side of the cylinder heads, a set of custom
headers was fabricated to handle the exhaust. The headers Dyno Time
were made to serve as dyno headers for my shop and also be Qualifying at the AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge gave
competitive at the AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge. They Barry and the Survival Motorsports 433-cube FE a chance to
have a single step in them, starting with a 1-inch primary show their capabilities. FE engines, even in the racing form of
and going to 2-inch. We ran them with a 4-2-1 Tri-Y style yesterday, were not known as beasts of high-rpm performance.
collector. We have tried multiple collectors on them, and this With a 7,000-rpm requirement in competition, the Survival FE
seems to be the best compromise for the all-around power had a decided advantage with its reduced rod journal diameter
curve over the full-rpm range. We have tried four-into-one col- and lightweight internals. No, this was not exotica such as
lectors and varying the primary pipe length, but the collector a tunnel port, nor an SOHC, but just a good, basic FE with
length seemed to be the more critical factor. cylinder heads that take advantage of modern technology and
Camshaft selection was the fnal factor, and here the belie their humble standard FE layout. The dirty little secret
engine was limited to a hydraulic roller profle by the here is that these modest CNC medium riser heads actually
AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge rules. With the outstand- substantially outfow the legendary tunnel ports.
ing high-lift fow potential of Survivals new cylinder heads, The proof came with the wail of the engine against
making the most of the combination required plenty of lift, the SuperFlow Powermark dyno at our test facility at the
while too much duration would crimp the all-important University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH). Absent here
torque production. Barry experimented with various duration were monster 500-plus cubes, solid roller race cams, and
cams from Competition Cams, relying on a high rocker hard-squeezing race-gas compression ratios. When the handle
ratio to deliver the desired valve opening. We ran a couple was pulled, Survivals mighty FE proved its worth with 711
of different camshafts in the motor in testing. We had a hp recorded at 6,600 rpm, while 612 lb-ft of torque came
smaller cam with a 0.050-inch number in the mid-230s, through at 5,500 rpm. With power like this, the Ford FE
and it actually had an incrementally higher score. The larger enigma lives on. Is it a truck motor? Is it a passenger car
cam that we used in competition produced higher top end powerplant? Or could it be the motivation behind the exotic
and more peak horsepower. This cam had a duration of sports cars that legends are built upon? The glory of the FE
244/250 degrees at 0.050 inch and a 108 lobe-separation is that it is all of these. EM
ON THE DYNO
433-CID FORD FE BIG-BLOCK
SURVIVAL MOTORSPORTS
RPM TQ HP
3,000 470.5 268.7
3,100 471.4 278.3
3,200 478.8 291.7
3,300 492.2 309.3
3,400 506 327.5
3,500 515.5 343.5
3,600 519.2 355.9
3,700 521 367
3,800 525.6 380.3
3,900 532.2 395.2
4,000 535.6 407.9
4,100 537.2 419.4
4,200 543.2 434.4
4,300 553.9 453.5
4,400 563.6 472.1
4,500 571.9 490
4,600 579.4 507.5
4,700 585.8 524.3
4,800 593.1 542.1
On the dyno at the 2013 AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge, Survival Motorsports amazing 4,900 598.9 558.7
FE Ford big-block delivered remarkable power, recording 711 hp and 612 lb-ft of torque. 5,000 603.9 574.9
5,100 608.1 590.5
The dirty little secret here is that 5,200

5,300
610.1
611.4
604
617
these modest CNC medium riser 5,400 611.3 628.5
5,500 611.6 640.4
heads actually substantially out- 5,600 611.2 651.7
fow the legendary tunnel ports. 5,700

5,800
609.5
607.2
661.5
670.6
5,900 604.2 678.7
6,000 601.4 687
At the 2013 AMSOIL Engine Masters 6,100 597.6 694
Challenge, Survivals team leader Barry
Rabotnick (left) and crewmate Tim Young
6,200 593.1 700.2
proved the power possibilities readily at 6,300 587.7 704.9
hand when modern technology is applied
to Fords classic FE big-block. 6,400 581.7 708.8
6,500 573.5 709.8
6,600 565.6 710.8
6,700 555.1 708.1
6,800 543.9 704.2
6,900 532.5 699.5
7,000 525 699.8
SOURCES:
AMSOIL
amsoil.com
SURVIVAL MOTORSPORTS
(248) 931-0358
survivalmotorsports.com
VP RACING FUELS
vpracingfuels.com

BUILD
POWER
UNIT
Building 996
Normally
Aspirated
Horsepower
From a
Conventional
Chevy Big-Block
By Steve Dulcich
C
hevys big-block engine
design is not without its
faults, but undeniably its
inherent strength and versatil-
ity have made it a favorite when making
power is the goal. In fact, when large
quantities of normally aspirated power
are the goal, the Chevy big-block is the
go-to engine. The evolution here traces
back from the performance muscle cars
of the 1960s, and then on to dragstrips
where the development took a parabolic
path through the ranks of Pro Stock.
Originally, these engines were produc-
tion based, but as the groundswell grew,
aftermarket development took things to
the next level. The natural progression
in pro drag racing eventually ironed out
the original design shortcomings, with
totally revised Pro-Stock-style heads
and the accompanying parts to support
staggering power and rpm levels.
So where does all this background
leave the performance enthusiast
today? When it comes to building big
power using bulletproof components,
the aftermarket has the big
Chevy covered like no other.
Build choices here range
from restoration-style
stock to Pro Stock and
include everything
in between. The
exotic combinations
certainly add to the
engines power poten-
tial. Huge power is
available with a conven-
tional big-block Chevy retaining
the OEM architecture. A perfect exam-
ple is this drag race 565-cube big-block
...when large quantities of normally Chevy built for an NHRA Super cat-
egory car. Using all conventional big-
aspirated power are the goal, the block parts, the engine produces within
a hair of 1,000 all-motor horsepower
Chevy big-block is the go-to engine. and is built to go the distance with the

BUILD
POWER UNIT
Basic machining was all that the new Dart

block required, including a bore and hone
to a fnished bore size of 4.600. The Dart
block has far more bore capacity than any
OEM block.
For big roller cams, oversized journal The block was bushed in the lifter bores
diameters are defnitely the way to go for to accept 0.904-inch roller tappets,
The Lunati Signature Series forged crank both rpm capabilities and longevity. This signifcantly bigger than the factory
is right at home in the Dart blocks stout Dart block was equipped with 55mm roller 0.842-inch dimension. As with the cam
main structure. Bearings are Clevite, while cam bores, a size readily served by the journals, for this kind of application,
the fasteners are ARP. aftermarket cam manufacturers. bigger is better.
expectation of 200-plus passes with build with a 454 block scalped from simpledesigned for the kind of size
nothing more than basic maintenance. an old pickup truck. For the founda- and power this engine was targeting.
While the application here is specifc to tion here, a Dart Big M block was the The Dart Big M is available in a
the strip, the same basic bullet can be appropriate starting point. The Dart variety of custom options, including
just the right power unit for anything block puts the required strength to build custom deck heights, but for this build
from a drag boat to a pulling truck. from the bottom end. The block adds a straightforward standard 9.800-inch
beef via a heavily reinforced structure deck, standard pan rail, and standard
The Bottom End with the massive splayed steel mains, cam position block were selected. This
To make big power and live, you need adds reliability with a fully revised oil works well with the selected stroke,
to use good parts. Fortunately for the circuitincluding priority main oil- though the block can be arranged to
Chevy big-block, the market is fush ingand adds capacity with options ease the ft of a much longer arm. The
with the components to make it hap- like raised cam position and spread engine was built to the popular 565ci
pen. You dont approach this kind of pan rails. This is a race block, pure and capacity, the product of a 4.600-inch
The bottom end Rod fastener tension was confrmed by checking with a bolt
was flled with a stretch gauge before and after torqueing. This serves as an extra
set of CP pistons safety check and will quickly identify a problem before it makes
with profled domes itself known in a potentially unfortunate way.
for the AFR heads.
Rods are 6.385-inch
Oliver pieces. You dont approach this
The CP pistons feature
vertical gas ports and kind of build with a 454
are wrapped with a Total
Seal 0.043/0.043/3mm
ring package. This
block scalped from an
arrangement is standard
race engine fare. old pickup truck.
A custom Crane solid

roller works the valves,
delivering 284/296
degrees duration at
0.050. The cam is
cut on a 112-degree
lobe-separation angle
and was installed at
108 degrees intake
centerline using a
Crane chain-type
timing set.

BUILD
POWER UNIT
The Edlebrock Super

Victor single-plane
intake manifold
features large runners
and a Dominator carb
fange. The manifold
received minor porting
in this application.
The AFR 377 heads are conventional

Chevy in layout but offer exceptional
power potential, owing to their huge
airfow and ample port volume. Big inches
and big power need plenty of cylinder
head.
The intake ports of the AFR 377 heads A Holley 1050 Ultra HP Dominator supplies the air/fuel mixture. These aluminum-bodied
are fully CNC ported and deliver a peak carbs are much lighter than the older series of Dominator and look serious with the Hard
airfow of 435 cfm. Core Grey coating.
Note the streamlined

entry of the new
Dominator. These
three circuit carbs
feature many revisions
compared to the old
Dominators, making
them more tunable.
Dyno operator Steve
Brul noted that the
The combustion chambers of the AFR part-throttle roll-in was
heads measure 115 cc as run and are superior than what he
flled with a 2.300/1880-inch valve is used to with the older
combination. carbs.
bore and a 4.250-inch stroke. The Dart pistons were machined with vertical gas
block has the capacity to take the 4.600- ports and cut for a 0.043/0.043/3mm
inch bore, while the stroke was handled ring package. A Total Seal ring pack
by a Lunati Signature Series 4340 steel seals the pistons to the bores, com-
crank. Again, the power capacity is pleting the bottom end package. All
there, with this off-the-shelf forging of these components are proven and
rated for well over 1,500 hp. Con- highly developed race parts, but owing
nected to the crank are a set of Oliver to the big Chevys popularity in this
6.385-inch rodsanother example of kind of application, the parts are readily
bulletproof parts proven in the racing available.
environment. Filling the bores are CP
On the exhaust side, the AFR head domed pistons, profled for a custom ft Cam and Top End
expelled the spent gases with ease, thanks
to full CNC porting and peak fow of 335 to the AFR cylinder heads chambers As with the bottom end, the cam and
cfm. for a compression ratio of 14.5:1. The valvetrain consists of specialized race
The Jesel shaft-mounted rocker system
is a proven evolution of years of racing
development. The set here features a 1.7/1.8:1
ratio and delivers 0.775/0.765-inch lift.
To make big
power and live,
you need to use
good parts.
hardware that is so well developed that
it has become standardized. The cam
features 55mm roller bearing supported
journalsreducing defection and add-
ing to reliability and longevity while
improving the profle of the lobes for
better rpm capacity. The cam is a cus-
tom Crane piece, solid roller, of course,
featuring 284/296 degrees duration at
0.050 inch, cut on a 112-degree lobe-
separation angle. The cam is linked
to the crank via a Crane timing chain,
degreed to an installed centerline of 108 A Moroso vacuum pump pulls on the crankcase and defnitely adds to the output. The
degrees. Riding on the lobes are Crane Meziere electric water pump is also a time-tested unit.

BUILD
POWER UNIT
The engine was tested with both a 2 3/8-inch dyno header and MSD components comprise the entire ignition system, from the
this swoopy Borla header/muffer combination. The Borla exhaust crank trigger unit to the billet distributor, as well as the Digital 7
proved effective in both power production and a noticeable sound ignition box and plug wires.
reduction.
0.904-inch linkbar-style solid roller

lifters. Motion from the lifters is trans-
SPECIFICATIONS: 565CI CHEVY BIG-BLOCK
ferred via a set of custom Manton 716- BORE 4.600 INCHES
inch pushrods to a Jesel shaft-mounted STROKE 4.250 INCHES
rocker arrangement. The rockers feature CID 565CI
a 1.7:1 intake ratio, delivering 0.775- BLOCK DART BIG M
inch lift, while the exhaust ratio is
DECK HEIGHT STANDARD 9.8
1.8:1, giving 0.765-inch lift from the
shorter exhaust lobe. There is no ques- COMPRESSION RATIO 14.5 TO 1
tion that the cam is a stout and radical ENGINE FASTENERS ARP
race piece, but as with the rest of the CRANKSHAFT LUNATI
engine, the components throughout are CAMSHAFT CRANE CUSTOM ROLLER; 7/4 SWAP
track-proven across the country and
CAM JOURNAL 55MM ROLLER
built to go the distance in even more
radical applications. What this does is TIMING CHAIN CRANE
ensure reliability and longevity. LIFTERS CRANE
Topping the combination are some LIFTER DIAMETER 0.904 INCH
of the best conventional Chevy heads PUSHRODS 7/16 MANTON
on the market from the experts at AFR. SPRING PAC-AFR
It is unlikely anyone at Chevrolet back
SPRING LOAD 330/900 POUNDS
in the 1960s could have envisioned a
377cc intake runner cylinder head con- INSTALLED HEIGHT 2.100 INCHES
fguration delivering 435 cfm of peak RETAINER/LOCKS CRANE
intake fow. Thanks to ongoing develop- INTAKE DURATION 284 DEGREES @ 0.050
ment by companies like AFR, that is the INTAKE LIFT 0.775 INCH
state of the art in big-block heads today.
EXHAUST DURATION 296 DEGREES @ 0.050
The AFR heads have the port volume
and fow capacity to feed the needs of EXHAUST LIFT 0.765 INCH
a large displacement race-style short- ROCKER JESEL 1.7/1.8
block. These heads have provisions LOBE SEPARATION 112 DEGREES
to take the extra row of cylinder head INSTALLED CENTERLINE 108 DEGREES
fasteners offered on the valley side of TOP RING 0.043 TOTAL SEAL
the Dart blocks deck. This improves
TOP RING GAP 0.028
clamping with very high compression
ratios, especially if boost or nitrous is SECOND RING TOTAL SEAL 0.043
involved. Again, we have an example SECOND RING GAP 0.024 INCH
of an aftermarket improvement to OIL RING 3MM STANDARD TENSION
the original Chevy design, a product PISTON CP PROFILED
of the engines popularity in racing
GAS PORTS VERTICAL
applications.
Feeding the AFR heads is an MAIN FASTENERS ARP
We opened up the Dominator carb to dial in the jetting. These new Holleys feature higher
capacity bowls and convenient bowl drains. Final jetting on this carb in this application was
90/100.
Best power was found using VP Q-16 racing fuel. This fuel is oxygenated and typically
requires fatter jetting than conventional fuel.
MAIN BEARINGS CLEVITE Edlebrock Super Victor single-plane

RODS OLIVER Dominator manifold. Though the Super
ROD LENGTH 6.385-INCH I BEAM Victor is a capable piece, it was found
ROD BEARINGS CLEVITE in testing that porting was required to
MAIN BEARING CLEARANCE 0.0032
meet the airfow demands of the AFR
heads and optimize the cylinder head/
ROD BEARING CLEARANCE 0.003
manifold combination. A Holley 1050
CYLINDER HEAD AFR 377 Gen III Ultra HP Dominator carb sup-
COMBUSTION CHAMBER VOLUME 115 plies the mix, while MSD ignition com-
PEAK INTAKE FLOW 435 CFM ponents light the fre.
PEAK EXHAUST FLOW 335 CFM
INTAKE VALVE DIAMETER 2.300-INCH
To the Test
The big Chevy was built with a target
EXHAUST VALVE DIAMETER 1.88 INCHES output of 975 hp for NHRA index rac-
CYLINDER HEAD GASKETS FEL-PRO MLS ing. We set the wild big-block up on
PISTON QUENCH CLEARANCE 0.048 the SuperFlow dyno at Westech Perfor-
INTAKE MANIFOLD EDELBROCK SUPER VICTOR PORTED mance Group to see how close it was
CARBURETOR HOLLEY 1050 ULTRA HP
to meeting that goal. The race exhaust
system consisting of a Borla header and
HEADER BORLA WITH MUFFLER
muffer arrangement was bolted to the
IGNITION MSD DIGITAL ON DYNO/GRID IN CAR exit side of the heads, while a Moroso
DISTRIBUTOR MSD BILLET/CRANK TRIGGER vacuum pump was plumbed to evacu-
SPARK PLUG WIRES MSD ate the crankcase. Up front, a Meziere
DAMPER TCI water pump was wired up to circulate
the coolant. VP Racing fuel was added
WATER PUMP MEZIERE
to the dyno tank, and the beast was
OIL PAN MOROSO WET SUMP WITH KICKOUT ready to awake. We tested the engine
VACUUM PUMP MOROSO THREE VAIN with a variety of the VP fuels, and
OIL PUMP TITAN when running VP Q16 at 37 degrees
POWER-ADDER N/A total timing, with 90/100 jetting in
FUEL VP C-16 AND Q16
the Nickerson-tweaked Dominator,
it tagged 996 hp at 7,200 rpm. Target
INTAKE PORTED BY JUAN MENDOSA. exceeded! Torque checked in at a sub-
PRE- AND POST-TESTING SHOWED A 35HP
GAIN FROM THE VACUUM PUMP AND stantial 800 lb-ft at 5,800 rpm. Numbers
PORTED INTAKE. ENGINE IS FOR NHRA like this illustrate what has been proven
SPECIAL BUILD FEATURES at racetracks nationwidewhen big
SUPER CATEGORY CAR AND IS INTENDED
TO MAKE 200-PLUS PASSES WITH NO power with readily available parts is the
MORE THAN NORMAL MAINTENANCE goal, the Chevy big-block is the power
BEFORE FRESHENING. unit of choice. EM

BUILD
POWER UNIT
On the dyno, the stout 565 made just under 1,000 hp,
DYNO RESULTS recording 996 hp at 7,200 rpm, in addition to 800 lb-ft
565 CHEVY BIG-BLOCK of torque. Thanks to a good original
SUPERFLOW 902 ENGINE DYNO design by Chevrolet and years
of racing development,
TESTED AT WESTECH the conventional
RPM TORQUE HORSEPOWER Chevy big-block
is a winner.
5,200 784 776
5,300 786 793
5,400 790 812
5,500 796 831
5,600 797 849
5,700 799 867
5,800 800 883
5,900 799 897
6,000 796 909
6,100 793 921
6,200 789 931
6,300 784 941
6,400 779 949
6,500 774 958
6,600 769 966
6,700 763 974
6,800 757 981
6,900 751 987
7,000 743 991
7,100 735 994
7,200 726 996
7,300 716 995
SOURCES:
AFR AIR FLOW RESEARCH HOLLEY PERFORMANCE OLIVER RACING PARTS
(877) 892-8844 PRODUCTS (231) 237-4515
airfowresearch.com (270) 781-9741 oliverracingparts.com
ARP holley.com STEFS
(800) 826-3045 JESEL (732) 367-8700
arp-bolts.com (732) 901-1800 stefs.com
BORLA jesel.com SUPERFLOW
(805) 986-8600 LUNATI (800) 471-7701
borla.com (662) 892-1500 superfow.com
CP PISTONS lunatipower.com TCI
(949) 567-9000 MAHLE/CLEVITE 888-776-9824
cp-carrillo.com mahleclevite.com tciauto.com
CRANE CAMS MANTON PUSHRODS TOTAL SEAL
(866) 388-5120 (951) 245-6565 (800) 874-2753
cranecams.com mantonpushrods.com totalseal.com
DART MACHINERY MEZIERE ENTERPRISES VP RACING FUEL
(248) 362-1188 (800) 208-1755 (210) 635-7744
dartheads.com meziere.com vpracingfuels.com
EDELBROCK MOROSO PERFORMANCE
(800) 416-8628 (203) 453-6571
edelbrock.com moroso.com
FEDERAL MOGUL; FEL-PRO MSD IGNITION
(662) 224-8972 (915) 857-5200
federal-mogul.com msdignition.com
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TEST
Does SIZE
Matter?
B
eing one of the big three performance parts, cylinder
Testing the Effect heads are certainly one of the critical ingredients
in any performance buildup. Working with the cam
of Head Port Volume profle and intake manifold, the cylinder heads help
determine not only the peak power numbers but the overall
on Power shape of the entire power curve. Installation of the right set
of aftermarket heads on a given combination can be worth
By Richard Holdener 90-100 hp or more. It is amazing what the proper heads can
do to wake up an engine whether at standard displacement
or a stroker combination. Normally we tend to run bigger
heads on bigger and more powerful engine combinations. This
leaves some important questionsnot the least of which was
how would the smaller heads fare on the bigger motors, and
vice versa? Are the larger heads really out of place on a milder
combination? Just how much does a small (but effcient) port
hurt a wilder combination?
There is nothing more
Obviously, answering such questions meant dusting off the
accurate than running old airfow bench and engine dyno. Truth be told, there was no
four different cylinder dusting as the dyno and airfow bench at Westech performance
heads on two different stay pretty busy (and clean). In order to test the effect of port
motors to illustrate the
effect of port volume volume, we decided to run a series of tests on four different
and fow. sets of cylinder heads.
Supplied by Dart, the four Pro 1 test heads offered intake
port volumes ranging from 170 cc to 225 cc. The idea was
to run the four different heads on two different test motors to
illustrate what happens if you run cylinder heads that are either
too big or too small on a given application. We suspected that
the larger CNC 225 heads would offer more power than the
smaller as-cast 170cc heads on our wilder 363 Windsor Ford
stroker test engine, but we were curious to see how well the
only slightly smaller 210cc heads would fare. The same can
be said for the as-cast 190cc heads, as they fowed enough
to support the intended power output of the 363 stroker,
but would they offer the same power as the larger CNC
versions? How would the mild, small displacement Ford
302 combination respond to the four different head con-
fgurations? Would the additional airfow offered by the
CNC heads add power or would we see a loss in low-
speed torque from the change in port volume? These
were all questions we looked forward to answering.
Wild 363
Though the test could certainly be run on a larger 408 or
even 427 stroker combination (the Dart Pro 1 CNC heads
were plenty capable of supporting these displacements and/
or power levels), our 302-based 363ci stroker was plenty
powerful. The 363 stroker was essentially a bored and
stroked 302, but not one that featured the self-destructing
production block. Our 363 SHP came directly from Dart
and featured a Dart four-bolt block combined with a forged
crank, rods, and pistons. The SHP short-block combined a
4.125-inch bore with a 3.40-inch stroke to achieve the 363ci
displacement.
The big bore improved the breathing potential of the
combination, allowing our stroker to take full advantage of
the free-breathing CNC-ported Dart Pro 1 heads. The 11.0:1
short-block was stuffed with a solid roller cam from Cam
Research Corp that featured 0.692-inch lift (with the 1.6
rockers) combined with a 256/260-degree duration split (at
0.050) with a tight 105-degree lobe-separation angle. The
Cam Research Corp cam was combined with solid roller lift-
ers, a double roller timing chain, and chrome-moly pushrods
all from Comp Cams. All of the heads were secured using

TEST
DOES SIZE MATTER?
The four different Pro I cylinder heads The Dart SHP short-block also featured
also featured different intake valve sizing, forged fat-top pistons with generous valve
ranging from 1.94 inches for the 170 cc reliefs for our near 0.700-lift solid roller
heads to the 2.08-inch valves used in cam. Dart flls its short-block assemblies
the largest 225 heads. The combustion with bulletproof parts.
chamber size was kept consistent at 62 cc
for all four heads.
Dart supplied all four of our test heads. While any of the four Dart Pro
The port volumes ranged from 170 cc to 1 heads would be a welcome
225 cc. How would the various sized heads addition to a small-block Ford,
affect the power curve? Would the big is bigger really better when it
heads kill low-end torque? Running on the comes to power production?
dyno, wed see for ourselves.
The peak intake airfow numbers Test motor number 1 was a Dart SHP Cam Research Corp supplied our hot solid
generated by these port volumes (225 Pro stroker short-block consisting of a Dart roller profle for this test motor. The cam
1 CNC shown) ranged from 261 cfm to 325 four-bolt block, forged steel crank, and featured 0.692-inch lift (with the 1.6:1
cfm. That wide range of fow should be rods. Unlike the factory blocks, these rockers) combined with a 256/260-degree
apparent in the power curves of the bigger big-bore Dart blocks can hold substantial duration split (measured at 0.050-inch
more powerful test engine, but common power and rpm without failure. tappet rise) and a tight 105-degree lobe-
mythology holds that even the smallest of separation angle.
these heads is plenty for a little mild 302.
Fel-Pro MLS head gaskets and -inch register any loss in low-speed power 210cc Pro 1 CNC aluminum heads.
ARP head studs. All testing was run with the larger heads. The air/fuel ratio Having performed a few of these in the
with a Parker Funnel Web intake and was adjusted using conventional jetting past, the head swap went like clockwork
950 HP Holley carburetor. Thanks goes on the 950 HP. To fnd the ideal timing and soon we were up and running with
out to the guys at the Carb Shop for the value, we tested the motor with total the 210 heads. The Pro 1 CNC heads
loan of the dyno headers to ft the wider timing from 30 degrees to 36 degrees. featured 210cc intake ports but slightly
Dart exhaust bolt pattern used on the The 363 produced best power at 35 smaller (76 cc) exhaust port volume.
Pro 1 210 and 225 CNC heads. Oddly degrees of total timing while the air/fuel Also reduced on the 210 heads was the
enough, the 170cc heads featured both curve was optimized at 13.0:1. intake valve sizing, down from 2.08
exhaust bolt patterns. Next up were the slightly smaller inches on the 225 heads to 2.05 inches
Prior to running all of the different
Dart Pro 1 heads, we took the liberty
of measuring for pushrod length and
adequate spring pressure for both our
engine combinations. Knowing we
Think SCE!
planned on running a solid-roller cam
in the wilder 363 combination, we
confgured all of our test heads with a
spring package suitable for the roller
application. The 195 pounds of seat
pressure might be a tad on the high side
for a hydraulic roller application, but Huge Selection
this much pressure eliminated any trace We have everything from a full
of valve foat on both applications. As it range of specialized gaskets for racing
turned out, all heads required the same
pushrods on the hydraulic roller 302.
applications to OEM replacement
The solid-roller cam required slightly gaskets for just about any car on the
longer pushrods. All of the heads were road. See our new 360-page catalog.
run with the same set of 1.6 ratio roller
rockers from Comp Cams. In addition,
all heads were run at the same air/fuel
Advanced Technology
and timing, though we did perform Our patented ICS Titan head gaskets
timing sweeps to see if any of the head with built-in O-rings give you superior
confgurations responded to different sealing without needing extra machining.
timing levels. To maintain consistent Accu-Seal valve cover and 1-piece pan
compression during testing, all four of gaskets stop pesky leaks. Ditto our new
the test heads were ordered with the
same 62cc combustion chambers. Basi- flexible, poly carb bowl gaskets.
cally every effort was made to isolate
the port volume and attending fow as Competition Proven
the only variable in the testing. The worlds fastest piston-driven vehicle,
The cylinder head test was run on the Duttweiler powered Main/Poteet Speed
the 363 stroker in descending order,
starting with the largest 225 CNC Pro Demon, relies on SCE gaskets, as do may leading
1 heads. The Pro 1 CNC heads offered drag racing, oval track and other competitors.
some impressive statistics, including SCE is an official NHRA sponsor.
225cc intake ports, 87cc exhaust ports,
and a 2.08/1.60-inch valve combina-
tion. Peak fow numbers for the 225
Money-Saving
CNC Pro 1 heads checked in at 325
cfm for the intake and 235 cfm for the
Dyno-Paks
SCEs exclusive Dyno-Paks let you
exhaust. The heads were installed using
Fel-Pro MLS head gaskets and 1262 configure a gasket set to your specs and
R intake gaskets per recommendations buy them economically in groups of 10.
from Dart. Equipped with the Dart 225
Pro 1 CNC heads, the 363 produced
peak numbers of 568 hp at 6,700 rpm
and 489 lb-ft of torque at 5,300 rpm.
Torque production exceeded 450 lb-ft
from 4,200 rpm to 6,600 rpm. For this 800-427-5380
testing, we loaded the motor all the way www.SCEgaskets.com
down to 2800 rpm to ensure we could
Performance
Under Pressure
TEST
DOES SIZE MATTER?
Holley supplied a healthy

950 HP carburetor for
our testing. The last thing
we wanted to do was
restrict the combination
with a small carburetor.
The Holley carb offered
ample capacity at this
power level.
All of the Dart Pro 1 heads were run with The frst set of heads to be run on the 363
a set of 1.6-ratio Ultra Pro Magnum roller were the largest Pro 1 225s. These high-
rockers from Comp Cams. The Ultra Pro fowing CNC heads would generally be
All tests were performed using Fel-Pro MLS Magnums are virtually indestructible. regarded as too much, even for a stout
head gaskets and ARP head studs. Windsor of this displacement and power
output. The heads were installed with Fel-
Pro 1262R intake gaskets to work with the
large intake ports.
Working with the rpm capability of the On the smaller 170 and 195cc heads, it Both the 210 and 225cc heads featured
Cam Research roller cam was a single- was necessary to replace the hydraulic the wider (3-inch) Dart-specifc exhaust-
plane, Funnel Web intake from Pro roller springs supplied with a set designed bolt pattern that required dedicated
Comp. Though hood clearance can be an for the high-lift, solid roller cam. headers. We borrowed these 1 7/8-inch
issue, it is tough to fnd a more powerful step headers from our good friends over at
carbureted intake for a small-block Ford. the Carb Shop.
on the 210 heads. All the heads shared power with no loss in low speed torque roller cam. Though the airfow data
the same 1.60-inch exhaust valve diam- in the rpm range tested. suggested these 195 heads would sup-
eter. As expected, peak fow numbers for After running the 210 heads, it was port nearly 600 hp, the peak power
the 210 Pro 1 heads were down slightly time for the frst pair of as-cast heads. numbers dropped on our 363 test motor
compared to the 225 heads, checking in Just as with the other Pro 1 heads, to 528 hp at 6,500 rpm and 482 lb-ft
at 305 cfm for the intake and 208 cfm the 195 Pro 1 heads got their name of torque at 5,200 rpm. Note that peak
for the exhaust (both measured at 0.600 from their 195cc intake port volume. torque occurred at the same engine
valve lift). Using the same procedure, we In addition to the intake port volume, speed as the larger heads, but peak
ran timing sweeps with the 210 heads the 195 head stepped down in exhaust power dropped by 200-300 rpm (to say
(no jetting required) and were eventually port volume (from 76 cc to 65 cc) and nothing of the loss of roughly 40 hp).
rewarded with 566 hp at 6,800 rpm and intake valve diameter (from 2.05 inches The smaller 195 heads did manage to
484 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm. From to 2.02 inches). As expected from the offer more power from 3,700 rpm to
4,200 rpm to 6,800 rpm, the larger 225 many changes, the peak fow numbers 5,200 rpm, but we suspect the smaller
heads offered slightly more power (as dropped to 288 cfm and 185 cfm, for 1-inch headers had something to do
much as 8-9 hp), but the curves were the intake and exhaust, respectively. with the shift in the power curve.
identical above and below those engine Unfortunately for us, the 195 heads The fnal set of heads run on the
speeds. Like the larger 225 heads, the were shipped with a 1.437-inch diam- 363 stroker was defnitely out of place
363 pumped out more than 450 lb-ft of eter valvespring package designed to on this high-horsepower application,
torque from 4,200 rpm to 6,500 rpm. work with a hydraulic roller cam. We but they performed surprisingly well.
Either Dart Pro 1 CNC head would be quickly swapped over the larger 1.550- The 170cc, as-cast heads combined
an excellent choice for the 363 stroker, inch springs from the CNC Pro 1 heads the smallest intake port volume (at 170
but the larger 225 did offer slightly more to accommodate our Cam Research cc) with the same (as the 195 heads)
Run with the largest 225 Pro 1 heads, the 363 produced 568
hp at 6,700 rpm and 489 lb-ft of torque at 5,300 rpm. Torque
production exceeded 450 lb-ft from 4,200 rpm to 6,600 rpm.
Both the 195 and 170cc heads were
run with 1 -inch Hooker Super Comp
headers feeding 18-inch collector
extensions. The change in headers was
unavoidable due to the different bolt
pattern compared to the smaller heads.
Off came the 225 heads and on went the slightly smaller 210cc pro 1 heads. The 210 heads Run with the 195cc (as-cast) Pro 1 heads,
fowed only slightly less than the larger 225 heads (325 cfm versus 305 cfm). Both heads the 363 produced 528 hp at 6,500 rpm
theoretically fowed more than was required to meet the power level of our test engine. and 482 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm. Note
The Dart pro 1 210 CNC heads produced 566 hp at 6,800 rpm and 484 lb-ft of torque at that the peak torque did not drop much,
5,200 rpm, losing 8-9 hp at various points in the rpm range. but peak power was down by nearly 40 hp.
Having the Fel-Pro gaskets and ARP head studs made head swaps Installation of the as-cast 170 Pro 1 heads dropped peak power
much easier and consistent. Off came the CNC-ported 210 heads even further. Equipped with the smallest of the as-cast heads,
and on went our frst as-cast set. the 363 managed 510 hp at 6,500 rpm and 472 lb-ft of torque
at 5,100 rpm. Compared to the 195 heads, the power was down
everywhere. The 170 heads would be much more at home on a
milder application than our roller-cammed stroker.

TEST
DOES SIZE MATTER?
65cc exhaust ports and a 1.94/1.6-inch by producing peak numbers of 510 hp heads pulled strongly away thereafter.
valve combination. As expected, hav- at 6.500 rpm and 472 lb-ft of torque at On this 363 test motor, the larger heads
ing the smallest intake port volume 5,100 rpm. Torque production exceeded demonstrated a clear advantage, though
combined with the smallest intake valve 450 lb-ft from 4,100 rpm to 5,700 the difference between the 210 and 225
size produced the lowest fow numbers rpm. Interestingly enough, the 170cc heads was only 8-9 hp.
of this impressive bunch. The 170cc heads offered less power than the 195
heads offered 261 cfm on the intake heads, even down at 2,800 rpm. The Mild 302
and 172 cfm on the exhaust and dem- two produced equal power from 3,200 Test motor number two was what we
onstrated their ability to exceed 500 hp rpm to 3,600 rpm, but the larger 195 might label a typical performance street
Test motor number two featured a milder factory Ford based The 302 also received a streetable hydraulic roller cam in the
combination that started with a forged steel 302 crank, rod and form of the XE274HR. The Comp Xtreme Energy cam offered a
pistons assembly from RPM, Procomp, and Probe Racing. 0.555/0.565 lift split, a 224/232 duration split, and a 112-degree
lobe-separation angle.
Procomp supplied this dual-plane Qualifer intake manifold. The

Air-Gap-style intake offered impressive performance through the
entire rev range and allowed our 302 combination to pull strongly
to 6,200 rpm.
The Procomp dual-

plane intake was
run with a Holley
750 HP carburetor.
The HP Holley was
equipped with a
Percys Adjust-a-Jet
system that allowed
Like the 363, the 302 received ARP head studs and Fel-Pro 1011-2 for easy air/fuel ratio
head gaskets. adjustments.
buildup. Like the previous 363 stroker, and valve covers, and a Meziere electric oversized for the application (since the
the 302 was run in carbureted trim. The water pump. Having already run this 225 Pro 1 heads will support more than
302 featured a forged steel crank from motor, we were able to fll the stock oil 650 hp), the 302 managed to produce
RPM, 5.40-inch forged connecting rods pan with 5W-30 synthetic oil and we 315 lb-ft of torque down at 2,700 rpm.
from ProComp, and a set of forged were off and running. Next up were the slightly smaller
fat-top pistons from Probe Racing. The Just as with the 363, we ran the cyl- 210 Pro 1 CNC heads. The head swap
engine was machined by L&R Automo- inder head test on the 302 in descending went like clockwork, and soon we were
tive and assembled by Demon Engines. order, starting with the largest 225 Pro up and running with the 210 heads.
At the intended engine speeds and I CNC heads. The heads were installed Could the 400hp 302 take advantage of
power levels, the factory components using Fel-Pro 1011-2 head gaskets and cylinder heads fowing more than 300
would suffce, but the combination was 1262 R intake gaskets. Equipped with cfm? Using the same procedure, we
built with the ability to withstand plenty the Dart 225 Pro 1 heads, the 302 pro- dialed in the timing curve with the 210
of boost (at least to the limit of the fac- duced peak numbers of 399 hp at 6,200 heads (no jet changes were necessary)
tory 5.0L block). rpm and 370 lb-ft of torque at 4,100 and were eventually rewarded with the
The forged 5.0L short-block was rpm. Torque production exceeded 350 very same 399 hp at 6,200 rpm and 370
augmented with a Comp XE274HR lb-ft from 3,300 rpm to 5,700 rpm. For lb-ft of torque at 4,100 rpm produced
hydraulic roller cam. The XE274HR this testing, we loaded the motor all with the larger 225 heads. The 210
cam featured a 0.555/0.565-lift the way down to 2,700 rpm to ensure heads did manage to offer slightly more
split, a 224/232 duration split, and a we could register any loss in low-speed torque below 3,800 rpm (a difference of
112-degree lobe-separation angle. In power with the larger heads. Dialing 5 lb-ft), but beyond that the curves were
keeping with our mild (but power- in the Holley HP carburetor was easy identical. Torque production exceeded
ful) street application, we topped the using the Percys Adjust-a-Jet system. 350 lb-ft from 3,300 rpm to 5,800 rpm.
302 with an Air-Gap-style, dual-plane As with the 363, we tested the motor It must be pointed out that both the
Qualifer intake manifold (from Pro- with total timing values ranging from 225 and 210 heads were run with larger
comp), and Holley 750 HP carburetor. 30 degrees to 36 degrees. The 302 17/8-inch step headers used to ft the
Also present on this mild 302 was a set produced best power at 35 degrees of wider 3-inch exhaust bolt pattern, while
of 1-inch Hooker Super Comp head- total timing while the air/fuel curve was the smaller 195 and 170cc heads were
ers, a Procomp billet distributor, wires optimized at 13.0:1. Though seemingly run with a set of Hooker 1-inch Super
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TEST
DOES SIZE MATTER?
HORSEPOWER NUMBERS
DART HEAD TEST363
RPM 170 195 210 225
3,000 214 217 221 220
3,300 251 252 254 253
3,500 276 276 279 279
3,800 315 319 317 316
4,000 340 346 340 340
4,300 375 381 369 372
4,500 393 403 384 391
4,800 421 433 423 428
5,000 446 456 454 458
5,300 474 485 487 494
5,500 483 496 503 508
5,800 493 505 524 527
6,000 502 514 533 539
A touch overkill for the mild 302, the 225 Pro 1 heads produced peak numbers of 399 hp
and 370 lb-ft of torque. Torque production exceeded 350 lb-ft of torque from 3,300 rpm to 6,300 509 525 549 557
5,700 rpm. 6,500 510 528 559 565
6,800 506 525 566 567
Comp headers. The headers themselves
are partly responsible for changes in the 7,000 497 518 561 562
power curve lower in the rev range-but
the difference between the 210 and 225 more than enough fow to support our
heads was strictly port-volume and fow 400hp small-block. It would have been
dependent interesting to see if the smaller heads
After running the 210 heads, off improved torque production down low
they came to make way for the frst of compared to the 195cc heads, but judg-
our pair of as-cast heads. The as-cast, ing by the results of the 363 test, it
20-degree heads featured 195cc intake seems unlikely.
ports combined with 65cc exhaust Even without running the 170cc
ports. Though the 195 heads lacked heads on the 302, the results are cer-
CNC porting, the fow numbers were tainly helpful. They illustrated that
impressive nonetheless. Given the peak the relationship between port volume,
fow numbers of 288 cfm, even the 195 airfow, and power is an important one.
heads were capable of supporting much Looking at the results of the testing
more power than our 302 could dish out. Replacing the 225 heads with the slightly on the 363 stroker, we see that each
Equipped with the smaller 195 as-cast smaller 210 resulted in identical power step up in cylinder head fow and port
curves. Obviously, the 302 could not
Dart heads, the 302 produced 390 hp at beneft from the extra airfow offered by volume increased the power output of
6,100 rpm and 373 lb-ft at 4,300 rpm. the larger 225 heads. the motor. Stepping up from the 170cc
Not surprisingly, the smaller head heads to the 190cc heads improved the
offered less peak power (390 hp ver- 302, as catastrophic failure occurred power output by 18 hp and 10 lb-ft of
sus 399 hp), but offered slightly more before we could fnish the test. While torque, while the jump to the 210cc
torque and at a slightly higher engine swapping the heads, we developed an heads offered another 38 hp and 2 lb-ft
speed (4,300 rpm versus 4,100 rpm) intake leak. The author is to blame for of torque. As expected from cylinder
than the larger heads. Oddly enough, not ensuring the intake gaskets sealed heads in this power range, the gains
the smaller heads offered less power for the fnal installation. Water leaked were most prevalent at the top of the rev
than the larger heads down low (up to into the adjacent intake port, which range, but the 195cc heads improved
3,700 rpm) but offered more torque unfortunately had an open valve prior the power output from as low as 3,600
through the midrange through 5,600 to start up. Having water fll the cylin- rpm over the smaller 170cc heads.
rpm. The smaller head then fell below der resulted in a hyrdo-lock situation On the 363, basically more fow
the larger CNC-ported heads up to that actually snapped a connecting rod equaled more power, despite the
6,300 rpm. We suspect the headers after start up. Though the motor ran, an increase in port volume. Stepping up to
played a part in the respective power inspection revealed that the piston in the largest 225cc heads improved the
curves, but without a set of 134-inch number one cylinder had left the party. peak power numbers by just 2 hp and
headers to ft the larger heads, it is Thus we are left to speculate even 5 lb-ft of torque over the 210 heads.
diffcult to speculate how much the further about the 170cc head results The reason for this is that the 210 heads
headers changed things. on the 302, but we know that it would offered more than enough fow to sup-
The fnal set of 170cc as-cast Dart produce less power than the 190cc port the power needs of the 363, but the
heads were actually never run on the head, this despite the fact that it offered increased fow offered by the larger 225
HORSEPOWER NUMBERS
DART HEAD TEST302
RPM 195 210 225
2,800 159 171 168
3,000 186 189 187
3,300 217 222 221
3,500 237 241 239
3,800 267 266 266
4,000 283 281 281
4,300 305 301 301
4,500 318 311 311
4,800 336 325 328
5,000 346 341 340
5,300 366 361 361
5,500 374 372 371
5,800 383 387 385 Our attempt to run the 170 as-cast heads on the 302 met with destruction. A water leak
6,000 389 395 395 allowed the number 1 cylinder to fll up and hydro the motor. The heads were not hurt, but
the same could not be said for one of the poor connecting rods. Water does not compress
6,200 386 399 399 so something had to give!
heads, but the difference would not have
been as dramatic as the test on the wilder
363. Here we would expect 10-12 hp
Our fnal test before
at most with a small but consistent loss
catastrophe struck was to registered through the second half of the
install the as-cast 190 Pro 1 power curve-from 4,000 rpm on up. EM
heads. Run with the 195 heads,
the 302 produced 390 hp and
373 lb-ft of torque. Though SOURCES:
down slightly in peak power, CAM RESEARCH
the 195 heads offered better CORPORATION
power than the 210 or 225
heads from 3,800 rpm (303) 762-0022
to 5,600 rpm. camresearchcorp.com
COMP CAMS
(901) 795-2400
compcams.com
DART HEADS
(248) 362-1188
dartheads.com
DART MACHINERY
(248) 362-1188
dartheads.com
heads did improve the power output by for this mild application. This was rein- DEMON ENGINES
as much as 8-9 hp and lost no power to forced when we installed the largest (562) 694-2559
the smaller 210 heads anywhere in the 225cc heads from Dart. demonengines.com
rpm range tested. On the right applica- Though the 225 heads certainly HOLLEY/HOOKER
tion, bigger really is better. fowed more than the 210 heads, they (270) 782-2900
Looking at the smaller 302, we see a offered no power gains. Minor differ- holley.com
similar pattern, as the 195cc heads pro- ences of 2-3 hp below 3,700 rpm were L&R AUTOMOTIVE
duced 9 hp less than the larger 210cc registered, but oddly enough it was the (562) 802-0443
heads. It is important to look at the larger 225 heads that offered the small lnrengine.com
entire curve, as the 195cc heads offered power gains lower in the rev range. It PROBE RACING
more power from 3,800 rpm to 5,600 should be pointed out that the 225 head (310) 784-2977
rpm but lost out to the larger heads lost no power down low compared to the probeindustries.com
above and below that rpm spread. Some 210 (or 195) heads, though the results PRO COMP ELECTRONICS
of the improved midrange might be would be different at part throttle. The (909) 605-1123
attributed to the 1-inch headers being larger ports would certainly be a tad procompelectronics.com
a better match for the mild 302 applica- more sluggish on the milder application RPM INTERNATIONAL
tion than the larger 1 7/8-inch headers at part throttle. Had we run the smaller (562) 926-9188
run on the larger CNC-ported heads, but 170 cc heads, we suspect that they would racingpartsmaximum.com
the 195cc head is an excellent choice have offered less power than the 195

TEST
Super Dom Testing

Holleys
Ultra HP
and
Super
Dominator
Carbs
Text, photos,
and illustrations
by David Vizard
T
he world outside of
Holleys R&D depart-
ment frst saw the new
Gen 3 Ultra Super
Dominator at the 2012 Carb
Shootout at Bo Laws Performance
(BLP) in Orlando, Florida. This was
a gathering of about a dozen of the
countrys top carb specialists. Despite
an extreme level of competition run-
ning against the leading tuner carbs
in the country, the latest iteration of dyno tested until three days before the comments amount to a light sprinkling.
Holleys big carb came literally within a start of the event. Having witnessed the original carb
hairs breadth of winning the shootout. Eighteen months on, we hear shootout tests, it seemed time to see
Impressive, yes, but even more so when many enthusiastic comments from top if this all translated into real-world
you consider that this carb had not been pro engine builders while negative feld gains.
omination!
Holleys new Super andif requiredemulsion well jets)

Dominators, with their means a lot of work, especially so when
show-quality fnish, look
every inch the part of a major part of the optimization process
a power producer. They involves stagger jetting. Obviously,
are available from 950 a stout race engine would be good,
to 1475 cfm in roughly
100-cfm increments. The but most shops are reluctant to use an
question is, do they go as expensive race engine for what could
good as they look? well approach a hundred pulls.
Fortunately, ex-ProStock racer Terry
Walters of Terry Walters Precision
Engines in Roanoke, Virginia, provided
The Test Engine allpowerful. The plan here was to test a very acceptable solution. Terry is,
To produce meaningful results when four carbs. Two were of known capabil- with GMs blessing, currently testing
testing a Dominator of almost any ity and two the Gen 3 Ultra Domina- modifcations that could possibly fnd
size, the test engine needs to be tors. To truly optimize the calibrations their way onto GMs 572 big-block
reliable, repeatable, andmost of (and that means main jets, air bleeds, crate motors. Part of the requirement

TEST
SUPER DOMINATION!
Our test carbs left to right: 850 vacuum secondary, 950 Ultra HP,
950 Ultra Dominator, and 1050 Ultra Dominator.
Between them, Terry Walters (right) and Jack Sain (left) have Here, our test motor is shown equipped with the GM intake. Even
better than a half-century of dyno test experience. Their efforts though this is a relatively low-rise, installation-friendly intake,
here made this feature possible, so our thanks go out to them. it producesin oval-port formexcellent results on long-blocks
capable of 550 to 750 hp.
for an engine sold out of GMs perfor- demands of all that displacement, has a good track record for meeting the
mance division is that it must pass a 50 extreme reliability, and healthy power demands of a true street powerplant,
hours endurance test at peak power. output, it was our ideal test engine. hence the use as our baseline carb. This
Terrys 572 dyno mule, at the time is a 4150-footprint carb.
of our tests, had 141 hours on the dyno. The Test Carbs Next on the list was what is proving
But, in all respects other than the fact it The plan here was to test four carbs. to be a thoroughbred race carbthe
made right on 800 hp, it was no prima First, because it is what the GM 572 950 Ultra HP. Ours was highly corro-
donna race engine. To the contrary, it street crate motors come with, was sion resistant Hard Core Gray fnish
was a truly streetable 9.4:1 dyno mule an electric choke, vacuum secondary variant No. 80805HB, but they can be
with a 650-rpm idle. Best yet, it ran on equipped, 850 Holley No. 80531. This had with a silver body together with
87-octane fueland that saved us a part number comes from Holley with red or black metering blocks and base
ton on fuel costs. With the high airfow calibrations targeting big-block engines plates. Terry Walters has considerable
in and around 500 inches. As such, it experience with these 950 Ultra HP
carbs and speaks highly of them. He the text and the dyno results in the jetting, it does impact the style of
commented that if the cam is right for nearby chart and graphs. Check under boosters best suited to the much cooler
the rest of the engine spec, these carbs the torque and horsepower columns running intake such as the single-
will consistently deliver top results. headed GM 850 (850 carbGM plane GM intake used here. A cooler
For that reason, we are using it as a 88961161 single-plane non-heated running intake requires a booster
yardstick by which to judge the Ultra street/strip intake). Note our 87-octane- with greater atomization capabilities.
Dominatorswhich are also primar- burning 572, which is mild mannered Terrys advice is that if you use an 850
ily a race carb. As with the No. 80531 enough to be happy in a truck applica- on an unheated intake, then the regular
baseline carb, the 950 Ultra HP features tion, cranked out peaks of 738 lb-ft and dog-leg booster needs to be converted
a 4150 architecture. 756 hp. As good a showing as that may to stepped dog-leg items. He tells us
The third test carb was a 950 Ultra be for a pure street-spec Holley-carbed that, from experience, swapping to a
Dominator. Going into this series of motor, there is more, as Terry Walters stepped dog leg will half the difference
tests, we knew it was going to be on the was quick to point out. seen between a regular 850 and a race-
small side for our test engine. But here The calibrations of this street 850 specd 950. Equally important is the
is the logic. The 4150 series 950 Ultra are primarily for a heated street intake. fact that all the gains are in terms of
HP has, over the last few years, more Whereas this does not impinge on extra lb-ft and show everywhere in the
than proven its capability to produce any ability to optimally calibrate the rpm range.
power. If the new 950 Super Dominator
(No. 80901HB) could, with the same
airfow, equal or even exceed the output Here is our baseline
850 as was used
shown by the 950 Ultra, then we could for the tests. The
be almost certain that these new Gen 3 choke plate
Ultra Dominators had what it took to be was removed
to facilitate
a top predator. easier access
Last on the list was the 1050 Ultra to calibration
Dominator (No. 80902BK). This was elements, but
its removal
the carb that Holleys engineers sug- does not affect
gested would give us the best overall airfow. Also a
power curve, keeping in mind our test quick-change
engine would pull from a little over idle vacuum diaphragm
setup was used for a
to 6,300 rpm. speedier set up of the
vacuum secondary
850 Baseline Results opening point.
Here is where you will probably need
to start dodging back and forth between
ENGINE MASTERS 59
TEST
SUPER DOMINATION!
950 Ultra HP Test ON THE DYNO

The next tests (columns headed 950 GM 572 BIG-BLOCK HOLLEY CARB TEST
GM) involved removing the 850 and TESTED AT TWPE
substituting it for a 950 Ultra HP carb. ALL TESTS WITH 2-INCH SPACER
This was run with and without a spacer, TORQUE
but the best average output over the
INTAKE GM GM GM GM SNIPER SNIPER
rpm range tested was without a spacer,
so these are the numbers used for our CARB 850 950 950 DOM 1050 DOM 950 DOM 1050 DOM
comparison. As can be seen, the 950 RPM X 100 TQ1 TQ2 TQ3 TQ4 TQ6 TQ7
Ultra HP produced a very healthy gain. 38 712 730 721 718 719 718
But numbers aside, we need to consider 39 713 731 724 724 725 724
that this is a street motor, so low-speed
40 716 740 734 734 738 739
torque and driveability are important. A
batch of tests designed to highlight any 41 725 750 741 741 745 753
holes in the power curve found none. If 42 733 755 748 748 751 761
the 950 Gen 3 Ultra Dominator could 43 735 760 753 751 757 765
match or exceed the driveability and 44 738 759 753 753 758 769
output given by the 950 Ultra HP, then 45 737 760 752 752 760 774
we can be near certain it has the right
46 735 762 753 749 760 772
pedigree.
47 736 756 751 748 759 768
950 Super Dominator 48 732 751 749 748 759 766
Running the 950 Super Dominator 49 731 747 747 747 754 766
required the use a spacer/adapter to 50 729 744 741 740 752 764
adapt the 4500 Dominator bolt pattern
51 726 741 739 738 746 764
to the intake manifolds smaller 4150
bolt pattern. When a spacer was used 52 724 735 736 736 745 760
with the 4150-style 950 Ultra HP, a low- 53 720 732 732 731 742 748
speed torque reduction was seen that did 54 716 725 726 730 737 743
not justify the small high-rpm gain. 55 705 720 724 725 734 739
Once calibrated, our 950 Dominator 56 701 710 716 713 723 736
and space/adapter combo was margin-
57 688 700 707 705 711 730
ally down at lower rpm but marginally
up at the top end in almost the same 58 678 690 700 700 709 716
proportions to the 950 Ultra HP and 59 672 679 684 685 701 708
spacer combo. If this 950 Ultra Domi- 60 662 668 672 675 682 699
nator was doing what it was supposed 61 647 653 656 665 670 687
to do, then these results mirrored our 62 635 642 649 661 668
expectations. Overall top-end output
rose by 11 hp. 63 646 650
Given that the motors cam, head, and displacement specs Our 950 Ultra Dominator came to us from Holley in the durable
are compatible, the 950 Ultra HP has proved a consistent top hardcore gray fnish. This looked really good in spite of being a
performer. Our tests here showed just such a trait. color we normally associate with battleships.
The GM manifold being used has a 1050 Ultra Dominator
Continuing our tests with the GM
relatively short carb pad height... intake, we foundafter optimizing the
1050s jettingthat peak torque and
HORSEPOWER horsepower were virtually unchanged
from that seen with the 950 Ultra
INTAKE GM GM GM GM SNIPER SNIPER
Dominator. What did change, however,
CARB 850 950 950 DOM 1050 DOM 950 DOM 1050 DOM was that the 1050 was down a lb-ft or
RPM X 100 HP1 HP2 HP3 HP4 HP6 HP7 so below peak torque and up 1 to 7 lb-ft
38 515 528 522 519 520 519 above peak power. In other words, it
39 529 543 538 538 538 538 hung on better after peak power rpm.
This was not unexpected and on the
40 545 564 559 559 562 563
track would help performance by allow-
41 566 585 578 578 582 588 ing the upshift to be made about 200
42 586 604 598 598 601 609 rpm later.
43 602 622 617 615 620 626 There was an expectation of greater
44 618 636 631 631 635 644 output from the 1050 than seen. How-
45 631 651 644 644 651 663 ever, there is a factor conspiring to
limit the output, regardless of how big
46 644 667 660 656 666 676
a carb we install. The GM manifold
47 659 677 672 669 679 687 being used has a relatively short carb
48 669 686 685 684 694 700 pad height, which means sharper turns
49 682 697 697 697 703 715 into the ports in the heads. This limits
50 694 708 705 704 716 727 airfow between the carb and cylinder
heads. Here, Terry Walters pointed
51 705 720 718 717 724 742
out that although they had topped 800
52 717 728 729 729 738 752 horses on their street big-block Chevys
53 727 739 739 738 749 755 with a GM pattern intake and a 4150
54 736 745 746 751 758 764 carb, such a manifold carb combo was
55 738 754 758 759 769 774 right at its limit. Even though the 1050
56 747 757 763 760 771 785 had more fow capability, the engine
itself could not access it because the
57 747 760 767 765 772 792
intake manifolds runners were fast
58 749 762 773 773 783 791 becoming the limiting fow factor. Time
59 755 763 768 770 787 795 then for a manifold change.
60 756 763 768 771 779 799
61 751 758 762 772 778 798 950 Dominator Plus Sniper
An intake manifold that has repeatedly
62 758 766 780 789
shown strong results on the TWPE dyno
63 775 780 is the Darin Morganinspired Profler
Not only did this 1050 Super Dominator perform, but it also was In terms of performance capability, this Profler Sniper Jnr. is a
fnished to show-quality standards. no-compromise design, and that virtually mandates the need for a
high hood cowl or hoodscoop. That may be fne for the track, but
not so much for the street.

TEST
SUPER DOMINATION!
The new metering blocks come equipped with just about Original Dominator (left) and the Gen 3 Ultra Dominator (right).
everything a pro-level racer would want to get the best from the Notice the more aerodynamic shape of the new Dominators
engine. Rear foat bowls have jet extensions as supplied. entry into the venturi. Also, the billet booster (yellow arrow). An
adjustment screw under the air flter securing stud thread (blue
arrow) controls the quantity of bypass idle air drawn through the
hole (one for each venturi), indicated by the red arrow.
SO WHAT MAKES A DOMINATOR A

SUPER DOMINATOR?
As a starter, the not-so-obvious overall design refnements consist of better
fuel sealing and foat bowl fuel control. This may not seem much, but it
adds up.
A centrally located drain plug makes fuel draining for a jet
change more convenient with less fuel spillage. The billet metering
blocks have just about everything adjustable by means of remov-
able jets. Also, jet extensions are stock on the rear foat bowls.
Boosters are billet-style items that produce much more consis-
tent results as well as being more effective at signal generation.
The support arms are also more aerodynamic. The main venturi and
the bodies form to and from it are redesigned for better airfow for
a given size.
Also gone is the need to drill holes in the butterfies to set up the idle system
when a big cam is used. Instead, an adjustable idle air bypass system allows
the calibration of the idle circuit air demand with the engine running.
Sniper and Sniper Jnr. These race- 1050 Ultra Dominator Plus intake capacity to feed its substantial
bred intakes are popular with the rear Sniper Jnr. appetite for air. Even though our test
engine dragster guys because they work As it happened, the jetting for the 1050 engine was a street spec motor, both Gen
really well. Here one was pulled from Dominator was close right from the 3 Ultra Dominators proved capable of
the TWPE parts room and quickly port- frst pull, and the numbers seen went delivering greater output with no appar-
matched to the 325cc runners of the test right by those so far recorded. After ent loss of driveability. This new offering
engines Dart heads. minor jetting changes, the 1050 showed from Holley seems to justify the unoff-
The dyno numbers demonstrate the its worth and proved the selection of a cial term super, but dont take our word
validity of the intake manifold being 1050 by Holleys engineers to be on the for it. Terry Walters 20-plus years in
a cork in the induction system. At the money. Below 4,000 rpm, we saw just ProStock has meant a close relationship
lower rpm, there was a small reduction one lb-ft less torque, and from 4,000 with Dominator carbs. His thoughts here:
in torque with the 950 Ultra Domina- up, the 1050 was the best of the best. On a well-specd engine, these new Gen
tor on the Sniper Jnr. intake compared Peak torque was up by 14 lb-ft and peak 3 Ultra Dominators perform as good as
to the numbers produced on the GM power up by 12 over the 950 dominator they lookand that is just great. EM
intake. But at 3,900 rpm, the score was and up 36 horses over the best seen with
even and from there on up, the 950 the 950 Ultra HP on the GM intake. SOURCES:
Dominator/Sniper Jnr. combo went on GMPP
to make 7 lb-ft more for peak torque Conclusions gmperformanceparts.com
and 14 more horsepower. At this point, Though it was a veteran of several hun- HOLLEY PERFORMANCE
the expectations for positive results dred dyno pulls, the TWPE 87-octane- PRODUCTS
using the 1050 with the improved mani- friendly 572 endurance motor proved (270) 781-9741
fold were high. capable of virtually 800 hp given the holley.com
SUPER VICTOR II INTAKE MANIFOLDS FOR BIG-BLOCK CHEVY
Extra large carb outer flange with a
Ultra thin divider walls create 5"x 5" opening fits high flow carbs
a superior runner layout for and throttle stops
better fuel distribution
15% larger runners than our
Super Victor are Ideal for 1,000+
Accepts standard horsepower drag race engines
height (9.8") with high air flow requirements in
distributors the 3500-8500 rpm range
Manifolds Available for

Rectagular Port Big-Block Chevy
- Standard Deck (9.8")
- Standard Deck CNC (9.8") - NEW
- Standard Deck (9.8" w/.080 raised port)
- Standard Deck (10.2" w/.250" raised port)
- Tall Deck (10.2")
- Tall Deck CNC (10.2") - NEW
- 10.2" Deck for use with Brodix SR20 Heads - NEW
FOLLOW US ON:
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT EDELBROCK.COM
Get FREE catalogs: 800-386-8326 Tech: 800-416-8628, 7am-5pm PST. M-F.
2014 EDELBROCK, LLC All parts for use in racing applications only.
TECH TIPS
STRETCHED OUT CLEARANCE

We tend to think of the hard steel of a fastener as an immov-
able solid object, however, in practice a small amount of give
CONFIRMED
is what allows a fastener to hold. Torqued bolts will actually One of the most critical clearances inside an engine is found
stretch a minute amount, generating tension that holds your between the rod journal and the rod bearings. There are
engines parts together. The exact amount of stretch is criti- numerous variables that affect this spec, from the big end
cal, since there is a certain amount that puts the fastener in bore of the rod, to the bearing crush and dimension, to the
its elastic zone, meaning it will return to its original position size of the journal itself. Correctly measuring this clearance
once the tension is removed. Too much stretch will cause per- is a chore, and it is a step often short cut or even skipped
manent distortion or elongation, compromising the fasteners entirely. This is a big mistakethe rod bearing clearance is the
strength and holding ability. Torque specs are designed to last place to cut corners. Direct measurement is the way to
correspond to the required amount of stretch, and usually do the job right, and it takes an array of tools to get it done.
just going by torque is an adequate approach. But there are A micrometer measures the journal diameter, and then a dial
variables that can alter the amount of stretch achieved at a bore gauge is used to measure the big end with the bearings
given torque. Critical fasteners such as the rod bolts in this installed. Here, the rod caps should be torqued to specs, and
big-block Chevy race engine are best checked with a stretch a rod vice is mandatory equipment. Measure each journal and
gauge. This gives the exact amount of elongation applied rod individually, since now is the time to fnd any problems,
to the fastener, ensuring optimized tension. A quick check not after the engine is assembled and fails.
of the stretch is worth the peace of mind that the fastener
is at the ideal torque. How much stretch does it take? That
varies with the design and materials of the fastener, but
specialty manufacturers will provide specifcations for
particular fasteners.
MORE KNOCKING
The crank gear of a timing set should be a snug ft on the
crank snout. Getting it in place and fully seated on the shoul-
der of the crank will usually require some judiciously applied
force. We have seen builders punch the gear on with a hammer
and brass drift, and sometimes with a hammer alone. Tapping of force to get the gear in place. If it is tight, the clearance is
around the gear like this will usually get it on, but the gear will insuffcient, and forcing it can actually split the gear. Another
cock and fght all the way to seated. The right way is to use a thing to check is that the gear seats fush against the register
tool such as this Jesel driver to smack the gear evenly all the of the crank, since a radius in the corner of the crank can actu-
way around. It shouldnt take any more than a modest amount ally hang up the gear, causing misalignment.
PISTON
KNOCKER
A routine part of engine assembly is
shoving the pistons into the bores. To get
them in, the rings will need to be com-
pressed, and there are a variety of tools
to get that job done. Our favorite tool for
the task is the tapered ring compressor,
which squeezes the rings as the pistons
are run though. Tapered ring compressors
are specifc to the bore size, so a different
tool is needed for each bore diameter. We
like the tapered compressors because the
rings are progressively and gently com-
pressed to the exact diameter needed to
get the piston into the bore. Often with
this type of ring compressor, the piston
can be pushed into the bore by hand with
only fnger pressure, especially with low-
tension rings. With more ring tension, a
little persuasion is sometimes needed to
knock the piston in the hole. The most
commonly used tool here is the butt end
of a wooden handle hammer. We have to
admit to using the hammer handle tech-
nique, but hammers are often gritty and
the wood can splinter. The professional
choice is a dedicated piston knocker like
this tool from Powerhouse. Keep it clean,
put it in the engine assembly drawer of
your toolbox, and never grab for the
hammer handle again.
20 SB-FORD 15 SB-CHEVY
220cc
220cc Flows
340
Flows
340 CFM
CFM
285cc
285cc Flows
400
Flows
400 CFM
CFM TECH TIPS
23 SB-CHEVY 13.5 SB-CHEVY
245cc
245cc Flows
Flows 325cc
325cc Flows
Flows
350
350 CFM
CFM 453
453 CFM
CFM
All AFR heads come standard with: Lightweight bead
lock 8mm valves that reduce valve oat (Big Block Call for details. AFR heads only.
Chevy has conventional 11/32 hardware), Premium 4220cc SBF Flows 340 CFM 4245cc LSX Flows 360 CFM
Pacaloy racing valve springs, 100% Fully 5 axis 4245cc SBC Flows 350 CFM 4385cc BBC Flows 456 CFM
CNC ported, 3/4 thick head deck, Viton oil seals
(not cheap Poly Acrylic) and hardened Chrome Moly
spring seats, not just shims. Includes adjustable
guide plates for perfect rocker arm alignment.
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THE LAST
LAPP
Lapping the valves after a valve job
was traditionally done as the fnal fn-
ish on the cylinder head seat to ensure
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Ensuring that oil is reaching the pump
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Orange County Intl Auto Show Arizona Intl Auto Show
Oct 25, 2014 Nov 2730, 2014 An often overlooked point is the clear-
Anaheim Convention Center Phoenix Convention Center ance between the oil pump pickup tube
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Oct 2426, 2014 Nov 2730, 2014 is too far from the foor, it is subject to
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Central California Auto Show Motor Trend Intl lubricant. On the other hand, a pickup
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Th e M a r k O f A
a perfect seal. With todays highly
accurate seat-cutting machines and
Professional
Everyone knows that when it comes
vacuum-testing equipment, lapping is to high performance fasteners,
no longer required to assure a leak- theres nothing better than ARP. All
proof seal at the valves. So does that
mean we should toss the lapping paste ARP fasteners are manufactured in-
to the back of the shelf? A fnal lap- house to rigid AS91000 and ISO-9001
ping of a valve job is still the best way
to achieve a visual inspection of the standard. Look for the ARP stamped
contact between the valve and seat. on each fastener as your assurance of
Mark the seats with layout dye and fol-
low with a light lapping using fne paste. quality. Your customers will.
This will leave a readily visible witness
mark where the valves and seats meet,
indicating the seat position, width, and
any runout. The lapping should be per-
formed before fnal cleaning and assem-
bly, and it is critical that all traces of the
lapping paste are removed.
Download the
latest ARP
800-826-3045 catalog or request
potential engine failure. Checking the w w w. a r p - b o l t s . c o m a free printed copy.
clearance is easily accomplished with
a quick mock-up. Protect the screen
with duct tape and lay a lump of clay on
top. With the gasket in place, fully seat
the pan to compress the clay and get a
good visual reading of the pick-up clear-
ance to the pan. About 3/8 inch is suff-
cient, but ensure that the tube is ridged
enough not to fex and suck down to
the pan. Note the strut brace on this
LS Chevy pickup. A metal foot can be
added to the pick-up tube to ensure a
minimum clearance, and many tubes
already come with this feature.

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PROSHOP By Steve Dulcich
FILLIN THE
BORES
Bottom End Assembly
O
ne of the milestones of the engine-building process
is when it all starts to come together and its time to
fll the bores. Up to this point, there was nothing but
preparation, from cleaning and measuring to machin-
ing, mocking up, and making checks. While all this is progress,
fnal assembly is where you can see the resultsand thats
satisfying.
We have seen engines put together in dirt foor sheds with
a scrap of plywood serving as the workbench, but cleanliness
and organization are key contributors to a successful build. By
now, all of the parts should be ready to install, with vital clear-
ances checked and corrected as required. Each part should be
marked for its fnal position in the block, with pistons num-
bered to a corresponding bore and the valve notch orientation
confrmed. Rings are assigned to the pistons corresponding to
the bore they were gapped in. I fnd it best to then lay out all
of the parts on a clean bench top, compiling each set of com-
ponents required to have a piston/rod assembly completed for
installation. It is better to then move on to building all eight
piston/rod assemblies before putting the frst one in the block.
This process, plus redundant checks, will virtually eliminate
assembly errors.
The frst parts to go together are the pistons and rods. I
like to begin by installing the pin retainer or lock in one end
of each piston and then proceed to lube each rods pin bore,
piston, as well as each pin. There will be a specifc orienta-
tion from bank to bank, with the general rule being that the
large chamfer of the rods big end is orientated to the cheek
of the rod journal. Make sure the rods are facing the correct
direction and follow in line installing the pin and pin retainers
for each assembly. Once each piston and rod are assembled,
perform a fnal check before setting the assembly back on the
bench, ensuring the valve notch orientation and rod orientation
are correctand that the pin retainers are all in and properly
seated in their grooves. An inspection mark can be added at
this point with a felt marker.
Next, we have the ring installation. The rings should already
be fle-ft, deburred, cleaned, and positioned next to their cor-
responding piston. I like to lightly pre-lube the pistons ring
lands with a light spray lube like WD-40. Fit the expander,
followed by the bottom rail, and then the top. Double-check
the expander gap to make sure the ends are properly butted
and not overlapped before proceeding to the next ring. Identify
which side goes up and install the second ring. Confrm the ring
is right-side up by looking again at the mark or chamfer and
Final assembly is no time to be grinding or machining. Everything
that will go into the engine will have to be checked, machined, or
corrected in advance. Items sized to a particular bore, such as fle-
ft rings, should be numbered and assigned to that position in the
fnal engine assembly.

PROSHOP
Assembly errors are minimized

by organization and redundant
checks. I like to lay all the
parts out in a clean workspace
according to where
they will go into
the engine.
spin the ring in the land to make sure it does not snag or bind. and allow the builder to hand-guide the rod to the crank journal.
Repeat this process with the top ring. Once all of the rings are The piston should go into the bore without undue force or bind-
installed, make a fnal check of the expander gap and that the ing. Install the cap, making sure it is orientated the right way
rings are right-side up before setting the assembly back down around, usually with the bearing tangs and chamfer meeting at
on the bench. the same side of the rod. All of the rod bearing tangs and cham-
The bearings will go in next. Some rod bearings are inter- fers should be in the same orientation for a given bankif not,
changeable with regard to upper or lower position, while others something was not assembled correctly on the bench.
are specifc. Check this for your particular engine and parts I will usually just tighten the rod fastener until snug at this
combination. The bearings should already be laid out next to point, preferring to torque to fnal specs once all of the bores are
the cap and rod in which they will be installed. I lube all of flled. Once the rod cap is snugged, I will rotate the crank a cou-
the bearing shells and then go down the line and install the ple of full revolutions, feeling the proper smoothness without
bearings. Put a dab of ARP lube where the fastener head any binding. The crank is then parked at bottom dead center for
bears at each caps boltholes and lube the threads of each the next cylinder. Repeat for the rest of the cylinders, fnishing
fastener. At this point, we have everything numbered and one bank and then the other. Flip the block so that the crankcase
ready for assembly. is up and torque each pair of rod bolts in sequence. I will then
The block should have already been given its fnal cleaning go back over the rod fasteners as a redundant check. An inspec-
and be ready for assembly. The pistons in a V-8 engine will be tion mark may be added to each rod cap at this point. We now
installed in order, one bank at a time. Turn the crank to bottom have a basic short-block. EM
dead center for the cylinder receiving the piston and positon
the block so there is access to install the piston and reach the SOURCES:
rod fasteners. Lightly lube the boreI prefer to lube all of the ARP HARBOR FREIGHT
bores of the bank being worked on before proceeding. Grab the (800) 826-3045 TOOLS
corresponding piston and lube the skirts. The rings may also arp-bolts.com (800) 444-3353
be lightly lubed, but a light spray lube or even dry installation DIAMOND RACING harborfreighttools.com
is preferred in some instances. I like to give the piston rings a PISTONS POWERHOUSE
fnal check for positon and orientation before installing the ring (877) 522-2112 PRODUCTS INC.
compressor, and then confrm the rod chamfer orientation with diamondracing.net (800) 872-7223
the crank cheek. EAGLE SPECIALTY powerhouseproducts.com
With everything confrmed, Ill carefully align the assembly PRODUCTS TOTAL SEAL
into the bore so the rod will squarely meet the crank journal. A (662) 796-7373 (800) 874-2753
rod guide can be used at this point, but with low-tension rings eaglerod.com totalseal.com
and capscrew rods, the pistons will slide easily down the bore
Errors are minimized by doing each operation in sequence for all of Install the pistons in sequence, one bank at a time. Develop
the assemblies, rather than putting the parts together for one hole redundant check procedures for each step of the build process.
at a time. Here we will install all of the piston pins before moving I give the rings a three-step fnal check for correct installation
to the next step. Use double-check procedures such as inspecting before the ring compressor goes on, verify rod orientation, verify
all of the pin locks before setting the piston back down. piston orientation, verify bearing insert is seated, and only then
lower the assembly into the bore.
The rings should be grouped with their associated pistons, A tapered ring compressor is the preferred tool, usually allowing
already cleaned and deburred. This way you can go down the line the piston to be pushed in by hand. This allows maximum feel to
assembling them in a repetitive process, minimizing the potential detect a hung ring or other problem upon installation. Check the
for mistakes. rotation as each cylinder is flled.
The bores should be prepped, cleaned, lubed, and ready to go Final torquing of the rod fasteners is reserved until all of the rods
before the piston and rod assemblies are installed. This again are installed. Working in order and having a regime of inspection
makes the installation a repetitive process. For this engine, the or double-checks here will virtually eliminate the potential for
cylinders were treated with Total Seals Quick Seat, rather than leaving a fastener loose in this critical area.
the normal oil lube.

ON THE WEB
FORDS CLASSIC BIG-BLOCK

Fords FE-series big-block was one of the most successful
engines of the era. With a spectacularly long production run, and
legendary racing success, the legacy of these engines lives on.
Although the rarest high-performance versions of the factory FE
engines are sought-after collectors items today, this series of
engines was also put to use in a staggering array of everyday
applications. This ensures plentiful parts to build upon. For the
more serious, the FE can be built today using all aftermarket
parts. FE engine specialist Barry Rabotnick is an expert at taking
the FE and turning it into something special. Here, he builds a
433-cube example and makes north of 700 hp.
THE RIGHT HEAD BIG CHEVY MUSCLE

Ever wonder which heads are right for your engine? Ever worry When it comes to making power in large quantities, the Chevy
about the effects of the wrong choice on power? We take a big-block has become the go-to engine. The level of modifca-
look at the raw data, testing a wide range of head sizes on tion possible is unreal, with a mind-boggling level of support
not one but two small-block Fords. With a hot 366 stroker and from the aftermarket, ready to ft any need. While unconven-
a more average 302 acting as test engines, we run a series tional exotic versions with spread blocks and revised port
of heads over each short-block, running what many would architecture are readily available, how much power is at hand
consider too much and not enough head in the process. with a conventional Chevy? We highlight the build of an effec-
How did these seeming mismatches compare to conventional tive yet powerful conventional 565 drag race combination, using
wisdom? Did the big heads kill torque as you might expect, and straightforward parts to make a reliable 1000 naturally aspirated
did the small heads hamper power? Read on to fnd out. horsepower.

Engine Masters - Winter 2015

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433 CID

BRUTAL FORD BIG-BLOCK 711 HP

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Reyer-Morrison big-block Chevy Camaros in

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We went with the proven SpeedPro Plasma Moly ring set in a

Factory big-block rods are strong forgings and reliable in milder

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Our timing set did not come with

todays camshaft technology offering Power It Up hard parts as the high-performance

The factory Mopar valvetrain is a shaft-mounted non-adjustable

Even the best of the

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blocks are a side oiler design in terms of oiling, but it is a bit

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Basic machining was all that the new Dart

A custom Crane solid

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The Edlebrock Super

The AFR 377 heads are conventional

Note the streamlined

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