Building a supercharged engine with a traditional Roots-style GMC blower is about the quickest way to add power and draw attention to your vehicle at the same time. 

Other types of superchargers may be more efficient and fit comfortably under the hoods of most cars. But if you don’t mind cutting a little sheet metal to clear a fat blower case, and you don’t mind bending your neck occasionally to see around that obtrusive air scoop–then a “Jimmie” blower is for you.

The GMC-style blower was a bit temperamental if not unpredictable when it first appeared on street machines in the ‘60s. Over the years, numerous supercharger shops have refined their setups and developed parts with tighter tolerances and increased durability. Additional improvements in supporting players like camshaft design, ignition options and carburetor tuning have more than tamed the big beast. But challenges still remain to building a supercharged engine for the street, especially if you’re looking for 900 horsepower out of a small-block!

Hardcore ordered the K1 Technologies 4340 forged-steel crankshaft with a 4.0-inch stroke and standard small block main and rod journals. Petralia also double-keyed the crank snout to ensure the dampener won’t spin off under high boost loads. The crank turns inside Clevite H-series bearings. ARP assembly lube ensures accurate torque on the fasteners. (Photos courtesy of Hardcore Horsepower)

Here’s a topside look at the Dart 4-bolt block. All the machine work was handled at the Dart factory, including the line honing, decking, 4.125-inch bore and final cylinder hone. Wiseco GFX rings were gapped as follows: .023 for top and .025 for middle. Wiseco’s 2618 forged blower pistons feature a 25cc dish, thicker material on top and pins with heavier walls to withstand boost abuse.

“While ‘trailer queen’ show cars are still very popular, we’ve seen a definite push of owners wanting to prove that there’s more than spit and polish under their hoods. We’re getting requests for a lot more 600- to 850-horsepower pump-gas engines from people who want the whole package,” says Petralia. 

Bottom-end strategy

It’s relatively easy to bolt a supercharger kit to a stock or docile engine with a compression ratio around 8:1 or 8.5:1, as long as the boost levels are kept below 5 psi. Anymore aggressive on the boost, and a much stouter bottom end is required.

The multi-layer steel head gaskets from Mr. Gasket can be stubborn when sliding over the head studs, so Hardcore positions the gasket on the block deck first, then installs the head studs.

Hardcore started with a Dart “Little M” small-block Chevy cylinder block that was fully machined at Dart’s Michigan facility. Numerous options are available for this block. Petralia went with the standard 9.025 deck cut down to 9.000 and a 4.125 bore. The block also includes splayed 350-sized 4-bolt billet steel main caps with ARP studs for added strength.

Filling up the block are a K1 Technologies 4-inch stroke crankshaft, K1 6-inch steel connecting rods, Clevitte 77 H-series bearings, Wiseco blower pistons and Comp Cams roller camshaft. The K1 crank is forged from 4340 steel, features a .125-inch fillet radii and are nitrided for improved bearing life. Also made from 4340 billet steel, the H-beam rods are shot-peened and come with bronze wrist-pin bushings. 

Blown small-blocks have a sour reputation for spinning the harmonic dampers off the crank. A “rat snout” isn’t always necessary but Hardcore took the added precaution of double keying the K1 crank. A double-chain drive turns the Comp custom grind that was degreed at 110 intake centerline. Tech tip: Sometimes the lifters are so tall that they can’t be installed with heads in place, so double check before tightening down the heads.

To achieve a modest compression ratio of 9:1, Petralia ordered the Wiseco pistons with a 25cc dish. These pistons, forged from 2618 aluminum and feature thicker material for the crown. The wrist pins are constructed with heavier walls to withstand the higher cylinder pressures under boost. Wrapped around the pistons are Wiseco GFX rings: 1.2mm stainless steel gas-nitrided steel top, 1.2mm moly second and 3.0mm oil ring. The thin rings were utilized to cut down friction and heat in the cylinders walls, without going to a low-tension oil ring, which may leak when the engine isn’t equipped with a vacuum pump.

The unique vehicle chassis required a custom-fabricated oiling system, prompting Petralia to order a Titan oil pump and Billet Fabrication 7-quart pan. The Titan pump is constructed of billet aluminum and features a gerotor pump design with an integral pickup, which is handy on energetic engines where there’s a greater chance of a traditional pickup cracking or falling off. The custom Billet Fabrication pan rails are constructed of 6061 billet aluminum while the pan walls are made from .090-inch thick 3003-alloy. Other features include windage screen, crank scraper and passenger-side kickout to help keep oil off the crank. The short block was assembled with Mr. Gasket gaskets and ARP hardware.

Blown engines don’t need a lot of cam. In fact, a camshaft with long duration and an aggressive overlap can hurt performance as the boost simply pushes the fresh air and fuel out the exhaust valve. Petralia ordered a custom street roller grind from Comp Cams with .630″ lift (full specs are supplied to engine buyers only). The cam is turned with a Comp double-roller adjustable timing set and matched with Comp’s Endur-X solid roller lifters with pressurized oiling to live on the street and 7.800-inch Hi-Tech pushrods.

AFR’s CNC-ported aluminum cylinder heads come complete with 220cc intake runners, 75cc combustion chamber and 2.10 intake/1.60 exhaust stainless steel valves with 8mm stems. The larger diameter valve springs required a little grinding on the washer and nut for clearance between the 4-6 and 3-5 exhaust springs.

The Competition CNC-ported 23-degree aluminum heads from Air Flow Research boast 220cc intake runners that flow better than some larger-runner, non-CNC ported heads on the market. While some builders might consider 220cc’s too small for a blown 427ci engine, Petralia says he chose these heads based on a number of factors beyond just flow and volume–the least of which are cost, ease of installation, quality, warranty and made in the USA. He also likes the intake-to-exhaust flow ratio, which helps when running a blower. Plus, the small intake runners will keep low-speed response crisp off-idle when the blower is not producing boost. The heads feature AFR’s largest intake runner with standard valve location–that is, without having to utilize offset vavletrain parts–which makes field service or replacements much easier. 

The fun part

The 75cc combustion chambers, combined with the large piston dish and 10.4cc head gasket volume, result in a 9:1 compression ratio. The heads also feature a 3/4-inch thick deck, which helps head gasket seal in supercharged applications, and hardened ductile-iron interlocking valve seats. Accompanying the fully assembled heads are lightweight 2.10 x 8mm stainless steel intake valves, 1.60 x 8mm stainless steel exhaust valves, 1.550-inch OD dual valve springs (225 pounds on the seat), 10-degree retainers and keepers, 7/16-inch rocker studs and bronze valve guides. Finishing off the heads are Comp Cams Ultra Gold 1.65:1 roller rockers.

With the long block complete, the fun part comes from Weiand. The polished 8-71 supercharger features the traditional GMC 3-lobe rotor arrangement and a 3-inch x 8mm Gilmer drive belt. Hardcore ported and polished the Weiand intake manifold for improved top-end performance. Providing fuel on top of the blower case is a pair of Holley 750HP carbs designed for supercharged applications and feature boost-referenced power valves for street use. 

Comp Cams Ultra gold 1.65:1 roller rockers add a little more lift and duration at the valve than a standard 1.6:1 ratio. On the bottom, seven quarts of oil are maintained by a Billet Fabrication custom aluminum pan with built-in windage screen, crank scraper and passenger-side kickout. Pushing the 30-weight Royal Purple synthetic lubricant through the block is a Titan billet pump with integral pickup.

Hardcore ported and polished the ports in the Weiand blower manifold. Again, sometimes it’s easier to install the studs after positioning the gasket.

Power valves help prevent the engine from getting fat on fuel during idle and part-throttle cruising and provides additional fuel at wide-open-throttle and high-load conditions to prevent lean mixtures that could lead to detonation. Manifold vacuum normally holds the power valve closed. When the throttle is opened, manifold vacuum drops, allowing the power valve to open and feed extra needed fuel to the intake. But the constant vacuum created by the blower under the carbs would fool a standard power valve into thinking the engine is always at idle, even if it’s screaming at 6,000 rpm. By referencing the power valve with a vacuum line from the carb to the intake manifold below the blower, the power valve will remain closed at idle. As boost builds when the throttle is opened, manifold pressure will open the valve to enrichen the overall fuel mixture.

Getting ready for the dyno

Final consideration on a blown engine is the ignition timing.

“Boost retard is absolutely critical on pump gas,” warns Petralia. 

Hardcore installed a digital Mallory distributor that can be programmed to control ignition timing according to boost. The new distributor is all-inclusive, featuring a built-in MAP sensor and the equivalent of a CD ignition box contained within its small-diameter housing. The timing curve is dyno-programmed for good low-speed drivability and a safe maximum advance to stay out of detonation. Mallory’s Hand-Held ignition programmer is also included with this engine so the customer can tailor the curve to their needs, such as changing boost-retard values if they add race gas and swap blower pulleys for more boost.

Assembling the dual-carb throttle linkage for the twin Holleys is one of the more time-consuming chores on such a project. But patience is necessary as far too many enthusiasts want to fire up before all the details are addressed. Weiand also offers a dual-carb fuel-line kit with stainless tubes and -6AN fittings that make final assembly much easier than fabricating individual lines. The Mr. Gasket screened top blower gasket came in handy immediately when a bit of packaging material fell out of one carb as it was being installed.

On the dyno, the blown 427 peaked at 755 horsepower with eight pounds of boost on pump gas. Checking the plugs after the early runs revealed a lean condition, so all eight jets were bumped up about 5 percent. Behind the drive pulley is a Powerbond harmonic balancer.

Initial dyno pulls were made with the Weiand blower running at 8-percent underdrive. A later pulley swap for more boost was unsuccessful as a faulty connection to the MAP sensor in the distributor limited the runs on race gas. Still, Hardcore did hit 820 horsepower on one pull.

The rubber connections to the Mallory distributor couldn’t handle much more than 11 psi during the dyno test. Back at the shop, Hardcore fabricated a billet aluminum “boost manifold” to support a network of high-pressure lines and connections. It could be mounted on the engine or firewall. The connections include (from left): in-dash boost gauge (currently empty), front carb power-valve reference, rear carb power-valve reference, distributor MAP sensor, and boost supply line from rear of intake manifold.

“Unfortunately, the vacuum line to the distributor’s built-in MAP sensor kept failing at higher boost levels and testing was cut short due to the lack of timing control this caused,” explains Petralia. “Before the line disintegrated, power reached 820 horsepower at 6,900 RPM and 717 pound-feet of torque at 5,500 RPM on race gas.”

Final thoughts

Even though the days’ tests were over,” sums up Petralia, “it’s important to note that power also moved up in the RPM range when running higher boost and race gas. This will help to keep pulling the vehicle at the top end during its run on the salt.”

To alleviate the high-boost problem, Petralia fabricated a billet “boost manifold” with compression fittings and high-quality lines to support all the necessary feeds to the distributor, carbs, and boost gauge.

With an in-your-face persona, instant throttle response and gobs of useable torque, a supercharged engine is also quite credible on the street. It can be as docile as required, then easily turned up for higher performance tasks. The keys to a successful project include a stout bottom end and careful fuel-spark tuning.

Helping EngineLabs build its technical library are the sister magazines in the Power Automedia group. We’ve selected the best stories from their vast archives to give us a solid foundation upon which to expand even further with more in-depth and comprehensive articles. Some of these archived stories cover long-term projects, such as this 388 LSX buildup. Technical editor Bobby Kimbrough has culled through the numerous stages of the 1,200-horsepower buildup to present a thorough wrap-up. If you want to dive even deeper into this project, check out the list archived stories. And be sure to take a look at all the other excellent articles contributed by the Power Automedia team. — Editor

The original project car that spurred the 388 LSX buildup came with an alcohol-fed, 1,000-plus-horsepower 415ci small-block Chevy boasting an F2 ProCharger. No doubt the engine was a solid bullet, but the goal was to be ultra-competitive in the PSCA/NMCA 275 Drag Radial and Wild Street classes. That meant assembling an engine capable of mid- to high 7-second runs.

After weighing the options and consulting with Virginia Speed, the team chose to work with the GM LSX platform and use mainly off-the-shelf style components developed to offer race-worthy strength at affordable prices.

Chronology of the Build

Block selection and prep is the logical first step in any engine build. GM’s LSX Bowtie semi-finished bare iron block (part # 19213964) was chosen for its affordability, durability and close family ties to the production LS7 block. 

Block Prep

The standard block comes with semi-finished 9.260-inch decks. Block filler was added to the water jackets to re-enforce the cylinder bores. We used the typical “short-fill” that adds filler within a quarter-inch of the water-pump hole.

Most engine dimensions are  based off the crankshaft to camshaft relationship, so the mains were line-bored to absolute zero. Then the decks were milled the ensure  a precise 45-degree angle to the centerline created from the crankshaft to camshaft alignment.

The machinist entered the bore locations, deck height and other dimensions in the CNC machine to blueprint the limits for the block. Because each block has some variations due to casting process, each set of machining limits are specific to individual engines.

The 388 LSX block was designed for 4.125-inch bores, which would allow machining of the cylinder bores to the point where the bore centers were located exactly to the blueprint location. We’re only talking about slightly over 200-thousandths of an inch, but precision is everything in a perfectly blueprinted engine.

Chevrolet Performance adds extra material to critical areas of the LSX Bowtie block to help support power adders. The main bearings are align-bored first to establish a reference point for every other machining operation.

A tool that goes on the CNC is perfectly in line with the Y-axis off the mains of the block, which pushes the lifter bushings in to a predetermined height. Then the bushings are bored out to within 0.0002-inch of the desired actual size. A hone is used to reach the final size.

Lifter Bushings

Next was machining out the lifter bores to 1.060-inches for the keyway lifter bushings. Jesel mechanical roller lifters don’t require a dogbone or tie bars for alignment. With the bores cut, the lifter bushings were pressed into the bores.

Virginia Speed drilled and tapped the block for larger head studs. The bottom row of four holes were taken from 8mm up to 3/8-inch. The remaining holes were drilled and tapped to 1/2-inch. Based on the piston compression height, the size of the head gasket and the desired quench height, a perfectly flat deck was milled to accept the MLS head gaskets.

Virginia Speed’s CNC milling head has about .0015 of tilt to it, which provides the flattest possible surface without having a back cut. By keeping the speed of the cutter a little slower, the right surface for the gasket can be milled in at the same time. If the deck surface is too smooth, the gasket won’t bite into the surface; too course and the gasket won’t fill in the imperfections and may not seal. We are using a copper gasket and O-ring configuration so we don’t have to worry about sealing combustion with the gasket - we just have to worry about sealing water.

Finally, grooves were cut in the block for wire O-ring gaskets. The depth of the O-ring is critical to provide a boost-proof seal. Too deep and the O-ring won’t deform enough to provide a seal between the block and the head. Too shallow and the O-ring will not allow enough crush on the head gasket to provide a good seal.

A cutter that’s basically a mini boring bar with a square groove cutter goes around in a circle and creates the O-ring groove. It’s done off the bore centerline, just like boring the block except its only touching the surface of the deck with the cutter. The depth and position of the O-ring grooves are critical and often based on experience of the machinist.

The Art of Honing

It takes Virginia Speed three days to hone a block. Just to keep a constant temperature on the block, they will work on a block for a while then let it cool down before resuming.

The block made a pass through an ultrasonic clean-up tank in preparation for honing. Like most machine shops, Virginia Speed uses a torque plate when performing the cylinder honing; however, there are other considerations taken into account. The main bearing caps were put back on and torqued to specifications, and the torque plate was bolted on with the same type fasteners that will be used in the installation. These steps help simulate the same tension that the block will be exposed to when the cylinder head is installed. Ambient air temperature can also affect the honing process by tolerance changes.

Virginia Speed controls the shop temperature at 70 degrees and lets the components settle in to the shop temperature before measuring pistons and checking the bore with a dial gauge. Between each cylinder honing, the crew lets the engine block cool back down before moving on to the next cylinder bore to prevent heat build up in the block. Once the honing was completed, the core of the engine was ready to receive the rotating assembly.

Once the block is prepped, assembly begins.

Short Block

Virginia Speed started with a Lunati Pro Series 4340 forged steel crankshaft (3.66-inch stroke) and milled an extra keyway to help secure the damper. The ProCharger F-1R supercharger will also be driven off of the crank, which also puts an extreme load on the snout at peak boost, hence the extra key. The Lunati crankshafts are pretty good right out of the box, but a touch of balancing with the other rotating components ensured a smoother running engine with minimal high frequency harmonics.

Short Block Components:

Crankshaft - Lunati Pro Series 4340 Forged Steel with 3.622-inch stroke

Connecting Rods – GRP Pro Severe Duty Aluminum, 6.200-inch length, .927-inch wrist pin bore, 2.100-inch journal

Pistons – JE Forged Side Relief 4.125-inch bore, domed top with Calico thermal barrier and DLC coatings

Bearings – Clevite TriMetal with Calico CT-1 dry film lubricating coating

Balancer – ATI Super Damper, SFI 18.1 spec, 7.074-inch diameter steel shell, 3-ring with dual keyways 

ATI provided a custom balancer unique to the setup – the hub was made as short as possible to keep the supercharger pulley close to the block. ATI has a vast inventory of balancers but when an off-the-shelf piece isn’t quite right, ATI will provide a custom solution.

The team ordered GRP aluminum connecting rods measuring 6.200-inches from the centerline of the pin and crankshaft journal. These connecting rods use standard small-block Chevy .927-inch wristpins and 2.100-inch big ends, and they require a dowel pin to hold the the Clevite coated bearings bearings in place.

JE Pistons provided a custom set of high-performance forgings fit to a 4.125-inch bore. Instead of the traditional “full-round” design, these parts have reduced area around the pin bosses and minimal skirts. The forged side-relief design is the strongest that JE makes. Less material means less weight, but these pistons also increase strength by narrowing the pin bosses to reduce flex. Virginia Speed calculated that the engine would be limited to under 23 pounds of boost, a compression rate of 11.3:1 was designed into the final design.

GRP Pro Severe Duty aluminum connecting rods.

The custom pistons were machined to have a clearance of .007-inch in the bores for our engine. Running the pistons looser for forced induction applications will help prevent the piston from seizing in the bore. A basic rule for clearance is more boost requires more clearance and less boost requires less clearance.

JE Forged domed top Pistons with side relief 4.125-inch bore and Total Seal Gapless 1.5mm top, Napier 1.5mm second, and 3/16-inch oil rings

Opting to use Total Seal’s new gapless design rings with 1.5mm top and second rings with a traditional 3/16-inch oil ring package, Virginia Speed set the end gap on the top ring at .035-inch and the second ring at .025-inch. For gapless rings and forced induction, it is better to run extra end gap so that the rings “don’t butt and rip the top off of the piston.” The gapless rings use a conventional style ring, but with an extra, thin ring in the same groove. The gaps were set 180-degrees apart. The top rings are stainless steel, and the second rings are a conventional Napier design.

On this cast-iron block drag race engine, we set the main bearing clearances at .0027-.0029.

Bearing Clearances

Bearing clearances are different based on the application of the engine. With street or road race engines, you’ll run clearances a lot tighter since the block gets hotter and the main bore expands and gets more and more bearing clearance as you go. A drag race motor never sees those kind of temps so you can run much looser clearance in a drag race engine. These engines are usually making more horsepower, so you have to compensate for more crankshaft flex. The problem comes in when you are setting the bearing clearances cold. If you are going to be running 250 to 260 degree oil temps, you have to account for that when measuring cold bearing clearances – you have to make room for that so they don’t beat the bearings out. On this cast-iron block drag race engine, the main bearing clearances were set at .0027-.0029-inch. ARP fasteners were chosen for consistency in grain structure. This type of quality fastener offers a better torque and more uniform torque between fasteners.

Ideally, all the bolts in the engine should be stretched to length, not torqued with a traditional torque wrench. This is possible on the rod bolts, but impossible on the mains since they’re installed into blind holes and you need access to both ends of the fastener to measure stretch.

Comp Elite drag race dual springs have an astounding 950 pounds of open pressure, 350 on the seat, and carry Ferrea valves that are held in place with Manley titanium retainers and locks.

Valvetrain and Camshaft

“There’s probably more time spent engineering a valvetrain system than on any other part of the engine,” said engine builder Shawn Miller, who worked with Jesel and Comp Cams.

To make this valvetrain as strong as possible, Comp’s 1.500-inch diameter Elite drag race springs (part #26956) with a massive 950 pounds of open pressure (350 on the seat) were selected to help control the motion created by Jesel’s large .937-inch-diameter keyway lifters with .850 wheel (part no. LFT-53450).

The Comp camshaft features 271/282 degrees of duration at .050-inch lift, and .437/.421-inch lobe lift, which equates to .742/.715 valve lift with the Jesel rockers. Lobe separation is spec’d at 116 degrees.

The Trick Flow Specialties cylinder heads with all the Jesel conversion completed.

Jesel modified the heads to accept a longer rocker arm by machining the valve cover rail and repositioning the pushrod holes. This allows more than .800-inch lift without the rocker/valve alignment problem. We also had Jesel install its longer shaft rocker arms for improved geometry from increased pivot length. The main advantages of a longer pivot is that the rocker tip travels in a larger arc, which results in a smaller travel pattern and minimizes the scrubbing motion across the valve tip.

A Jesel belt-drive connects the cam and crank.

Completing the valvetrain is a Jesel belt drive (part no. 31045-3489) for the cam-to-crank connection. The beauty of a belt drive is twofold: it absorbs harmonics that could hit the cam, and it’s easy to change the cam timing—up to 20 degrees in five minutes.

Trick Flow Specialties (TFS) LSX-R Porters Cylinder Heads (part #TFS-306003-PC05).

Cylinder Heads

The LSX-R Porters cylinder heads (part #TFS-306003-PC05) are from Trick Flow Specialties (TFS). This casting is not advertised in the TFS catalog as it’s designed with extra material for cylinder-head specialists, such as Total Engine Airflow, to CNC to exact specifications.

The TEA-LS265TF is only available in the 6 bolt version and has raised spring pockets, rocker pads, and valve cover rails to allow for high-lift cams and valve train components. It’s designed for drag race only and features competition only 55-degree valve job and titanium intake valves at a valve angle of 13.5 degrees with 64cc combustion chambers. These heads are full-on 265cc drag race cylinder heads and are the largest offering in a cathedral-port design by TEA currently.

TEA angle-milled the head from its stock 13.5 degrees to 14 degrees to meet any valve angle rules that we would run up against in the PSCA or NMCA. Once the milling was done, the combustion chambers measured 59cc, and when combined with the pistons brought the compression to 11.5:1.

Total Engine Airflow (TEA) performing flow testing on the cylinder heads.

Once ported and flow-tested, the TFS heads received copper beryllium seats and Ferrea titanium valves (2.100-inch intake and 1.600-inch exhaust). Flow testing results are listed in the table below.

FLOW DATA (4.155″ BORE)
Lift —- Intake —- Exhaust —- NO2 Exh.
0.100       59            58               55
0.200      128          129              122
0.300      210          189              199
0.400      281          233              250
0.500      340          256              277
0.600      352          267              290
0.700      368          272              298
0.800      377          274              303
0.900      382          277              305
1.000      388          279              306

*Tests conducted at 28″ of water, 4.155″ bore, 2.0″ Exh. pipe

Holley's Hi-Ram modular intake for LS engines.

The induction system includes the Holley Hi-Ram intake for LS series engines and ProCharger's F1R Supercharger system with reverse drive.

Induction

The engine was topped off with Holley’s Hi-Ram intake for LS series engines. The Hi-Ram modular intake is fully modular and can handle a variety of bolt-on plenum chambers from dual carbs to EFI. This engine is set up with the EFI version with a rear-facing throttle body to accomodate an interior-mounted intercooler (part #300-227 for EFI base with injector bungs). The base intake has tapered, 2.49 x 1.21-inch runners designed to work well on a wide range of engine configurations with the fuel rails machined for -8AN O-ring fittings and passages big enough to work with high-flow fuel systems.

To complete the induction system, a ProCharger F-1R and Dan Schoneck-designed reverse belt drive was mounted to the engine. The F1R supercharger is spec’d to the required rules, features a self-contained oiling system and is documented to support boost levels as high as 30 psi. The interior-mounted air-to-water intercooler from Chiseled Performance is built for 2,000 horsepower.

Dry Sump Oil System

Peterson Fluid System’s lightweight 5-stage R4 Drag Race Pump is a four lobe, twisted rotor design (part #04-5066) and is fairly common in drag race applications. In addition to all the performance benefits, the  Peterson dry sump oil system has a shorter oil pan which can allow for the engine to be mounted lower in the engine bay – great for cars with low ground clearance.

Peterson Fluid Systems' lightweight 5 Stage R4 Drag Race Pump, 7-inch drag tank with catch can, remote filter mount with primer and immersion type oil heater were added to the system.

Also  included is a Peterson Fluid Systems 7-inch drag tank which accommodates an immersion style heater and integrated NHRA legal catch can (part #08-0784-CC). For an extra bit of protection, there’s also Peterson’s remote filter mount with primer pump (part # 09-1560 ) that provides up to 20 psi of oil pressure in as little as 10-seconds to pre-oil bearing surfaces.

The 388 LSX race engine was mounted in our Z-28 Camaro project car.

On August 21, 2012, the engine took her maiden voyage at the 1/8-Mile Drags in Barona, California. The first netted an early lifting 6.54 at 86 mph, with a 3,000 RPM launch RPM, 10 degrees of timing pulled at launch, and a 6500 RPM shift.

The maiden voyage at the nearby Barona 1/8-Mile Drags in Barona, California.

On the second run later that evening, our project car broke into the fives, despite lifting at 3.2 seconds onto the run. On that pass, the launch RPM was at 3,000 and timing retard at 5 degrees over 1.5 seconds, netting a nice 1.34 short time and a 5.99 at 90 mph. To date, the car’s best run is 8.55 @ 159 mph with a goal of cracking into the 7s by year’s end. Work continues on the engine with rounds of intese dyno testing and fuel-spark calibration.

Preserving a balance between exotic looks and streetable hosepower is now much easier with nostalgia-themed engine components, electronic fuel injection and advanced self-tuning programming controls.

When aftermarket EFI first became practical for performance street engines, builders started adapting the injectors to vintage Hilborn, Crower and Enderle injector manifolds to achieve the gasser look with eight tall stacks of velocity tubes. Others played around with integrating EFI into old Weber down- and side-draft carbs to emulate a Sebring or LeMans road-race engine. 

The objective was simply to add drivability to a classic engine induction, and that was the assignment given to Alan Bessant of BEP Performance in Anaheim, California. The customer wanted a spirited Ford FE big-block to power a heavily customized 1961 Ford Thunderbird convertible.

The owner opted for a Shelby 427 FE block, which is about 45% lighter than the original factory block. It comes fully CNC finished and retains the original mounting bosses and bellhousing bolt pattern. Additional features include deep lifter valley with reinforced webs, thicker oil-pan rails and main webs, .750-inch thick deck and priority main oiling. BEP cleaned out the oil-return holes, added oil restrictors in select areas to control oil pressure and finished-honed the cylinders to 4.250.

Street manners

“The owner wanted to be able to drive to Las Vegas at any time,” explains Bessant. “He wanted all the accessories on the front drive. He didn’t want noise from the valvetrain since he also had plans for a premium stereo system in the car.”

Focal point for the 482 ci Ford big-block would be the new Inglese 8-stack EFI manifold. Boasting the classic hot-rod look of a Weber 4×2 intake manifold, the Inglese hardware is supported by the EZ-EFI fuel injection system from FAST, resulting in an easy-to-install induction setup that delivers the nostalgic appearance of ‘60s Cobra big-block engines.

Rotating assembly consists of a Scat 4.250-inch-stroke forged steel crankshaft, Scat 6.7-inch H-beam steel connecting rods and Mahle pistons with a 1.5mm, 1.5mm and 3.0mm ring package.

The Inglese manifold features 58mm throttle bodies mounted at the traditional 10-degree angle for improved hood clearance. The velocity stacks have integrated screens to prevent damaging debris from entering the engine. There’s a built-in plenum in the manifold to allow vacuum accessories and improved speed-density EFI operation, if that’s the chosen style of fuel injection. Also included are aircraft-quality hex-aluminum linkage and low-profile fuel rails.

An aftermarket iron block was first chosen as the engine’s foundation, then the owner discovered the all-aluminum FE replacement from Carrol Shelby Engine Co. Although a bit pricey, it comes fully CNC machined and retains all original mounting bosses and bellhousing bolt pattern. Overall the block is 45 percent lighter than a standard iron block, yet is stronger with reinforcing webs in the lifter valley and thick oil-pan rails. Other features include .750-inch deck, priority main oiling and billet-steel main caps.

“We didn’t have do much to the block,” says Bessant. “We cleaned up the drainback holes and torque-plate honed to 4.250 bore.”

Shown are views of the Inglese system before it’s fully assembled. Included in the kit are the FE manifold, 58mm throttle bodies, fuel rails, injectors, velocity stacks with integrated screens, linkage and all the necessary hardware. The pushrod holes on the intake manifold did require slight enlarging. The FAST EZ-EFI includes fuel pump, regulator, ECU and hand-held programmer. The owner had the velocity stacks polished and clear coated.

A little aggressive on the compression ratio

A Scat forged-steel crankshaft with a 4.250-inch stroke is cradled by Clevite bearings (about .0025-.0027 clearance). Scat 6.7-inch H-beam steel rods (with Chevy-sized 2.2-inch journals) are connected to phosphate-coated Mahle pistons cut for 1.5mm, 1.5mm and 3mm rings. The entire rotating assembly was balanced at Revco Precision. Compression ratio is slightly aggressive side at 10.5:1.

“We wanted to run it on pump fuel without a problem,” says Bessant. “The aluminum block and heads also let us set a little higher static compression.”

The Comp Cams hydraulic roller features specs of 230/236 at .050 duration, .521/532 lift, 112 lobe separation and it was installed at 108 on the intake. Rounding out the valvetrain are Comp lifters, pushrods and PRW shaft-mounted roller rockers with a 1.7:1 ratio. The double-roller timing chain is from Cloyes.

Assembly with Redline lube was straightforward. The Shelby block comes with billet steel main caps. Clearances for the Clevite bearings were set at .0025 to .0027. Cometic gaskets are used throughout the engine. Compression ratio was finalized at 10.5:1 with the Mahle pistons and Edelbrock heads.

The Milodon oil pan was sectioned about an inch below the rails so the sump could be rotated to the rear. The internal pickup is welded in place and leads to a -12AN scavenge line and filter. The single-stage external pump is from Stock Car Products and is mounted with a custom-fabricated and polished bracket. The drive mandrel for the belt drive was also custom made. A -10AN line will go from the pressure outlet to an external oil filter and then enter the engine through a rear-mounted inlet fitting. Note the polished block-off plate on the left side of the engine where the stock oil-filter mount was located.

The bottom side of the engine proved the most difficult step in the build. The ’61 T-bird received a rack-and-pinion steering and Mustang II suspension upgrade, so a stock front-sump oil pan wouldn’t fit. BEP modified a Milodon pan by sectioning it about one inch below the pan rail. Rotating the sump to the rear and a little welding later, the pan was a perfect fit. But there’s no provision for a rear-mount oil pump as the distributor is up front.

“So we just went to an external Stock Car Products oil pump,” says Bessant, noting that custom brackets had to the fabricated to mount the pump. “There’s an internal oil pickup that we welded to the inside of the pan.” 

Building the top end

A -12 line and scavenge filter are used on the scavenge side of the pump. A -10AN line will be used on the pressure side from the pump to a remote oil filter and then to a feed line in the rear of the block. An oil-filter block-off plate was fabricated to cover up the stock location.

The Edelbrock Performer RPM cylinder heads were given a “Stage II” hand-porting at BEP, then fitted with Manley valves (2.09/1.66), Comp Cams dual 1.550-inch valve springs (140 lbs on the seat, 320 lbs open) and PRW 1.7:1 rocker arms. The heads were also polished to match the other bling on the engine. 

Before and after photos of the Edelbrock cylinder heads that were polished and mildly hand-ported. They were assembled with Manley stainless-steel valves and Comp 1.550-inch dual valve springs: 140-pound seat pressure and 320 pounds open.

Here are before and after closeups of the grinding in the intake ports and combustion chambers.

The Comp hydraulic roller camshaft is ground to 230/236 duration at .050 with .521/.532 lift and 112 degrees lobe separation. It was installed on a 108 intake centerline.

Finishing up the long block are ARP hardware, Cometic gaskets, Cloyes double-roller timing chain, Edelbrock water pump and PRW 7-inch damper. The Inglese induction was bolted on after the stacks were sent out for polishing and clear coating. Final assembly included a MSD distributor, Racing Power Company valve covers and fully polished March accessory drive.

Even with the close tolerances from Inglese, the 8-Stack throttle bodies have to be dialed in and sychronized. BEP first used a feeler gauge to adjust the throttle plates, according to instructions, then utilized a UniSync tool to fine-tune the air bleeds. This tool helps balance the airflow between stacks by measuring the flow with a movable float in a pressure tube.

Additional parts on the FE engine include a PRI fluid-gel damper, MSD distributor and March serpentine drive with power-steering pump, A/C compressor and alternator.

Engine builder Alan Bessant uses the Uni Sync to check the airflow balance between the Inglese stacks.

The initial firing was uneventful as BEP programmed the necessary information into the Setup Wizard on the EZ-EFI controller. Idle was set at 850 rpm.

“Working with the FAST system was awesome,” says Bessant. “It fired right up and continued to make air-fuel adjustments as engine warmed up.”

Best pull on the Superflow dyno was 546 horsepower at 5,900 rpm, and peak torque was measured at 547 lb-ft at 3,100 rpm. Bessant did note that the EZ-EFI controller doesn’t allow immediate air-fuel ratio changes at wide-open throttle. To help protect against drastic changes that could hurt the engine, the controller makes gradual changes following any adjustments to the basic calibrations. BEP ended up at 12.5:1 on the last pull.

“The cam is really mild,” says Bessant. “But it’ll pull 550 lb-ft of torque below 3,000 rpm all day long.”

BEP toyed with the ignition timing, building torque with 34-35 degrees and then losing horsepower at 38 degrees.

“Thirty-six degrees seemed to the sweet spot,” adds Bessant. 

The engine met all the customer expectations with its combination of nostalgic flair and low-maintenance horsepower that will fit nicely in a customized ’60s vehicle. 

BEP tests were conducted on a SuperFlow dyno. Top horsepower pull was 546 at 5,900 rpm with peak torque of 547 lb-ft at 3,100 rpm.

Building a blown first-generation 392 Hemi for a ’32 Ford hot rod is certainly a worthwhile project that will turn heads and shake the streets along a cruise. But finding suitable parts to withstand the boost and create a streetable powerplant from a foundation that is more than 50 years old can present noble challenges.

Photography: Borowski Race Enterprises

A Wyoming-based customer recently approached Borowski Race Enterprises in Rockdale, Illinois, with an original 1957 392ci Hemi engine that had been massaged slightly by another machine shop. Taking on another shop’s project always sends up a red flag, and the customer had a few specific requests to honor, as well.

“This customer will typically bring us one job like this a year,” says Borowski engine builder Dave Livesey. “He wanted it to run on pump gas, blown with dual carbs and a hydraulic roller cam.”

With that in mind, Borowski worked out a game plan that would provide sharp throttle response and horsepower in the 650 range.

The projects starts with a surviving Hemi block-head-crank combination — it’s not an earlier 354ci engine converted to 392. The customer had owned the engine for several years, saying that it languished in another machine shop near the owner’s hometown in Wyoming. That shop had already decked, bored and honed the block before Borowski received it.

The customer supplied Borowski with this 1957 model 392 Hemi block that was bored .040-over and finish-honed to 4.040 inches by another shop. Integrity of the work was verified, and the only additional machining performed at Borowski was an align hone. Main bearings came from King, which was the only source Livesey could find for this particular engine. Total displacement is 401ci.

“He had talked to us on several occasions about this engine and finally brought it to us,” explains Livesey, noting that picking up a build from another shop can be a scary proposition, “It’s the nature of this business. Different shops use different finishes for the cylinder walls, but it ended up that part was good.”

The first-generation early Hemi is not nearly as common of an engine as its big-block offspring. As such, tracking down parts for these engines can be a chore.

“I was surprised at how difficult some of the parts were to find, since Nostalgia Top Fuel had to run a 392 Hemi engine until recently,” says Livesey.

Custom JE pistons feature a .162-inch dome height, weigh 591 grams each and provide a final compression ratio of 9:1. The Speed Pro Hellfire rings are gapped at .065. The Crower billet steel connecting rods measure 6.950 inches center-to-center. Everything swings on the stock 392 Hemi crank, which required no machine work. The camshaft is a custom grind from Bullet Racing Cams with 112-degree lobe separation. Gross lift is .548/.539 with 235/250 duration at .050. The Cloyes billet-steel, double-roller timing set comes with multiple keyways and is adjustable in 2-degree increments. It also has a .005-inch shorter centerline distance than stock. A Steff’s oil pan and modified Chrysler 340 oil pump provide lubrication.

Chasing parts

With no specific 392 Hemi connecting rods available, the customer preferred a set of custom Crower billet steel rods. Livesey admits the rods are overkill for an engine of this output, and he later discovered that big-block Mopar 440 rods could have been substituted. This would have required a different piston package. The JE Pistons are custom ordered to yield a 9:1 compression ratio.

The stock forged-steel crank needed no additional machining and was laid in King main bearings. ARP studs are used throughout the build. Livesey chose a custom ground cam from Bullet Racing Cams and installed it at 109 degrees intake centerline, a 3-degree advance from stock. A Cloyes double-roller timing chain turns the cam.

A Chrysler 340 oil pump conversion from Hot Heads was also installed. This is a common upgrade for early Hemis. The 340 oil pump flows 30 percent more oil volume than the original design. Hot Heads converts these pumps to be a direct bolt on and upgrades them to use a chromoly driveshaft. The oil pan comes from Steff’s, and a K&N oil filter holds back the grime. Hot Heads also supplied the trick freeze plugs.

The customer specifically wanted hydraulic rollers in the valve train, so a set of Crane Cams link-bar lifters were installed. At the end of the Smith Brothers 5/16-inch-OD pushrods are Titan billet rocker assemblies. These rockers will bolt to either a stock Hemi or aftermarket heads and utilize an Allen-head adjustment.

Pushrods are a particular concern when building an early Hemi. The passages in the heads are quite small, limiting the potential outside diameter of the pushrod. With a mild a hydraulic roller cam, a large diameter pushrod was not necessary for this engine. but further machining would have been necessary with a more aggressive cam package.

The customer’s request for a hydraulic roller cam added a little complexity and expense to the project. The Crane link-bar hydraulic roller lifters require no additional machining to the block. The use of a hydraulic-roller camshaft did allow for Smith Brothers 5/16-inch OD, .120 wall pushrods. The Titan billet rocker arms are made from anodized 7075 T56 aluminum and feature a unique Allen-head system for valve adjustment. The rockers are compatible with virtually any type of cam.

Moving Up

The Hemi, of course, is legendary for its cylinder head design. As such, the stock heads required no additional machining but did receive a good cleaning and valve job. Complementing that work is a fresh set of stock-sized valves from Racing Engine Valves (REV), as well as Comp Cams springs, locks and retainers. Cometic multi-layer steel (MLS) head gaskets provide the sealing when the ARP studs are tightened.

The original 392 Hemi cast iron heads were freshened with a set of REV 2-inch intake and 1.75-inch exhaust Super Duty valves, both stock sizes for a 392. The springs and locks come from Comp Cams. The dual valve springs are 1.437 inches OD, 409 lbs/in rate, with a 1.050-inch bind height. Clay is used to check for piston to valve clearance on both the intake and exhaust valves. Test springs were installed on one valve in each cylinder head to perform this check.

Until recently, the only water pumps readily available for the 392 Hemi have been a rebuilt versions. Reliability of these was sometimes questionable, and the original pump design is not as heavy duty as today’s modern castings. Hot Heads solves that problem with an adapter kit mount a big-block Chevy water pump. Other cooling tricks from Hot Heads included water-passage block-off plates and BBC thermostat housing.

The BBC water pump adapters supplied by Hot Heads allow for a more common pump and provide additional blower clearance as well as increased coolant volume. The rear water-outlet ports on the back of both heads are blocked with billet adapters. The thermostat and front water outlets for the heads also came from Hot Heads.

Top Side

The customer also already owned the polished BDS 6-71 supercharger that was recently refreshed with new seals and gears. Hot Heads supplied the blow-off valve in addition to the valley cover.

“The parts we ordered from Hot Heads were very high quality, fit well, and didn’t require any additional fabrication to get them to fit,” praises Livesey.

With the supercharger set in place, attention turns to what was going to top it. Weiand supplied the dual-carb adapter plate. Feeding the entire setup is a pair of boost-referenced Holley HP 950cfm carbs that are secured with Moroso studs. Weiand also supplied the stainless dual-feed fuel line kit.

The BDS supercharger was another customer-owned piece that had recently been rebuilt. A 55-tooth supercharger pulley and a 52-tooth crankshaft pulley result in a 5-percent overdrive, yielding 10 psi at 6,000 rpm. The blower belt is from Dayco. Carburetors are dual 950 CFM Holley HP. Other than boost referencing, they are out of the box with jet adjustments for tuning. Final jetting was set at 78 primary, and 88 secondary. The MSD distributor is advanced at 33 degrees. Coated Sanderson lakes-style headers will be used in the rod, and the customer is planning to cap them and connect to a full exhaust system.

Testing

Five dyno pulls were performed to break in and tune the engine. All runs were made on 92 octane pump gas. The engine was filled with eight quarts of Brad Penn 15w40 high performance engine oil. The engine made peak power of 673 horsepower with 10 psi boost at 6,000 rpm. Torque peaked at 648 lb-ft at 4,600 rpm. Carburetor jetting was adjusted towards the lean side with air fuel ratios in the 12.1:1 to 12.2:1 range at peak horsepower.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r3s990X47A

The engine makes peak power horsepower at 6,000 rpm with 10 psi of boost. This is the upper level of the boost range for a pump gas setup, given the relatively high for the application 9:1 compression ratio, many other engines would not tolerate this much cylinder pressure without detonating. However as Livesey pointed out, the Hemi combustion chamber is much more forgiving than a typical wedge style chamber, allowing for the increased pressure.

“This engine is not going to be run any harder than it was on the dyno,” says Livesey, noting that the goal was to provide crisp off-idle throttle response and acceleration. “It’s going in a 2,500-pound rat rod.”

The lakes-style headers also contribute some to the lean numbers. The customer will run a full exhaust on the rat rod and cap the headers, which will fatten up air-fuel ratio. Also, living 5,000 feet above sea level in Wyoming will also richen the mixture. In fact Livesey beleives the engine may need to be jetted even leaner due to the altitude to maintain the desired throttle response.

The build took six months with parts delays causing much of the stretch. Now that it’s delivered, the blown Hemi will add nostalgic flare and street racing demeanor to a hot rod, while giving it impressive, yet streetable, performance. Livesey says the customer’s next project is a blown Ford Boss 429 engine. Wonder if it’s going in a Mustang or pickup truck?

In a quest to reach 1,500-plus horsepower this season, the Blown Z team is stepping up to a larger ProCharger for its 388ci LSX engine. That prompted the customary winter refresh on the engine to include lowering the compression ratio with new JE pistons and also upgrading a few supporting components on the car.

The Blown Z project is based on a 2002 Camaro prepped for NMCA 275 Drag Radial competition. Other possible outings include the LSX Shootout and Outlaw 8.5 races. Last year the car posted a top quarter-mile time of 8.24 seconds at 168 mph. Chassis dyno tests revealed a best of 1,100 horsepower to the ground, but a pull at the end of the season witnessed a cylinder head lifting slightly. The engine was removed and sent to L&R Engines in Santa Fe Springs, California, for disassembly and inspection.

“All the critical parts looked normal,” notes L&R’s Derek Ranney of the teardown. “The bearings were in great shape, and all the clearances were normal.”

Here’s a comparison of the Procharger F-1R on the left and the upgraded F-1X. The outlet diameter on the F-1X is a half-inch larger than the F-1R. On the other side, the inlet diameter is a full inch larger. The photo was taken with the F-1X right out of the box. The orientation of the internal 1:5.4 step-up gear drive (shown on the right) was later adjusted to match the F-1R’s position for installation in the car. The maximum impeller speed increases from 68,000 to 72,000 rpm on the F-1X.

With no major problems to correct, the team could focus on ensuring that the engine will reap the benefits of switching from the ProCharger F-1R to the company’s new F-1X model. The boost rating is the same, but the larger F-1X spins faster and flows more air while remaining legal for the 275 Drag Radial class. Results of the last dyno pull indicated the tuneup was right on the edge last season, and obviously a larger supercharger would be less forgiving. So, the Blown Z crew opted to lower the compression ratio from 11.3:1 to around 9.7:1 on the rebuild. That required ordering new JE asymmetrical flat-top pistons, but all other engine components return to action — save for new bearings, gaskets, rings and valve springs.

The engine showed normal wear and deposits for a season’s worth of racing. The dark area on the bottom of the piston shows where the head lifted slightly during a dyno run and the flame found a small exit.

Routine rebuild

As evident in the accompanying photos, the assembly process and engine installation into the Camaro were routine. The LSX block was hot-tanked, checked and honed to accept the new JE pistons and Total Seal rings. New Clevite bearings were used for the Lunati crank and GRP rods while the Comp Cams camshaft returned to its original roller bearings.

The Trick Flow heads were cleaned and reassembled using Ferrea valves, Manley retainers, Comp springs and Jesel rockers. Additional long-block assembly included ARP hardware, SCE head gasket, Jesel belt drive, ATI damper, Fel-Pro gaskets and Dailey Engineering oil pan and dry sump pump. After the long block was dropped into the Camaro’s engine bay, it was fitted with a Wilson-modified Holley manifold, FAST injectors, MSD ignition, Fragola plumbing and Jet-Hot-coated Kooks headers before the new ProCharger was installed on the Chris Alston Chassisworks gear drive.

L&R disassembled the short block, checked clearances, straight-edged the decks and inspected the bearings. Comparison of the mains showed normal wear. Next, L&R hot-tanked the block and flushed out the oil galleys. The line bore was also checked and found to be straight, so no need for line honing. Next step was on a Sunnen CV616 using a 460-grit stone to hone the glaze off the wall surfaces. Stud installation included a dose of ARP Ultra Torque, and the Comp cam was treated to assembly lube before it was installed in the original roller bearings.

The Lunati Pro Series crank was mic’d and the measurements compared to dial-bore readings of the mains to ensure a .0028-inch clearance. After the crankshaft was positioned in the block, the mains were lubricated and torqued down: 60 ft-lbs on the inside bolts, 50 ft-lbs on the outside and 25 ft-lbs on the side bolts.

The F-1X is designed to work with naturally aspirated engines producing around 375 to 550 horsepower, with potential making more than 1,800 horsepower. ProCharger says the maximum airflow is 2,000 cfm, which is up from the 1,700 cfm rating on the F-1R. Dimensionally, the F-1X boasts a 5-inch inlet diameter, up from 4 inches on the F-1R. The 3.5-inch outlet is also a half-inch larger than the older model. The F-1X is rated to spin at 72,000 rpm, which is up from the F-1R’s 68,000 rpm rating.

Wants to spin faster

“I liken the F-1X to a 2-stroke motorcycle engine,” says Steve Morris of Steve Morris Engines, which specializes in a wide variety of ProCharger applications. “It really comes on like a light switch. You need to spin the F-1X faster than the F-1R to make them effective, but they’re definitely good for 300 to 400 more horsepower than the F-1R.”

The F-1X will deliver up to 38 psi of boost, features self-contained oiling and relies on an internal 5.4:1 step-up ratio. Morris says there is no downside to the F-1X, with the exception of misguided expectations.

“Some have a tendency to think that because they bolt an F-1X in place of an F-1R their car will instantly go faster,” adds Morris. “Typically, it doesn’t happen because they put it on spinning the same speed as the F-1R. They need to be spun fast and have good frontal air.”

Note the differences between the previous piston and the new JE asymmetrical piston. The dome is reduced to lower the compression ratio, and the non-thrust side skirt is considerably smaller than the old piston. Also note the vertical and lateral gas ports on the new pistons, compared to just the lateral ports on the previous piston.

GRP Pro Severe Duty aluminum connecting rods measure 6.2 inches center-to-center. New Clevite bearings were installed and checked against the crankshaft rod journals for a .002-inch clearance. The rods were then mated to the JE pistons and secured with wire locks.

The pistons were wrapped with a Total Seal custom ring package that included a gapless AP stainless steel on top. The second ring is a Napier-style taper face to help with oil control and reduce friction. The oil ring is a 3-piece, standard-tension flex-vent style. Installation included file-fitting the ends to ensure recommended gaps for boosted engines.

Each piston was treated a generous dose of lube before installation in the cylinders. The rod bolts were tightened to 75 ft-lbs in two stages.

Stepping up the blower speed

With the Chassisworks CDS gear-drive system, drive ratios are easily changed. The Blown Z team stepped up from a 1:1.65 ratio to a 1:1.70 ratio. Combined with the ProCharger’s internal 1:5.4 step-up ratio, the impeller rpm should increase 2,400 rpm at 8,500 engine rpm.

Since we ran between 20 to 22 pounds of boost for most of last year, the expectations of putting 24 to 28 psi into the manifold gave cause for rethinking the engine’s compression ratio.

“The theory is, if you can build more boost you don’t need the compression ratio,” explains Morris. “Lowering the compression ratio really makes the tuning window broader. That means, you can miss the tune with too much timing or a little too lean, and it doesn’t hurt the motor. As you pour on more compression ratio, it gets much more sensitive to the tuneup.”

An engine’s stated compression ratio generally refers to the “static” compression ratio; that is, a simple math calculation that compares the volume of air in the cylinder when the piston is at bottom dead center (BDC) and then again at top dead center (TDC). Plugging all the numbers from Blown Z’s rebuild, the calculator revealed a final 9.7:1 compression ratio. A much more complicated concept is “dynamic” compression ratio. That considers other engine thermodynamic factors, including but not limited to atmospheric conditions, boost and intake valve timing. A high-performance engine usually has an aggressive camshaft that keeps the intake valve open past BDC on the start of the compression stroke. But if the valve is open, then no air is being compressed by the piston. With boosted engines, the intake cam timing doesn’t have to be as aggressive as with a naturally aspirated engine.

The front and rear covers are bolted in place. After the Jesel belt drive was installed, the Jesel .937-inch keyway lifters were coated with assembly lube and positioned in the bores. Note the slotted bronze bushings and the offset lifter design. L&R dialed in the cam with a 112-degree intake centerline.

How much compression?

Overall, the goal is to manage the pressure inside the cylinder that results from boost and the piston compressing the air. If the pressure is too high, harmful detonation can occur, especially if the fuel’s octane rating isn’t high enough for the application. Blown Z uses VP Racing Fuel C16 blend, which is rated at 116 octane and designed for boosted engines or naturally aspirated with up to 17:1 compression ratio.

“If I have a limited blower, like the F-1R, I’ll put more compression in,” says Morris. “If I’m unlimited on blower and large cubic inches, we’ll stick around 9:1 or 10:1. Also, we’ll be a little lower on blow-through engines than with EFI, because we can control the tune much better between cylinders [with EFI].”

The Trick Flow heads were cleaned and the Ferrea valves lapped in place. New Comp 1.625-inch dual springs were tested (350 pounds on the seat, 950 pounds open) and installed at 1.950-inches using Manley titanium retainers and locks. The SCE Titan gasket was copper coated and positioned before the ARP 1/2-inch head studs were threaded in place. The heads were positioned and the main bolts torqued down to 95 ft-lbs, with the smaller bolts in the lifter valley and inside of the head tightened to 35 ft-lbs.

Jesel rocker shaft and Jesel 1.7:1 rockers are installed along with Jesel 1/2-inch-diameter, 8.650-inch-long pushrods. Custom Jesel rocker covers are required to clear the valvetrain.

The pistons in last year’s engine’s had a dome design to squeeze the air-fuel into the 63cc combustion chambers. With a change in compression strategy, the Blown Z team opted for JE’s new asymmetrical flat-top pistons with small valve-relief pockets. These pistons will not only lower the compression ratio, but reduce internal friction and contribute to more efficient combustion.

“Anytime you can use flat-top pistons, you’re going to have the best efficiency, period,” explains JE engineer Nick DiBlasi. “Because you’re allowing the combustion chamber chamber to do all the work. You’re not hiding cavities anywhere or going over a dome area where it’s going to get under the quench.”

Less friction with asymmetrical pistons

The asymmetrical piston design takes advantage of the V8′s configuration that inherently places different loads on each side of the piston, thereby allowing for different-sized skirts.

“Only the major thrust side of the piston actually takes significant load,” says DiBlasi. “There’s no point in having both sides the same size. The minor thrust side is virtually along for the ride and sees no load.”

After the dual-keyway ATI damper was secured, the Dailey dry-sump oil pan installation required a bead of silicone on the end rails and a Fel-Pro gasket before being tightened in place.

The long block was dropped into the Camaro, then topped off with the Wilson-modified Holley ram intake manifold, FAST 160-pound injectors, Holley fuel rails, MSD ignition and Fragola plumbing. Also installed were the Jet-Hot-coated Kooks headers and Petersen dry-sump tank. Blown Z does not have a radiator; instead, cooling is through a Chiseled Performance water tank, which also feeds the air-to-water intercooler.

“So, you have less friction on one side, a lighter part that’s very center balanced and stronger in the end,” adds DiBlasi. “If it’s lighter, you bring the rotating mass down and it’s a lot easier on bearings.

Other features of JE piston include both vertical and lateral gas ports to help maintain combustion-ring pressure and a tough moly-style skirt coating that reduces friction and allows for a slightly tighter piston-to-wall clearance.

“We do the gas ports in conjunction with each other because sometimes the top ports can get clogged,” says DiBlasi.

Driving the F-1X is a Component Drive System (CDS) from Chris Alston Chassisworks (top photos). Various drive ratios can be set, and the gear-drive mechanism is more reliable and compact than a conventional belt drive. The system also brings the supercharger closer to the crankshaft, which necessitated removing the old radiator. Note the accessory drive for the Aeromotive fuel pump. Bottom photos show the supercharger in place -- showing off its 5-inch inlet -- and with the volute removed there’s an insider’s view of the F-1X compressor wheel.

Controlling the engine’s fuel and spark, respectively, will be a FAST XFI 2.0 and MSD Power Grid. The lower compression will help the team build a strong baseline and develop more consistent tuning strategies as the season evolves and track conditions change. During the first test outing, the car ran an early lifting 8.05 @ 154 while posting a strong 60-foot time of 1.26 seconds. After the run the team discovered a loose converter. Repairs have been made, and the team is expecting to crack the 8-second barrier next time out and have set a season goal of 7.70 at over 180 mph.

When we first started playing around with our Project Wild E. Coyote 2011 Mustang, it was a simple street car, and over time, it has morphed into a Vortech-supercharged 700 horsepower monster capable of low 11-second quarter mile times, while performing well in the autocross and as a daily driven car. But hard use has left its factory-installed powerplant tired, and we still have not reached our goal of running a ten-second quarter mile and pulling 1g on the skid pad.

The JPC Shortblock configuration tool can help configure, price, and order a new RGR engine.

With that in mind, we turned our attention to some of the premier cars running Coyote power out there, and found that a central theme behind many of the cars putting up impressive numbers is a powerplant from none other than Rich Groh Racing Engines outside of Chicago, Illinois. With the help of RGR  and JPC Racing, we will be building our way to a new single turbocharged Coyote mill capable of meeting our project goals.

JPC is the exclusive distributor of RGR’s engines, and they offer a complete line of bullets for all Modular and Coyote applications with a variety of options. Those options include strokers, upgraded rods, crankshafts, and different piston brands with various options.

Each short block or complete engine also includes a full complement of ARP hardware to ensure that all of your costly engine pieces stay inside the block where they’re supposed to be. Of course, it’s probably in your best interest to give JPC a call if you’re looking to purchase one of Groh’s monsters as they can walk you through all of the potential options. If you’re a web junkie and just prefer to order things on your own without any actual human contact, they’ve got a nifty short block-configuring tool on their website once you decide what you want.

We’re lucky to have the opportunity to work closely with many of the aftermarket companies on the performance map, and Groh was able to point us in the right direction to help meet our new goals of achieving 1,000 hp at the crank with our machine. Ford Racing Parts provided us with a complete Coyote long block to start off our project, and we sent it to Groh so that he could begin working his magic.

This is how our engine arrived in the beginning – just as if it were destined for a brand-new Mustang on the assembly line.

Since the Coyote is much different from your typical Ford small block, where the little parts and pieces are easy to come by (and there are less of them by engine design), our feeling was that starting with the complete engine would provide us with all of those items from the outset, making the time-consuming task of locating those parts less of an issue. Most of the additional small pieces we used throughout the build, like our Boss 302 intake manifold, valve seals, BOSS tensioners, gaskets and other bits, came from Rick Riccardi and the well-versed Ford specialists at Downs Ford Motorsport in Toms River, New Jersey.

Not All Blocks Are The Same

Something interesting to note in Coyote engine production is that the 2011-12 blocks are different from the 2013-14 block. Ford Racing is also testing a brand-new Sportsman block, so for the details, we went right to our main man Jesse Kershaw from Ford Racing to sort out the details.

“The 2011-12 block used 12mm head bolts and piston squirters, which were blocked in the BOSS engine. Then for 2013-14, the head bolt size was limited to 11mm and the squirters were deleted. These stock blocks have massive water jacket openings on the deck for great cooling under road race conditions. However, this nearly open-deck design was seen as a detriment for high horsepower street/strip applications. As a result we created the M-6010-M50R block [available soon] which revises the water jacket so that the intake side of the bore has a support strut right in the middle and the exhaust side makes the water jacket opening on the deck roughly one-third the size of the stock block so that it has more material and support for the bore. Our testing with these has shown great results so far,” explained Kershaw.

Left: JE supplied 125-gram, thick-wall piston pins specifically designed for our application, which Groh spec'd out. They also included round wire locks, an offset pin location, and double pin oilers. Center Left: Main studs came from Livernois Motorsports and are a proprietary design developed in conjunction with ARP. Center Right: Groh used the supplied ARP Moly Lube and torqued each fastener as specified in the instructions. The torque wrench is also swept in one clean pull for accuracy. Right: JE's piston rings feature a carbon steel nitrided top ring for durability and a Napier (hooked) second ring for superior oil control over other designs, helpful in the Coyote engine. Ring gaps are an RGR Engines exclusive.

As many of the factory Ford components have already been proven in 1000-plus horsepower builds, we were able to retain the factory crankshaft that was pre-installed in the engine, and Kershaw explained why. “The factory crankshaft is forged, fully counterbalanced, and performs very well at the high RPM the Coyote is capable of because we did not cross-drill it. Not that cross-drilling is bad, but at very high RPM it can cause issues with connecting rod bearings in our experience,” says Kershaw.

Custom Pistons

Our JE slugs benefit from the latest in piston technology. They feature JE's Tuff-Skirt finish, which is their trademark coating that has a lubricating, anti-friction/anti-wear component added to the piston skirt. It's designed to be extremely wear-resistant and will not wear off like other types of coatings, and has to be accounted for in the design process, as it's .0005-inch thick.

We went ahead and swapped out some of the other pieces for longevity and strength reasons. With Groh’s input, JE Pistons custom-designed a set of 369-gram forged 2618 aluminum pistons with high-strength .170 wall 9310 steel pins for us featuring a skirt coating for wear-resistance. The pistons feature a 1.175 compression height, which provide us with a compression ratio in the 9.75:1 range, which will help our boosted combination to live with the increased cylinder pressure from the JPC Racing single-turbo system we’ll be using on the car to make the big power if all the stars align.

The compression ratio is lower than the factory’s 11.0:1 slug provides, but since reliability is the main goal with this build, the lower CR will provide us with a much larger tuning window. Regarding the piston’s design, Groh remarked, “We minimized the skirt profile by pushing the ring pack down on the barrel of the piston. Doing this helps to keep the heat away from the top ring while still keeping a shorter skirt height for light weight. We retained the offset factory pin design as well. In addition, we didn’t go excessive with the valve pocket size – the Ford design is good to begin with, and the valve never comes close to it with the factory design. By keeping the full round skirt on the piston it helps to minimize movement in the bore.”

JE’s New Piston Top Finish

JE has recently come up with a new piston-top finish, and we questioned JE’s Sean Crawford about the technology. “The crown of the piston has a matte-type finish. We have a special tool that we run over the top of the piston, and it leaves the surface finish of the piston significantly smoother than without this technology. It removes any sharp edges that might be created by the machining of the valve reliefs. On a profilometer, it’s multiple times smoother than just the machined surface. This is a unique feature we just started adding and the pistons for this engine is one of the first sets to receive it,” he explained.

Strong Rods

When it came time to select connecting rods, we didn’t go with the typical H-beam found in many builds. Instead, we selected a full-zoot set of Manley Performance Pro Series Lightweight I Beam billet steel connecting rods, part number 14318-8. Manley machines each 5.933-inch connecting rod in its Lakewood, New Jersey facility to tight standards, and these rods are designed for ultimate horsepower applications, achievable in part due to the ARP2000 alloy cap screws that retain the rod caps. 

Manley Performance’s Trip Manley explained, “The rods are manufactured in-house with material from a domestic forging supplier. We’re using the very, very best 4340 aircraft quality, vacuum-degassed steel alloy when we construct these. By controlling all of the manufacturing processes in-house, that gives us a big leg up. Using Finite Element Analysis tells us where to put the material to help us build the connecting rod properly. A bigger, heavier rod is going to be a stronger rod by default. You can make up for deficiencies with cross-sectional material, but for comparison, our Coyote H-beam rod is 602 grams, and the Pro Series I-Beam rod weighs the exact same 602 grams.”

Here you can see the differences between Manley’s H-beam connecting rod (left) and our billet Pro Series I-Beam rod (right). There is more material on the big end of the billet rod, which helps to keep it round under stress.

The H-beam rod uses a standard 3/8-inch 8740 bolt, where the I-Beam rod uses a 7/16-inch ARP2000 cap screw in it. That in itself is going to give you more clamping force and have a propensity to keep the big end round under load, and will permit more RPM as a result.”We picked the connecting rods out so that we’d have the ability to turn up the power in the future if we so desire. Groh was pleased with their design for our application, explaining, “These will work well in a high-horsepower application thanks to the reinforced material on the big end of the rod, which helps to keep it round during the compression and extension cycles.”

Left: Our new Manley I-beams on the left, the factory powdered-metal rod on the right. Notice the difference in material at the big end, along with the larger 7/16-inch capscrews in the Manley pieces - this is just some of where their strength comes from. Right: The Manley/JE piston/rod assembly on the left, factory on the right. The differences in rod design are evident, along with the lower ring pack on the JE pistons to help us achieve our tuning goals more quickly and prevent heat from damaging the rings under high boost.

Durable Lubrication

Many Coyote and Modular engine owners and builders have found out that oiling is critical on these engines to ensure long life. The factory oil pump is delivered with powdered-metal oil pump gears, which perform just fine in stock or lightly-modified applications, but when you step up the performance level of the engine as we have, upgrading to a pump with billet gears is an absolute must.

To that end, our engine is utilizing a set of billet oil pump gears from Triangle Speed Shop, which install in place of the factory gears in the factory pump housing. The gears feature American-made chromoly billet steel and are heat treated to TSS specifications. This helps to create a good balance between strength and wear resistance, and when combined with the blueprinted +/- .0005 of an inch tolerances the matched sets of gears are held to, our Coyote engine will be provided with superior oiling characteristics for years to come.

These sweet billet-steel oil pump gears come from the guys at Triangle Speed Shop and have been proven in their X275 machine along with a host of other quick Modular and Coyote-powered cars. 

The factory oil pump housing simply unbolts in two pieces and the two-piece gear combination comes out easily by hand.

Groh snaps the Clevite BOSS 302 replacement rod bearings into place – these came highly recommended to us by none other than Justin Burcham, who works closely with RGR Engines to design his company’s championship-winning powerplants.

Engine bearings are another critical area of concentration, and here, we spoke with proprietor Justin Burcham of JPC Racing. The former NMRA Factory Stock and Real Street competitor has years of experience making Coyote and Modular engines go fast. Burcham has found through his testing that the OEM Ford Boss 302 engine bearings work best in the Coyote engine. These bearings are hardened and fit right into the factory main bores with no extra work. In addition, we used a set of Clevite connecting rod bearings, part number CB-1442HXK, which are coated and slightly oversized making them optimum for our application.

The team at Livernois Motorsports has done extensive testing with the Ford Coyote engine, and was in fact one of Ford’s engineering development partners on the original Coyote project. They set us up with a set of their main studs, part number LPP50MSKIT, that have been designed by ARP. Like our connecting rod cap screws, these studs are constructed with ARP2000 material and include studs, nuts, washers, and even a special adapter for the oil pickup tube. They are superior to the stock fasteners and should be considered a must-have in a high-horsepower application like ours.

This concludes our look into the construction of our Coyote short block, giving our project a solid foundation for making some four-digit horsepower. Stay tuned for our next installment where we will detail how we finished off the engine with, cylinder heads, valvetrain, balancer, oil pan, water pump, and Ford Racing BOSS 302 manifold in preparation for its installation under the pressure of a new turbo system.

From this story, you can see even though a Coyote engine can appear daunting with its use of advanced technology,  it’s still a short block like any other, made up of an engine block, crankshaft, connecting rods, and pistons. While there are some things to be wary of when constructing a killer Coyote like the one RGR Engines built for us, engine building, even at this level still boils down to fundamentals, knowledge, and the use of best practices.

Our short block is ready to go! Check back for our long block story coming soon.

Reliable 87-octane big horsepower has been the Holy Grail for both enthusiasts and engine builders for some time now, with many choosing forced-induction to achieve that goal.

The finished engine boasts a colorful and well-detailed appearance as it will be showcased in a boat.

However, boost is not necessary to achieve dyno-twisting numbers. As the old saying goes, there is no replacement for displacement, and with that advice it’s a good idea to start with a base that will accomplish the goal while keeping the stress load on the parts in a manageable zone. The big-block Chevrolet is an excellent starting point, with a design proven over the the last 40 years by numerous engine builders in a variety of street cars, hot rods and racecars.

The BBC engine has undergone a number of revisions since its inception, but the Mark IV design — first introduced in the 1963 Daytona 500 stock cars — has become the staple in the industry for big performance out of a workable package. Aftermarket improvements such as cylinder heads, camshaft and valvetrain design have only added to its success. Recent developments in these areas, thanks to computerized flow modeling, have added to the mystique of the “Rat” motor.

The Chevrolet Performance Parts block has a stock 9.800-inch deck height and is the perfect base for this budget-friendly build. Petralia file-fits the piston rings using a ring-squaring tool turned out of a PVC pipe plug with the shop's lathe. Each cylinder head and gasket is checked to ensure there will be no clearance issues. (Photos courtesy of Hardcore Horsepower)

Pistons were set up .010-inch in the hole to keep the compression ratio at a pump-gas-friendly 9.0:1. Domed piston volume can only be estimated by the manufacturer, so Petralia sets the piston up in the bore to find the true dome volume to assist in calculating actual compression ratio. At .300 below deck, the dome measures 22cc's. Petralia then follows up with a computer-based formula to finish the calculation.

Hardcore Horsepower, owned by Mike Petralia, is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, and recently completed a pump-gas style project for a customer’s boat that had a number of specific requirements.

“This customer called me with the goal of having an engine that could achieve between 500 and 550 horsepower, but he was only looking to spend about $10,000. He was hopping up an old 1970′s ski boat with the hopes of selling it for a profit, and he wanted some bling added to his engine to catch attention at the lakes. So the final price for his marine-approved engine was closer to $12,000, but the same power could be built for a street car or truck for less than $10,000,” Petralia explains. 

A strong base

Anyone could scour a local U-Pull-It yard for a big-block Chevy crankcase, as they were delivered in millions of vehicles prior to their demise in 2007, which by then were known as the 8.1L Vortec 8100. This customer wanted peace of mind, and to that end Hardcore took a different route by selecting a new, American-made Chevrolet Performance Parts 454 cast-iron engine block. This casting incorporates all of the best innovations through the big-block’s development. Revised oiling benefits larger cam bearings and increased camshaft lift, and the block has additional clearance for roller-style timing chains. Also, there’s additional material around the lifter bores to support larger-diameter lifters.

Measuring the bore after final machining operations is critical – it allows Hardcore to place each measured piston in the best cylinder to complement those dimensions. These measurements are taken in ten-thousandths of an inch.

It arrives with a fully-finished 4.250-inch bore and can be bored out to 4.310-inch maximum dimensions. It’s also clearanced for a bigger crankshaft stroke for increased displacement. The 4-bolt main caps are constructed from nodular iron and have 1/2-inch main bolts on all five mains, to go with a 1-piece rear main seal to help prevent leaks.

Petralia attached a torque plate to the top of the block and bored each of the eight holes to a 4.28-inch final dimension. He finished the block with a 9.800-inch deck height, which, when combined with the Eagle Specialty Products 4.0-inch stroke cast crankshaft and a set of SCAT 4340 forged-steel 6.385-inch I-Beam connecting rods, brings this internally-balanced big-block in right at 460 cubic inches.

Each piston is measured to provide Hardcore with its dimensions - Petralia has a detailed spreadsheet where each critical engine dimension is recorded for a true, fully-blueprinted engine. Fel-Pro gaskets are used to seal up the block-to-cylinder-head joint. In this application, a .039-inch thick, 10.5cc gasket is used to keep the compression ratio pump-gas-friendly.

SCAT’s rods are sized, balanced and weight-matched to plus/minus 1 gram. In this application the I-beam design was deemed worthy to support the horsepower while remaining light enough to rev up quickly without hindering performance. The big ends are secured with 7/16-inch ARP capscrews, and the little ends are fully bushed to provide smooth operation. The connecting rods have a single beam that runs across the rod cap to provide added strength and bearing support, while the beams have been polished to eliminate stress risers.

Filling the holes

SRP set up an 8-pack of 4032 forged pistons that feature a 1.395-inch compression height, floating pins and a 22cc dome height. The 1/16, 1/16, 3/16th-inch ring pack features one of SRP’s Classic High Performance moly top rings to go with a cast second ring and standard oil ring set. Since the engine won’t see a power-adder, this particular ring set will provide long life and good cylinder sealing. The oil rings are designed to provide approximately 20 pounds of tension against the cylinder walls to help keep the oil under control at higher rpm.

Simplicity prevailed when selecting components for the oiling system. A Melling high-volume oil pump relies on a welded pickup to supply the oil from a Moroso street-strip wet-sump 6-quart pan. The pan features a 4.25-inch front depth and 7.75-inch rear depth to keep the oil under control on the street. An ARP oil pump stud is used to retain the pump in place, and a Melling heavy-duty pump driveshaft turns the gerotor-style pump.

In order to prevent leaks, Petralia relies on a one-piece silicone rubber pan gasket and locking fasteners – because who wants to deal with a leaky oil pan on a brand-new engine? Standard-sized King HP engine bearings keep the crankshaft’s mains fully lubricated, while their HP Series performance bearings are slid into place on all eight connecting rods.

A three-angle valve job was completed on the cylinder heads along with the port-work; for this power level, the American-made head castings don't need much work at all. Petralia is meticulous about checking for leaks - the simple test of filling each port with solvent and walking away for an hour tells him how well the valves are sealing up.

Often stressed during the discussion of this engine’s design was the importance of the cylinder head design and maintaining the required powerband. Hardcore’s own American-made castings feature 320cc intake ports to go along with the 115cc combustion chambers.

“While some port work was performed, it wasn’t much; just a port-match with a bit of bowl work and work in the chambers was necessary to meet the performance goals of the customer using these castings,” says Petralia.

Air in, air out

Intake valve size was locked down at 2.250-inch, while the exhaust is pulled out through a set of 1.88-inch valves; all valves are stainless steel and have 11/32-inch stems surrounded by Viton valve seals. The heads were torqued down with a set of ARP six-point HP series head bolts, and .039-inch Fel-Pro gaskets were used to keep the combustion pressure in and the water out of the chambers.

In keeping with the engine’s goals, Hardcore chose a hydraulic flat-tappet camshaft from Comp Cams. It features 244 degrees of duration at .050-inch lift on the intake side, while the exhaust gases are treated to 254 degrees of rotation. Lift figures are also on the mild side for a big-block at .570-inch intake and .575-inch exhaust, the camshaft is installed on a 112-degree lobe separation angle, and is spun with a double-roller timing chain for timing accuracy.

Degreeing the camshaft is an important step in the build process. It ensures that the engine will operate as intended. Each cylinder head is inspected numerous times throughout the build - they need to be put together and taken apart to check the springs, valve seal, and perform the port work and valve-seat machining operations.

This camshaft provides the engine with a broad, non-peaky idle through 6000 rpm, which is exactly where a street engine sees most of its run time. Comp’s Pro Magnum .842-inch diameter lifters actuate the valves through a set of .080-inch wall, 4340 chromoly hardened Comp Cams High Tech pushrods. The pushrods measure 3/8-inch diameter on all sixteen; while the intake pushrods are 9.600-inch long, the exhaust pushrods check in at 8.600-inch dimensions.

The bumpstick required the use of dual valve springs with dampeners installed at 1.950-inch for 120 pounds of pressure on the seat with 350 pounds of open pressure to control the valvetrain at speed. Ten-degree hardened locks and retainers keep the valves in place, and Petralia used a set of 7/16-inch screw-in rocker studs with aluminum 1.7:1 ratio roller rocker arms to actuate the valves.

In The Cell

With the long-block complete, Hardcore turned its attention to finishing off the induction system. A simple combination like this requires the use of proven parts, and that’s exactly the direction Petralia headed during the initial design phase. Edelbrock supplied an Air Gap Performer RPM dual-plane manifold, which was topped by an HVH 1-inch Super Sucker spacer and Quick Fuel marine 4150HP mechanical-secondary carburetor. In a long-life budget application, Hardcore leans toward Autolite projected-tip iridium spark plugs.

Instead of throwing the valve covers on and pouring the oil down into the valve cover fill hole, Petralia ensures that there's plenty of dino-juice for the flat-tappet camshaft upon startup by dumping it into the drainback holes and directly onto the camshaft. Dyno time proved out the performance of this beastly pump-gas engine, as it spun the needle to exceed the goal numbers set out at the beginning of the build.

Other parts used in the build to finish off the engine were a set of GM Performance Parts black “crinkle” baffled valve covers with matching Bow-Tie logo breathers, Fel-Pro CorkLam steel-core valve cover gaskets, and a sweet billet timing cover. A Powerbond harmonic damper and MSD Pro-Billet mechanical advance magnetic trigger distributor were also put into place before it was time to head off to the dyno cell for the grand finale.

The budget-minded big-block cranked out 551 horsepower on 87 octane fuel with peak torque coming in at 586 lb-ft.

Torquing the cylinder head is done in steps to ensure the fastener is stretched to provided the proper torque load on the gasket. An electronic wrench is used for accuracy.

And oh, what a finale it was! This engine, which was projected in the initial design phase to make between 500 and 550 horsepower and come in on a budget under $10 grand, achieved both goals with room to spare. Final dyno numbers came in at 551 horsepower at 5800 rpm and 586 lb-ft of torque at 3600 rpm – results that will plant you right back in the seat when the right foot comes callin’, and not suck your pocket completely dry at the pump, thanks to the measly 87 octane fuel requirement.

“We built it with the lower compression in order to tolerate the lower-octane fuel, and once we were done with the development work on the dyno, I realized just how happy the engine was,” Petralia explains. “Five hundred-fifty horsepower and 586 foot-pounds of torque, and all of it done before 6000 rpm. Not only does this work great in a boat application, as it will live a long life under those conditions, it would also work very well in a 4×4 for off-road use.”

Engine development goes hand-in-hand with hours spent testing and proving out theories, and it’s apparent that this engine lives up to its billing. Putting it all together requires proper planning and careful parts selection, and Hardcore Horsepower showed us that gobs of power are still well within the realm of possibility, at a price that won’t wreck a customer’s vacation plans.

When we decided to piece together our stroker mill we could have chosen the venerable 454ci big-block using a traditional 4-bolt main Gen IV foundation. This setup would have provided us with lots of low-end grunt at a fraction of the cost. However, we were after something more unique to set this build apart from the rest.

We chose the 502ci foundation because of its proven potential on the dyno, LS-style reliability and although not the most affordable, definitely worth the extra cost and street cred. “The 502 CID LSX engine build exemplifies the design criteria that we set out at RHS for the LS block. It provides a long-arm friendly, large cubic inch combination that incorporates the features of an all-out race block but is suitable for street,” added Kevin Feeney, Product Manager for RHS.

While the majority of our cost went into the short-block alone, we were far from done. When we last left you, we had just finished putting together our big-inch, LME-built RHS 502 short block. We began with RHS‘s new LS tall-deck block, fortified the bottom end with a Lunati rotating assembly and locked it all together using ARP fasteners. We even added as set of high-compression Wiseco slugs to the mix for potent and reliable means for battling the constant high rpm and abuse.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t fit the entire build into one complete story. If you missed the first part of the build, be sure to check it our right HERE. For ease of viewing, we split the build into two parts. This month, we are finishing up by completing the top-end assembly.

While this specific engine embodies a ton of late-model race components, it’s not a race engine. Instead, we plan to put this gem on the street. That said, drivability needed to be key with this particular combination.

The RHS 502 short-block anxiously awaits its top-end assembly.

Coming Together

To achieve this, we finished our build with a set of heavy-breathing RHS aluminum LS7 cylinder heads. Our set was CNC-machined and was equipped for a hydraulic roller camshaft from COMP and came complete with oversized, Ferrera valves (2.20/1.61-inch intake/exhaust valves) and 69cc chambers.

We then matched it with a FAST 102mm LSXR manifold to maximize low- and mid-range torque. Of course, The FAST manifold has also proven itself to carry the horsepower through the upper powerband, making it ideal for our needs.

To see how we did, we headed over to LME and continued our work with Brian Neelan who hooked up our mill to their Superflow 902 engine dyno. We knew it wasn’t going to be record breaker, but we were still impressed by the final numbers. You’ll have to read on to get the complete breakdown of what it made and how we built it.

COMP Lifters

When it came to our long-stroker generating an ample amount of rpm without much work, we went with a hearty set of COMP’s, short travel race hydraulic lifters. COMP Cams has taken a strong foothold within the LS market and produces an abundant supply of LS-related parts and components. We chose these hydraulic lifters because they have been specifically engineered from a patent-pending design which allows them to perform at higher engine speeds.

How is this possible? COMP has designed each lifter to limit the movement of the internal piston from each lifter. Limitations within the internal piston of the lifter cuts down on loss of power and limits valvetrain failure at sustained, high rpm. For a durable and long-lasting life, each lifter is REM-finished and then black oxide coated. We dropped each set into the lifter bores with the T-bars and began assembly of our LS7 cylinder heads.

LME installed each lifter with care before the cylinder heads were placed.

RHS Pro Elite LS7 CNC-Ported Cylinder Heads

With so many cylinder heads claiming superiority in the LS-market, it was hard to choose a set of heavy breathing lungs with the capability and R&D backing what we were looking for. We not only needed a set of cylinder heads to flow well but wanted something that could go on just like a factory cyinder head. We decided on a set of RHS’s new Pro Elite LS7 CNC-ported cylinder heads.

These are truly the aftermarket’s first high performance, LS-style head. These gems also feature a 12-degree valve angle and unique, 0.220-inch raised intake runner design, which provides a better line of sight into the cylinders and allows for an improved short turn. The best part, these cylinder heads also facilitate both the stock and aftermarket LS7 intake manifolds and nearly any aftermarket valvetrain setup.

When speaking with Kevin Feeney over at RHS about our options he gave us the skinny, “The use of our LS7 head is just another testament to how hard our engineers work. They provide the engine builder with the power they expect while leaving them with the convenience of using factory rocker arms and intake manifolds.” 

Bryan Neelan, engine builder at Late Model Engines shared this sentiment and added, “The RHS heads showed strong flow numbers with a nice port shape. I like the volume of the intake runner for the bigger cubic inches the RHS tall deck block accommodates. The RHS cylinder head is a nice clean casting that machines well and was very nice to work with.”

Each cylinder head utilizes the popular LS 6-bolt head design which allows these cylinder heads to be compatible with both the RHS LS race block like we’re using or the GM LSX blocks. The 6-bolt design provides strength and an increased ability to clamp at high capacities, which greatly improves head gasket retention. Most notably, the raised runner and rolled valve angle increases overall flow capability while an improved water jacket design improves thermal conductivity.

While we’re getting eager to get this set of cylinder heads installed, it’s also important to note that these RHS Pro Elite LS7 CNC-ported lungs can be used in small or large cubic-inch hardcore street applications.

For the correct compression, LME knocked off 0.018-inch of material for 63cc chambers.

LS7 Quick Notes

• 100% CNC-machined runners optimize volume, atomization, and velocity
• Increased clamping capacity greatly improves head gasket retention in high horsepower and boosted applications
• 0.750-inch thick deck surface increases integrity; reinforced solid rocker rail increases rigidity and stability
• 355-T6 aluminum withstands race conditions
• 0.400-inch raised rail works with aftermarket rockers
• 0.100-inch raised exhaust port allows use of stock and aftermarket manifolds
• Can be used in both small and large cubic-inch hardcore street/strip applications

Intake & Exhaust

Although we opted out of receiving a completed set of cylinder heads, completed versions are still available and highly recommended from RHS. To control our intake and exhaust flow to our exact specifications, we relied on a custom set of Ferrea titanium intake and stainless steel exhaust valves.

The Ferrea titanium intake valves measured in at 2.200- x 0.313-inch stem with a 5.565 x 0.290-inch tip (hard tip with no lash cap).

The quality of our Ferrea custom titanium and stainless steel intake/exhaust valves compliment the rest of this high-end build.

The titanium benefits our valvetrain from shedding unnecessary weight, essentially freeing up more power for a rev-happy engine. For the exhuast side of things, Ferrea built us a custom stainless steel set which measured in a 1.615- x 0.313-inch stem with a 5.595- x 0.290-inch tip rounding out a complete Ferrea utopia for our intake/exhaust setup.

“Engine valves exert enormous influence on engine airflow, mixture quality and the ability to run higher engine speeds,” says Zeke Urrutia of Ferrea Racing Components. Less mass inertia allows a reduction in valve-spring rates and puts less strain on the entire valvetrain. Titanium valves must be used with bronze valve guides.

Ferrea valves have a proprietary Chrome Nitride coating (CrN) or a diamond-like coating (DLC) to provide rapid heat dissipation and wear reduction while reducing delaminating and flaking from valve flex. Titanium valves generally do not have hardened tips, so they must be used with steel lash caps to prevent damage.

To assemble the rest of our cylinder heads, we used a complete set of COMP components, which included dual springs, titanium retainers, locks, Viton seals with steel jackets and machine steel cups. Install height was 1.820-inch with 145 lb seat pressure with 485 lb at 0.660-inch lift. LME also utilized a 0.150-inch retainer for seal clearance.

Make sure to check out the build list below for all of the cylinder head part numbers. Once LME had each set of cylinder heads together, we could begin the process of installing each one over the ARP 2000 Pro Series head studs and Fel-Pro MLS-style 6-bolt, 0.040-inch head gaskets.

LME assembled our RHS Pro-Elite LS7 cylinder heads using a combination of Ferrea titanium intake with stainless exhuast valves. Additional COMP components were used to finalize the cylinder heads.

GM LS7 Intake & Exhaust Rocker Arms

Once the cylinder heads were locked into place, we could move on and begin installing the RHS rocker stands to each bank. With the RHS cylinder heads, the RHS rocker stands are a must. We installed those first and then moved onto dropping in our 8.400-inch COMP push rods.

From there, it was only a matter of installing each, GM LS7 rocker arm for the intake and exhaust valves. What makes using the GM LS7 rocker arm so unique, is the simple fact that these are off-the-shelf components. This not only cuts down on overall cost but it also makes them more available in the event of failure. What’s more, these rocker arms will install easily on our RHS cylinder heads without any modifications.

We ordered up our sets separately since each set is specifically designed for the intake and exhaust valves. However, both come in the same, self-aligning, 1.8:1 ratio and narrow rocker arm body style.

Rocker Arm Trunion Modification

Since our application, again, isn’t the average build, the factory LS7 rockers won’t be able to sustain high-rpm abuse for the long haul. To combat this, we also modified each rocker arm with the COMP Cams GM LS series retrofit trunion kit. This modification was necessary to convert our stock LS series rocker arms into captured roller trunions for this specific application. It also keeps our valvetrain reliable throughout the entire rpm range. The kit includes all the necessary hardware including, the rocker arm trunions, rocker arm bearings, retaining rings and washers.

FAST Intake and RHS Intake Spacers

Continuing to fire away at the top-end of the engine, LME made quick work for the remainder of the installs before we hit the dyno cell. Next, making its way to the engine was the set of RHS intake spacers. RHS intake spacers will allow the use of standard style LS7-style intakes with tall-deck (9.750-inch) LS aluminum race blocks.

The spacers will work with FAST LSXR LS7 intakes, OEM GM LS7 intakes, or any other intake that is designed to work with LS7 heads. The spacers must also be used with LS7-style cylinder heads.

RHS Intake Spacers At A Glance

• Fits LS7-style intakes
• CNC-machined to strict tolerances to fit 9.750-inch deck height blocks
• CAD designed by engineers at RHS
• Lightweight scalloped design provides rigidity and function without adding significant weight
• Includes required hardware and spacer-to-head gasket (intake manifold gaskets are not included)

With the spacers installed, we could move on to moving some serious amounts of air. For this particular application, LME suggested we try out the FAST line of components. LME chose the FAST-developed, 3-piece, polymer intake manifold. This highly-advanced intake manifold means serious business and its constructed from a proprietary advanced polymer material that offers a host of benefits over aluminum aftermarket intakes, including lighter weight and improved strength and heat dissipating characteristics.

Up close and personal, the RHS intake spacers are truly a piece of art.

This intake also features a 102mm air inlet that is perfectly suited to the FAST Big Mouth 102mm throttle body, which we’ll be relying on. The intake is packed full of other features, too, including integrated nitrous bungs and perfect bolt-on fitment that allows for the use of factory accessories without modifications or clearance concerns.

FAST 102mm Intake Manifold At A Glance

• Fits LS7 raised Rectangle port cylinder head equipped applications (LS7)
• Drive-By-Cable throttle body options
• Big Mouth 102mm throttle body (PN# 54102)
• Big Mouth 92mm throttle body (PN#54092) for drive-by-cable applications
• Fuel Rail Options

The FAST LSXR intake manifolds’ 3-piece modular design allows for easy disassembly and porting. This new design gives you the ability to remove individual runners from the manifold for modification. The best part, this intake manifold is 50-state legal and C.A.R.B. approved (E.O.D.-279-8). We’re anxious to see what kind of power this manifold will produce.

FAST shared with us, “When used with a Big Mouth 102mm Throttle Body, the LSXR Intake Manifold produced gains of 16+ horsepower on a near stock LS7 engine and 26+ rear wheel horsepower on a 500ci RHS LS Aluminum Block based engine.”

The combination of a large FAST intake and throttle body should give us plenty of breathing room.

Aviaid Oiling Systems

Buttoning up the remainder of the build included sealing up the bottom-end with a high-quality and purpose-built oil pan. We were well aware of this particular engine’s extra swing from the stroker crank and rpm potential and weren’t going to cut any corners when it came to controlling oil flow and efficient dispersement.

In our case, we contacted John Schwarz, owner of Aviaid, for the full treatment. With oil control of great importance, John recommended their one-piece, Billet Aviaid dry sump oil pan. It’s good to note, since we’re running a 4.600-inch stroker crank, it was also necessary to run a 3/8-inch spacer between the block and oil pan to give us the clearance needed. While the spacer is necessary for our particular stroker application, this may not be the case for your RHS block.

To continue the Aviaid theme, we outfitted the rest of the build’s oiling system with a four stage externally mounted dry sump, which featured a 1.25-inch pressure side and larger, 1.50-inch scavenge. Additional parts included a remote oil filter and Aviaid dry sump oil tank. Of course, we made sure to install the remainder of the miscellaneous oiling system with Aviaid components.

ATI Super Damper

With build progress coming close to an end and closer to our big-inch LS hitting the dyno cell, we still had a couple more things to take care of. Case in point, controlling engine harmonics. As the engine is running, the crankshaft causes vibrations through torsional flex. It’s these vibrations which can shake an engine apart, literally.

Engine dampers also create additional benefits by increasing engine response. As the vibrations of the engine are absorbed, engine response becomes smoother and vital engine components like main and rod bearings endure less punishment; essentially creating a longer life. Controlling these vibrations, especially on a build of this magnitude was of great importance. However, with limited room to run the four-stage Aviaid dry sump system, LME was left with devising a plan to include a method for driving the pump (6-rib belt) while also controlling engine harmonics. ATI and LME created a solution, which included a combination of an ATI steel hub and an ATI aluminum balancer; making our 7.53-inch diameter damper the perfect addition to this build.

ATI Super Damper At A Glance

• The patented ATI Super Damper is the only crankshaft damper designed exclusively for high performance Chevy engines
• Eliminates torsional crankshaft vibrations
• Exceeds SFI 18.1 specs
• Black zinc chromate finished
• OEM equipment on ZZ572 GM Crate Engines
• Tunable, rebuildable, and extremely efficient at all rpm
• Laser engraved 360-degreee timing marks

We’ve made mentions of the ATI Super Damper before on this particular LS build. As LSXtv Associate Editor Rick Seitz stated in a prior news piece, “Our LS mill is assembled with the best of everything and since it’s running a dry sump oiling system, we relied upon an ATI Performance Products Super Damper.” To finalize the damper’s place on the LS engine, we fastened it down with a an ARP LS balancer bolt.

The ATI damper allows this 502 to not only minimize harmonics buts also drives the Aviaid dry sump pump.

FAST Fuel Injection Control Systems/Components

For our tuning needs, it was necessary to point out LME’s use of the FAST XFI 2.0 engine control system. For this build, it was an easy choice. There really is no other ignition control system that allows its users to process, analyze and adjust parameters more quickly.

The C-Com XFI Windows-based software is easy to navigate and features field-flashable capabilities. This allows users to download the latest software updates through email or directly from FAST. These XFI control units also feature Qwik Tune for programming without a laptop. You can pre-program up to four different EFI maps allowing the ability to optimize a setting for daily driving, one for racing conditions, and still another for fuel economy. With on-board diagnostics, EZ test indicator lights, 5-bar MAP sensing and controls, plus enhanced data-logging capabilities and memory helped influence our choice to run this unit for this high-end build.

FAST XFI 2.0 At A Glance

• Built-in wideband O2
• Fully sequential and/or bank-to-bank capability
• Individual cylinder correction
• Fan and fuel pump control
• Dynamic scaling of vectors in 2D and 3D tables
• Torque converter lockup control
• Air conditioning wide-open throttle cutout
• Boost control
• Fuel and oil pressure logging
• Adjustable injector timing
• Multiple ignition strategies

We continued the FAST theme throughout the remainder of our ignition control systems. Maximizing processing capabilities and ease of wiring, LME went with the FAST EFI harness. With clearly labeled connections, it made wiring up our monster LS build quick and easy.

We also included a bevy of additional FAST components including, the FAST MAP sensor, IAC, ACT, Coolant Temp sensor, TPS Switch, Fuel injector harness, FAST 65-lb Fuel Injectors, Oil Pressure Sensor, AIR Temp Sensor and FAST Billet Fuel Rails for LS7 LSXR intake Injectors. Finally, we were ready for the FAST EFI 102mm throttle body. The FAST 102mm throttle body are machined from durable 6061-T6 billet aluminum in precision CNC machining centers. This throttle body will maximize air flow while also creating a well-mannered, street-driven engine.

LME used the FAST billet fuel rails along with 65 lb/hr fuel injectors to feed the big-inch LS 502.

LME Dyno Results

With the RHS 502 finally buttoned up, primed with oil and strapped down to the LME dyno, we could begin our break-in dyno process. The break-in process will allow the rings to properly seat, keep an eye on oil pressure and provide a chance to make sure there are no leaks. LME also took time during the break-in period to check the condition of the oil. If there was any metallic material in the oil, now would be the time to shut it down. However, our oil was clean.

We began our dyno pulls at 4,000 rpm. This RHS 502 stroker makes so much torque down low, pulling the engine down any lower than 4,000 rpm would not be necessary. From there, we kept our pulls short and gradually increased its maximum rpm. All the while, LME was constantly checking air/fuel ratios as well as tuning the FAST EFI software for optimum power.

All said and done, LME made a mind-blowing 27 dyno pulls with the RHS 502. Sometimes the dyno process can be an all day affair and our experience was no different to dial in our beast. LME took their time to perfect the EFI software making absolutely sure the engine was top-notch.

This LME-built powerhouse proved with our initial pulls that this monster could handle whatever we threw at it. After some post examination of the fuel tables and previous dyno pulls, LME decided to continue safely with more pulls. So, what was the RHS 502 producing? After a final pull for all the glory, we were blown-away.

Once dialed in, our RHS 502ci LSX made an impressive 720.3 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 669.6 foot-pounds of torque at 5,300 rpm.

 The RHS 502 made a very impressive 720.3 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 669.6 foot-pounds of torque at 5,300 rpm. While this isn’t your typical, backyard build, LME proved that with the right combination of parts anything is possible; even building an LS-backed 502 stroker for the street. Stay tuned, we’ll have this powerplant going into a ’69 Camaro project soon. Be sure to check out our Blank Slate Camaro’s ongoing progress right HERE!

Heavy-breathing, the RHS 502 proves it’s no chump when it comes to dyno pulls.

Parts List // LME 502 Part 2 Build Sheet

Editor’s Note: Among the fundraising efforts for the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund is the annual engine auction on eBay Motors. In past years, Ed Pink Racing Engines (EPRE) built and dyno tested the engine using parts supplied by SEMA members. For the latest auction, however, the prize allowed the winning bidder Rod Johnson to meet with Pink and EPRE manager Frank Honsowetz to tailor the build according to his specific needs — again using parts from SEMA members. Bill Holland followed the build for EngineLabs and submitted the following report.

Words by Bill Holland

A solid foundation for the build came in the form of a Dart small-block Chevrolet SHP cast-iron block mated with Dart SHP aluminum cylinder heads. From that point on, the build was the proverbial “clean sheet of paper.” Winning bidder Rod Johnson wanted an engine for his dad’s street-driven 1955 Chevy pickup; a bullet with good performance but completely docile.

It takes a combination of parts and people to build an engine. Here are the Ed Pink Racing Engines staffers (left to right) who had a hand in the build: Tom Schlaak, Bill Wood, Craig McCormick, Lauren Arana, Larry Ingham and Felipe Javier. Photos by Bill Holland

Left to right: EPRE technician Lauren Arana works on the SEMA Scholarship engine; Frank Honsowetz, general ganager of Ed Pink Racing Engines, checks the Dart SHP block; cylinder head specialist Craig McCormick dialed in the valve train.

Cubic inches are always a good way to get more power without sacrificing reliability, so a Scat 4340 forged steel 3.75-inch stroker crank was selected, as were Scat 4340 5.7-inch H-beam connecting rods along with Clevite rod and main bearings and Fel-Pro gaskets. An ATI Super Damper augmented the internally balanced engine. Mahle forged aluminum pistons measuring 4.145 inch diameter and Total Seal piston rings were employed in the 405ci package, which came with a 9.55:1 compression ratio. The Dart heads featured 200cc intake ports, 64cc combustion chambers and had 2.02-inch intake/1.60-inch diameter exhaust valves; a good balance between air/fuel flow and velocity.

Continuing with the premise of having a streetable power curve, a Comp Cams hydraulic roller (grind #12-467-8) was used. A set of Manley 1-piece chromoly pushrods connected the Comp hydraulic roller lifters to the Comp 1.6:1 aluminum roller rockers. This gave the engine a net lift of 0.612-inch at the valve, with a duration of 248 degrees intake and 255 degrees exhaust at .050-inch lift with zero lash.

Clockwise, from top left: ARP head studs secure the cylinder heads. The Mahle pistons and chamber volume combined to produce a 9.55:1 compression ratio. The Comp Cams valve train was dialed in to perfection. The 405ci small-block is fed by this 2x58mm Holley throttle body atop a polished Stealth Ram manifold. A bird’s eye view of the SEMA Scholarship engine in all its polished aluminum glory. A set of coated Hedman hedders will complete the installation.

A Milodon high-performance oil pump and a 6-quart Milodon pan handled the small block’s lubrication needs, with Joe Gibbs Driven oil utilized. Cooling came via an Edelbrock water pump. An Edelbrock front cover housed a Comp timing set. A set of Hedman hedders, appropriate to the vehicle, was provided.

All the fasteners used in the build were from ARP. They ranged from 4130 chromoly head studs, main studs and rod bolts all the way to polished stainless steel 12-point accessory fasteners. The high-performance alternator and starter were manufactured by PowerMaster, while a set of March brackets and pulleys added a finishing touch.

Polished induction

To provide the engine with a distinctive appearance and all-around performance, a Holley EFI was selected.  The polished aluminum system features a 2x58mm throttle body, a Stealth Ram intake and fuel injectors rated at 35 lbs. per hour. A FAST distributor was used to signal the Holley ECU, with a Crane HI-6 ignition and coil providing the power to the Moroso plug wires and Champion spark plugs. The fuel pressure required at WOT was 43 psi, and the distributor had 33-degree advance. A pair of Moroso polished aluminum valve covers, specially engraved with the SEMA and Ed Pink Racing Engines logos, add to the engine’s exclusivity.

Clockwise, from top left: Last-minute linkage adjustments are made prior to hooking the SEMA SBC up to the dyno. Ed Pink Racing Engines GM Frank Honsowetz gives winning bidder Rod Johnson an overview of the dyno testing process at EPRE as Pink technicians mapped the Holley ECU.

After all the normal break-in procedures were completed, the engine was put through its paces on the dyno, with adjustments to ignition timing and fuel mapping made to optimize performance. The engine cranked out an impressive 475 lb-ft of peak torque at 4,500 rpm, and exhibited a very wide torque band that showed in excess of 400 lb-ft. throughout a 2,500 rpm range. Peak power was a steady 453 horsepower, which it held between 5,500 and 5,800 rpm. Needless to say, with its broad power band the SEMA/Ed Pink small block will make for an excellent “driver.”

From left: Noted engine builder Ed Pink is joined by Mike and Rod Johnson, who are putting the engine in their dad's classic Chevy pickup. Rod Johnson discusses the build with Ed Pink. A bonus for Johnson was touring the Ed Pink Racing Engines facility and seeing a rare Novi engine from the Indy 500 under restoration.

The beauty of the Holley EFI is that the ECU will “learn” the actual driving parameters of Johnson’s Chevy and make the necessary finite adjustments for optimum performance.  

Thanks to the efforts of almost two-dozen SEMA member manufacturers and the considerable skills of Ed Pink Racing Engines, the net result is a potent, good-looking engine that is ideally suited for its new “home,” with the proceeds from the eBay auction ultimately benefiting a number of young people wishing a career in the automotive aftermarket. Scholarship information is available at www.SEMA.org/scholarships.

Two views of the finished engine, which is distinguished by engraved valve covers.

The intense specialization in today’s premium engine building demands collaboration throughout the entire process. Crankshaft manufacturers need to know who’s casting the block and pumping the oil. Piston designers need to know what’s under and above the crown. And intake manifold fabricators definitely need to know the intricacies in the cylinder head.

Such a cooperative effort was essential to plan out the specifics for a new engine that will power the Blown Z 275 drag-radial project vehicle. The goal is a supercharged 400ci powerplant capable of 1,800 horsepower. Since induction and airflow is key to horsepower production, the obvious starting point for the discussions focused on the cylinder head and intake manifold.

RFD has proprietary CNC programs for machining the combustion chamber and cylinder head ports from the base Edelbrock casting.

“Everything is custom these days,” says Curtis Boggs of the Virginia-based Race Flow Development (RFD). “We’ll talk to the customer to get the basics of the build, such as engine size and rpm range. Then everything is modified for the customer’s application.”

“We talked to Curtis quite often on this project,” adds Nick Doll, an airflow specialist at Wilson Manifolds. “I need to know the head’s true flow potential, the primary choke area, expected horsepower at rpm and general sizing of the head.”

“I do work closely with Wilson,” echoes Boggs, who supplied a set of “manifold heads” for mockup purposes at the Wilson shop. “They’re very much on their game, and we’ll discuss port sizes.”

LSX race engine foundation

The engine is based on a GM LSX block from Pace Performance and will be assembled by Late Model Engines (LME) in Houston. Internals include a Callies billet 3.75-inch stroke crankshaft, 6.050-inch GRP aluminum connecting rods, 4.125-inch Diamond pistons (10:1 compression ratio), Total Seal rings, ARP fasteners and Clevite bearings. The bottom end consists of a Dailey pan and 6-stage dry sump while the 60mm Comp roller cam will be turned by a Jesel belt drive. Other short-block components include SCE copper head gaskets, an ATI damper, Jesel lifters and pushrods, Fel-Pro gaskets and a TCI starter. In the car, the engine will be sparked by an MSD ignition and exhaust gasses will be routed through Kooks headers.

Here are closeups of the combustion chamber and ports following the CNC machining at Race Flow Development. Note the MoldStar bronze valve seats.

Here are overall views of the intake and exhaust sides of the completed head. RFD doesn’t release flow numbers as they don’t always tell the complete story of managing airflow. Based on the Edelbrock Victor Pro Port LSR casting, the head features the GM SB2 valve-cover footprint.

Strong selection of port designs

“I have six different port combinations for the intake and exhaust on the Edelbrock LS-R head,” explains Boggs. “And from those port combinations I can cut to six or seven different sizes on the CNC machine. We can really customize the head down to the smallest detail.”

From the outset, Boggs knew the engine would be boosted with a ProCharger F1X turned by a Chris Alston reverse-gear drive.

“But it’s kind of limited since they’re not running the biggest blower possible,” adds Boggs. “So you start making considerations for that; such as, you don’t put in the biggest exhaust port. You still have to size them correctly as bigger isn’t always better.”

The heads will be assembled with Ferrea titanium 2.250-inch diameter intake valves and Super Alloy 1.600-inch exhaust valves. The combustion chambers are designed to be as small and efficient as possible at 52cc.

The CNC-machined, lightweight titanium intakes are heat treated and stressed relieved in addition to being treated to a propriety chrome nitride (CrN) coating that helps provide an insulating barrier to high temperatures and helps dissipate heat along with protecting the valve-guide surfaces.

“Even with dynamic forces and valve-flex stresses in a boosted engine, there’s no delaminating or flaking,” says Ferrea’s Zeke Urrutia.

The intake valves feature a 6.350-inch long, 5/16-inch diameter stem and a hardened tip, which negates the need for a lash cap. The Super Alloy exhaust valves measure 1.600-inch diameter and come with a 6.300-inch long, 11/32-inch diameter stem. All 16 valves are radial grooved and have .300-inch tip heights with hardened tips, which negates the need for lash caps. On the advice of Boggs, Ferrea cut the exhaust valves with a .080-inch margin and a 50-degree seat (.0600-inch width). The intake valves were cut with a .060-inch margin and 55-degree seat (.060 -inch width). There’s also a 35-degree back cut (.060-inch width) on the intake valves. These cuts will match up with the MoldStar bronze seats that Boggs installs on the heads.

“On a high-boost engine, you don’t put a 60-degree seat because it’ll tear it up,” warns Boggs. “Valve sizes are based on the pressure differential you’re dealing with. If you have a 12-71 screw blower, that will create a tremendous amount of cylinder pressure and you have to exhaust that. It’s not only the boost level but the volume you’re moving. Valve size itself is not the magic number. Valve sizes are in direct proportion to the throat and port area.”

Working with boost

“Limited ProCharger motors are a little different,” Boggs continues. “They’re not moving the same volume as a screw blower, so you tend to modify the valve and port sizes because you’re dealing with different volumes. Even F1X combos will be up against the max flow of the blower as a limit, so efficiency of the entire combination is just as important as a naturally aspirated combination.”

Some notching on the valve-cover rails is required to clear the pushrods, and the head is machined for a 1-piece Jesel rocker stand.

Boggs works off a spreadsheet he’s built over 35 years of porting head that matches up different combinations to help calculate the port and valve sizes.

“It’s not as simple as putting numbers in a program and that’ll tell you the right cross-sectional area,” explains Boggs. “It’s much more complex than that. Now we get into something I discuss a lot with the customer, and that’s the engine’s personality.”

Boggs offers a scenario where a 355ci engine from a dirt-track late model is compared to a 355ci drag-race engine. The latter requires high-rpm power to get the car down the track through gearing. The late model has to come off the corner with strong mid-range power and provide plenty of snappy throttle response for the restarts.

Considerable work was performed on the Chevy Performance LSX-DR casting to achieve the desired runner lengths and plenum volume. Since the DR casting is made for a different bolt pattern, the original flanges cut off with a bandsaw, then the runner ends were milled with a 45-degree cutter to provide a chamfer that will mate up with a groove in the custom flange.

“The cylinder heads on those two identically sized engines are absolutely opposite. Even if they’re both going to make peak power at 8,000 rpm, they’re going to take drastically different cross-sectional areas and valve sizes.” explains Boggs, who stresses the need to design different mach or air-speed indexes, as an example.

With the ports shaped and sized for the boost levels, Boggs next focused on the combustion chamber where he has a simple maxim: keep it as efficient as possible.

“You see in the industry a number of different combustion chamber designs,” offers Boggs. “For a ProCharger combo I tend to do it with piston design. In this case, we’ve got a small, very efficient combustion chamber. Obviously, you want to direct the combustion over the center of the connecting rod as much as possible. You don’t want side loads on the pistons. A nice, conical dish in the piston tends to center the charge.”

Teaming with Wilson for intake manifold

Boggs uses CNC machines to shape and size the ports and cut out the combustion chamber, which ended up at 52cc. Information on the latter will be given to the piston manufacturer to ensure proper compression ratio. Boggs also works with the customer on cam profiles to complement the airflow.

“This is a custom shop, so I don’t like to just sell a set of heads and make the customer figure out how to run them,” adds Boggs. “We’ll work with cam specs and give feedback on other engine factors. A large part of RFD is professional race-team consulting.”

Of course, teaming with the intake manifold supplier is just as critical, especially when working with boosted applications or situations where rules play a major role in the engine design. For Blown Z, that partner is Wilson Manifolds out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Note that the welder wears gloves while positioning the manifold on the flanges, which are bolted to the heads. The manifold was treated to 350-degree oven to help prevent warping during the TIG welding process. Immediately after the final weld, the manifold is returned to the engine and covered with a heat blanket, again to reduce the chance of rapid cooling and warpage. Not only is the manifold welded to the new flanges, but additional metal is built up around the runners. After cooling, the manifold goes back to the mill to ensure the ports come in at 4-degrees from the flange.

“If the head has limitations, we might be able to compensate with manifold design,” says Doll. “That’s the kind of things we’ll discuss with the cylinder head specialist.”

Wilson started with a Chevy Performance manifold (PN 19257851), which was obtained from Pace Performance. This casting is designed for the LSX-DR cylinder heads and needed some surgery to fit the Edelbrock heads as well as match the flow characteristics of the RFD porting.

“It was the easiest choice but it’s still not long or wide enough,” explains Doll.

The obvious concern was the unequal runner lengths between the middle and outside cylinders. Wilson technicians first shortened the length of the outside runners by 1.5 inches to help equalize the airflow.

Top left photo is the stock GM casting, followed by photos showing the scars from where Wilson cut and welded to enlarge the plenum and reduce the length of the outside runners. After the fabrication is complete and all the welds are ground and polished, the ports, plenum and other openings are covered. The manifold is then sand-blasted (bottom right) to give the finish a cast appearance.

Equalizing the runners

“When you shorten the outside runners, you also get a larger plenum,” says Doll, “which was also the effect we were going for.”

The next step was cutting off the bolt flanges and prepping the manifold to be welded to a new set of custom mounting plates, which were cut with chamfers around the ports. The ends of the manifold’s runners were also cut with a 45-degree tool to match the chamfers. Before welding, the new plates were bolted to a set of similar LSR heads on mounted on a dummy block, and the manifold was heated in an oven to help prevent warpage during welding.

Additional hand grinding gave the ports and plenum their final shapes and sizes.

“When the manifold mates up with the new flange, the weld will penetrate completely through,” explains Doll. “If we didn’t put that 45-degree V and left it flat, the weld may look good but then when we grind it could cut into air pockets.”

The new flanges will be sized slightly smaller than the head’s intake ports, giving Wilson flexibility in machining the final size. The ends of the manifold runners are also beefed up with additional material.

“All that weld is to make sure that when we get the right transition angle into the port, the machining is not breaking through on the manifold,” says Doll. “Since this is a one-off piece, we’ll do it on the mill.”

The welds are ground flush and polished for a smooth appearance. All external openings are then taped off before the manifold is subjected to the sand blaster to disguise the welds and also provide a fresh-cast appearance. Final prep work includes hand porting the runners.

“The first thing we look at is rpm range and cubic inches,” says Doll. “Even though the inside and outside runner volumes will be slightly different on this manifold, they will have a same taper.”

Wilson will also finish off the interior surfaces with standard 80-grit abrasives.

Manifold runner surface choices

“With fuel injection you can make it a little smoother,” adds Doll. “But even with fuel injection, there are still pulsations. There’s still fuel running around inside that manifold. You don’t want a mirror finish.”

The fuel system includes an Aeromotive pump pushing VP Racing Fuels Q16 race gas to 225-pound Billet Atomizer fuel injectors, so Wilson machined out the manifold runners to install new fuel-injector bosses.

The fuel-injector bosses were machined down, then new bosses were welded at the desired angle. Final work included positioning the fuel-rail supports.

“You look at the approach angle of the head and the valve angles when positioning the bosses,” explains Doll. “You try to aim the injector right at the back of the valve. You don’t want the fuel to hit the wall or floor, then you end up with puddling.”

During the buildup the manifold will also be treated to Wilson fuel rails and a Wilson 123mm V-band throttle body. Controlling the fuel delivery once the engine is installed into the Camaro will be a Holley Dominator ECU.

Check back often for additional stories as LME assembles and dyno tests the engine with a goal of surpassing 1,800 horsepower.

Here is the finished intake with the fuel rails installed. Note both the exterior and interior finishes as well as the fuel-injector location and the final port and plenum shaping. Click on any photo for an expanded view.

In case you hadn’t heard, the LS movement is in full swing. Let us be the first to tell you, it’s real and it’s here to stay. That doesn’t mean the traditional, iron small- or big-block is going by the wayside, however, it’s slowly being overwhelmed by a breed of new-age, horsepower-hungry fellows.

The LME facility remains complelty in-house. From basic machining to full dyno tuning, LME can handle any LS build.

With the seemingly painless ability to make gobs of power with little effort, backed by reliability that would make any daily-driver jealous, making the choice to go LS is guilt-free and effortless. Of course, there’s one drawback: Cost.

Nowadays, a 500 horsepower daily-driven street mill doesn’t garner up the kind of attention at local meets or gas station pumps like they used to. To be honest, it’s almost too easy to make power these days with late-model mills, and cost permitting – anything is possible.

After all, money can’t buy you happiness but it can buy you a lot of horsepower.

Sure, piecing together a tried and true combination utilizing an iron block would make plenty of punch, especially considering we could do it for pennies on the dollar. Could a budget-friendly iron small- or big-block make lots of power on the cheap? Yes. Could you daily-drive the mill to and from work? Yes. Could you drive to your local autocross and compete? Probably.

LME performed all of the necessary machine work, which included cutting 0.010 inches off the deck.

However, you’d be hard-pressed to take the same mill, wring it out for all its got during an open-track event or test and tune night at the local dragstrip and then rely on the same engine to get you home time after time. Our requirements weren’t what the normal crowd was after. We were essentially in search of a street-clothed Powerlifter with the stamina and endurance of an MMA fighter. That’s asking a lot out of any engine, however, considering the aftermarket’s ability to churn out race-style components with off-the-shelf availability, we knew it was possible.

While we’d like to all think just because you spent a day on the dyno here and there, watched your buddy torque down the main caps or adjust timing, that you’re part of the dyno-tuning and engine-building Guru squad. We’re happy to tell you, chances are that’s probably not true at all. Let’s be honest here, folks – would you tell a Doctor to revise his decision on where he makes an incision?

While the block comes from RHS ready to assemble, some preliminary machining was required since a majority of the components were custom-built for this project.

Considering our engine building experience history is limited to say the least; usually relying on complete crate engines for project builds, we were after something a bit different this time around. While our crate engine experience has been nothing short of successful, ground up builds seem to reap the most attention. With that in mind, we set out to put together a potent LS build beginning from ground zero.

The RHS aluminum race block provides all of the necessary, factory-style design; allowing even the heartiest of race engines to install directly into a late-model Camaro, Corvette or GM truck.

The Block // RHS Aluminum Tall-Deck

It all began with with a bare RHS LS block, and to handle our hands-on approach, for this particular build, we set up with Late Model Engines (LME) out of Houston, Texas for all of our machining, assembly, dyno and tuning needs. There, LME and front man Bryan Neelan, completely prepped our bare, tall-deck (9.760-inch) RHS block; filling it with components from ARP Fasteners, COMP Cams, Clevite, Lunati, Total Seal and Wiseco to end up as a big-swinging, big-inch 502.

The potential for making a ton of twist is merely a game of cubic inches and compression. In other words, the more cubic inches you’ve got to pack air and fuel into, the more power you’re going to make. To get things off on the right foot, we were more than eager to try out RHS’s new, ready-to-hone, LS aluminum Race Block. We’ve mentioned this industry-leading block before. Catch up on the RHS Aluminum block, here.

The block featured Wiesco piston-swallowing, 4.120-inch bores with a total, 6.380-inch cylinder sleeve length. From its crate, LME took the reigns and performed all of the necessary in-house machine work for good measure including, an align-hone, deck and finish hone before we could begin assembly. For good measure, the LME team bumped the align-hone from 2.7512 inches through the mains to fine tune the housing bores, which ended at 2.7509 inches.

Since the blocks come from RHS bored to size at 4.160-inch, LME merely needed to touch each cylinders block with the hone. For proper piston and ring fit, LME was able to hog out enough material; allowing 0.0037 inches of clearance from each bore. Without punch from each combustion chamber and to raise compression, the deck was cut 0.010-inch, with a final deck height of 9.740-inch.

From there, the block was washed including removing any material from the oil galley’s. RHS already installs the cam bearings prior to delivery. It’s important to keep in mind that each oil galley is thoroughly cleaned since some material can hide in and around the bearings.

We’ve detailed all of the specifics on the RHS block below in the video. Make sure to take a look at the clip. Our next step was installing the custom grind, COMP Cam.

COMP Camshaft // ‘Stick It In The Middle

Of course, at the heart of any high-revving engine, it’s only as happy as the camshaft allows it to breath. In our case, we went right to the professionals at COMP Cams. Honestly, where else would we go? To gain an upper hand in the rev department, we went with a custom grind, hydraulic roller ‘stick with 254/266 degrees duration and 0.660/0.660-inch lift at 0.050 on a 114 LSA.

Could this cam live on the street? To find out, we asked Bryan Neelen, owner of LME. According to Neelan, the camshaft couldn’t be a better choice. “Based on the projected power and application, and our past experience in building big-block RHS engines, we had a good starting point of where to begin at 0.050-inch of duration, as well as the lope separation. We had to keep in mind that this is still a street car with road race capabilities. It needed a broad power curve as well as the ability to spin 6,500 rpm. It’s a fine line.” Neelan continued, “If we went much bigger on the camshaft, we would have lost power in the low to mid-rainge and would not have seen a worthwhile gain up top. This is due in part to the limitations on the intake manifold with lots of cubic inches.”

The custom-grind COMP camshaft choice we made is no slouch. It will allow our big-inch LS engine to breath in all areas of the rpm. This means lots of low-end grunt to pull the vehicle out of corners and plenty of high-horsepower up top in the rpm to keep us pulling on the straightaways.

To compliment our healthy camshaft choice, we’ve also paid special attention to the remainder of the valvetrain. While we’ll be showcasing the top end of the build in a later story, it is important to note we’ll be relying on additional components from Chevrolet Performance like our set of LS7 style intake and exhuast rocker arms, both in the 1.8:1 ratio backed by an RHS rocker stand.

We took our time and gently fed the camshaft into the block.

We’ve also gone with a set of COMP, short travel hydraulic race lifters (Ti-bar required for LS blocks). What’s so special about these lifters? Well, they have been engineered from a patent-pending design that specifically performs at higher engine speeds. They are designed to limit the lifter’s internal piston as it is pumped up. By limiting that movement, the COMP Cams short travel race hydraulic roller lifters cut down on the loss of power and limit valvetrain failure at higher rpm. The lifters are REM-finished and then black oxide coated for extreme durability, even for those high-revving engines.

With the help of the LME staff, we applied some camshaft lube liberally and carefully installed the ‘stick. We were careful not to gall the camshaft bearings. Once in, we were ready for the remainder of the rotating assembly.

With the high-lift COMP camshaft installed, we could move on to installing the remainder of the short-block. This included the Lunati stroker crank, rods and large-bore Wiseco pistons providing 11.5:1 points of squeeze.

Rotating Assembly // Swing Big, Punch Hard

If you’ve ever watched a boxing match, each swing is a calculated move. Each jab is carefully premeditated to assure that it brings a world of hurt to the opposing contender. With the same thought process, we knew the only way to get the kind of punch we were looking for, was to look for the right crank and rod combination. In our case, we went after Lunati and their Pro Series line of crankshafts with a 4.600-inch throw.

Our Clevite H-Series bearing set came complete with main and rod bearings.

Rod journals are large, too, with 2.100 inches of diameter, able to support a minimum rod length of 6.125 inches. Before we planted the crank for final, we first installed our standard, H-Series Clevite main bearings. H-Series bearings for our applicaiton are important considering the potentially mid- to high-rpm this engine will live at.

Each bearing contains a steel backing with carefully selected overlays and high crust factor. Our H-Series bearings also come with enlarged chamfers at the sides for greater crank-fillet clearance.

For our application, we simply unpackaged the set and rinsed them with solvent to remove manufacturing residue or debris.

Providing swing, our 502-inch LS motor relied on a super-fortified forged crankshaft from Lunati. The Pro Series cranks feature aircraft-quality standards and drilled rod journals with lightening holes to reduce the inertia weight of the crankshaft.

From there, we laid the crank in and fortified its final resting place with a complete set of RHS main studs, which were clamped down with the RHS main caps. We torqed the main caps down to 95 ft-lb while the side bolts were fastened down at 35 ft-lb. With the crank set and thrust checked, we could begin the tedious process of filling each bore with a connecting rod set and Wiseco slug. The connecting rods we went after were also from the Pro Series line from Lunati. These rods are designed for higher horsepower and rpm applications; derived from aerospace 4340 alloy steel. Each complete set comes with ARP 2000 rods bolts as well to keep things together.

The choice to continue the Lunati theme was simple. In our case, we needed a connecting rod that could live at high rpm. For this, we went with the Pro Series line of rods from Lunati. These rods feature Aerospace 4340 alloy steel and come complete with ARP 2000 rod bolts. LME fitted the big end of each rod with a narrowed, Clevite (PN CB66HN) rod bearing.

Wiseco Forged Pistons // A Complete Slug Fest

Our custom-built, 4.165-inch bore Wiseco pistons looked more like coffee table art displays rather than actual engine components. These high-compression slugs with -19cc, reverse dome LS7 pockets and lateral gas ports were custom cut by Wiseco to handle the 11.5:1 squeeze in the bores. Each slug was also treated to an anti-friction coating on the skirts for extra strength and to wick away power-sapping heat. Of course, Bryan Neelen shared with us the method behind the madness. “As cubic inches increase, the total volume of the piston and combustion changer increases to maintain a certain cubic inch. For example, a 427ci engine with 68cc chambers will need a -6cc piston to make 11.5:1. For this 502 inches, we’d need a -19cc dished piston to maintain the same, 11.5:1 compression with 68cc chambers.” With plans to hit this engine hard with high-rpm blasts, our ring package was just as important to the remainder of the build.

Each forged piston were outfitted with Wiseco’s ArmorGlide skirt coating. The result allows for the ultimate in skirt coating toughness; allowing for superior lubrication to minimize friction, maximize horsepower, and provide improved wear resistance. It also allows for a better ring seal and reduced noise from piston knock in tighter clearance bores.

For our pistons, we went with a Total Seal ring package, which consisted of a Top AP Stainless Chrome (PN 100554), second cast Napier (PN 207946) and standard tension 3 mm oil rings (PN 001874).

Why is the ring package selection so important? In a nut-shell, rings provide the vital seal between the combustion cycles and the oil. Rings also prevent blow-by and, more importantly, prevent the rings from butting up against one another and scoring the cylinder walls. A healthy set of rings is essential to generating and maintaining power. After we cleaned each of the rings with solvent to avoid contamination, we were able to install the oil support rail first with the “dimple” on the side of the ring facing down. This prevents the ring from rotating in the piston groove.

Our next ring was the expander or first oil ring. This ring provides outward tension on the oil rails against the cylinder walls. From there, we set the two thinner rings in place, on the bottom and the other on top. It’s important to never face the two ring gaps on top or in line with one another. This could potentially allow excessive amounts of oil to get past or leak by the oil ring.

The second ring has a “step” (chamfer) built into its design. This specific ring’s chamfer, depending on your application, should always face down. In some cases the “raised” dimple will face up to indicate which way the ring needs to be placed. Finally, our top or main compression ring was set into place. It’s the first line of defense in the cylinder against the intake charge, along with brutal heat and punishment from exhaust gases. The top rings bevel goes up along with the dimple. After all eight of our pistons were hung on the rods and ringed, we were ready to begin filling each bore.

Once the rod and piston combination was set into place, we locked each rod cap down. In the meantime, we had finished a majority of the short-block. We already have plans for our next round of build by prepping the rest of our components.

What’s Next? // Topping Off The 502 Build

You’ll have to keep reading for our second portion of this story. There, we’ll conclude our big-inch RHS build by installing the remainder of the valvetrain including; the COMP roller lifters, heavy-breathing RHS cylinder heads, COMP roller-rocker set, and FAST intake manifold and throttle body. To finish it off, we’ll contain the bottom-end with a dry-sump system from Aviaid oiling system and get the engine on the LME dyno for a complete round of testing. We’re sure you’ll like what we have coming up in part duex of our LS build. Of course, we’ll show you what’s involved and any tips and tricks we find along the way. Stay tuned!

This engine is destined for our ’69 Camaro project car, a soon-to-be Pro-Touring machine. Follow along with our “Blank Slate” project car build by clicking here.

Parts List // LME 502 Build Sheet

EngineLabs just learned that CFE Racing Products has broken the 600-cubic-inch barrier for small-block Chevy engines.

The Michigan-based company, which specializes in racing cylinder head development, is currently ready to ship the foundation components — cylinder block, cylinder heads and intake manifold — with the necessary dimensions to support a 600ci displacement within the somewhat traditional confines of the 58-year-old SBC platform.

“In all practical purposes, it’s a next-generation small-block,” CFE’s Larry Gadette tells EngineLabs. “It’s what Chevrolet should’ve done 20 years ago.”

The project is so new that information remains limited, and only one photo is available. EngineLabs will update this story as more news is released, hopefully in the coming week.

The new 600ci architecture is an extension of the current big-inch efforts that have escalated in recent years with improved billet-block design and machining techniques. Aftermarket engineers can now enlarge dimensions and map out near perfect geometries and clearances, then program that data into a CNC machine and produce perfectly aligned blocks and cylinder heads.

“We really didn’t start out to develop a 600-incher,” explains Gadette. “We started developing a 572ci engine that was more proportional and conducive to making high-end power.”

Here’s the GM R07 cylinder block with 4.5-inch bore spacing and improved cooling dynamics. It helped pave the way for aftermarket blocks with with bore spacing stretched over the traditional 4.400-inch standard.

The original customer wanted a big-inch engine based off a block with 4.5-inch bore spacing. He already had a crankshaft with a 4.900-inch stroke.

“We started doing some research and thought, if he’s got a 4.900-inch arm, all we need is a little more bore and we’ve got 600 cubic inches,” says Gadette. “It was spawned from that.”

Concluding that a number of markets would salivate over 600ci — which equates to 9.83 liters — CFE moved forward on designing a block with 4.6-inch bore centers and expanding its famed SBX cylinder head to support the wider cylinder locations.

“It’s only .475-inch longer than a traditional small-block,” reports Gadette. “It fits where a small-block fits and it looks like a small block.”

The block, which can ordered with or without water jackets, sports a 4.400-inch bore. When combined with a 4.900-inch-stroke crankshaft, the resulting displacement is 596ci, but it’s possible to poke out the cylinders to 4.500 inches. 

“The bore size will support 662ci,” says Gadette. “So it’s almost possible to reach 700!”

Always looking to go bigger

Hot rodders have been trying to hog out the small-block Chevy since the ‘70s when they were squeezing 4.0-inch stroker cranks into a stock 400 block to get 434ci. The problem, of course, was rod clearance against the cylinders and camshaft. The aftermarket addressed these issues with newer blocks that raised the cam and provided side clearance. 

Displacements continued to creep up, but the next milestone came in 1994 when Sonny Leonard built the first 500ci small block. 

Hot rodders have always tried to boost displacement with stroker cranks in the small-block Chevy, but kept running into interference with the rails and camshaft.

“560ci is about as big as you can get with the small-block,” says Gadette. “Then you can get a real clumsy engine.”

Blocks stretched out for 4.5-inch bore centers became the norm for big-cube small-blocks when NASCAR approved Chevy’s R07 race engine, which replaced the venerable SB2 engine. For the current generation of 358ci engines, NASCAR allows 4.5-inch bore centers but restricts the maximum bore to 4.185. The extra distance between cylinders give engineers more room to circulate coolant — in other words, no need for siamese cylinders and more durability.

“People don’t realize the SB2 head was developed into a 4.5-inch platform (called the R03 head) but abandoned in favor of the R07,” says Gadette.

The stock deck height on a Chevy small-block is 9.025 inches, but the aftermarket has taken its blocks up to 9.500 inches — with some specialty billet applications going as tall as 10.2 inches. The CFE block is set at 10.0 inches.

Here’s the 400ci Chevy from the ’70s. It was the best factory option to go big, but the largest displacement realistically possible was 434ci.

“Of course, we could make it 12 inches, if we wanted,” boasts Gadette. “But then you start getting really weird rod-length ratios. At some point you have to call it quits.”

The CFE block retains the standard Chevy bellhousing pattern and 4-bolt steel main caps (stock 400 journal size); plus the familiar horse-collar timing-cover boss/water jacket holes on the front appears similar to the standard small-block. Other features following tradition include standard Chevy engine-mount locations, available distributor accommodation and oil-pan rail dimensions similar to the famed Rocket block, which was an Oldsmobile version of the SBC used in drag racing and provided wider oil pans for stroker clearance and also a raised cam location.

“You can even bolt a regular Chevy water pump to this block,” says Gadette. 

Some familiar SBC cues, some new

Outside of the familiar Chevy cues, the CFE block will have .937 lifter bores and will not offer a provision for a mechanical fuel pump. The cam location is “standard big-block plus .400,” and the block will support 55mm roller-cam bearings and 60mm babbit.

CFE stretched out a version of its SBX head, which was developed for the Chevy Pro Stock trucks in the ‘90s, to fit the 4.6 bore centers — a move that opens up considerable airflow possibilities.

“You’ve never been able to get a 2.300 intake in a small-block head. There’s not enough room for it,” says Gadette. “Now there is.”

The 600ci SBX head will hold a 2.300/1.900 combination, which was certainly unheard of just a few years ago. Think about it, a standard 454 big-block Chevy has 2.19/1.88 valves, and the popular Victor Jr. BBC head comes with 2.25/1.90 valves.

Here’s the SBX head from CFE that was modified to fit the 4.600-inch bore centers on the new block.

CFE will not sell the 600ci components to the general public. A select group of builders has been approved to distribute the engine. They will get only the block, heads and dedicated intake manifold, which can support a variety of carb and fuel-injection setups. The builders then work with their favorite suppliers for the rotating assembly, wet- or dry-sump oiling, induction and accessories.

There are limitations to such a large displacement in a small-block, particularly due to the under-square bore/stroke ratio that complicates frictional losses. However, the total potential for this new engine platform hasn’t been fully explored yet. Gadette says the deck height could be trimmed down to 8.75 inches, giving engine builders for Bonneville-type vehicles or even Pro Mods the potential for an over-square bore/stroke ratio and much higher-revving capabilities — especially with boost.

“It’s such a universal project with implications for performance, such as those looking for the most horsepower from a small-block, or those looking for something cool in a show car,” sums up Gadette. “Whatever direction you want to take it, there’s definitely room for it to be a game changer.”

Last month we brought you the buildup of the shortblock on our Wild E. Coyote project – a 1,000-horsepower-capable base for the the soon-to-be-turbocharged hot rod we’ve been working with since 2011. Our previous combination had served us well but with nearly 50,000 hard miles on the odometer, not only was our Coyote showing age, but it was tired as well. 

During the short block portion, Rich Groh Racing Engines and JPC Racing put together a killer Coyote for us using the finest in aftermarket hardware, including a set of JE‘s forged slugs, an octet of Manley‘s Pro Billet I-beam connecting rods, and a factory forged crankshaft. Groh applied his engine building tricks to the bottom end in preparation for installing the top end, which is the focus of this article.

Flowing More Air

As Groh had already put together the bulletproof short block, we turned right back to him to provide the port work on the stock Coyote cylinder head castings. “I’ve worked with Ferrea to develop the larger valve size for these castings, as I developed ports for these heads when they first came out. You can’t go any larger without pulling all of the seats out of the head and replacing them all. Going one millimeter larger is sufficient for the stock seats without any issues. Without spending thousands of dollars on new copper-beryllium seats and the machine work to go with it, this is the perfect design.” Groh said.

Left - The four-valve configuration of the Coyote cylinder head allows for an increased valve area within the same cylinder when compared to a pushrod design. Left Middle - RGR Engines ported the stock cylinder head castings for us, working on specific areas to improve flow without hurting velocity. Right Middle - To go along with our brand-new valves, Groh replaced all of the valve guides in the cylinder heads. Right - As described, our Livernois Motorsports spring package dropped right into place with no modifications needed. They will help provide better valvetrain stability at high RPM and under high boost pressure.

JPC Racing offers three different levels of porting, and Groh said, “All of the port design work is done here in-house by me.  I spent probably four months on the flowbench developing port profiles when the heads first hit the market. These valves are ideal in size for what we’re trying to achieve horsepower-wise, and economical enough to work with the stock casting. The head castings do vary quite a bit from the factory and there are areas where we touch and don’t touch due to the factory casting shift, depending upon what stage portwork we perform,” said Groh.

“The most critical place to perform the work is on the short-turn radius and in the bowl. On the stage two stuff, also in the combustion chamber. The cross-section going into the intake is plenty large enough, and you want to keep that cross-section small, especially on a 302 cubic inch engine. The only way Ford is even able to keep the heads working well in the stock application is because they’re controlling the camshafts hydraulically. Improving the exhaust side is the key to making power with these heads. Of course, the custom valve job we perform on the Newen CNC machine is also critical,” he explains. Our long block relies on a set of the RGR/JPC Stage 2 cylinder heads.

RGR/JPC Stage 1 Heads ($2,495.95) Include:

• Exchange Basis Only, Cores Required
• Fully Assembled
• RGR Custom Competition Valve Job On Newen CNC Single Point Machine
• New Bronze Valve Guides (removal of old guides and installation/sizing of new ones included
• New Ford Valve Seals
• Custom Machining of Intake and Exhaust Valves
• Deck Clean Up
• Port Volume 201cc intake, 84cc exhaust
• Max Flow 320cfm Intake, 222 cfm exhaust at .650-inch lift

Stage 2 Heads ($3,495.95) Add:

• Ferrea Oversized 1.500-inch (38mm, 1mm over stock) Stainless Steel Intake Valves
• Ferrea Oversized 1.262-inch (32mm, 1mm over stock) Stainless Steel Exhaust Valves
• Port Volume 202cc Intake, 85cc Exhaust
• Max Flow 337 cfm Intake, 235 cfm exhaust at .650-inch lift

Stage 3 Heads ($3,895.99) Add:

• Port Volume 208cc Intake, 88cc Exhaust
• Max Flow 342 cfm Intake, 249 cfm exhaust at .650-inch lift

All numbers from Superflow 600 at 28 inches of water on a 3.630-inch stock bore. Exhaust flow calculated with a 1 3/4 inch pipe and standard compression.

Although the Comp Cams intake and exhaust camshafts are sold as their NSR (No Springs Required) design, we went ahead and upgraded the springs in our engine so we can turn the engine at higher RPMs without the fear of valve float.

Cam Technology

Billy Godbold and the team at Comp Cams in Tennessee have had a ton of success with various engine customers in the Coyote world, and rather than dig through a catalog and pick out cams that might work, we decided Goldbolld’s input would be most valuable for this portion of the build.

“People think that once you put a turbocharger onto an engine that your port velocities go up. Take an engine that makes 400 horsepower naturally aspirated and 800 horsepower boosted – your first thought is that the air is traveling that much quicker through the port. But if you actually put a speed gun in the port, you’d see that the 800 horsepower engine actually has slower port velocity, and the reason for that is that the air charge is much denser. In a naturally-aspirated engine, the 228-lobe intake camshaft will only support 7,000 rpm – but in a boosted application like this, it will support 7,500 to 8,000 rpm, because the port velocity is slower. The mass flow is a lot higher, but the actual port velocity is a lot lower. Think of it like this -instead of seeing foamy Coke go through the port, you’re shoving a Frosty through the port,” says Godbold.

In our application, the intake cams are part number 191100 and specs are .492-inch of intake lift combined with the 228-degrees of duration on 126-degree lobe separation. The exhaust camshafts are part number 191060 and feature .453-inch lift and 223 degrees of duration – well above the stock 211-degree number and even greater when you take into account that those figures can be moved around via tuning.

Ferrea Valves

In any big-power build like this, deep breathing is an absolute necessity. We also need internal components that can withstand the intense heat a turbocharger can inflict upon them. To that end, we went straight to the valve wizards at Ferrea to discuss the parts that would best fit our application.

Ferrea’s Zeke Urrutia explained, “With multi-valve engines like this, you usually want to stick with a specific size, which in this case is 1mm oversized from stock – the intake valves [PN F2243P] are 38.1mm (1.50-inch) in diameter, and the exhaust valves [PN F2245P] are 32.05mm (1.242-inch) in diameter. The reasons for the larger valves are twofold; on the intake valve you’re increasing flow on the front side of the combustion chamber, and on the back side, you’re allowing for quicker flow out of the exhaust port. By going larger than these sizes, you can get into an area where it can hurt flow due to the induction turbulence.”

The installation of the turbocharger requires the use of specific materials to live under the increased cylinder pressure and heat that the turbo creates. Ferrea specified very particular material in our application. The intake valves are constructed from their VV50 material, which carries a high tensile strength and high heat handling capabilities, with a 1,600° Fahrenheit max capability.

On the exhaust side, Nimonic 90 is used, blended with their Nickelvac N80A material, and this material is also used for its improved tensile strength and the 2,400° temperature handling capability. The various metal blends help to reduce the chances of thermal fatigue from the extreme combustion chamber temperatures our turbocharger will induce.

Our Ferrea valves are crafted from aerospace alloys that are designed specifically to withstand incredibly intense heat. The triple-groove configuration permits the re-use of stock retainers and locks.

Springs

Valve springs and head studs were sourced from Livernois Motorsports, who also provided their exclusive ARP-manufactured main studs for the bottom end portion of the build. Their drop-in spring upgrade [PN LPP50-TVS-1733] is designed to work with all of the factory hardware, which means there is no added cost for special retainers, spring cups, or seals, and they do not require any extra machining. Installed at 1.575-inch, they provide 70 pounds of pressure on the seat and 190 pounds open, and will handle up to .580-inch of camshaft lift. Groh’s trick is to add a slight shim to the bottom of the spring seat to increase the seat pressure around 25 pounds.

Induction

The last two elements to the inlet side of our airflow package came in the form of one of Ford Racing’s BOSS 302 intake manifolds [PN M-9424-M50BR] and a big-bore 90mm throttle body from BBK [PN 18210]. Since our new engine is capable of spinning way past the 7,000 rpm spot on the dashboard dial, adding the BOSS 302 composite manifold was a no-brainer in our application when camshaft selection was taken into account.

Left - Our BOSS 302 intake manifold is one of the production components that has yet to be improved upon by the aftermarket - it handles high-RPM operation with nary a whimper. Right - Check out the difference between the stock throttle body on the left and our huge-by-large 90mm BBK unit on the right.

The BOSS intake features straight-shot, short runners that have been tuned for a 7,750 rpm power peak, which will mesh well with our camshaft selection. As original equipment on the BOSS Mustang, the intake’s performance has been well documented on the track with everything from street going BOSS 302 models to the Ford Racing 302S and R road-race models. The composite design has been tested to 30 psi of boost pressure and should serve us well.

Thanks to the Mustang’s drive-by-wire design, the BBK Power Plus throttle body carries a bit more complexity than in years past. The electronics are mounted on the side and the integral drive motor is housed internally; this all-new 356 aluminum casting is completely CNC-machined and will offer us the ultimate option for our engine. It also comes with a separate tapered spacer to help it match up cleanly with the FRPP BOSS manifold.

On The Outside

With all of the inlet-side parts taken care of, save for our turbo system (which we’ll cover in a future article), we needed to set up our Coyote with a set of exhaust headers. Since the JPC Racing turbo system is designed to match up with factory-exit-location manifolds, the decision was made to look for a set of aftermarket shorty headers to best supply it. JBA Performance Exhaust Company was started in 1987 to provide the aftermarket with smog-legal shorty headers for the Fox-body Mustang, and in the years since has enlarged their product line to cover dozens of vehicles in a variety of configurations.

JBA Cat4ward headers on top, stock pipes on the bottom. Better flow. Period.

After discussion with the team at JBA, the decision was made to use a set of their Cat4ward Shorty headers in a titanium-coated finish [PN 1685SJT]. The headers use a 1.75-inch primary tube and are constructed from stainless steel. They feature a one-piece 3/8-inch thick flange design and are constructed to attach directly to the stock-style collector. On a normal application, the headers provide increased horsepower and torque throughout the RPM range, and offer improved throttle response. The titanium coating will help to reduce the underhood temperature as well while keeping the heat in the tubes, which is of paramount importance for a turbo application such as ours.

The “Extras”

Even though we started with a complete engine. Rick Riccardi at Downs Ford Motorsport was a huge help in procuring some of the ancillary parts needed to complete the build. His knowledge of both OEM and performance Ford parts proved an invaluable resource during this project.

The Ford Racing Boss 302 head changing kit comes with a great set of MLS head-gaskets that will keep our Coyote sealed up.

Riccardi set us up with a Ford Racing Parts BOSS 302 Head Changing Kit [PN M-6067-M50BR], which includes a set of BOSS 302 head gaskets and high-strength 12mm torque-to-yield head bolts, although we’ll be discarding those in favor of our Livernois head studs. The gaskets are constructed from multi-layer steel and will help to keep the cylinder pressure in the cylinders, and the coolant in the water jackets.

We also procured a set of Ford Racing BOSS 302 timing chain tensioners [PN M-6266-M50B]. There’s a recurring theme here in the use of BOSS parts – when the factory gets it right, you don’t need to stray far away. The BOSS tensioners are designed for improved chain durability in high-rpm applications and are even used in the 2013 Cobra Jet engine program. The kit includes the primary and secondary tensioners and their bolts.

ATI Performance Products has been producing engine dampers for decades now, and in the interest of ensuring that our Coyote doesn’t see any unwanted vibrations, we installed one of their standard-dimension Super Dampers [PN 918047] on the nose of Wild E.’s new crankshaft. Our sister magazine Dragzine did an article on the science of vibration damping previously, so we’ll spare you an in-depth conversation on the topic. To put it simply, the single job of the damper is to eliminate torsional crankshaft vibrations induced under normal engine operation, and the Super Damper does an admirable job of it. It exceeds SFI’s 18.1 spec, features laser-engraved 360-degree timing marks, and is completely rebuildable.

Our ATI Performance Products damper retains the serpentine drive for the air-conditioning belt. After all, what good is a thousand-horsepower car in SoCal without A/C?

We topped off the engine with a set of Aeromotive fuel rails and  Injector Dynamics ID1000 fuel injectors that flow 1015 cc./min. at 43.5 psi, which equates to a 96 lb./hr. injector. These have been proven in competition conditions and will do exactly what we need – keep the fuel flowing smoothly into the CNC-ported cylinder heads so that our Granatelli Pro Series Xtreme coils (which we previously wrote about) can fire it off. Granatelli’s coils feature a unique, patented isolator ring that is designed to eliminate electrical noise to the coil, providing it with a cleaner signal.

Injector Dynamics ID1000

Aeromotive fuel rails and Injector Dynamics ID1000 injectors will provide all of the fuel our engine can suck down.

Since fuel injectors are dynamic (never working under just one operating condition but constantly being adjusted and re-adjusted by the ECU), having reams and reams of data at hand are critical to providing a quality product that will perform as advertised. The Injector Dynamics team tests each individual injector in an environment that simulates real-world conditions, including temperature-controlled fuels, in order to provide the information that your tuner will require to properly set up the tune for your car. Once the injectors are tested, they are placed into matched sets that are based on their flow across the pulsewidth range, and this provides excellent cylinder to cylinder accuracy – critical in a turbocharged, street-going application like ours.

Injector Dynamics’ Tony Palo explained, “All of our injectors run through a 30 minute break in process before any modification and testing to ensure the test results are as they will be in the field. Injectors ‘break in’ from new and their characteristics will change. A brand new matched set of injectors will vary after the coil, valve, and seat has been ‘broken in’.”

He continued, “Typical matching is done as a static flow, but that’s not how the injector works; it’s constantly pulsed. The dead time of the injector is considered the response time. The lower the injector pulsewidth is – at idle, for instance – the bigger the dead time is as a percentage of total on time. So you can have something that’s a nice tight match on a static flow test, but it can be 10, 15, 20 percent off at two milliseconds because of a variance in dead time from one injector to the next. Our matching takes place all the way across the pulsewidth range, so when we say plus or minus one percent, that’s everywhere, and that’s the big difference in how we match our injectors.”

The Final Bits

Our Canton Racing Products road-race style oilpan had a couple of additional ports added in – give them a call if you need a beautiful TIG-welded, trap-door-equipped pan – or even a stock replacement.

On the bottom side of the engine, we needed to wrap things up with an oil pan to provide the dino-juice a place to rest on its journey around the engine, and for that we selected a road race-style pan from Canton Racing Products [PN 15-734]. The package features a windage tray and diamond-shaped baffle assembly with four trap doors to keep the oil from riding up the crankshaft under heard driving conditions. We had them customize it with an additional drain-back port for the turbocharger’s oil feed and an oil temperature port to work best in our application.

Of course, with a turbocharged application like this that’s bound to generate quite a bit of heat, we needed to make sure that the Coyote innards and cylinder heads are kept cool. For that task, we looked in the direction of Meziere Enterprises for an electric Coyote water pump.

The WP342S Street Style Electric Water Pump from Meziere features a CNC-machined thermostat housing and is a bolt-on replacement for the factory mechanical water pump. As they did with the original Modular-style water pumps, Meziere incorporated an idler pulley assembly on the front of the pump to ensure that the stock belt routing doesn’t change, but the addition of the electric pump in place of the mechanical one frees up nearly ten horsepower at the wheels. The 55 gallon-per-minute free flow rating means that the pump will supply all the water you need and then some, and the beautiful black finish will look at home on any street-going Coyote machine. 

Meziere’s electric water pump accepts the factory thermostat housing and heater tube, making it a true bolt-in installation, save for a couple of small wiring tasks to provide power.

It offers a stainless steel main shaft with a ceramic high performance seal, weighs in at 9.1 pounds, and comes with all of the gaskets, hardware, and fittings. Meziere’s main man, Don Meziere, remarked, “In our experience, the factory water pumps in the late model applications are not designed for sustained operation above 6,000 rpm. The factory pump works very well at lower RPM, but once you get into the range where we compete with these engines, they are not very efficient.” Since the Meziere electric pump is not RPM-dependent, it doesn’t face any of those issues. The available wiring harness [PN WIK346] provides a Bosch 30 amp relay, connectors, wire leads and a detailed set of instructions for a trouble-free installation. 

Last, but certainly not least, we attacked the appearance department topside thanks to the help of American Muscle with a sweet set of their pre-painted Sterling Gray coil covers that match our car’s paint color. These are OE on the BOSS 302, carry a “POWERED BY FORD” logo, and fit all 2011-2014 5.0L Coyote engines.

Parts Used

• JPC Racing/RGR CNC Stage 2 Cylinder Heads – PN 1295
• Comp Cams Stage II Intake Cams 228 Duration at .050, .492 lift and 126 degree lobe separation – PN 191100
• Comp Cams Stage I Exhaust Cams 223 Duration at .050, .453 Lift and 126 degree lobe separation – PN 191060
• Comp Cams Phaser Limiters – PN 5493
• Ferrea 1.500 Stainless Intake Valves – PN F2243P — 1.262 Exhaust Valves – PN F2245P
  

  Our long block nearly buttoned-up. After this it’s time for a crate and the shipment back to our Southern California HQ for installation along with the JPC Racing turbo system.

• Livernois Valve Springs, 70 Pounds Closed Spring Pressure, 190 Pounds Open – PN LPP50-TVS-1733
• Livernois 12mm Head Stud Kit – PN LPP50LMHSKIT
• Ford Racing BOSS 302R Head Changing Kit – PN M-6067-M50BR
• Ford Racing BOSS 302 Intake Manifold – PN M-9424-M50BR
• Injector Dynamics 96 lb./hr. Injectors – PN ID1000
• Aeromotive Fuel Rails – PN 14130
• BBK Big Bore 90 mm Throttle Body – PN 18210
• Meziere 55 gpm Electric Water Pump – PN WP342S
• Canton Racing Products Road Race Oil Pan – PN 15-734
• ATI Performance Products Super Damper – PN 918047
• Ford Racing BOSS 302 Timing Tensioners – PN M-6266-M50B
• JBA Cat4ward Shorty Headers, 1-3/4-inch Primaries, Titanium Cermaic Coated – PN 1685SJT

Almost Time For Install

This finishes off the construction of our long-block, and the next step in our project will be to stuff all of this blingy goodness between the framerails of Wild E. Coyote. We’ll be doing that in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned for the article detailing the engine install, turbocharger system install, and dyno testing of our thousand-horse street stormer.

A compelling insight into how NHRA Pro Stock racing became so competitive and secretive following the transition to 500ci engines is offered in the current issue of Elapsed Times, now on the newsstand. Through a 17-page story titled, “The Rat that Roared,” author Rick Voegelin follows the odyssey of the original 500ci big-block Chevy built by Reher-Morrison Racing Engines that powered Lee Shepherd’s second- and third-generation Camaros to the respective NHRA Pro Stock titles in 1982 and 1983. In addition, the one-of-a-kind, radically machined cylinder heads were swapped onto a 615ci engine to win the 1983 IHRA Pro Stock crown.

Even though the engine changed hands numerous times over the next 30 years, it remained virtually intact. When NASCAR mogul Rick Hendrick acquired the original championship-winning 1981 Reher-Morrison & Shepherd Camaro for his collection, his good friend and well-known drag racer Roy Hill just happened to own the engine. Hill presented it as a gift to Hendrick, who then asked Reher-Morrison to rebuild and dyno test the bullet before it was reunited with the restored Camaro.

Reher-Morrison modified the short-deck Chevrolet marine block with debris screens epoxied over the oil drainback holes and O-rings in the decks.

Again, Voegelin provides an exhaustive history on both cars and follows the curious wanderings of the engine. He explores the racing climate when NHRA eliminated its complex engine-body weight-break formulas and settled on 500ci with a 2,350-pound minimum vehicle weight. He also outlines the options David Reher and Buddy Morrison had in those days and the strategy that led them to perform radical surgery on a rare set of solid (no water jackets) GM cylinder heads first developed for alcohol engines. Reher and machinist W. O. Simpson drilled out coolant passages and sealed up the heads with a bolt-on faceplate on the exhaust side before Shepherd, who handled the team’s cylinder head work, shaped the ports and combustion chamber to his liking. Additional details and closeup photos in Voegelin’s story cover other parts of the build, including intake manifold fabrication, block prep and the rotating assembly. Finally, there’s a dyno test in which the refurbished engine was cranked to 8,500 rpm and pulled 1,042 horsepower — virtually the same power it made in 1982, according to Reher.

Even with all the facts and photos, the story easily triggers additional questions from hardcore gearheads, like those at EngineLabs. So, we contacted Reher and asked away, hoping he’d enlighten our readers with more insight into this captivating story about one of the true milestone engines in the history of racing. Following are David’s answers, and along with a few photo outtakes from Voegelin’s extensive research.

David Reher and machinist W. O. Simpson drilled coolant passages in the solid cylinder head castings, using welding rods and wire to make sure that the holes intersected. The water pockets were concealed by aluminum port plates.

EngineLabs: What range of compression ratio and cam timing did R-M utilize on that engine?

Reher: The compression ratio was 15.5:1 in the 500ci NHRA engines, and around 17.2:1 in the IHRA motors. Back then we ran VP C14 in the ‘little’ motors, and C16 in the ‘big’ engines. Camshafts were pretty conservative by today’s standards. We ran a 288-degree intake lobe and a 312-degree exhaust lobe. Lobe lift was .485-inch and we used stud-mounted Crane 1.8:1 ratio aluminum rocker arms.

EngineLabs: Can you estimate the number of man-hours needed to modify those solid heads?

Reher: No, I really can’t. Buddy, Lee, and I talked about the idea of using solid heads when were driving back to Texas after the NHRA World Finals. We worked on the castings for weeks before we got to the point that Lee could port them. Putting in the water passages was all done by hand – we stood there at the mill, lined up drill bits, and tried to visualize how it would all work. We didn’t have blueprints or a plan. We finally decided to cut off the exhaust side of the head, bisecting the valve cover hold-down holes. I oversaw the solid head project, and W. O. Simpson ran the machine. Initially we hadn’t planned to have pockets for the water in the heads and plates, but then we realized that we could machine them between the ports. The project just kind of went along until we said, “That’s enough.”

EngineLabs: The dyno run on the championship-winning 500ci engine ended at 8,500 rpm, but what kind of shift points did Lee hit in those days?

Passages drilled in the solid heads fed a water cross-over in the fabricated aluminum sheetmetal intake manifold.

Reher: You have to remember that we raced those engines before there were data loggers and computers, so that’s an open question. If you compute the gear ratios and the tire growth that the Goodyear people provided, the shift points were typically between 8,500 and 8,800 rpm. Lee didn’t shift by the tachometer; he pulled the lever when he felt the car start to nose over. He had a real good feel for what the car was doing. The way we used to set the clutch, we’d back off the pressure until Lee said it was slipping a little going into high gear. He’d say, ‘It’s still hitting pretty hard on the gear change,’ and we’d back some more clutch out. We relied 100 percent on what he told us.

EngineLabs: A new engine was built for the ’84 season. How was it different than this one that ran in ’82 and ’83?

Reher: After we won those championships, Chevrolet started to pay more attention to us. They let me go to the Winters foundry in Akron where the big-block aluminum heads were cast. They brought out all of the big-block head casting cores, and I sat there with files and scraped the cores to put the metal where we wanted it. The result was a head with deeper valve bowls and the port walls moved over. That design eventually became the Bow Tie big-block head that made our solid heads obsolete. By 1984 we also had the new Bow Tie blocks, which were much better suited for Pro Stock than the marine blocks we’d used previously. The Bow Tie blocks were stronger and their cylinders were thicker. We went from running 4.530-inch bores to 4.600 and 4.625-inch bores. The larger bores also allowed us to use bigger valves. That first 500ci engine had 2.350-inch intake valves, but by 1984 we had 2.400-inch valves.

EngineLabs: What were some of the innovative “little” tricks R-M did back then to boost power or reduce friction?

The championship-winning Pro Stock engine in 1982-83 used stud-mounted Crane aluminum rocker arms. The stud girdle was modified to accommodate relocated valve centerlines.

Reher: We back-cut the top and second piston rings to reduce friction and drag. A stock ring had a .210-inch radial thickness, and we machined them down to .150-inch. The thinner rings used a shallow groove, so we could move the top rings closer to the piston deck without breaking into the valve pockets. We did the same thing to the second rings, back-cut them and ran them in shallow grooves. Eventually Speed Pro made .170-inch rings available from the factory. We also worked on the oil pans to reduce windage losses. Leo Klarr, a Super Stock racer from Mississippi, really opened our eyes to pan designs. We were running the standard Moroso/Jenkins-style pan, but Leo told us he had a better design, which was basically a big box to get the oil away from the rotating assembly. We found the bigger the box, the better the engine ran.

Buddy Morrison wanted to test an engine without an oil pan. I didn’t think that was such a good idea, but he convinced me that we really needed to do the test. So we taped plastic engine bags on the walls of the dyno cell, put the oil pump pickup in a bucket filled with oil, and made a dyno pull. That also made quite a mess! That test sure showed us where the oil went. So we took that design to Dick Moroso and asked him to make big-box oil pans for us.

EngineLabs: What was the key to keeping the cylinder head a secret? Didn’t anyone notice the plates?

Reher: Of course everyone saw the port plates, but they didn’t know what they were really looking at. The Cleveland Ford engines in Pro Stock used plates to raise the exhaust ports because the cast ports turned down so abruptly that they exited below the valve seats. When we put plates on our big-block heads, people just assumed that we’d raised the exhaust ports. We also drilled the solid heads so that the water exited through the stock water cross-over in the intake manifold, just like stock heads. We wanted the solid heads to have a 100 percent stock appearance. It was a lot of work to drill the heads to make that work, but we didn’t want to put lines in the ends of the heads for the water outlets.

A comparison between a 1982 Pro Stock piston (left) and a contemporary piston highlights dramatic differences in dome height, skirt length, and ring package.

EngineLabs: It’s remarkable that the engine block, crank and heads lasted two full seasons, let alone survived 30 years. Was there ever any racing “incident” that threatened a blown engine while running for the championships?

Reher: We never had a catastrophic failure with a 500ci engine. We were pretty careful, and we looked at that stuff a lot. We frequently took the engines apart at the track because the heads had so much welding that the valve seats would leak. We’d touch them up at the track. In fact, we had a valve facing machine and all of the equipment to grind valve seats in the trailer. The only problem we had was when we cracked the back of the block in our best 500-inch engine. It cracked from the rear main seal to the cam. We did a replacement block, but it just didn’t run as well. The new block was off 20 horsepower, and we couldn’t figure out why. We took it apart two or three times, we tested the block hardness, we tried different hones and stones – nothing helped. So we took the original block, put it in the mill, and surfaced the back of the casting where it had cracked. Then we bolted on a plate, drilled and reamed it for small-block head dowels, and drove in the dowel pins. Then we drilled and tapped the block for a longer rear main stud. We put the engine back together, ran it on the dyno, and it ran better than ever. Eventually Chevrolet added more material to the rear bulkhead when they made the Bow Tie blocks, and that cured the cracking problem.

One of the perks with holding down a position here at StangTV is that we get to see all sorts of inside information that we’re then tasked with bringing to you, our faithful readers. This time around, we were invited to see what goes into creating one of Ford Racing‘s Cobra Jet engines, with photography and an inside look through what goes into creating the heart of one of the most successful “factory” racing programs around. Although the Cobra Jet program doesn’t provide free racecars to anyone, if you’re lucky enough (and financially liquid enough) to get onto the build list, you’ll be receiving one of the most well-engineered platforms designed specifically for NHRA Stock and Super Stock racing that’s ever been constructed.

The Cobra Jet program came to light back in 2008, with the first cars rolling off the assembly line and virtually right into the winner’s circle in the hands of the Brent Hajek-owned, John Calvert-driven CJ at the 2009 NHRA Winternationals. Since then, the Cobra Jet has become the winningest late model in NHRA, including national event wins in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, class wins at the 2011 U.S. Nationals, and a top ten finish with Bo Butner in Stock Eliminator in 2011. In addition, the Cobra Jet’s performance on-track had a big hand in Ford winning the 2011 NHRA Manufacturer’s Cup, as the national event win coupled up nicely with three runner-ups, four semi-final appearances, and 16 number-one-qualifier spots during the course of that season. Past versions of the Cobra Jet were outfitted with a 5.4-liter supercharged engine, but with the 5.0 returning to its rightful place between the fenders of the Mustang, the decision was made to outfit the factory race car with the current powerplant.

Keeping tolerances held in check is critical to the Cobra Jet engine program. Each part is measured in the climate-controlled engine building facility prior to installation to ensure durability in the demanding conditions these engines face.

Winning Formula

Naturally, when the gang from Ford Racing asked if we wanted to check out a build on the 2014 Cobra Jet 5.0L engine, we jumped at the opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes at Ford Racing. The supercharged mill we followed features the latest and greatest in Coyote engine development, complete with a Ford Racing/Whipple 2.9L supercharger. The engine also uses the CNC port-matched manifold and cylinder heads in an effort to make the greatest amount of horsepower while remaining class-legal for NHRA Super Stock and other classes where the CJ competes.

Both Ford Racing and mainstream Ford engineers -best minds within the company, were all involved in the Cobra Jet program. When it came time to develop the Cobra Jet engine, the Ford Racing engineers realized that they already had a perfect base for the powerplant right under their noses – the 5.0L “Road Runner” engine that had been developed for the BOSS 302 variant of the Mustang. The BOSS 302 engine already wears the CNC-ported cylinder heads required to make big horsepower in the Cobra Jet. As the cylinder heads wear a pair of camshafts on each side, valvetrain development was one of the ways the Ford Racing engineers tried to boost horsepower further. In fact, after many hours of research time, it was determined that the 12mm-lift, 260-degree duration intake camshafts already installed in the BOSS would be the perfect complement, which simplifies the process. A new, 290-degree duration exhaust camshaft was profiled.

Top Left - Mahle supplies the pistons for the CJ engine, while connecting rods were sourced from Manley and are the same rod found in the 2003 Cobra, upgraded with ARP2000 capscrews. Top Right - The entire build process is detailed on this computer screen, giving the technician a step-by-step guide to assure each assembly operation is completed. Bottom Left - ATI supplied their Super Damper for the Cobra Jet engine. It drives the supercharger and keeps unwanted engine vibrations at bay. Bottom Right - Completed front dress including the TiVCT computer-controlled camshaft adjusters.

Perfect Timing

One of the main developments within the 5.0L engine was the introduction of Ti-VCT, which is an adjustable camshaft timing system that’s computer-controlled and offers huge benefits in power, torque, and overall engine efficiency.

We spoke with Ford Racing’s Jesse Kershaw, who explained, “For us Ti-VCT is a way of life, included in many Ford engines. It allows significant gains for both horsepower and torque throughout the powerband. The 5.0L was designed to have it, so we use that capability. I wouldn’t consider it complex necessarily for Ford calibration but it does add more variables that require calibration time and attention. For the aftermarket it can be a major hurdle. Most aftermarket control modules simply lock out the cams for peak power which means they are left to make up for that power under the curve through other means.”

Bottom End

In 2013 Cobra Jet production included 47 supercharged cars and three naturally-aspirated machines. Each aluminum engine block undergoes strict machining processes at Livernois Motorsports before being shipped out to be completed at the Ford Racing facility. The naturally-aspirated engines are sleeved and machined to a 94mm bore size, while the supercharged variants keep the stock bore size of 92.2mm for strength and durability. Although the 5.0L engine was introduced with piston squirters in 2011, they have subsequently been phased out – piston squirters were also omitted from the start on BOSS and Cobra Jet engines.

Left - At the Ford Racing engine building facility, OEM technologies are used to assemble the engine, including the use of pre-calibrated pneumatic torque wrenches. Middle - One of the critical items to keep engine temperatures down is the intercooler, which resides under the supercharger. Right - A fully-dressed supercharged 5.0L Cobra Jet engine awaiting transfer to the Flat Rock facility for installation.

There were a number of other changes that made their way from R&D to the Cobra Jet engine as well. Kershaw said, “We had to upgrade the rods to Manley H-beams from the 2003 Cobra, with ARP2000 fasteners they will safely turn 8,100 RPM. We worked with Mahle to get the piston material, ring location, and weight that was deemed necessary to maintain consistency and durability. We also upgraded the oil pump to a billet gear unit that is tested at the OEM production facility and held to the tightest tolerances. While we have never had an oil pump failure, we added this as an extra margin of safety for our customers depending on what they plan to do.”

Another area where the Cobra Jet team saw increases in power came from the engine oiling system. According to Kershaw, removing as much windage as possible from the crankshaft netted them another twenty horsepower in the higher RPM ranges. Instead of developing a brand-new oil pan from scratch, they headed to the parts bin and selected the M-6675-M50BR oil pan kit from their road racing program, which helped to give much better oil control, as it implements a windage tray and an oversized oil pan with trap-doors installed to help manage oil flow. Although drag racing is a straight-line endeavor, the road race pan has been used successfully in this application.

Large gains were realized in the development of the 5.0L Cobra Jet via the use of this oil pan kit from the road racing program. The pan features trapdoors to keep the oil from sloshing around, while the windage tray pulls the oil away from the crankshaft during high-RPM operation.

Sucking Air And Blowing Boost

During the 2013 build process, the Ford Racing team put together three naturally-aspirated Cobra Jet packages for specific customers. Those naturally aspirated engines actually displaced 312 cubic inches thanks to the use of the big-bore 3.700-inch sleeves that were used in the block. Induction components include the Cobra Jet induction system including the Cobra Jet intake manifold that’s tuned for 7750RPM peak power, a set of CNC-ported cylinder heads, high-lift camshafts and a low-drag accessory drive. 

Image Courtesy: Bret Kepner

The Cobra Jet manifold is a unique piece developed specifically for the naturally-aspirated 5.0L Coyote engine, and despite only showing up on three cars during the build process, the manifold will live on for years to come in the Ford Racing Performance Parts catalog thanks to the immense aftermarket support the Coyote engine has seen to date. The manifold is of composite construction and required the use of the Cobra Jet-specific oval-mouth throttle body on the production cars – aftermarket use of the manifold will permit the GT500 throttle body as well. Since this manifold fits every 5.0L Coyote engine out there, we suspect it’ll be the topper to a bunch of hardcore racing builds as time goes by. 

Meanwhile, on the supercharged side of the equation, the blown version of the Cobra Jet wears the 10-rib Whipple/Ford Racing 2.9L Twin-Screw supercharger that includes a CNC-port-matched intake manifold and the same “Roadrunner” CNC-ported cylinder heads that appear on the naturally-aspirated version. Camshafts in both engine versions are a proprietary Ford Racing custom grind that has been developed to maximize the engine’s performance while taking advantage of the NHRA’s Stock Eliminator rulebook.

The Cobra Jet featuring the 5.0L engine has shown to be an incredibly impressive performer so far during the 2013 racing season, with the NMRA and NMCA both hosting Cobra Jet Showdown events. The NMRA’s Cobra Jet Showdown at Bradenton Motorsports Park earlier this year had Chris Holbrook finish in the runner-up position with his 2013 302 cubic-inch supercharged Cobra Jet with an awesome 8.51 at over 160 MPH. Holbrook has continued to terrorize the competition all year long no matter where he goes, using the data gained on the track to become the “quickest production vehicle in factory trim” earlier this year, and Holbrook has been setting records all season long in the same vehicle. 

Getting Calibrated

Big changes were also in store in the engine management department, as the 5.0L engine uses a completely different processor than the previous year’s 5.4L engine. There was a steep learning curve for calibration, but much of the development work had already been completed through the use of a number of different Ford Racing test cars.

Kershaw explained the  calibration process to us. “The 5.0 uses a completely different PCM than the prior year 5.4L Cobra Jets, so there was definitely a change necessary. However, because we lead the industry with our calibration for street Mustangs we were able to implement software and calibration from our Mustang GT supercharger kit, as well as utilize our proprietary TracKey calibration and software from the BOSS 302. Beyond that we had some experience already with racing the 5.0L in our turn-key road racing BOSS 302R and BOSS 302S models. This doesn’t take away from the hundreds of hours devoted to the Cobra Jet calibration specifically, just that we have a total approach to our racing programs and we can build upon that every year.”

Rob Deneweth, Ford Racing Powertrain Supervisor. You will be missed!

Unfortunately, during the course of putting this article together, twenty-year Ford veteran, Ford Racing Powertrain Supervisor and gearhead-deluxe Rob Deneweth suddenly passed away, negating our opportunity to pick his brain about some of the decisions made during the course of outfitting the CJ with its particular bits and pieces. Deneweth was one of the driving forces behind the Cobra Jet program and the most recent Twin Turbo Cobra Jet project that debuted at SEMA in 2012, and his passing is felt every day. “All of us at Ford Racing are deeply saddened by the passing of our colleague and friend Rob Deneweth,” said Jamie Allison, director, Ford Racing. “Those of us at Ford involved in the racing program are very much like a small family, and when you lose a member of your family, you grieve and feel a real loss. Rob was a terrific engineer who did such great work, including his effort with the most recent Twin Turbo Cobra Jet project. All of us at Ford Racing send our deepest condolences to Rob’s wife, Julie, and their three children. We have lost a true friend.”

Despite the fact that Rob is no longer with us, his efforts will be seen and heard for years to come in the Cobra Jet program. Even though the car is limited to only around 50 lucky buyers every year, the Cobra Jet vision is years out. Kershaw says, “We absolutely have a long-term vision for the Cobra Jet program. It’s part of a larger world-wide strategy for production-based racing, so we do have plans roughed in over many years. Like any program there are milestones and checkpoints to ensure our goals are unchanged and we can still deliver. Factors such as changing rules and customer feedback can change the program direction until final approval. We are continually striving for improvement! When building a minimum of 50 cars in a relatively short window takes months of planning and preparation to make sure we are capable of delivering to the customer in a timely manner.”

As we have been to the Flat Rock plant where the Cobra Jet is built, we’ve seen firsthand just what a labor of love the Cobra Jet program is, and thank those at Ford Racing who go the extra mile to provide those of us lucky enough to plunk down the coin with an awesome factory-built engine and race car.

It’s no secret that Chevy’s LS engines are good breathers, so when you force-feed one with a few pounds of boost, its output sprouts like Godzilla’s vegetable garden. Stock, production-vehicle engines are generally capable of handling the boost delivered by basic bolt-on blower kits – anywhere from 5-8 pounds, which typically adds about 100-120 rear-wheel horsepower.

The components of the rotating assembly are collected and prepped for a series of inspections and measurements to ensure each conforms to the factory specifications. Shown is the forged aluminum piston set, which is used in both the LSX376-B8 and LSX376-B15 engines. When matched with the LS3 heads, they deliver a boost-friendly compression ratio of approximately 9.0:1.

That ain’t bad, but when you’re planning to go after bigger dyno numbers with a high-boost charge, a stronger bottom end is called for because the factory parts simply weren’t designed for that type of performance. We’re going after big numbers to help our new 1978 Malibu wagon project car “Fugly” get down the quarter-mile in the 9-second range. So thus begins the build of our 1,000+ horsepower, Whipple supercharged behemoth Chevy Performance LSX376-B15.

Sure, a Dominator-topped, nitrous-slurping big-block would do the trick, but it’s been done. We’re looking for a challenge and a supercharged LS is the most contemporary way to build big power. And besides, the greater weight balance with an LS power plant – even with an iron block and all the accoutrements of the supercharger – will be a valuable advantage for the nose-heavy Chevy.

We’re going to show you nearly every nut and bolt involved in this project in words, photos and video, starting here with the assembly of one of Chevrolet Performance’s boost-ready LSX376B-series crate engines, which will be foundation for our build-up. After this, we’ll show how the engine responds with a large-displacement supercharger, sneaking up on our power goal with moderate boost and the crate engine’s stock valvetrain. Then, we’ll got nuts with higher boost, a Crane Cams solid-roller camshaft and complementing valvetrain, and maybe some other hardcore parts. We’re looking for 1,000+ horsepower and plan to rely on Holley’s new Dominator EFI system to conduct the air/fuel symphony.

After the dust settles in the dyno room, we’ll drop the engine in our Malibu and go get our 9-second time slip. But first things first…

Left: A custom air gauge is used to measure the outer diameter of each piston. The technician rotates the piston within the fixture and air jets are used to determine the diameter, which is recorded on a master file for the engine. The gauge is calibrated every four hours to ensure absolute accuracy. Right: Another air gauge is used to measure the pistons’ pin bores. In all, there are 15 air gauges used throughout the engine assembly, taking measurements down to 0.00001-inch. Again, every measurement is recorded in a master file for each engine.

Inside the LSX376B Crate Engines

Chevrolet Performance developed the boost-capable LSX376B-series engines a couple of years ago with the express purpose of offering economical long block-style assemblies that are ready to accept the supercharger or turbo system of the builder’s choice. There are two versions – the lower-boost LSX376-B8 (part number 19260831) and higher-boost LSX376-B15 (part number 19299306).

As their names imply, the LSX376-B8 is rated to about 8 pounds of boost and the “B15” is good for about 15 pounds or so. Each uses a mix of purposeful high-performance components and production components, which helps keep down the price. They didn’t skimp where it counts, however, such a forged steel crankshaft on the “B15.” The other important component of each assembly is a set of forged aluminum, low-compression pistons, which are essential for longevity and staving off engine-killing detonation. If you simply bolt a blower onto a production engine, you’ll be dealing with compression of around 10.5 or 11.0:1 – or higher – and hypereutectic pistons.

The LSX376-B15 engine uses the tough connecting rods from the Camaro ZL1’s LSA engine, which were designed from the outset for a supercharged engine.

Left: The LSA rods are delivered to the assembly line as single pieces, then the cap is carefully snapped off, creating a perfect, puzzle piece-like fit when it’s installed on the engine. Right: Like the pistons, each rod is measured with a custom air gauge tool, which measures the small and big ends simultaneously. This one passed with flying colors and is headed for our project engine.

Perhaps just as importantly, the engines use LSX-LS3 cylinder heads, which are based on the high-flow, rectangular-port design of the production LS3 engine, but with a six-bolt head bolt design matched with the LSX block’s six-bolt provisions. It significantly enhances clamping strength for the heads, providing – along with standard multi-layer steel head gaskets – exceptional cylinder sealing under high boost pressure. That’s just what our project engine will see when we get our greasy mitts on the crate engine.

“Chevrolet Performance engineers developed the LSX Bowtie block and LSX cylinder heads specifically for the rigors of extreme performance,” says Dr. Jamie Meyer, Performance Marketing Manager for Chevrolet Performance. “With the LSX376 ‘B’ engines, we’ve created affordable foundations for supercharged or turbocharged power that fit just about every budget. Of course, the blower, fuel system and other necessary components are up to the customer, but with their durable forged components, six-bolt head clamping and lower compression, these engines deliver a lot of boost for the buck.”

The heads also offer tremendous airflow attributes, too, which is just what we want for an engine that will have plenty of air crammed through it. They have rectangular ports similar in design to the LS7 design, with large, 260cc intake ports. The LSX six-bolt castings also feature a little more meat on the bone in strategic areas to support additional port work. We don’t know if we’ll hog ’em out further, but it’s good to know the heads can handle it.

Left to Right: The roller lifters are measured, too – and not simply to confirm their diameters. Out-of-round and taper is measured, as well. With the camshaft, the part number is verified, the part number is recorded in the master file and then the journals are measured with another air gauge. Out-of-round and taper are also determined. With all of the respective measurements completed, work begins with building the rod-and-piston assemblies. A cast iron LSX Bowtie Block with the regular-production 9.240-inch deck height is the engine’s foundation and is delivered to the assembly line already honed and cleaned. After an inspection, it undergoes a wash to remove residual oil or grease and is then blown dry with compressed air. The main bores, cam bores, damper inner diameter and other journals are then measured with air gauges.

We’re also told these crate engines use the latest version of the LSX block, which was revamped recently to improve strength and durability, particularly under boost. That’s an assuring thing to keep in mind as we head for four-digit horsepower territory on the dyno.

Building For Boost

The LSX376B-series crate engines are assembled at a specialized facility in the Detroit area, which blends the best of hand-assembly and production-line techniques. Every component associated with the rotating assembly the respective holes they fill in the block are mic’d with ultra-precise air gauge tools and their specifications recorded in a master file for each engine. Think of it as high-tech blueprinting.

Computer-controlled and calibrated torque wrenches ensure consistency with every engine, too, but they don’t replace the eyes and experience of specially trained builders who guide each engine from start to finish. There are only four stations involved with each engine’s assembly, with a single builder at each one responsible for specific tasks. In the first station, the rotating assembly and engine block are inspected, measured and prepped for assembly. At the second station, the bottom end of the engine is installed and at the third stage, the heads and other top-end parts are added. The final station is an inspection stop, where each engine subjected to a roster of checks, including leaks, compression and oil pressure.

Unlike some other Chevrolet Performance crate engines, the LSX376B-series engines do not come with an intake system or oil pan, which helps keeps the cost down and creates less waste – after all, who needs a production-style intake manifold if you’re going to drop on a 4.0-liter Whipple twin-screw compressor? And with LS engines being thrown into so many different cars these days, what good is a production oil pan that’s just going to be removed or sliced up anyway? We’ll definitely need a custom pan for our Malibu. Custom headers, too – but more on all that in our next installments of this high-boost project.

Until then, check out the photos we took inside the assembly facility and learn more about what goes into these specialized crate engines. We’ll definitely be putting out LSX376B15 to the test soon!

Assembly Photos and Captions

A forged steel crankshaft with a 58X reluctor wheel is carefully lowered into place, but prior to installation, the rod and main journals are measured in four places to calculate out-of-round and taper. Also, the crank’s snout and the damper’s internal diameter are measured to calculate the interference fit.

In goes the camshaft. For our “B15” engine, it’s the LS7’s high-lift hydraulic roller, which has a pretty wide 121-degreee lobe separation angle a hydraulic roller, along with 0.558/0.558-inch lift and 211/230-degrees duration specs.

With the crankshaft and camshaft in place, the roller timing chain setup is installed, after which the high-volume, wet-sump oil pump from the LSA production engine is installed on the crank snout.

The piston assemblies are slide into place after the rod bearing received a coat of oil. Guide tools threaded onto the ends of the rods and a piston ring compressor ensure an easy, damage-free installation. The connecting rod caps are then torqued down to 64 ft-lbs.

With the engine upright, the roller lifters are carefully tapped into place and their respective keepers cinched down.

It takes a lot of pressure to drive on the damper onto the crank snout and a hydraulic cylinder is used for the task. Then, the damper bolt is tightened with a 6:1 gear-reduction tool, because of the high torque rating – 37 ft-lbs plus 140 degrees.

Both the LSX376-B8 and B15 engines use multilayer steel cylinder head gaskets that offer exceptional cylinder sealing for supercharged and turbocharged engine combinations.

The engine breathes through Chevrolet Performance’s LSX-LS3 cylinder heads, which are based on the high-flow, rectangular port design of the standard LS3 head, but with a six-bolt configuration that greatly enhances the clamping strength when compared with production-style four-bolt heads. They also feature large, 260cc intake ports.

The LSX-LS3 heads have 68cc combustion chambers and 2.160-inch hollow-stem intake and 1.550-inch solid-stem exhaust valves. The valves are held at a 15-degree angle.

The valvetrain comes next and includes LS3 pushrods and a set of LS7-style 1.7-ratio rocker arms, which feature and offset design on the intake-side arms. They’re torqued down to 30 Newton-meters.

A valley cover caps the engine and essentially completes the engine assembly. The LSX376 “B” engines are delivered without an intake manifold to make it easier and more economical to accommodate a blower or turbo. And because vehicle installations very so wildly, they’re delivered without an oil pan, too. A dust cover is installed over the crankshaft.

After the engine is assembled, it’s moved to final-inspection station, where it is leak-tested by pumping the water passages with about 20 psi of compressed air. The engine is also primed with warm oil to validate oil pressure and the compression is checked. From here, it will be shipped to our dyno facility, where the next stage in our project will begin with the supercharged installation. Stay tuned!

The Gen V small-block ushers in a new age of performance for Chevrolet and General Motors. The company doubled-down on the cam-in-block engine design, proving that double overhead cams are not the only way to achieve a world-class balance of power, refinement and efficiency. In fact, as Chevrolet has rightly pointed out, the 2014 Corvette Stingray – powered by the new, 6.2-liter LT1 version of the Gen V – is rated at 455 horsepower and 29 miles per gallon on the highway, making it the most fuel-efficient sports car in the world. Direct injection, variable valve timing and cylinder deactivation technologies contribute to making the engine a gas-sipping powerhouse.

Workers wrap up assembly on a new LT1 engined at the Tonawanda plant.

Along with the small-block engine, GM also doubled down on the production facility to build it – the iconic Tonawanda plant, just north of Buffalo, N.Y. Opened in March 1938 to produce the Chevy inline-six that was affectionately called the Cast Iron Wonder and, more popularly, the Stovebolt, Tonawanda has rolled with the best and worst times in the auto industry, somehow persevering in the tough times with the quality and workforce tenacity that led it to more prosperous periods.

The Tonawanda engine plant located north of Buffalo, New York, has been building engines since 1938.

Production of the Gen V engine family, which includes a 4.3-liter V6, 5.3-liter V8 and a pair of the 6.2-liter V8 engines – the Corvette’s LT1 and a version for full-size trucks – caps a $400-million investment in new tooling, quality assurance systems and training. It has also helped add or preserve approximately 1,500 jobs in the plant, which is more than double the workforce that hung on for one shift during GM’s bankruptcy a few years ago.

The plant’s history traces back to a time when the nation’s economy was recovering from the Great Depression. Chevrolet’s sales increased tremendously, straining production capacity at all levels. The company needed a new engine production facility, among other things, and found an ideal location in the Buffalo, N.Y., area. It was relatively close to GM’s East Coast facilities and even closer to Bethlehem Steel’s Lackawanna, N.Y., plant, which would feed the new plant quickly and conveniently.

Engine Building in Buffalo

After breaking ground in 1937, the 1 million-square-foot Chevrolet Motor and Axle Plant cost $12.5 million to construct, the equivalent of nearly $200 million today, when adjusted for inflation. Virtually every component in the engines was produced or machined on site and the gear-cutting equipment, for example, was considered among the most sophisticated and precise in the industry.

The assembly process starts with the Gen V's new block casting, which is refined from the previous “LS” design. As part of Tonawanda’s new Track and Trace systems, the blocks and cylinder heads are fitted with “data bolts” to prevent missed machining processes. The reusable bolts use radio frequency identification technology and can reliably identify the exact time and place a block or head goes through each process. Also part of the quality control process is a Zeiss coordinate measuring machine that examines more than 11,000 data points to within 2.5 microns.

By the end of 1938, after coming on line earlier in the spring, Tonawanda produced a relatively modest 10,500 engines and 21,000 axle assemblies. The plant was just getting its production groove on when World War II came along and aircraft engine assembly supplanted the Chevy six. A 114,000 square-foot addition to the plant was constructed to support assembly and testing of enormous, 18-cylinder, 2,100-horsepower Pratt & Whitney engines for war birds, including the P-61 “Black Widow” night fighter and the Republic P-47 “Thunderbolt.” A 14-cylinder engine for B-24 Liberator bombers was also produced at Tonawanda.

With all of the blocks’ machining and inspections completed, they move down the assembly line, where they’re fitted with the rotating assembly components. The crankshaft in the Gen-V small block is located with new nodular main bearing caps – a significant upgrade over more conventional grey iron main caps.

Post-war production of the Stovebolt resumed in 1946. In 1950, the 235ci version originally produced for trucks ended up in Chevy’s passenger cars and, of course, the 1953 Corvette a few years later, with the Blue Flame moniker. Tonawanda personnel were credited with helping convert the Stovebolt’s antiquated splash oiling to a modern pressure system and integrate the changes economically at the plant. It was a significant achievement that helped pave the way for Tonawanda’s nod to produce Chevrolet’s new overhead-valve V8 engine in 1955.

The Tonawanda “smart cell” assembly station consolidates the operation of four machines into one and installs 48 parts into the cylinder head in 40 seconds. An automated pallet-positioning system and two mobile robotic arms equipped with changeable tools stored on a compact tooling plate or “shoe box” perform most of the operations. One tooling arm is always working, while the other is reconfiguring for the next step in the sequence Together, three smart cells deliver a completed head in less than 22 seconds.

Completed heads are show, including the data bolts that “ride” with them throughout the assembly process. Compared to the previous cylinder head design, the Gen V head features smaller combustion chambers, designed to complement the volume of the dish in the pistons to support the direct injection fuel system.

Tonawanda produced 924,000 examples of the 265ci small-block, including the estimated 693 ’55 Corvettes believed to be built with it. Along with the enduring Stovebolt and small-block, Tonawanda’s production expanded again in 1959 with the 348 “W” engine – the Mark I big-block. It would prove to be plant’s longest-running engine line, lasting until 2009.

Big-block Reputation

Indeed, Tonawanda is synonymous with the big-block. Throughout the 1960s, identifying valve cover stickers imprinted the plant’s name on the consciousness of everyone who lifted the hood of a Stingray or Chevelle SS396, but the big-block was one of six engine families produced at Tonawanda during the decade. In addition to the Chevy six, small-block and big-block, there was also Chevy’s 153ci straight four, as well as the Corvair’s flat-6 engines.

As the assembly progresses, the cylinder heads are fastened simultaneously by a computer-controlled machine, ensuring even pressure across both cylinder decks. Connections for the direct injection fuel system are carefully tightened before several additional steps ensure it is leak-free.

When it came to Corvette engines in the 1960s, Tonawanda built all the different-displacement versions of the small-blocks and big-blocks, including the all-aluminum ZL1 engine – and was the exclusive production facility for Corvette big-blocks. The ZL1 engines were hand-assembled in a special clean room away from the regular production line, then broken in for an hour before being validated in the plant’s test dyno lab, according to a historical overview produced for the plant by Annette Herrman. The ZL1’s production methods were resurrected in the mid-’70s, when the clean room was used to hand-assemble the twin-cam four-cylinders used in the 1975-76 Cosworth Vega.

Pneumatically sealed tools in form of clamp shells are applied on each high-pressure fuel line joint; this forms a collection chamber encapsulating the joint, isolating it from the outer atmosphere. The fuel system’s internal volume is then pressurized with helium through another set of unique tooling. Vacuum close to absolute zero is drawn in the collection chambers.

Tonawanda marked the production of its 15-millionth engine in 1968, but the 1960s alone accounted for a staggering 9,199,000 engines – most of them V8s.

After a roller-coaster ride through the industry’s most tumultuous years, GM’s post-bankruptcy turnaround brought a stunning announcement: Nearly half of $890 million pledged to North American facilities upgrades would go to revamping the Tonawanda plant to produce the Gen V small block engine.

“The Gen V Small Block is a cornerstone of GM’s powertrain strategy and its production at Tonawanda affirms the commitment to one of the highest-skilled workforces in the industry,” said plant manager Steve Finch at a recent open-house event. “We have invested 40,000 hours and $1.8 million in training the workforce to build these engines with uncompromising quality, and we’ve added some of the most flexible equipment ever used in the industry to make sure we can meet market demand.”

Mass spectrometer technology is used during the helium test to measure leak rate at the molecular level. It can measure flow of less than 1 part per billion – less than 100 times smaller than the diameter of an average human hair! With the fuel system’s integrity confirmed, final assembly of the engine includes the intake manifold/throttle body assembly and other components.

State-of-the-art machining and quality inspection systems include, for example, a Zeiss position check machine that quickly examines up to 11,000 data points on a freshly machined component and a Hummel surface machine that checks finish textures at less than micron. That’s a mere 0.000039 inch – less than the thickness of a human hair. There’s also a new fuel system connection inspection that’s essential to ensure safety for the direct-injected engine’s ultra-high fuel pressure system, which is nearly 2,200 psi (150 bar) from the camshaft-driven fuel pump. It uses helium to detect the merest whiff of a leak at less than one part per billion.

“The Gen V small-block engines are among the most advanced and high-tech in the world and Tonawanda is now one of the most technologically advanced manufacturing facilities to support them,” said Finch. “From the machining operations and the flexibility for building variants on the same line to state-of-the-art quality advances, Tonawanda’s manufacturing capabilities are second to none.”

This fall, Tonawanda will build its 71-millionth engine, as Gen V production contributes to a daily build rate of more than 1,000 engines. It’s a noteworthy achievement for a plant that has weathered the ups and downs of the industry over the years – and evolved to become  not only one of GM’s oldest plants, but one of the most high-tech.

The revamped Tonawanda plant is geared up to produce more than 1,000 Gen V small block engines each day – and it is scheduled to produce its 71-millionth engine before the end of the year. That’s an average of more than 946,000 engines produced every year.

These days there are a number of crate engines that can provide you with a dependable driver. Aftermarket companies are producing a multitude of parts, various components and even full-on race engines in crate form. If you’re looking to go fast, have a shiny engine for your show car or just a dependable mill for your daily driver, and do it on a ramen budget, a crate engine may be exactly what you are after.

Pace Performance is a complete one-stop-shop for everything Chevy. From pink engine dress-up kits to hardcore racing crate engines.

Why Buy a Crate Engine?

Generally speaking, defining a crate engine is simple and for our purposes, “crate engine” refers to an engine that’s shipped complete, at least up to the cylinder heads. There’s really no drawbacks to a crate engine. Largely they are very affordable, built by engine builders that know what they are doing, have a warranty that backs the quality of the product, and all you have to do is drop the engine in and go.

Building your own engine may inflate your value of self-importance, but there’s really no beating a combination that has already been developed and tested like a turn-key crate engine.

Crate engines are not a new idea. For years GM Performance, now Chevrolet Performance, have been producing affordable crate engines for cheeseburger budgets. More recently, Pace Performance has gotten into the game of supplying the aftermarket with fully assembled crate engines to fit into any budget. This buyer’s guide will deal strictly with crate engines designed specifically for the Hot Rod, Street Rod or mild Street/Strip Rod.

Crate engines from Pace Performance are built by professional engine builders with aftermarket parts from companies that are known for quality and consistency. Most of Pace’s crate motors come with a great warranty to back up your purchase, which adds an extra level of comfort in the purchase.

How to Select a Crate Engine?

“The first consideration when selecting a crate engine has to be the application,” says Chuck Fitch. “If you have a daily driver, you probably are looking for a crate with EFI for fuel economy, power and superb dependability.” Companies like Holley and MSD are making quality EFI systems that are easily added to the Intake system of a SBC or LS engine.

Price is always a consideration for buying an engine or having one built. Crate engines gained popularity by providing decent power at a budget price point and this has continued to be the norm. If you want a base small-block Chevy, a crate engine will cost you less than building the engine yourself with the same caliber components, and don’t forget, the crate engine will be backed by a warranty. Fitch told us, “Before a customer spends his hard earned money on a crate engine, we want it to be the right one for his ride.”

Durability is an important factor for most crate engine buyers. “Unless they are people that like to work on engines, a customer is going to want an engine that is going to live for a long time,” says Fitch. “Many crate engine customers want an engine that runs reliably on pump gasoline. Our 10:1 and lower compression engines will keep the fuel cost down because you don’t have to buy expensive racing gas.”

There are a lot of specs and stats that get published on every engine built. Most consumers are looking at the peak horsepower number but not the torque number. Many of the crate engines have a similar horsepower range but some of them have substantially more torque. At the low end, Torque is what gets the vehicle moving. If you want the car to move faster at lower rpm, shop for an engine that has a higher peak torque in the lower rpms. 

How Does Pace Performance Build Their Crate Engines?

Pace Performance also has the tech department to help you get the exact part you need. From measuring an LS engine crank pulley to finding the right crate engine for your application.

“We start with a great base to work with, primarily with a Chevrolet Performance crate engine,” explains Fitch. Using the Chevrolet crate engine as a base makes a lot of sense. As Fitch explained to us, “The factory built crate engines go through durability testing on the parts and assembly. Most aftermarket companies are not subject to this same level of scrutiny. We can take this dependable foundation and build upon it,” he said. “We can tailor the crate engine even further by using quality parts from Holley, MSD, PROFORM, Edelbrock, FAST and a few others. This helps us offer a custom engine right off-the-shelf.”

Buyer’s Guide

The crate engines that you will see here include small-bock Chevy engines and LS engines which come complete from carburetor or EFI to the oil pan. Categorizing crate engines is a difficult chore because one engine may cross categories and be applicable in different applications. We’ve broken it down to four basic categories: Gen I SBC Carbureted, Gen I SBC EFI, LS with Carburetor and LS with EFI. With some guidance, we put these crate engines in the category that fit them best, with a budget, midrange, and king-of-the-road models. For fun, we have also picked a couple of unique and special crate engines from pace that caught our eye. 

SBC Complete Carbureted Crate Engine

For Hot Rods, Street Rods and daily drivers, nothing beats the tried and true Gen I small-block Chevy engine. This engine has been a staple for project car builders since its inception. The small size and decent power range has endeared it to the automotive community having powered every type of vehicle imaginable. 

For ease of comparison, we are listing the crate engines with their specs as published by Pace Performance. 

Budget level SBC Carbureted Crate Engine

The basic stock 350 crate engine with carb (Part #GMP10067353-1) is difficult to beat for performance at this price.

Chevy 350 Complete, Fully Assembled Engine Package (Part #GMP-10067353-1) is the basic no frills engine package that makes it a perfect buy for those on a tight budget or for an ordinary daily driver. This turn-key GM 350 cid engine comes fully assembled using a brand new GM 10067353 350 cid 4-bolt main long-block which Pace has preinstalled all name brand components needed to make this engine ready to run, right out of the crate. A clutch Z-Bar hole is drilled and tapped for manual trans applications, and the block has engine mount holes drilled and tapped for both early-style front motor mount brackets and the normal side motor mounts.

Listed Price: $2,689.88 

Application: Economical, daily driver

Cost per hp: $10.35

Specifications:

• Power: 260 hp at 4,300 rpm, 350 lbs/ft of torque at 3,600 rpm
• Displacement: 350 cid, 5.7L
• Bore x Stroke: 4.00-inch x 3.48-inch
• Compression Ratio: 8.5:1
• Block: Cast Iron, 2 piece rear seal, 4-bolt main caps
• Camshaft: Hydraulic Flat Tappet
• Cam Lift: .383-inch Intake / .401-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 194 degree Intake / 202 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 112 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Cast Iron, 3/8-inch pressed in rocker studs
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 5,100

An entry level performance crate engine with a little flash (part #GMP-12496968-1) includes chrome air cleaner and valve covers.

Mid-range SBC Carbureted Crate Engine

Everything you need in one very economical engine package. These turn-key engines come completely assembled and include stamped steel chrome valve covers and chrome air cleaner. All you need to do is transfer over your belt driven accessories and you’re ready to run. The ZZ4 is currently Pace Performance’s most popular crate engine.

With a long history of successes in drag racing as well as street rods and other performance applications, the ZZ4 might just be the bullet for your next project. The ZZ4 crate engine is available in a chrome finish (part #GMP-24502609-1) , a black finish (Part #GMP-24502609-2) or the crate with polished finish (Part # GMP-24502609-3). 

The ZZ4 is currently Pace Performance's most popular crate engine. Available in chrome finish, black finish or polished finish.

 Listed Price: $5,028.88 (chrome), $5,078.88 (black), $5,158.88 (polished) 

Application: Daily driver, Street Rod, Street/Strip

Cost per hp: $14.16 (chrome), $14.30 (black), $14.53 (polished)

Specifications:

• Power: 355 hp at 5,400 rpm, 405 lbs/ft of torque at 3,600 rpm
• Displacement: 350 cid, 5.7L
• Bore x Stroke: 4.00-inch x 3.48-inch
• Compression Ratio: 10:1
• Block: cast iron, 1 piece rear seal, 4-bolt main caps
• Camshaft: steel hydraulic roller tappet
• Cam Lift: .474-inch Intake / .510-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inches: 208 degree Intake / 221 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 112 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Aluminum, 3/8-inch screw-in rocker studs
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 5,800

This 383 cid engine kit (part #GMP-2096-1) is a great value if you are willing and able to do some of the assembly yourself.

The ZZ4 crate engines may be the most popular but we found another Pace performance crate that offers a lot of horsepower at a reasonable price. The 383 cid engine kit (Part #GMP-2096-1) provides an engine with plenty of low-end torque and all you have to do is assemble and provide a carburetor, air cleaner and distributor. A couple of hours in assembly and you have a very affordable and dependable 383 cid performance engine.

Listed Price: $6,379.95

Application: Daily Driver, Street Rod, Street/Strip

Cost per hp: $13.87

Specifications:

• Power: 425 hp at 5,400 rpm, 449 lbs/ft of torque at 4,500 rpm
• Displacement: 383 cid
• Bore x Stroke: 4.00-inch x 3.80-inch
• Compression Ratio: 9.5:1
• Block: cast iron, 1 piece rear seal, 4-bolt main caps
• Camshaft: steel hydraulic roller tappet
• Cam Lift: .594-inch Intake / .594-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 242 degree Intake / 240 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 112 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Edelbrock rpm E-TEC 200, 3/8-inch screw-in rocker studs.
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 6,000

Upper-range SBC Carbureted Crate Engine 

Chevrolet Performance Parts fully assembled ZZ383 sporting 425 hp takes the award for top SBC naturally aspirated crate engine from Pace Performance. These fully dressed ZZ383′s offer Big Block performance with a Small Block price tag by offering an incredible 460 lbs/ft of torque at 4,500 rpm. The combination of a 3.800 steel crank and a stout .509/.528 lift hydraulic roller camshaft helps to produce 425 hp making the ZZ383 a benchmark for all 383′s to be measured by. These crate engines are available in an orange finish (part #GMP-12498772-5R), a black finish (part #GMP-12498772-2R), and an anodized clear finish (part #GMP-12498772-4R).

The ZZ383 crate engines have the orange finish, black finish and anodized clear options.

Listed Price: $7,975.88 (orange),  $7,998.88 (black), $7,998.88 (anodized clear)

Application: Street Rod, Street/Strip

Cost per hp: $18.77 (orange), $18.82 (black and anodized clear)

Specifications:

• Power: 425 hp at 5,400 rpm, 460 lbs/ft of torque at 4,500 rpm
• Displacement: 383 cid
• Bore x Stroke: 4.00-inch x 3.80-inch
• Compression Ratio: 9.6:1
• Block: Cast Iron, 1 piece rear seal, 4-bolt main caps
• Camshaft: Steel hydraulic roller tappet
• Cam Lift: .509-inch Intake / .528-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 222 degree Intake / 230 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 112 degree
• Cylinder Heads: GM Fast Burn aluminum dual bolt pattern, 3/8-inch screw-in rocker studs
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 6,000

SBC Complete EFI Crate Engines

Budget Range SBC350 EFI Crate Engine

The SBC 350 with Holley’s Avenger TBI system (part #GMP-12530283-HFI) has dependability and torque to spare.

Pace’s 350 cid (GMP-12530283-HFI) may say “Heavy Duty Truck Engine” but in reality, it’s a durable daily driver topped with Holley Avenger EFI for extra dependability and torque to spare. This engine and EFI combination is an excellent choice for around town cruising with maximum horsepower and torque coming in at below 5,000 rpm. Based on GM’s 96-00 HD 1Ton truck replacement engine, Pace Performance topps it off with an Edelbrock rpm Air-Gap Intake and Holley’s self-tuning Avenger TBI fuel injection system. To give this engine a stealthy sleeper look they put on a set of OE black stamped steel valve covers and a dual snorkel air cleaner. 

Listed Price: $5,488.88

Application: Daily driver

Cost per hp: $17.43

Specifications:

• Power: 315 hp at 4,600 rpm, 385 lbs/ft of torque at 4,000 rpm
• Displacement: 350 cid, 5.7L
• Bore x Stroke: 4.00-inch x 3.48-inch
• Compression Ratio: 9.4:1
• Block: Cast iron, 1 piece rear seal, 4-bolt main caps
• Camshaft: Hydraulic roller
• Cam Lift: .414-inch Intake / .428-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 191 degree Intake / 196 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 111 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Vortec cast iron, 3/8-inch pressed-in rocker studs
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 5,500

Mid-Range SBC with EFI 

SBC 350 cid 350 hp crate engine with MSD EFI (part #GMP-19210007-MFI) sports the MSD Atomic EFI system and comes pre-programmed from Pace Performance.

Pace SBC 350 cid 350 hp crate engine with MSD EFI (part #GMP-19210007-MFI) is a great performing fuel injected small-block Chevy. Pace Performance starts with the Chevrolet Performance 350HO four-bolt block, with a high-lift camshaft that gives the engine its own unique, aggressive idle. The cam is based on the same one found in 1965-67 Corvette 327 engines, but it has even more lift and duration. This EFI crate is topped off with Edelbrock’s 7116 Performer rpm Vortec Intake and MSD’s new Atomic EFI master system. The engines are individually run for approximately 30 minutes or more on the dyno with various loads applied to insure proper engine break-in. The engine is then allowed to cool for final inspection. Pace pre-programs the MSD Atomic ECU and runs the engine through the self learn cycle prior to performance dyno pulls and final tuning.

Listed Price: $6,148.88

Application: Daily Driver, Street Rod, Street/Strip

Cost per hp: $17.57

Specifications:

• Power: 350 hp at 5,300 rpm, 407 lbs/ft of torque at 4,100 rpm
• Displacement: 350 cid, 5.7L
• Bore x Stroke: 4.00-inch x 3.48-inch
• Compression Ratio: 9.1:1
• Block: Cast Iron, 1 piece rear seal, 4-bolt main caps
• Camshaft: Hydraulic flat tappet
• Cam Lift: .435-inch Intake / .460-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 212 degree Intake / 222 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 112.5 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Vortec cast iron, 3/8-inch pressed-in rocker studs
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 5,500

Upper-Range EFI SBC Crate Engine

Pace’s ZZ430 (part #GMP-12496430-2) features a “HOT” camshaft with broad and responsive engine curves.

Rounding out the SBC 350 half of our crate engine review is the top runner in the EFI crate engine class. Pace’s ZZ430 (part #GMP-12496430-2) is based on Chevrolet Performance Parts limited edition ZZ430 crate engine originally produced in 1999. Using the time proven ZZ4 short block assembly adding GM’s HOT Cam, which was developed by GM Motorsports for LT1 and LT4 engines used in showroom stock road racing. The HOT Cam specs were developed to insure long term valve train durability along with a broad and responsive torque curve. This cam is specifically designed for use with 1.6 to 1 ratio roller rockers. The EFI system is the proven FAST EZ EFI self tuning system. Capping the 430 hp long block are GM Performance Fast Burn cylinder heads with all the components matched for use with the HOT Cam.

Listed Price: $7,348.88

Application: Hot Rod, Street/Strip, Daily Driver

Cost per hp: $17.09

Specifications:

• Power: 430 hp at 6,000 rpm, 430 lbs/ft of torque at 4,200 rpm
• Displacement: 350 cid, 5.7L
• Bore x Stroke: 4.00-inch x 3.48-inch
• Compression Ratio: 9.6:1
• Block: Cast Iron, 1 piece rear seal, 4-bolt main caps
• Camshaft: steel hydraulic roller tappet
• Cam Lift: .525-inch Intake / .525-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 218 degree Intake / 228 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 112 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Aluminum, 3/8-inch screw-in rocker studs
• Combustion Chamber: 62cc
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 5,800

LS Complete Carbureted Engines

Budget Range LS Carbureted Crate Engine 

The 5.3 LS – 327cid (part #GMP-19165628-K) is not only economical but a powerful entry level LS crate engine.

The 5.3 LS – 327cid power plant (part #GMP-19165628-K), sporting the same cubic inch displacement as the high-revving small blocks from the early 1960′s, is the top budget buy in the LS Carbureted Crate engines from Pace Performance. Introduced in 1962, the 327 was found in everything from fuel-injected Corvettes to the very first Camaro’s and was renowned for its high-rpm performance and surprising torque from a comparatively small-displacement V-8.

Listed Price: $5,579.88

Application: Daily Driver, Street Rod

Cost per hp: $15.94

Specifications:

• Power: 350 hp at 5,600 rpm, 370 lbs/ft of torque at 4,100 rpm
• Displacement: 327 cid, 5.3L
• Bore x Stroke: 3.78-inch x 3.62-inch
• Compression Ratio: 9.5:1
• Block: Cast Iron, with 6-bolt, cross-bolted iron caps
• Camshaft: Hydraulic roller tappet
• Cam Lift: .467-inch Intake / .479-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 196 degree Intake / 201 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 116 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Aluminum cathedral port
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 6,000

Mid-Range Carbureted LS Crate Engine

Pace’s LS3 550 hp series of crate engines begin with the “as-cast” valve cover version.

Pace’s LS3 550 hp series of crate engines are a solid buy for street rodders. Starting with the Chevrolet Performance LS525hp crate engine and adding their 88958679 front distributor drive timing cover kit to create a custom look for this turnkey LS swap engine. No engine control module (ECU) or wiring harness is needed. Standard Chevy location radiator hose inlet and outlet. Front timing cover designed with heater hose ports. Available with “as-cast” valve covers (part #GMP-19259233-C) with chrome valve covers (part # GMP-19259233-C1), black valve covers (GMP-19259233-C2), polished valve covers (part #GMP-19259233-C3) or with orange valve covers (GMP-19259233-C5).

Pace's LS3 550 hp series of crate engines in chrome, black, polished and orange finishes.

Listed Price: $11,238.88

Application: Street Rod

Cost per hp: $20.43

Specifications:

• Power: 525 hp at 6,300 rpm, 489 lbs/ft of torque at 4,400 rpm
• Displacement: 376 cid, 6.2L
• Bore x Stroke: 4.060-inch x 3.620-inch
• Compression Ratio: 10.7:1
• Block: Cast Aluminum with 6-bolt cross bolted main caps
• Camshaft: Steel hydraulic roller tappet
• Cam Lift: .525-inch Intake / .525-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 226 degree Intake / 236 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 110 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Aluminum L92 style ports
• Reluctor: 58X
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 6,600

Upper-Range Carbureted LS Crate Engine 

Chevrolet Performance Parts LSX 454, the biggest and baddest crate engine in Pace’s Inventory.

It’s big, it’s orange and it’s BAD. 454 cid Chevy engines are always going to be associated with muscle cars and that tradition continues with the LSX454. Pace took the LSX bowtie block, stuffed it with an all-forged, super tough rotating assembly, and bolted on a pair of new GM deep breathing LSX six-bolt cylinder heads. The LSX six bolt cylinder heads are based on the race-derived LS7 heads that help deliver more than 500 horsepower in the Corvette Z06. They enable tremendous low end torque and great high rpm power. The Pace LSX 454 is delivered fully assembled with engine controller and harness. It also comes dressed with great looking, all new orange powder-coated valve covers with “LSX 454″ logos engraved and painted in black so you can’t be a sleeper with this mill. 

Listed Price: $13,268.88

Application: Hot Rod, Street Rod, Street/Strip

Cost per hp: $21.06

Specifications:

• Power: 630 hp at 6,000 rpm, 605 lbs/ft of torque at 4,900 rpm
• Displacement: 454 cid, 7.4L
• Bore x Stroke: 4.185-inch x 4.125-inch
• Compression Ratio: 11:1
• Block: LSX Cast iron with 6-bolt cross bolted main caps
• Camshaft: Steel hydraulic roller tappet
• Cam Lift: .635-inch Intake / .635-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration:  .050-inch: 236 degree Intake / 246 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 110 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Aluminum LSX LS7 Rectangular style ports
• Reluctor: 58X
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 6,500

LS Complete EFI Crate Engine

 All three of the LS crate engines with EFI are based on the LS3 long block from Chevrolet Performance Parts. All three are also set up by Pace Performance for the Tremec T-56 6-speed manual transmission. What makes these crate engines different from the factory crate engines in the past is the new “Connect-and-Cruise” crate powertrain systems. They’re factory-engineered engine combination that include all the electronic control modules, wiring harnesses and other key components you need with the simplicity of one part number. The specially calibrated controllers are designed for retrofit installation in older vehicles, for easier and quicker installation and operation.

Budget Level LS Crate Engine with EFI

Pace’s LS3 430 hp crate engine is based on the Chevrolet Performance Parts LS3.

The Chevrolet Performance LS3 430 hp crate engine (part #GMP-LS430T56) has broken new ground for efficiency and performance from a pushrod platform engine. The LS3 continues the engineering breakthroughs with revised cylinder heads featuring rectangle ports borrowed from the vaunted LS7. The heads feature 63 cc combustion chambers, 2.16-inch Intake valves, and 1.59-inch Exhaust valves. The camshaft features an aggressive .551-inches of lift on the Intake side with less overlap than the LS2 for even greater airflow and power. 

Listed Price: $8,798.88

Application: Daily Driver, Street Rod

Cost per hp: $20.46

Specifications:

• Power: 430 hp at 5,900 rpm, 424 lbs/ft of torque at 4,600 rpm
• Displacement: 376 cid, 6.2L
• Bore x Stroke: 4.060-inch x 3.620-inch
• Compression Ratio: 10.7:1
• Block: Cast aluminum with 6-bolt cross bolted main caps
• Camshaft: Steel Hydraulic roller tappet
• Cam Lift: .551” Intake / .522” Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 204 degree Intake / 211 degree Exhaust
• Cylinder Heads: Aluminum L92 style ports
• Reluctor: 58X
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 6,600

Mid range LS Crate Engine with EFI

Pace Performance’s LS3 480HP crate engine (part #GMP-LS480T56).

Chevrolet Performance LS3 480 hp (Part #GMP-LS480T56) is the hot new small-block V-8 in the Pace lineup. It offers a high-revving 376-inch combination that represents generations of small block V8 development and engineering. Not only is the LS3 an amazing engine in its stock configuration, but with those high-flowing rectangular port cylinder heads, the LS3 is loaded with potential. To tap into this potential, the engineers at Chevrolet Performance Parts offer you the LS 376/480 – an LS3 with an upgraded camshaft that ups power by a whopping 50 horsepower.

Listed price: $9,218.88

Application: Daily Driver, Street Rod, Street Strip

Cost per hp: $19.21

Specifications:

• Power: 480 at 5,750 rpm, 475 lbs/ft of torque at 4,500 rpm
• Displacement: 376 cid, 6.2L
• Bore x Stroke: 4.060-inch x 3.620-inch
• Compression Ratio: 10.7:1
• Block: Cast aluminum with 6-bolt cross bolted main caps
• Camshaft: Steel hydraulic roller tappet
• Cam Lift: .525-inch Intake / .525-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 219 degree Intake / 228 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 112 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Aluminum L92 style ports
• Reluctor: 58X
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 6,600

King-of-the-Road Level LS Crate Engine with EFI

The LS3 525HP (part #GMP-LS525T56) features the ASA racing camshaft.

The Chevrolet Performance LS3 525 hp (part #GMP-LS525T56) blends the racing-derived ASA camshaft with the LS3 6.2L production engine to create the most powerful production-based crate engine in Chevrolet Performance’s portfolio. Delivering 525 horsepower at 6,300 rpm and 489 lb.-ft. at 4,400 rpm, this is the top of the line for factory GM crate engines. As delivered, the LS376/525 includes the Intake manifold, with the injectors, fuel rail and throttle body already installed, along with the water pump and ignition system. Front-end accessories must be obtained separately, along with the engine controller kit.

Listed price: $10,278.88

Application: Street Rod, Street/Strip

Cost per hp: $19.58

Specifications:

• Power: 525 hp at 6,300 rpm, 489 lbs/ft of torque at 4,400 rpm
• Displacement: 376 cid, 6.2L
• Bore x Stroke: 4.060-inch x 3.620-inch
• Compression Ratio: 10.7:1
• Block: Cast aluminum with 6-bolt cross bolted main caps
• Camshaft: Steel hydraulic roller tappet
• Cam Lift: .525-inch Intake / .525-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 226 degree Intake / 236 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 110 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Aluminum L92 style ports
• Reluctor: 58X
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 6,600

The Cool Factor

Retro-Style Corvette Package (part #GMP-12499529-C) is filled with retro style components including the valve covers that are reproduction finned aluminum with the Corvette script.

The ultimate in cool factor for hot rods and street rods is Pace Performance’s GM 350/290 hp Crate Engine with Retro-Style Corvette Package (part #GMP-12499529-C). This retro crate SBC 350 delivers 290 hp at 5,100 rpm and a solid 326 lb/ft of torque at 3,750 rpm. This crate package includes many of the same parts and features as their other 290 hp packages but Pace Performance has changed out the Intake with a retro looking Edelbrock Performer EPS that is also drilled and baffled for a rear PCV valve. The valve covers are a reproduction finned aluminum with the Corvette script. To keep the retro look going, Pace Performance eliminated the HEI distributor and put in a small cap unit and an external remote mount coil.

Listed price: $3,728.88

Application: Hot Rod, Street Rod

Cost per hp: $14.34

Specifications:

• Power: 290 hp at 5,250 rpm, 332 lbs/ft of torque at 3,750 rpm
• Displacement: 350 cid, 5.7L
• Bore x Stroke: 4.00-inch x 3.48-inch
• Compression Ratio: 8.5:1
• Block: Cast iron, 2 piece rear seal, 4-bolt main caps
• Camshaft: Hydraulic flat tappet
• Cam Lift: .450-inch Intake / .460-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 222 degree Intake / 222 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 112 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Cast Iron, 3/8-inch pressed in rocker studs
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 5,100

ZZ4 with Holley Tri-Power Turnkey Crate Engine (Part #GMP-24502609-6B) 

Pace Performance took their best selling ZZ4 crate engine and added a custom Tri-Power Intake with 3 specially tuned Holley carbs. Major cool factor and bonus points in this crate engine.

This crate engine looks bad, sounds badder, and has a price tag comfortable enough for every hot rodder or muscle car aficionado. Pace Performance took the Chevrolet Performance’s best selling ZZ4 crate engine and added a custom Tri-Power Intake with 3 specially tuned Holley carbs and sent it to the dyno shop. This set-up just flat outperforms.

Listed Price: $7,428.88

Application: Hot Rod, Street Rod, Street/Strip

Cost per hp: $20.98

Specifications:

• Power: 354 hp at 5,300 rpm, 415 lbs/ft of torque at 3,900 rpm
• Displacement: 350 cid, 5.7L
• Bore x Stroke: 4.00-inch x 3.48-inch
• Compression Ratio: 10:1
• Block: Cast Iron, 1 piece rear seal, 4-bolt main caps
• Camshaft: Steel hydraulic roller tappet
• Cam Lift: .474-inch Intake / .510-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 208 degree Intake / 221 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 112 degree
• Cylinder Heads: Aluminum, 3/8-inch screw-in rocker studs
• Combustion Chamber: 58cc
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 5,800

The Chevrolet Performance ZZ383/430 hp Engine with 8-Stack EFI (part #GMP-12498772-8STK)

The ultimate in coolness has to be the 8-stack Chevrolet Performance ZZ383 with a FAST EZ-EFI ECU and harness. This crate engine will make any street rod look custom with throw-back styling.

The ultimate hot rod/street rod engine for both looks and performance. Pace Performance shows off with a crate engine that has great looks and an EFI system that outperforms a carburetor. They took the new 8-Stack fuel injection system, mounted it on a brand new Chevrolet Performance ZZ383 and then added a FAST EZ-EFI ECU and harness. The Dyno results were surprising with 430 hp at5200 rpm. More surprising was the tight air fuel ratio reading which stayed between 13.3 and 13.6 throughout multiple pulls on the dyno. During pull number 2 the FAST system started learning and making self adjustments which further enhanced the engine’s performance.

Listed price: $11,618.88

Application: Hot rod, Street Rod, Street/Strip

Cost per hp: $27.02

Specifications:

• Power: 430 hp at 5,200 rpm, 475 lbs/ft of torque at 4,300 rpm
• Displacement: 383 cid
• Bore x Stroke: 4.00-inch x 3.80-inch
• Compression Ratio: 9.6:1
• Block: Cast iron, 1 piece rear seal, 4-bolt main caps
• Camshaft: Steel hydraulic roller tappet
• Cam Lift: .509-inch Intake / .528-inch Exhaust
• Cam Duration at .050-inch: 222 degree Intake / 230 degree Exhaust
• Lobe Separation: 112 degree
• Cylinder Heads: GM Fast Burn aluminum dual bolt pattern, 3/8-inch screw-in rocker studs
• Maximum GM Recommended rpm: 6,000

Conclusion

No matter what type of hot rod, street rod or daily driver you have, Pace Performance has a very affordable crate engine solution for motoring down the road, throwing some traction at an autocross or just showing off at a car show. We’ve added the horsepower per dollar value to each of the crate engines listed above as a reference only. There is no way to accurately put a dollar amount on a crate engine that has an 8-stack EFI system. That is just pure “wow” factor hard at work.

From the most basic crate engine to the over the top 8-stack EFI crate, each of these kits represent a great value for the dollar. Add the warranty to the mix and you have a reliable performer with an unbeatable price tag.  

Every new engine that is designed, developed, and brought to production opens up the realm of possibilities for new build ideas and applications. We’ve already brought you our build of a 1,000 hp capable Coyote engine, and we’ve seen these engines crank out power numbers well in excess of that.

One afternoon at the Power Automedia office we were kicking around ideas about what kind of radical build we could do next. We realized that as of right now, no one has yet brought to the Mustang and Ford community yet a buildup of a hardcore Coyote engine that wears a mechanical mixer on top. That’s right, a carburetor and a 8,500 rpm+ operating capability from an engine based on the same one that powers the current Mustang GT.

Even Dr. Frankenstein didn’t work alone, and constructing such a beast as this requires us to reach out across the performance market. We are getting help from Livernois Motrosports, Oliver Racing Parts, Mahle, Moroso, K&N, Holley, ARP, Rich Groh Racing Engines, L&R Engines, Comp Cams and more.

We recently detailed the details behind the Livernois Motorsports big bore block that we’ll be using for this build, as well as the custom built intake manifold constructed by Rich Groh racing engines.

Our big bore Coyote block sits on the engine stand. After a final cleaning and inspection, the assembly process begins.

Our goal is to explore the potential of such a combination, and then to find a suitable chassis to drop it in for real world track testing. Follow along now in part one of our build as we construct an engine that is sure to be the topic of bench racing and online threads for some time to come, the Carb’d Coyote Cobra Jet.

Crank

Our crank is a rebalanced stock piece. Since the factory original is a high-quality forging and frequently used in applications making over 1,200 horsepower, we feel confident that the stock crank should be more than adequate in this application. Our machine shop handling the short-block buildup, L&R Machine, took 15 grams off the stock crank to get the entire rotating assembly balanced.

Rods

Providing the connection between the pistons and the rebalanced stock crankshaft are a set of Oliver Ultra Light Weight rods. We chose to go with the stock length rod, which is 5.933 inches long. The billet rods are made from steel that is sourced 100 percent from the USA. Ted Keating of Oliver tells us, “The Ultra Light Weight rods are made from US mill-certified aircraft quality, vacuum carbon-arc deoxidized E4340A steel.” According to Keating quality USA sourced ARP 2000 rod bolts are also always chosen as well.

Keating says this rod represents the third revision of the design for Oliver’s Ultra Light Weight series. He also says these rods feature a 100-percent martincite grain structure. This means that the grain of the steel is focused where it will provide the most strength in the rod. This is achieved by careful placement of the steel in the machining processes.

Top Left: ARP studs will secure all the main caps on the block. Top Center: Before laying the crank, each main is checked with a gauge, bearing clearance measures at .0026 for each main journal using Clevite's standard size Coyote main bearings. Top Right: The crank is carefully laid into position. Bottom Center: The main caps are each carefully installed. Bottom Right: Each main cap is torqued in the proper sequence, and to the specifications outlined by ARP for the fasteners.

Our rods are part number F5933MDUL8, and the small end is ready to accept a standard .866-inch diameter wrist pin. Oliver also offers these rods with a larger .927-inch wrist pin. The rods weigh in at just 610 grams, with 447 grams of that weight being on the big end and the remaining 163 grams on the small end.

For rods we’re using Oliver Racing Ultra Light Weight rods, Pistons are custom Cobra Jet slugs from Mahle, along with their nitrided rings, and Clevite bearings. ARP supplies all the fasteners to bring it all together.

While Keating says it is impossible to put an exact number on the power handling capability of any rod, since each combination varies, he does tell us these should be able to handle 800-1,000 hp in the right application.

“This US made billet steel rod is very stable, giving it long life on the street or track, and it gives a good foundation when paired with quality pistons,” says Keating.

Pistons

For our piston and ring package we turned to Mahle due to their expertise as suppliers to Ford’s Cobra Jet program. Mahle sent us a set of pistons made from their 2618 alloy. 2618 is also known as X-material and is a hardcore material that can take severe punishment inside the combustion chamber without failure. According to Mahle’s Trey McFarland 2618 can actually deform slightly under severe detonation since the material is more malleable than other alloys.

Top Left: Our assembled piston and rod assembly. Top ring gap is set at .015, and the second ring gap is set at .013. Top Center: The big end of each rod is checked before bearings are installed, and the rod put in the engine. The bearing clearance here is .0023. Top Right: Mahle also provided the Clevite bearings for the connecting rods. Bottom Left: Each piston and rod assembly is carefully guided into place. Bottom Center: A ring compressor and mallet handle are used to push the assembly the rest of the way into the bore. Bottom Right: Before torquing the rod bolts each piston's position inside the bore is checked. Piston deck clearance is .004 in the whole.

The trade off with 2618 material is that in racing applications it may have a shorter service life. Depending upon how often the engine is used for racing, 2618 pistons may require inspection or replacement either at the end of the racing season, or even during the course of a racing season. This is all dependent upon the application and usage, as well as controls on timing, fuel delivery, and detonation.

The pistons are part number 930049901, they are based on Mahle’s slipper skirt forging, which is a low drag, light weight design. It’s worth noting our pistons were a custom order, and not something found on the shelf.

Oliver specifies a precise procedure for stretching the new rod bolts. Each bolt is first seated by tightening to the proper torque two to three times. The bolts are then relaxed by loosening them. The bolt's stretch is then measured. Once the bolts are checked, they must then be torqued to specification plus a specific amount of angle. In this case it's 25 ft-lbs plus 42 degrees of angle to achieve the proper stretch with our Oliver Rods and ARP 2000 bolts.

Mahle’s Grafal coating is also used on these pistons. This is a graphite impregnated coating which provides lubricity to prevent micro-welding on the ring lands. Grafal coating uses a resin based phenolic carrier, which McFarland says is compressible under load. “Grafal coating provides cushioning at the top and bottom of the stroke when direction changes occur, reducing noise,” says McFarland. Phosphate coating on the pin bores reduces galling on the wrist pins, while hard anodizing on the top ring grooves provides further protection from micro welding.

McFarland tells us these pistons use a profiled pin bore, “The profiled pin bore allows the pin to flex without loading hard against the pin bore, which causes the pin to stop rotating and leads to oil starvation and galling.” Pin bore side reliefs also create an area for the wrist pin to ovalize or distort into during direction changes at top and bottom dead center. This is especially important for high rpm applications. McFarland says “Without these reliefs the pin distorts and grabs the pin bore, snapping the piston to full rock in the bore and eventually galling the pin bores or worse, pulling the pin out of the bottom of the piston.”

With all of our fasteners torqued to the proper specifications and checked, we’re now ready to move on to the next part of our build.

Mahle also uses round wire locks in lieu of spiral locks. The round locks have a 45 degree chamfer, and when they experience side loading the locks are actually driven deeper into the piston, “The entire side of the piston would have to fail for the lock to come out,” says McFarland. This prevents damage to the cylinder bore from a locking mechanism that gets driven out due to side loading.

The piston pins are also shortened to reduce the weight. however they retain the same wall thickness as longer variations of the same pin diameter, allowing them to maintain strength.

Mahle also sent a set of their nitrided rings, part number 9400MS-12. Our top two rings are 1.5mm, while the bottom ring is a 2.8mm. Our pistons are for a 3.700-inch bore (94mm) with a compression height of 1.167-inches, an 8.5cc dome, and weigh just 392 grams each. With our .040 inch thick head gaskets, these pistons should be good to provide us with a compression ratio of 12.3:1

Oil Control

The achilles heel to any modular engine oiling system is the oil pump drive gears. The factory gears are made powdered metal and we’ve heard horror stories of them fracturing under high rpm or heavy engine loading. To remedy this we once again turned to Triangle Speed Shop for a set of their race-proven chromoly billet oil pump drive gears, part number TSS-50. The gears are heat-treated to TSS specifications, and are also blueprinted to plus or minus .0005 of each pair in a set.

This high quality set of gears ensures that the top end of our engine will continue receiving proper oil as we wind it sky high. Top racers are already using these gears, we even installed a set in Project Wild E Coyote’s 1,000 hp coyote engine. TSS also uses these in their own X275 modular powered drag radial car. We have also blocked the piston oil squirters on this engine.

We’re also using a set of Mahle Clevite bearings for both the rod and main bearing sets. Our rod bearings are part number MS2292H, while our main bearings are part number CB1442K.

Assembly

Fasteners are critical in any engine. The high RPM and high horsepower we have planned for this build make a high quality faster even more important. To button things up, we turned to ARP. ARP manufactures all of their fasteners in-house, assuring high levels of quality control. All aspects of fastener design and engineering are also handled by ARP, which ensures they have total control of quality from start to finish. Our main cap studs kit is for an early 2011-2012 block, matching our 2011 Coyote block. The rod bolts are ARP 2000 rods bolts.

We took all of our parts to L&R Engines to have everything balanced, and assembled. L&R has handled other assembly and machining work for us before, and are well versed in building high performance engines. You can follow the build in the photos and captions. Keep watching as we bring you the next part of our Carb’d Coyote Cobra Jet build with the top end of the engine and then it’s off to the dyno to find out exactly what kind of power this one of a kind engine can make.

Just for kicks we set our heads and the RGR intake manifold atop the short-block to see what the finished product will look like. Now we’re thinking we need to find a really big hood to fit this bad by under.

LS-based engines have earned notoriety for power and performance while becoming one of the most popular choices for both drag racing and street-engine swaps. They have been strong, reliable engines in most applications, but then racers and engine builders soon began leaning on them with longer strokes, higher rpm demands, stronger boost levels in addition to other traditional paths to power.

Unfortunately, these power quests sometimes revealed problems which ultimately prompted various upgrades and a few elegant solutions from the aftermarket. Such is the case with the Dart LS Next advanced cylinder block, a design refinement targeting some questionable design elements of the factory LS platform. The new block boasts hardcore racing features designed to upgrade oiling and crankcase breathing functions.

Engine builders are certainly selective about the parts dedicated to their signature crate engines; particularly since they serve as mobile billboards for the shop’s engine-building expertise. Borowski Racing Enterprises in Rockdale, Illinois, is no exception. Building on a solid reputation established by founder Ted Borowski, new owner Ken McCaul decided to groom a new line of Chevrolet-based crate engines to serve the company’s expanding customer base. He took a hard look at existing OEM and commercial crate engine packages to identify the most desirable characteristics and components capable of serving a broad range of customer requirements. 

Recognizing the problem

“We didn’t necessarily want to dismiss the known power and cost effectiveness of traditional Chevy small blocks, but couldn’t ignore the tremendous popularity of GM’s LS engines and their growing resume of performance power parts,” says McCaul. “Being primarily a race shop with emphasis on drag racing, circle track and some marine applications; we considered all the important factors with particular emphasis on power potential and good longevity.”

(Left) The unskirted LS Next block adopts the proven Gen 1 small-block Chevy style crankcase configuration, but remains all LS up top. It’s currently available in cast iron and soon in aluminum. (Right) Note main oil gallery plug adjacent to cam tunnel and just below the two lifter galleries. Vertical oiling passage leads to the camshaft journals. Larger angled passage comes from the low volume priority feed main oil gallery ensure priority oil feed to the mains first and the camshaft second.

(Left) The block accepts a standard LS rotating assembly (left). Front and rear billet steel caps utilize four straight bolts. (Center) Note that crank placement is not identical to a small block, but slightly higher in the block to help accommodate correct fitment of LS front cover and oil pan components. Borowski used a Callies Compstar forged crankshaft fully compatible with any LS or LS Next block. (Right) Standard reluctor wheel makes this an easy bolt in and an ATI precision balance keeps things humming smoothly.

“We ultimately chose the LS design to capitalize on its current popularity and compatibility with current muscle cars and electronic fuel injection systems,” McCaul confirms. “But we wanted to take advantage of the new features offered by the LS-Next block from Dart Machinery.” 

LS Next upgrades

Among the desirable attributes it offers are full priority main oiling with a stepped main oil gallery to ensure equal pressure and volume at the front of the block and a lifter gallery crossover passage with restrictor provisions. What makes the LS Next different is its traditional Gen 1 SBC-style lower end, eliminating the LS Y-block configuration and aligning the crank centerline with the oil pan rails. So it’s a hybrid construction. Gen 1 small-block style on the bottom and Gen III/IV LS small-block on the top; eliminating the possible high-rpm power fade and concern of separate main bays in the crankcase in the Y-Block design LS engine. This took more than a little engineering to figure out, but Dart’s Richard Maskin and knowledgeable contributors such as David Reher saw the opportunity.

Off-the-shelf Diamond flat-top pistons with standard valve reliefs were perfect for this application, yielding an 11.4:1 compression ratio with the standard L92 head combustion chambers. They swing on Callies Compstar H-beam rods fitted with ARP-2000 rod bolts.

Borowski engine builder Dave Livesey was the point man on this project. On the shop’s  first three LSN blocks, the assignments were a pair of large-displacement, normally aspirated versions and one Whipple supercharged street engine.

The initial test engine shown here was built with block number 009 from the first batch of production units. It’s a 427ci pump-gas, hydraulic roller, EFI street engine delivering 640 smooth horsepower. 

“We used a 4.000-inch Callies Compstar crank and 6.125-inch rods; not the cheapest stuff and not trying to be.” reports Livesey. “The pistons are off-the-shelf Diamond flat tops giving a compression ratio of 11.4:1 with Chevrolet’s CNC ported L92 cylinder heads. We touched up the factory valve job on the cylinder heads with our Newen CNC, and used stock valves and seats, but added PAC 1219x beehive springs.”

The LSN block accepts a stock LS front cover with a Cloyes adjustable timing set underneath and stock gaskets and seals all around. The splayed mains accept a Moroso aluminum pan with a spacer to make up the difference from eliminating the Y-block crankcase, and a Moroso pickup provides the correct sump pickup depth. Initial tests observed 22 psi oil pressure at idle with the stock pump and 40 psi under power. But with a standard volume Melling pump and optimum bearing clearances Borowski observed too much oil pressure. The team substituted a Melling M55 high volume yellow spring which did not provide the improvement they were seeking.  Finally they obtained a more desirable 30 psi at idle and 52 psi at 7,200 rpm with the Melling pink spring. 

“Melling is currently developing a new low volume pump so you won’t bypass so much oil,” Livesey adds.

The front end is finished off with an ATI damper and a billet serpentine belt accessory drive kit. Up top the heads are mated with an Edelbrock L92 style intake manifold with a 4150 style carb flange since there are no Dominator flanged manifolds for the L92 heads. 

“We chose a FAST 1,375 cfm single-port throttle body and later a 4-barrel Holley throttle-body to match the Holley HP EFI system. Both made identical power and we were very impressed with the ease of tuning and rapid configuration of the Holley EFI system,” says Livesey.

Testing camshafts

Borowski tested two different hydraulic roller cams with more duration on the exhaust; starting with 239/255 degrees duration at .050-inch, .624 lift on the valves with 114 degrees lobe separation installed at 112 degrees. That setup made 633 horsepower at 6,700-6,800 rpm with 556 lb-ft torque at 5,200 rpm on 92 pump gas with the air fuel ratio at 13.0 to 13.1. The second cam stepped up to 251/258 degrees at .050 and a lobe separation of 111 degrees installed at 109 degrees with the same .624-inch lift. It clearly preferred the additional intake timing and tighter lobe separation with a peak power reading of 642 at 6,900 rpm and average torque ranging from 552 to 567 as the EFI system was dialed in.

(Left) Cloyes Hex-A-Just true roller timing set provides adjustable cam timing via its adjusting nut. This made it easy for Borowski builder Dave Lively to dial in the cam for maximum performance. (Center) A Melling Select 10295 LS oil pump was tested with various spring combinations to accommodate the stepped low volume oil galley configuration used in the LS Next block. (Right) Moroso developed a special aluminum oil pan to accommodate the LS Next block. It incorporates 2-inch billet spacers to precisely position the pan in line with the front cover and rear main pan seal. Total pan depth with the spacers is 8 inches. It features internal trap doors and accommodates up to 4.124-inch stroke with most steel rods.

“The torque average increased by 10 lb-ft,” reports Livesey. “At 4,000 rpm it jumped from 484 to 533, It was still up 10 at 5,000 rpm and still up five at 5,500 rpm. Best overall power was achieved at 13:1 air fuel ratio and 31 degrees total timing. And the initial 640 horsepower package also provides good vacuum for the EFI and any vacuum operated accessories.

Moroso’s aluminum pan PN 20144 requires the use of Moroso pickup PN 24144 to provide the ideal pickup location in the 6-inch deep pan sump.

“In all our power and calibration testing we encountered no oiling or bearing issues, even with 28 repeated pulls and oil temperature up to 250 degrees,” continues Livesey. “There were no issues with the block whatsoever.” 

Boost is in the future

“We’re very pleased with the results and the cost to value ratio of this package,” echoes McCaul.  “We like the top-end packages we can use on it and we’re very happy that the new Dart block provides the long term durability we’re seeking for our customers.”

These results were very much in line with their prior thinking and McCaul was pleased  with the performance of the L92 cylinder heads for the naturally aspirated packages. At 640 horsepower the hydraulic-cammed pump gas engine is a sweet affordable player. And with the trouble free LS Next block easily supporting their program, they’re already eyeing an additional bump to 440ci, pricier heads and a 700-horsepower target for an N/A package at a somewhat higher price point.

Rectangular port L92 heads helped contain the cost on the build and eliminated the need to go to LS7 heads to make good power. The builders touched up the 3-angle valve job on the CNC ported factory heads and double checked the chambers for volume.

The cylinder heads are further upgraded with PAC conical 1219x valve springs and the GM rockers are re-fitted with Comp Cams LS Series retrofit trunnion kits designed to convert stock LS Series rocker arms into captured roller trunnions for high-rpm race applications. CNC ported exhaust ports in these heads have proved very efficient in the 500-700 horsepower range.

A more serious jump in power will soon follow when they mate the LS Next blocks with Whipple intercooled superchargers in both under and through-the-hood sizes (2.9 and 4.0L) and Borowski-designed pistons optimized for boost.

(Left) An Edelbrock Victor Jr. L92 intake manifold with 4150 stye mounting flange accommodates most EFI setups. Borowski tested with several different throttle bodies including an FAST 4-port configuration as shown left and a FAST 102mm single-bore throttle body (below). (Right) Borowski’s own polished billet valve covers area fitted with MSD individual coil relocation kit to ensure top ignition performance.

“These supercharged engines will truly be road and track,” says Livesey. “When running high-octane fuel, you can switch pulleys and tune for a big jump in power. With street tune and a low-psi pulley, the supercharger’s vacuum-activated bypass valve provides fuel economy in routine operation but unleashes an instant power surge when the hammer comes down.”

There’s little doubt that LS-based blocks could have easily supported these power levels and mostly without duress in their N/A and low-boost packages. But savvy builders like McCaul hedge their bets with as much backup they can get. The LSN block eliminates the few trouble areas that can arise with a standard LS package. It also opens the door for higher boost that may otherwise be pushing structural limits.

Coated Schoenfeld headers were used in testing and are available separately for various chassis applications, and a complete GM front serpentine accessory drive kit is installed and was in place for all the power testing.