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Contents

Q ON THE COVER: Here’s what 40,000 horsepower looks like! Photo by Wes Allison

Starting Line with John McGann

HOT ROD Archives 20, 40, and 60 Years Ago

The 2,000HP Recipe Nelson Racing’s Powerful, Road-Ready Crate Engines

Big-block vs. Small-block What’s the Difference? We Settle the Score

Beast in the Barn Hidden Chrysler Hemi Ready for a Rebuild

Where It All Began Car Shows East... Car Shows West

Bodyshop Repair Kevin Tetz’s Top 10 Lessons Learned

Windsor For the Win The Right Parts Push This Stroker SBF over 500 HP

Killer Results Paint Your Engine with Patience and $147

Four-Day Headers When Off-the-Shelf Headers Won’t Do

106

Finish Line with Tony Thacker

1,200 HP Under $3,500 Build a Hemi Short-block That Won’t Break the Bank

Waiting Its Turn 1933 Roadster Intentionally Hidden For Decades

Fiberglass and Mica 1957 Corvette Custom Show Car Bali Hai

Good Foundation 1979 Camaro Found Buried and Forgotten in Kansas

It’s Under Contract 1967 Chevy Impala Gives Mitch Laucks Direction

66 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/ 3

STARTING LINE

By John What’s a Hot Rod? McGann Editor-in-Chief @john.mcgann

❱“Can a Volvo be a hot rod?” That was the question posed to me at a press event I attended a couple days ago. The occasion was the North American debut of the Volvo P1800 Cyan, a heavily modified version of an early Volvo P1800. It was built by Cyan Cars, a division of Cyan Racing, a Swedish company affiliated with Volvo’s factory race team in the World Touring Car Cup race series, and they have a proven record in racing with several championships in that series. In conjunction with the race program, Cyan builds road-going performance versions of Volvo’s street cars, but this is their first foray into a modified version of an older model.

Can a Volvo be a hot rod? Well sure, but before I could answer to the affirmative, Cyan’s Hans Baath posed the basic question, “What’s a hot rod?” That’s both very easy and very difficult to answer. Easy answer first: A hot rod is a car that’s been modified for better performance. That’s pretty simple, right? Cars are designed and built by the manufacturers with certain inherent compromises. Sound and noise

4 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

restrictions must be met, fuel economy, emissions, crash safety, even the choice of wheels and tires are a compromise of performance versus longevity and all-season performance. Given those factors, the second you start changing things on a car, you’re “hot-rodding” it. Obviously, I don’t mean adding extra cup holders or cellphone mounts; I’m talking about things like changing the brake pads for better performance or mounting “summer” tires instead of the skinny all-season stockers. Our whole industry works to serve that customer with parts like cold air kits, lowering springs, sway bar upgrades, louder mufflers, engine upgrades, and power adders—all the stuff any automotive enthusiast has been doing since people started racing cars. The more difficult question to answer is what is a hot rod as it pertains to HOT ROD magazine. There, the criteria become much

more subjective and is largely based on the opinions of the staff, the legacy of the magazine, and what the audience expects. Generally, we’re dealing with American cars with V8 engines that have been modified for more horsepower at a minimum. Rear-wheel drive is key; allwheel drive is ok, too, but I believe frontwheel drive is wrong-wheel drive. Looks factor in, of course, but that doesn’t mean the car has to be pristine, nor does it need a $100,000 paintjob. A certain amount of hands-on time by the owner helps a lot, too. Overall, the car needs a good story behind it, and it has to look right. A highly subjective term, that, but you know it when you see it. Sometimes, it’s simply a novel take on an unexpected model—the “dare to be different” notion. We also run the gamut of 100 percent home-built cars to high-end cars built by the likes of Roy Brizio, the Ring Brothers, Pure Vision Design, and specialty companies like Cyan. You can think of the P1800 Cyan as the Swedish version of the Singer-built Porsche 911. Ultimately, it was easy to answer Hans’ question. The P1800 Cyan has a modern, turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 420 hp, an upgraded five-speed manual transmission, independent rear suspension, big brakes, aggressive tires, and a serious weightreduction program. The car only weighs 2,180 pounds! Can a Volvo be a hot rod? Ja, självklart! Yes, of course! Check out the pictures and let us know what you think. It’s amazing just how different a car can be from its original version and still be immediately identifiable. I’m hoping to schedule a photoshoot and possibly some time behind the wheel of this car soon.

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EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief John McGann Managing Editor Rusty Kurtz Features Editor Timothy Bernsau Technical Editor Johnny Hunkins Technical Editor Steven Rupp Staff Editor Jordon Scott Social Media Editor Cyril Soliman Video Producer Kale Eickhof HOT ROD Garage Hosts Lucky Costa Alex Taylor Tech Center Manager Calin Head Contributors Wes Allison Tommy Lee Byrd Chad Ehrlich Jerry Heasley Scotty Lachenauer Ryan Lugo Evan Perkins Kevin Tetz Tony Thacker

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SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES Email hotrodmagazine@emailcustomerservice.com, call 800/800-4681 or write to: Hot Rod, P.O. Box 37199, Boone, IA 50037 Please include name, address, and phone number on any inquiries. For change of address, six weeks notice required. Send old as well as new address to HOT ROD; P.O. Box 37199; Boone, IA 50037. Occasionally our subscriber list is made available to reputable firms offering goods and services we believe would be of interest to our readers. If you prefer to be excluded, please send your current address label and a note requesting to be excluded from these promotions to Motor Trend Group, LLC; 831 S. Douglas St.; El Segundo, CA 90245; Attn: Privacy Coordinator ADVERTISING INFORMATION Please call HOT ROD Advertising Department at 949.705.3191. Related publications: Four Wheeler and MotorTrend Back issues: To order back issues email us at: backissues@motortrend.com. In your email please include: publication name, month/year, and quantity along with your phone number. Do not include payment information in your email. Any submissions or contributions from readers shall be subject to and governed by MotorTrend Group, LLC User Content Submission Terms and Conditions, which are posted at http://www.motortrendgroup.com/submissions.

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WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

THE HOTROD ARCHIVES 20 Years Ago September 2002: 124 pages, $3.99 Here’s a cool piece of HOT ROD historical trivia: This issue was the first to feature a cover picture shot on a digital camera. Kids with their phones won’t appreciate the struggle photographers had in the early days of digital cameras to generate an image with enough resolution to use on the cover, or inside the magazine for that matter. Wes Allison was the shooter here, and he’s always been on top of photographic technology. (Incidentally, he shot this issue’s cover image on Canon’s new mirrorless DSLR, the impressive R3.) Fresh off the plane from Power Tour, editor David Freiburger compiled a six-page feature of readers’ cars from the trip. Marlan Davis returned to the pages of HOT ROD after a stint at Car Craft. He authored an exhaustive article on cam specs and their impact on engine performance. He also dove deep into a one-off FE engine built by Carroll Shelby for his own personal Cobra. Steve Magnante wrote about a recently discovered, unrestored 1967 Cougar Trans Am race car. Finally, David Freiburger documented the nut-and-bolt build of a 383 Chevy, accounting for the cost of every piece used in the assembly. For a grand total of $6,382.73, he netted a stout 559.5 hp and 521 ft-lbs of torque.

2002

40 Years Ago September 1982: 110 pages, $1.75 That’s Rick Dobbertin’s 1965 Nova on the cover. It wasn't the first Pro Street car, but it kicked the movement into high gear. Gray Baskerville wrote the copy here, and the headline was simply “OVERKILL!” in all caps. That’s certainly an apt description for the car that led the craze of big rear tires, swoopy graphics, and over-the-top styling that’s characteristic of Pro Street style. The 454 big-block Chevy in Rick’s Nova was twinturbocharged and supercharged—something that would have been a mind-blowing feat at the time. Gray described the engine compartment as, “one of the most complex pieces of packaging” he’d ever seen and said the space shuttle had nothing on Rick’s Nova. This issue also had more street machines seen at Car Craft’s Street Machine Nationals in Springfield, Illinois. Also in this issue, Jeff Tann wrote about lowering HOT ROD’s in-house project S-10 pickup, Marlan Davis investigated how to add overdrive gears to an older Ford Top Loader transmission, and Jerry Heasley considered the pros and cons of using aviation fuel in automotive applications.

1982

“July fourth, nineteen sixty-two, was the date of the fortieth running of the highest, steepest, crookedest, and most interesting race in the world.” That was the opening line in Ray Brock’s article about the 1962 Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, and it certainly grabs your attention, doesn’t it? The seven-page article was filled with excellent photography—the opening spread done in “Full Color” as proclaimed boldly on the cover. There was lots of race coverage in this issue, with results from NHRA events in Madras, Oregon; Orange, Massachusetts; and Muncie, Indiana. Writer Pete Biro penned a piece on shorttrack racing in Detroit, and there was an in-depth tech article on Hurst’s improved shifter for three-speed transmissions that virtually eliminated a common issue of partially engaging the reverse idler gear while shifting quickly. You can imagine the catastrophic results of such an action. The cover car was Don Waite’s ’29 Ford Roadster that was described by writer/photographer Eric Rickman as, “Just about the finest example of automotive craftsmanship we’ve ever seen.”

8 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

1962

HOT ROD Archives

60 Years Ago September 1962: 120 pages, 50¢

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WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

QAutorama Hartford, Connecticut

CAR SHOWS EAST…CAR SHOWS WEST ❱By 1958, the National Roadster Show in Oakland, California, was nearly a decade old and enjoyed a reputation as one of the country’s premier hot rod and custom car events. But “proving that the West Coast boys have no monopoly on fine hot rods and customs,” HOT ROD paired coverage of the Oakland show with a report from the Hartford, Connecticut, Autorama, what Tex Smith called “the undisputed show center of the East.” The two stories, “Car Shows East…” and “…Car Shows West,” ran together in the May 1958 issue. It’s interesting that HOT ROD sent its A-Team to Connecticut—Smith, Photo Editor Eric Rickman, and even Editor Wally Parks made the trek—while it leaned on Car Craft’s Dick Day to provide Oakland coverage. Maybe, even in these early days, the magazine staffs were a bit jaded by what they saw in Oakland. They even referred to the show’s Bay Area home as “an area where customs are run of the mill, and hot rods are old hat.” The 1958 show, as it turned out, was anything but. It marked the first time that a car—Richard Peters’ ’29 Model A roadster pickup called Ala Kart—was professionally built (by Barris Kustoms) with the express purpose of winning the tall America’s Most Beautiful Roadster trophy. That it did, sharing it,

QNorman Wallace received five awards at the 1958 Autorama for his Deuce roadster (foreground), which was channeled 4 inches and equipped with a “3/4 race flathead Ford mill” and Columbia two-speed rearend. Wally Parks (left) and Miss Autorama, Andrea Todd, presented one of the five trophies Norman Wallace won for his roadster.

as was the case in those years, with America’s Best Competition Car, Romeo Palamides’ Hemipowered dragster. Back east, wrote Smith, “hot rod enthusiasm and interest is at a peak in the land of the Yankees,

with everyone anxious to see at firsthand the types and variations of cars.” To Smith, the “quality of the hot cars constructed in the East is on par and often superior to that found on the West Coast.”

BY DREW HARDIN PHOTOGRAPHY ERIC RICKMAN, DICK DAY 10 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER /

QNational Roadster Show Oakland, California

01 02

04 05

01 First place in the Autorama’s Radical Custom class went to Charles Durso for his ’48 Buick. That’s a Dodge truck grille between the ’55 Chevy headlights. 02 Andy Kassa’s distinctive coupe, with its deep channel and unusual Italian-style air cleaners, won Second Place in the Autorama’s street rod class. HOT ROD Deluxe ran a feature on the historic car—still alive and well—in its November 2014 issue. 03 Richard Peters and Romeo Palamides shared the tall AMBR trophy—it spent six months with each winner—in the days when it was awarded to both America’s Most Beautiful Roadster and America’s Best Competition Car. 04 Barris Kustoms’ Ala Kart was not only the first hot rod professionally built expressly to win Oakland, it did so twice, in 1958 and 1959. 05 Palamides spent five months building his aluminum-bodied, Hemi-powered dragster. A December 1958 Car Craft story said the slingshot “has been consistently burning near the 160 mph mark at the drags.” 06 Karl Zipf’s chopped and channeled ’30 Model A was a winner in Oakland’s Competition Coupe division. There’s a Merc flathead within that cut-down hood. HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER 11

POINT YOUR PHONE CAMERA HERE TO SEE THE DEVIL'S COUPE, DAVID'S 1933 FIVE WINDOW COUPE.

WAITING INTENTIONALLY HIDDEN FOR DECADES, THIS HISTORIC AND PRESERVED 12 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

TIM BERNSAU

WES ALLISON

ITS TURN EAST COAST HOT ROD WAS LOST UNTIL DAVID SIMARD FOUND IT. HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/ 13

WAITING ITS TURN There’s a rod shop about an hour west of Boston called East Coast Custom where David Simard and his team build hot rods for customers. The Leominster, Massachusetts, shop also features a spectacular barnful of David’s own iron, traditional prewar Fords mostly, collected over the past several years and in various stages of progress. We’ve talked about David Simard’s East Coast Custom before. On our website last

year, we featured a 1933 Ford five-window coupe called The Devil’s Coupe, a surviving ’30sera hot rod that had been out of commission for more than 50 years before being revived and put back on the street in perfect period unrestored condition. If The Devil’s Coupe had a brother, it’d be this channeled 1933 roadster—another perfectly preserved piece of hot rod history—with a pedigree just as impressive and a personality just as wicked as the coupe.

“In 1975, a fellow member of the Boston Area Roadsters Club introduced me to Bill Schultz,” David started the story. “Bill owned Country Club Auto Body in Norton, Massachusetts. He had numerous old Fords around his small one-man shop. Sitting outside was the 1934 three-window coupe, which he’d raced on the oval tracks in the area back in the ’50s. But inside, buried under numerous auto parts, was the channeled ’34 Ford roadster that he built in 1950 and parked in 1962. Bill 14 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

intentionally buried the car in the corner to avoid everyone inquiring about it. “Bill purchased the roadster in 1948 as a complete original car (15 years old at the time). When he channeled it in 1950, he carefully removed the original floor. He cut the frame at the rear crossmember, allowing him to save the original rear section of the truck floor. The floor subrails were bolted to the bottom of the framerails. The original floor was retained and bolted to the top of the

WAITING ITS TURN frame. Bill’s method retained the strength of the body and the door alignment.” Bill swapped the ’33 grille with a Deuce grille and added a cut-down 1946 Ford front bumper, plus a custom roll pan in the rear. The door handles are stock 1934 hardware. The fenders and running boards were replaced with bobbed motorcycle-style fenders, a style that has become associated with East Coast traditional hot rods. He painted the roadster with black lacquer and added a full folding top and side curtains.

16 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

Channeled bodies, unchopped tops on coupes, and custom bobbed fenders or bike fenders are three prominent elements of the East Coast style of traditional hot rods associated with New England. Removing the fenders and running boards started out as a practical weightreducing move on the early roadsters racing on the dry lakes of Southern California. The fenderless style caught on all over but was out of compliance with the fender laws in the rainy eastern states. Bobbed fenders were the compromise solution.

The front suspension was built using a 1937 tube axle and springs, as well as Bill’s crafted hairpin radius rods, customized with his initials in the bars. All the components were chrome plated. The 1946 rearend runs 4.11 gears. Brakes are 1946 Ford in the front and 1940 in back. Those 5.90-15 whitewall tires roll on 1937–1940 Wide-5-style wheels with Cadillac caps. Bill installed a full race flathead engine with a column-shifted 1939 Ford transmission. In 1959, the flattie was replaced with a ’58 Ford 312 Y-block with a single four-barrel carb.

Custom zoomie headers point exhaust directly past the driver’s ears or via cutouts, to the rear via the dual-pipe setup. On the inside, the cut-down original bench is still covered in the red-and-white vinyl Bill used to upholster it decades ago. His custom aluminum dash houses original Stewart-Warner Wings gauges. Bill drove the roadster until 1962, when he parked it inside his body shop. Despite his best effort to keep the car out of sight and to avoid inquiries, the historic hot rod caught David’s attention right away. “I would

WAITING ITS TURN check in with Bill every year to discuss buying the car. The answer was always the same: ‘I’m going to get it on the road again.’” It took years of patience and persistence, but eventually Bill agreed to sell the roadster. David says the years of indoor storage protected the roadster from rust and that Bill’s skill as a bodyman is the reason the doors open and close with perfect alignment after almost 90 years. He has 18 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

numerous projects in the works in his personal barn—not to mention customer cars. For now, the roadster remains virtually unchanged from when he bought it, but David, like Bill, is determined to get it on the road again, maybe with the flathead that powered it before. One thing is certain: There will be no cosmetic makeover. David Simard’s preserved 1933 Ford roadster has aged beautifully and will be preserved that way.

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Point your phone camera here to see Jerry Heasley’s interview with Bill Shelley, owner of the Bali Hai Corvette. 20 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

FIBERGLASS AND MICA This customized 1957 Corvette has been hidden in storage for decades.

1957 Corvette custom show car named Bali Hai that disappeared in 1965, still wearing its original body modifications and custom Tommy “The Greek” pinstripes, has been found in California. What makes this find so special is that the car is a time capsule from the last Oakland Roadster Show, held in February 1960. It reappeared at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California, in 2022.

JERRY HEASLEY HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/ 21

FIBERGLASS AND MICA The car was originally purchased used in 1957 by 20-year-old Oakland resident Bill Shelley. Using $3,000 earned from selling cows, Bill bought it in Polo White with a red cove, 283ci engine, and a three-speed transmission. The previous owner had added a low gearset in the rearend and set it up for drag racing. Bill raced the Corvette at Half Moon Bay and Vacaville before meeting Corvette customizer Bob McNulty at a drive-in. Bob was known for building a ’55 Corvette called the Shark that appeared in the August 1959 issue of HOT ROD in a Best Corvettes section of the magazine.

22 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

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THE 2,000HP RECIPE pounds to a clamping load of 105 pounds right there. We also add two head bolts per cylinder and put in what’s called a flame hoop. We used to use O-rings, but now we do this one-piece machined ring that goes in the block, and it sticks out about 0.020 inch. We then machine a receiver groove in the cylinder head that captures the flame hoop with a near-interference fit. I use annealed copper head gaskets with a jet turbine sealant to effectively superbond all surfaces. It’s like a 20-step process the way we do it. HR] What other advancements are allowing you to create these power numbers that would have, not that long ago, only been seen in the world of Pro Mod race cars? TN] R&D and parts selection are so critical. Like the turbocharger itself, we’ve learned so much there. The pressure ratios have to be in order. Sure, you can make 2,000 horsepower with the turbo at a 2:1 pressure ratio, but it’s not going to live in a long-term application because you have so much back pressure. We have custom camshafts designed that help make these power levels live on the street. Billy [Godbold] at COMP cams, and I worked on a custom cam lobe that was Spintron tested to 10,000 rpm and was super stable for a hydraulic roller. I even have special Inconel valves made that we hand-hone to each valve guide. Even though most of our parts are name-brand this, and namebrand that, they are specifically made to our specs. HR] When some people see the price tag for a turnkey crate engine making power at this level, there’s some sticker shock. What would you say to the folks who think you can make this kind of power out of a junkyard engine for much less money? TN] I actually think builds like the guys at Sloppy Mechanics do are really cool, and they have their place. They’re pretty successful, honestly. It’s just not in the same league as what we’re doing. All you need is one instance of detonation, and the connecting rods are out of the thing. Game over! Those builds are cool because you just go grab another junkyard engine. I’m just not into swapping engines all the time. 54 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

HR] You handled the engine program on the Shelby Super Cars Tuatara project, right? Is there anything that you’ve learned from that program that has trickled down to the domestic-based crate engine line? TN] Man, there was massive amounts of learning on the Tuatara engines. We’re running those for 2.5 miles wide open, at full boost, for 50 seconds at a time. It’s a totally different ballgame than running the quarter-mile. The biggest thing we’ve learned is in the tuning and fuel delivery. The hard parts are second nature to us, we’ve been doing that so long, but the extreme control of the fuel delivery has been trickled into our crate engines. We even have safety features built into the engine. If the oil pressure drops, we kill the engine; if the fuel injector duty spikes, we cut spark from the coils; if it gets too hot, we’ll pull the throttle back. The insurances we build into the electronics are really neat and a bonus for our customers. HR] You machine a lot of billet parts, such as the “Alien” intakes. How important are aesthetics when it comes to engine building? TN] For me, our mission is building functional, mechanical art. I like going fast, but I really look at these as art. I go to great lengths to build functional, unique intake manifolds, and we even patented mirror image turbos because my mind finds symmetry beautiful. The way our engines look is unique, and we work for that. HR] There are a lot of engine builders that gravitate toward a specific architecture, but you seem to have a huge spread of platforms. What does NRE currently build? TN] We offer twin-turbo LS, twin-turbo big-block [Chevy], twin-turbo traditional Hemi and Gen III Hemi, twin-turbo Ford [Windsor-based]. We also offer Roots-blown applications in all of those. We cover Chevy, Ford, and Chrysler applications and have high-horsepower versions in all of them. It’s a lot, but we have all the bases covered.

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BIG-BLOCK VS. SMALL-BLOCK: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

JOHNNY HUNKINS

We settle the final score for 20th-century Chevy, Ford, Chrysler, Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac V8s. 56 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

Illustration: Ryan Lugo ❱Big-block or small-block—which one is best? When this is the question, it matters whether you’re trying to win a drag race, or just a simple bar bet. You may be trying to come to a consensus to bulk up your gearhead knowledge or you may be building a period-correct street machine with a ton of power from an engine that matches the emblem on the fender. Do you already have a heavy favorite and want to back up an opinion, or are you a novice with an open mind and a thirst for hard facts? If you’re a student of domestic 20th-century V8 engine architectures, you’ve come to the right place because we’ve got answers.

Big Pump vs. Little Pump Engines in their simplest form are air pumps. The bigger the displacement of the pump, the greater the potential power; when all things are equal, the bigger the engine, the greater the power output. Unfortunately, in the argument of big-block vs. small-block, things aren’t equal and our basic argument of “bigger is better” kind of hits the guardrail in a few places. First is the availability of aftermarket cylinder heads with high-flowing port shapes and large valves. The availability of these varies wildly for different engine families, if it exists at all. Moreover, the cost of parts may make building some engine brands cost prohibitive at larger sizes and higher hp, so while you may crave a 455ci Oldsmobile big-block, for example, you may be better off with a new-era Chevy LS at half the cost per horsepower. The 455ci Olds might have more cubes, but a 327ci (5.3-liter) LS is the better air pump of the two. Already, you’ve learned that the size of the air pump isn’t a marker for how well it pumps air.

Big Valve vs. Small Valve If engine size doesn’t solve the big-block vs. small-block question, what else matters? If your eyes have wandered the large chart labeled “Smallblock vs. Big-block Specs,” you can get your first clue from the “intake valve” spec column, which shows the most common intake valve diameter size for each engine family. The intake valve is the door through which air enters the engine. Big doors move more air than small doors, so it’s possible to have an engine with plenty of displacement but only modest-sized valves—a description that fairly describes most of the OE engines on our list. So long as the engine speed doesn’t exceed a valve’s ability to satisfy the engine’s demand for air mass, there’s no problem. But as soon as the valve and the port present a restriction, the power party is off. As it turns out, 20th-century big-block engines (and even small-blocks) hit this wall with relatively little effort.

QFrom left to right: Buick, Olds, Pontiac, and Chevy small-block cylinder heads. HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER 57

WRENCHIN’ @ RANDOM

more clearance for stroker cranks, and more valve diameter. The Ford 385-series big-block and the Chrysler 440-Wedge paid a modest weight penalty without really being any more powerful from the factory than Chevy offerings (the 427ci Chevy L88 claimed 430 hp, the Chrysler 440ci Six Pack claimed 390 hp, the Ford Super Cobra Jet 429 claimed 370 hp), but their internal architectures hid a lot of potential that wouldn’t be revealed until well after the muscle car era was over and aftermarket companies joined the fray. Here is where things get very interesting—but before we cover these Ford and Mopar interlopers we need to wade through the GM big-block vs. GM small-block scrum.

Survey Says: Big-block Chevy Here we run the risk of oversimplification because valve size is a stand-in for mass flow and port flow quality, but it’s instructive because the valve diameter is largely dependent on bore diameter. The bigger the bore, the bigger the valve you can use and the more power you can make, provided the port can support the flow. In the big-block vs. small-block debate, the availability of high-flow, bigvalve aftermarket heads and intake manifolds is a make-or-break proposition, so unless the debate is stock vs. stock, the aftermarket has a say in crowning winners and losers.

Big Bore vs. Big Stroke QDart’s Big-M big-block Chevy cylinder case.

If increasing the bore and the stroke both provide more cubic inches and presumably more power, does it really matter how the factory went about increasing the displacement? It turns out, that does matter. A look at the “Small-block vs. Big-block Specs” chart shows stock bore, stroke, and approximate engine weight, and here you’ll note that some engines have larger bores and shorter strokes (oversquare) while others have smaller bores and longer strokes (undersquare). A short-stroke engine doesn’t need as tall a deck height to make the same cubecount and will typically weigh less, setting up a lighter-is-better argument. This favors the big-block Chevy, a fact somewhat hidden by the reality that the bigblock Chevy cast-iron heads and intake are super heavy, though they are easily replaced by lighter aluminum. The stock BBC heads are massive, but in aluminum form, this giant footprint on the fire deck adds stability and more flexibility in port design which the aftermarket has taken full advantage of. A taller-deck big-block V8 has the advantage in situations where the bore is also larger. The Chrysler 440 and the Ford 460 had no interdivisional rivals like GM, so pattern-makers could make everything bigger: more bore diameter, more deck height, QFord Performance A460 big-block cylinder case.

58 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

If you just want to win races while spending the least amount of money, get a modern Chevy LS small-block. Debate over. You’re not going to get to four-digit power levels with anything else for less than the price of an LS, but that’s no fun for the purposes of our old-school 20th-century big-block vs. small-block slugfest. We’re cutting to the bottom line early so we can ponder the deeper mysteries of the big-block vs. small-block debate. But when it comes to making copious power from any common domestic V8, the big-block Chevy wins hands down, not so much on the basis of any overwhelming mechanical merit, but because the aftermarket has been continuously working on making the big-block Chevy bigger, badder, and better for the past half-century. In fact, the aftermarket is so influential that many of the best big-block Chevys don’t have any Chevy parts in them at all (this goes as far back as the Drag Race Competition Engine, or DRCE, which was fielded by Oldsmobile beginning in 1983).

GM Big-blocks vs. GM Small-blocks

QPontiac “big-block” 428ci V8.

If we set aside the outsized advantage that the big-block Chevy has by way of the performance aftermarket, it’s instructive and fun to look at some of the more esoteric aspects of the various big-blocks and small-blocks made by Detroit’s

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automakers through the muscle car era. In this way, we can evaluate winners and losers by various criteria, both as-conceived in production form, and in later aftermarket-enhanced form. These engines didn’t exist in a vacuum, they needed to fit in the space available, meet production cost requirements, and in some cases, abide by arbitrary corporate limitations.

QOldsmobile 400ci small-block on the dyno.

power output of some big-block architectures in a cost-effective way, irrespective of displacement.

Big-block Buick vs. Small-block Buick The cost-versus-power face-off makes a more compelling argument with less popular, less well-supported manufacturers. If you’re a Buick fan, for instance, you’ll quickly discover that it’s almost impossible to field a competitive 350ci small-block Buick due to a dearth of power QSmall-block parts for the short-lived engine family. The 350 Buick 350ci Buick V8. debuted in 1968 and shared more with the 231ci V6 than either the earlier “nailhead” big-block or the 400ci big-block released in 1967—it has both its aluminum timing cover and bore diameter in common with the 231ci V6. An undersquare design (small bore, long stroke) and a small intake valve kept power in check while making the small-block Buick block as wide as a big-block Chevy. (If you’re looking for a small underdog Buick to beat Chevys with, you’d do better to build a turbocharged and intercooled 231ci V6 LC2, as found in the 198687 Buick Grand National).

At General Motors, for instance, a rule was set up in 1963 for mid-sized cars that engine size limits were not to exceed 330ci, resulting in a bunch of small-blocks just under that size (Chevy 327ci, Pontiac 326ci, Olds 330ci). That policy changed in 1968 with a 350ci limit (Chevy 350, Buick 350, Olds 350, Pontiac 350). In 1965, GM allowed, and then limited, big-block engines in mid-size and smaller cars to less than 400ci (Pontiac 389, Olds 400, Chevy 396, Buick 400), until they didn’t, starting in 1969. Even then, GM only cracked open the tap for a few 427ci Chevy Camaro COPO orders (Corvette was always exempt). By 1970, all size limits at GM were gone, with displacements swelling to 454ci (Chevy) and 455ci (Buick, Olds, Pontiac). With GM holding its divisions under a cube limit for most of the era, it’s no wonder the competition seemed so close on paper.

Cost vs. Power QBig-block Buick by Automotive Machine & Performance.

The Buick fan looking for the biggest bang for the buck within his own brand will probably want a 455ci big-block, an engine that is supported by a small, loyal cottage industry by companies like Automotive Machine & Performance, TA Performance, and Kenny Betts Racing. A big-block Buick also has a modest advantage in the mass department. As a precision thin-wall casting, the big-block Buick cylinder case is the lightest of the era, making it a threat despite its modest cylinder head flow profile relative to contemporary offerings. The 455ci Buick was also the torque king of the era, putting out a bona fide 510 lb-ft of torque, the most for its day.

QThe small-block Chevy reigns supreme as aftermarket parts leader for V8 engines.

With any big-block vs. small-block comparo, one of the major debate points is cost savings (the small-block) versus big power (the big-block). With the Chevy engines, the aftermarket has erased much of the disparity here, making both big-block and small-block engines around the same in terms of horsepower-perdollar. The big-block has more room inside compared to the small-block, so you can buy more power for the dollar without the cost skyrocketing too much on the high-end of the power range. Likewise, the aftermarket has served the small-block Chevy well over the decades, offering stroker kits, high-performance induction, and stronger blocks with clearance for stroker kits, keeping the small-block Chevy well within the competition fray. Building a high-output, small-block Chevy really isn’t a barrier like it is for many other brands of GM small-blocks, and in some cases, the power level of a performance-built small-block Chevy can exceed the 60 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

Big-block Pontiac vs. Small-block Pontiac While Buick offered small-block and big-block designs that shared little, Pontiac, by contrast, built all its V8 engines from the same basic architecture. Pontiac never added a “bigblock” engine family in the late 1950s or early 1960s like others did. Instead, they increased the size of its existing OHV V8 design. All Pontiac engines between 326ci and 455ci have the same external dimensions, with only internal alterations to bore and stroke. All had the same 6.665-inch connecting rod, and the Pontiac 350ci “small-block” of 1968 was derived from the earlier 389ci V8, but with a smaller 3.87-inch bore (versus the 389’s 4.06-inch bore).

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When looking at the cost-versuspower problem through Pontiac glasses, it clearly pays to go big since the cost to build any Pontiac V8 is essentially the same. Pontiac fans should note that at around the 600hp mark, Pontiac blocks develop a tendency to crack down the valley and require additional measures to provide reliable support in this fatigue-prone area. Pontiac engine builds are well-supported by the tightly-knit but sometimes fractious Pontiac aftermarket community, and include Nitemare Performance, Tin Indian Performance, SD Performance, and Butler Performance. So, who wins the big-block Pontiac vs. small-block Pontiac battle? It’s the mack daddy 455ci big-block, but you can always call it a stroked and poked 326 small-block if you like!

Big-block Olds vs. Small-block Olds By 1964, on the eve of the muscle car revolution, Oldsmobile’s groundbreaking OHV V8 “Rocket” design of 1949 was long in the tooth and ripe for redesign. Like Pontiac’s V8, Oldsmobile V8s would share some elements such as bore center spacing QBig-block Oldsmobile and deck height between its engines, but because Oldsmobile elected to use two different deck heights instead of one, it meant designing and manufacturing different cylinder heads and intake manifolds for small-block and big-block versions. This was further complicated by a change in big-block cylinder cases in its 400ci “big-block” in 1968. As a result, building any form of performance Oldsmobile V8 from the era requires a master’s degree in Oldsmobile history from the university of hard knocks.

options available for truly high-flowing cylinder heads, your money is better spent on the small-block Olds, as the big-block (tall-deck) Olds hits a point of diminishing returns cost-wise much more quickly. Oldsmobile small-block bonus: In 1977, Olds increased the size of the low-deck small-block Olds to 403ci by giving it a fun-sized 4.351-inch bore, then put it under the hoods of Pontiacs and Buicks from 1977 until 1979. Engine:

Bore: 4.00 in. 4.25 in. 3.80 in. 4.31 in. 4.06 in.

Intake Valve: 1.94 in. 2.06 in. 1.88 in. 2.00 in. 1.88 in.

350ci small-block Chevy 454ci big-block Chevy 350ci “small-block” Buick 455ci “big-block” Buick 350ci “small-block” Oldsmobile 455ci “big-block” Oldsmobile 350ci “small-block” Pontiac 455ci “big-block” Pontiac 351ci Ford small-block Windsor 351ci Ford small-block 2V Cleveland 428ci Ford big-block Cobra Jet FE 460ci Ford big-block 385-series “Lima” 360ci Chrysler smallblock LA-Series 440ci Chrysler big-block Wedge

Stroke: 3.48 in. 4.00 in. 3.85 in. 3.90 in. 3.38 in.

Deck Height: 9.02 in. 9.80 in. 10.19 in. 10.57 in. 9.33 in.

Weight: 535-575 lbs. 685 lbs. 450 lbs. 600 lbs. 500-560 lbs.

4.13 in.

2.07 in.

4.25 in. 10.62 in.

605-620 lbs.

3.87 in.

1.94 in.

3.75 in. 10.25 in.

590 lbs.

4.15 in. 4.00 in.

2.11 in. 1.84 in.

4.21 in. 10.25 in. 3.50 in. 9.50 in.

650 lbs. 510 lbs.

4.00 in.

2.04 in.

3.50 in. 9.20 in.

550 lbs.

4.13 in.

2.09 in.

3.98 in. 10.17 in.

650 lbs.

4.36 in.

2.09 in.

3.86 in. 10.32 in.

640 lbs.

4.00 in.

1.88 in.

3.58 in. 9.60 in.

550 lbs.

4.32 in.

2.08 in.

3.75 in. 10.72 in.

670 lbs.

Small-block vs. Big-block Specs* *With apologies to AMC and Cadillac fans, this list is not a comprehensive inventory of all big-block or small-block engines of the muscle car era, but rather of the largest and/or most common versions of each engine family. GM smallblocks are arbitrarily limited to 350ci to make the list more manageable. Weight of engines in stock configuration is approximate.

QFor many years, the big-block Chevy and the small-block Clevelandheaded Ford Windsor were the top contenders at the Amsoil Engine Masters Challenge. QOldsmobile 350ci small-block

GM vs. The World

Helping Oldsmobile fans figure things out is a full-time job for a growing number of Oldsmobile-specific engine builders and parts manufacturers. You can bypass your graduate degree from the school of hard knocks by employing the brainpower of several Doctors of Oldsmobile-ology in the form of Mondello Performance Products, Dick Miller Racing, Rocket Racing and Performance, Supercars Unlimited, Olds Rocket Parts, and this author’s personal favorite, BTR Performance. So, what engine do we like in the Olds ranks: big-block or smallblock? With its oversquare bore and the potential to fit much larger valves, plus its light weight, the small-block Oldsmobile is our favorite of the two. With few

So far, GM has hogged the spotlight, but the giant hook is about to make an appearance from stage left and pull the warm-up act off stage. Ford and Chrysler were not taking things lightly during the muscle car era, and as sales-volume underdogs, they had nothing to lose. Both Ford and Chrysler developed limitedproduction, Hemi-headed big-blocks (at Ford, the FE-based over-the-counter SOHC 427 and the 385-series derived Boss 429; at Chrysler the 426ci Hemi), but these were largely out of reach for the average person, and today would require significant amounts of discretionary income to own. For this reason, we only considered the common engine variants in our big-block vs. small-block debate.

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Lightness vs. Power The 1960s saw the predominant use of cast iron in cylinder cases, cylinder heads, and intake manifolds. Inexpensive and strong, cast iron was used almost exclusively, whereas today, aluminum alloy and lightweight thermoplastics comprise a significant number of engine components in newer engine families. Then as now, power demands QAll-aluminum 454ci small-block strength, and strength adds mass—the Ford Windsor with TFS heads and biggest difference being that back in 730 hp. the 1960s, if you wanted strength, it came with a bigger weight penalty. Without considerations for inter-brand rivalry, Ford and Chrysler big-blocks were able to leapfrog GM’s big-blocks simply by making them bigger in the areas that counted the most: bore diameter and deck height.

winning races as they tend to do. On the small-block end of things, the 5-liter Fox-body Mustang kept the short-deck (8.2-inch deck height) 302ci Windsor small-block on the boil through the 1994 model year, which had a knock-on effect on its larger 351ci small-block Windsor sibling available in half-ton F-150 trucks. Early on, the airflow necessary to support big power numbers in a small-block Ford came from another Ford small-block, the 351ci Cleveland, which only lived for five years between 1970 and 1974. In recent years, however, canted-valve race versions of small-block Windsor heads (AFR, Edelbrock, Dart) have leveled with the flow advantage of a Cleveland-style head.

The Cleveland Connection

QEdelbrock’s contemporary SC-1 small-block Ford head with Yates-style chambers and ports.

QFord 429ci Cobra Jet 385-series big-block circa 1971.

Given the contemporary state of development in 1960s-era airflow technology, the extra internal real estate of the Ford and Chrysler big-blocks didn’t pay that big a dividend at the time; it would take the aftermarket to take real advantage. In recent decades the Ford 385-series “Lima” big-block (429/460ci) and B/RB-series Chrysler Wedge (383/400/440ci) have seen high adoption rates by aftermarket manufacturers and engine builders to the point where they are at cost-per-hp parity with the big-block Chevy up to around 800 hp. Moreover, with a new wave of alloy aluminum blocks, cylinder heads, and intake manifolds (particularly engine blocks), the Ford and Mopar big-blocks can be built to flyweight specs at well over 1,000 hp. In comparing small-block Fords to big-block Fords, and smallblock Mopars to big-block Mopars, aftermarket developments have turned the tide in some interesting ways. Let’s take a closer look.

The Battle of Ford V8s Once a production engine’s useful life to the OEM is over, it gets put out to pasture. As sad as that is, there’s no room for sentimentality in the boardroom no matter the brand. With Ford, however, the groundswell of support from gearheads and racers was so great that the aftermarket rescued both the smallblock Windsor and the big-block 385-series Ford before they had any time to wither away. In the Ford camp, the rivalry is hot and heavy, with racers seemingly limited only by the cash on hand—far less of a problem when you keep

Way back at the top, we told you about the importance of the intake valve, in many ways more important than the displacement volume itself. When Ford designed the Cleveland small-block, it was a concession of sorts to get big-block power out of a small-block-sized package. In practice, on a daily-driven car, the Cleveland V8 had ports that were too large to promote good drivability and low emissions, but for performance, it couldn’t be beat. Moreover, so similar were the Windsor and Cleveland that Cleveland-style heads could be adapted to Windsor engines with minimal frustration (note: Don’t try this unless you know what you’re doing!). This is exactly what led to Ford’s dominance in the NASCAR circuit during the 1980s—Cleveland-style ports and chambers on Windsor-based blocks. In this regard, if the story were Ford small-block vs. Chevy small-block, the Clevelandstyle head on a small-block Windsor would pummel an SBC with ordinary aftermarket heads (canted-valve SB2 excluded), because as far as the air and fuel is concerned, the Cleveland-headed Windsor is a big-block. Today, Cleveland-style Windsor heads based roughly on the Yates NASCAR model are available along with high-flow Windsor heads, and you’ll find small-block Fords of this ilk in contention at nearly every major big-money, heads-up drag race or engine-building competition.

The Super Cobra Jet Connection

QJon Kaase Racing P-51 big-block Ford 460 head.

QThe 438ci “Clevor” Ford small-block Windsor with Cleveland-style heads.

Were this the only surprise in Ford’s bag, we could stop right here and claim the small-block Ford the victor over the big-block Ford, but history had other plans. In full anticipation of the next round of the muscle car power wars, Ford laid the groundwork for the 1970s with the 385-series big-block, the successor to the aging Ford-Edsel (FE) line of big-blocks. When the Super Cobra Jet 429 landed in 1969, it was already a technical generation ahead of the Chevy 454 that would come the

HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER 63

WRENCHIN’ @ RANDOM following year. With huge bores on giant bore centers, a vertiginous deck height, and a high cam tunnel for a he-man-sized stroke, it was ready-made for what never came from the factory: a proper set of cylinder heads. Though the Super Cobra Jet head was adequate for the street at the time, it needed help. That help eventually came years later, thanks to Jon Kaase and his company, Jon Kaase Racing Engines. Kaase, in fact, did the original work for Ford Racing in the early years getting the Super Cobra Jet head right, further developing it after that tenure. In the modern era, besides JKRE, the big-block 385-series Ford is supported by serious competition-oriented cylinder

273ci unit. It was loosely based on Chrysler’s earlier ’50s-era “A” engine, but was trimmed down for its new role as a lightweight, thin-wall cast small-block. The 273ci was joined in 1968 by 318- and 340ci versions, which retained the 273’s 3.31-inch stroke but increased the bore from 3.625 inches to 3.91 inches (318ci) and 4.04 inches (340ci). In 1971, the stroke increased to 3.58 inches with a 4-inch bore to produce the 360ci LA-series small-block. In the breathing department, the LA-series small-block is well supported by Brodix, Edelbrock, Speedmaster, Indy Cylinder Head, and in prior years by Mopar Direct Connection with its race-only W-2 cylinder head. In framing the battle of small-block Chrysler vs. big-block Chrysler, we must consider the strength of the aftermarket, the number of fans wanting to build them, and the number of available engine cores. In this regard, the LA-series Chrysler small-block (as well as its successor, the Magnum series 5.2/5.9-liter) is a popular low-cost choice for a pump-gas-friendly stroker, and Chrysler small-block crate engines are also common.

In This Corner: The Big-block Chrysler QAFR’s next-generation Bullitt cylinder head for the Ford 429/460, 385-series big-blocks.

heads and intake manifolds from AFR, Ford Performance, and Trick Flow Specialties. When it comes to making over 800 hp with a stock truck block, you won’t be doing it with a big-block Chevy, but you can with a Ford 460. The good news is, for naturally-aspirated power levels up to around 850 hp (thanks to the hard work of a few companies), the stroked big-block Ford 429/460 has similar cost-per-hp to a production-based big-block Chevy or big-block Chrysler 440 Wedge.

Big-block Ford vs. Small-block Ford Once Ford performance got yanked off the OE assembly line and put into the care of racers, the Ford camp would flourish in the wake of guys like Glidden, Roush, Elliot, Nicholson, and Yates. Choosing the victor in a big-block Ford vs. small-block Ford battle is hard because either is going to produce the desired result at a price the average enthusiast can still manage. Big- and small-block Fords may not be littering the ground like LS engines, QJon Kaase-built but there are enough for them to be a commodity in a buyer’s market and built out at a price competitive with Ford 460ci big-block crate engine. similar small-block and big-block Chevys. In this instance, big-block Ford vs. small-block Ford is a tie in horsepower-per-dollar terms.

In This Corner: The Small-block Chrysler The LA-series engine first appeared in 1964 model year Chrysler cars as a

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While most of the engines in our story have wedge-shaped combustion chambers, only the Chrysler big-block is called out as a Wedge. Why? This has been done editorially for years to eliminate confusion; when the 350ci big-block Wedge came out in 1958, it replaced three lines of hemi-headed engines: the Chrysler FirePower, Desoto FireDome, and Dodge Red Ram. Beginning in 1958, there were successively larger versions of the Chrysler big-block Wedge, first as low-deck B variants with a 9.98-inch deck height (350ci, 361ci, 383ci, and 400ci) then with RB versions (383ci, 413ci, 426ci, and 440ci), all having a behemoth 10.72-inch deck height. Mopar followers differentiate the Wedge’s deck height as “B” (9.98 inches) and “RB” (10.72 inches) to further clarify the engine type (both were made concurrently). There were also B and RB versions of the 383ci, plus 426ci versions of the Hemi and the RB Wedge. The only good part about the Chrysler big-block confusion is that, unlike Oldsmobile or Buick, it causes little consternation with identifying and procuring induction components such as cylinder heads. The history lesson allows us to better understand why the Mopar Wedge is still so popular today; there are a lot of Wedge big-blocks around because they were made for over two decades. Despite the dizzying array of sizes, there is commonality and progress in the most important area: cylinder heads. In this department, there are plenty of manufacturers making cylinder heads for big-block Chryslers, such as Edelbrock, Indy Cylinder Head, 440Source.com, Trick Flow Specialties, Speedmaster, Brodix, and ProMaxx. What’s drawing them to the Chrysler 440? The big-block Chrysler is like the Ford 460 big-block in that it has so much room to put big-stroke cranks and big bores. Both are oversquare designs, meaning their bore diameter exceeds their stroke, allowing valves to effectively feed giant

Who’s the Ultimate Winner of the 20th-century V8s?

bores. This does several nice things, like managing the stroke for easier balancing and less rod angularity (which leads to wear). With the Chrysler big-block, the 10.72-inch deck height gives the piston a lot of compression height (the crownto-wristpin distance), a must for big strokes and solid reliability. Thanks to the B/ RB block’s inherent strength and aftermarket induction support, the big-block Chrysler can be built to a magnificent size at a reasonable price.

QChevrolet Performance’s 632ci 1,000hp big-block Chevy crate engine.

At the end of the day, there’s no denying the might of the big-block Chevy. As we said, the number of classic Chevys, the preponderance of big-block Chevy cores, the number of Chevy fans, the enthusiastic number of manufacturers providing parts, the number of Chevy-specific races, the number of engine builders, and the extensive amount of time in aftermarket development (over a halfcentury) means that no amount of inherent technical superiority by other brands can overcome the big-block Chevy’s advantage. Like we said, the aftermarket has a say, and it has spoken. Of course, the premise was to declare a winner of 20thcentury V8s; ultimately, in the 21st century, the big-block Chevy bows to the LS on a hp-per-dollar basis.

Bonus: How to ID Different GM 350ci Small-block Engines!

Big-block Chrysler vs. Small-block Chrysler For those living in the Mopar world, big-block vs. small-block is less like a debate and more like a mutual support society; budget-minded Chrysler fans enjoy a number of choices for stock and stroker-displacement options in the small-block ranks, with 408ci stroked Magnum-series small-blocks proving to be a popular low-cost choice for compact A-Body cars (Duster, Dart, early Barracuda, Valiant). In the 21st century, the small-block Mopar is near competitive parity with production-based Ford and Chevy small-blocks on a cost-per-hp basis up to around 500 hp, thanks to the many vendors offering upgraded breathing components. But when it comes to making really big power without shelling out for a Hemi, the Chrysler big-block wedge is the cost-effective go-to item for Mopar racers wanting the win light down the stretch. In one sad note, one of the most promising cylinder heads for small-block Chrysler Magnum engines—the hi-po version of EngineQuest’s CH318A/B—is no longer being manufactured, making the small-block Magnum one of the few engine families to move backwards.

Buick: Front-mount distributor with LH offset tilted 30 degrees into timing cover, six-bolt valve covers, aluminum timing chain cover with oil pump, LH fuel pump mount, RH starter mount. Chevy: Rear-mount distributor goes through the intake manifold, four-bolt valve covers (perimeter bolts through ’85, center bolts ’86-andup), RH fuel pump mount, RH starter mount. Olds: Rear-mount distributor goes into block (slightly offset to LH side), inverted fuel pump mounts on RH side (fuel lines connect to the top of the pump), front vertical oil-filler tube into timing cover, 10-bolt valve covers (later covers may only use five bolts), LH starter mount, 12 inches between the heads at the base of the intake manifold (on a big-block Olds, it’s 14 inches). Pontiac: Rear-mount distributor goes into the block (slightly offset to RH side) and rotates counterclockwise, LH fuel pump mount, air gap under intake with separate valley cover, four-bolt valve covers, LH starter mount.

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BEAST IN THE BARN This early Chrysler Hemi is hidden from civilization and ready for a rebuild. TOMMY LEE BYRD ❱The allure of the “barn find” has lost some of its luster over the past decade or so. It seems that every dusty car suddenly wears the moniker as a badge of honor and perceived value. As hot rodders, it’s easy to read between the lines and debunk the pretenders, but occasionally, a hidden treasure is legitimately found in a barn. In the case of this behemoth of an engine, it’s one of several remaining automotive artifacts in the Jim Smith estate, and it’s sitting in the dirt beneath the tin roof of a barn that has been standing far longer than hemispherical combustion chambers have existed. Although Jim passed away several years ago, we recently had the opportunity to visit his place and scope out some of the long-forgotten relics in the woods. Among those relics are a trio of first-generation Dodge Chargers, a 1957 Chevy two-door hardtop, and several other rusted hulks that have surrendered to nature’s corrosive tendencies. While many of those cars are no longer salvageable, there is still a piece of Jim’s legacy that has been protected for many years. A complete Hemi engine sits in the barn, as a quiet reminder of Jim’s louder days in the

drag racing world. If Jim had stuck with racing just a few more months, this engine would’ve likely ended up in his home-built dragster and would’ve had a mixture of alcohol and nitromethane running through its veins. Yet, here it sits, hidden from civilization nearly 60 years after Jim purchased it. As we drooled over the engine, curiosity got the best of us, so we wanted to find out some history on this abandoned elephant. We found information at Hot Heads Research & Racing (www.hothemiheads.com) that gave us the exact location of the

QAlthough the barn is not an elaborate structure, it has been standing for quite a while. It’s packed with old car parts and a crusty, yet complete Hemi engine is the center piece.

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engine numbers, as well as a listing of the available Desoto, Dodge, and Chrysler Hemi engines produced from 1951 through 1958. There were a dozen different Hemi engines produced during that period, so it can get a little confusing when it comes time to identify an engine like this example. Hemi engines were also used in marine and industrial applications, which are not listed in the table of engine numbers and horsepower ratings.

As a general rule of thumb, early Hemi engines have the distributor in the rear, as opposed to the 1960s revision which featured a front-mounted distributor kicked over at an angle. The Dodge and Desoto Hemi engines are smaller in physical size and displacement in most cases. The smallest Hemi, the Dodge 241ci variety, only made 140 horsepower, but weighed 140 pounds less than the 392, due to its much smaller size. Although weight

was a natural disadvantage of the larger Hemi engines, the horsepower capabilities made up for the physical size and weight. Both Dodge and Desoto had highperformance, dual-quad versions of the Hemi cranking out more than 300 horsepower, but Chrysler was the choice for hot rodders with its fouryear run of high horsepower Hemis with dual quads. By 1957, even the single four-barrel engines were cranking out well over 300 horsepower.

One of the obvious traits of the 331ci Chrysler Hemi engines built from 1951 through 1954 is a bellhousing cast into the block, whereas other Hemi applications had a more conventional bolt-on bellhousing. When differentiating the 354ci and 392ci Chrysler Hemi engines from 1956 through 1958, it comes down to the numbers. External differences are not immediately obvious to the naked eye, but the numbers tell the tale. After wiping off decades of barn dust from the front

of the block, we shined a flashlight behind the water pump to see if we could make out the engine numbers. The prefix on this engine is NE57 and is followed by a series of numbers. The NE57 tells us that it’s a 1957 Chrysler 392ci engine, and the block could’ve been used for the 325hp four-barrel configuration or the holy grail 375hp dual-quad setup. Since the engine appears to be in stock form, we can safely assume that this is a 325hp engine. With only

QThe Chrysler Firepower Hemi engine is a hot rod legend, especially the 392ci configuration built in 1957 and 1958. This one has seen better days and has lived under the roof of a barn for decades. We’re going to go over the early Hemi details and decode the engine stampings to determine this engine’s original configuration.

Source Hot Heads Research & Racing Inc; 336.352.4866; www.hothemiheads.com

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9.25:1 compression and a very mild valvetrain, this engine has tremendous potential with a matched combination of components. Of course, that inspired some thoughts about what could’ve been had this engine continued on Jim’s desired path. He would’ve likely installed a set of custom pistons to raise the compression ratio, sent off the camshaft to have it re-ground to a more aggressive profile, and ported the cylinder heads to prepare it for a heavy load of nitromethane. But in the modern hot rod world there are so many more options to give this engine great horsepower with off-the-shelf parts. That’s where Hot Heads Research & Racing comes into the picture. If we were to build this barn find 392ci Hemi, the wish list at Hot Heads would be quite lengthy. We’d start with a Hot Heads rebuild kit (PN 10105) which bumps compression up to 10.0:1 and includes moly rings, high-volume oil pump, double roller timing set, and a performance camshaft of our choosing. The rebuild kit also includes the necessary bearings, gaskets, bushings, and plugs to completely refurbish the engine. As for the camshaft, we’d probably go with hydraulic lifters and Hot Heads’ PN 23004.392, which features 0.485-inch valve lift, 232 degrees of duration at 0.050-inch lift and a 108-degree lobe separation angle. Hot Heads also offers camshafts with a wider 112-degree lobe separation angle for supercharged applications. The stock 392 cylinder heads feature 2.00-inch intake valves and 1.75-inch exhaust valves, but Hot Heads reports that the earlier 331 and 354 cylinder heads flow better, despite the smaller factory intake valve size.

QThere are other Mopar engines in the barn, but the Hemi is the one that got our attention. We moved a few items out of the way to get a clear view of this legendary engine. Jim Smith intended to use this engine in his front-engine dragster in the 1960s, but the idea never came to fruition.

QThe easiest way to narrow down the origins of an early Hemi is the branding on the valve covers. Although the Dodge, Desoto and Chrysler Hemi engines feature a six-bolt design, the valve covers are physically different sizes. The Dodge was named Red Ram and the Desoto was called Firedome, while the Chrysler featured the famous Fire Power branding.

QAnother obvious item that confirms this is an early Hemi and not the second-generation Hemi that came out in 1964. It has a distributor in the rear of the engine in an upright position. Hot Heads offers many options for upgraded ignition systems, including conversion kits to use Chevrolet electronic distributors.

QChrysler’s earliest rendition of the Hemi was the 331ci configuration, which had the bellhousing cast into the block. As you can see with the barn find engine, the bellhousing is a separate unit. That narrows this example down to a 1955 331ci engine, a 1956 354ci engine or a 1957-1958 392ci engine.

QThe single four-barrel carburetor tells us that this isn’t one of Chrysler’s high-performance engines, like the dual quad engines found in the famous 300 “letter series” cars. This could still be a solid performer though, and deserves a proper rebuild.

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If we wanted to get really serious, we could go with Hot Heads most famous product: aluminum cylinder heads. Hot Heads started the CAD design with the favorable 1955 raised-port design, and then improved it with rectangular exhaust ports for even better flow. From there, hardened valve seats and larger 2.0625inch intake valves are installed. Many other improvements have been made to give you plenty of options for aftermarket pushrods and valve springs. Hot Heads offers them in bare and assembled configurations for use on Chrysler Hemi engines, including the 331, 354, and 392. The aluminum cylinder heads not only open the door for more horsepower, but they also reduce weight drastically. Hot Heads also offers various stages of custom porting, allowing these heads to flow up to 367cfm at 0.600 on the intake side and 259 cfm at 0.600 on the exhaust. Straight out of the box, the aluminum Hot Heads cylinder heads flow approximately 30 cfm higher than stock heads. Hot Heads covers all the bases when it comes to stock rebuilds, mild street engines, or racing engines, with a wide variety of parts and decades of hands-on experience. If you get your hands on an early Hemi engine like this incredible barn find, Hot Heads should be your first call for all the advice and parts you’ll need to put your Hemi back on the street or the track. Let’s hope that someday Jim’s old 392 can see some action again, but for now, it’s still sleeping peacefully in the barn. QThe outward appearance of the cylinder head is quite telling on early Chrysler Hemi engines. The 331 had no water passages for the crossover. The 354 had water passages with no other casting bosses or markings. The 392’s water passages moved closer to the deck surface and have two raised bosses on the ends of the cylinder heads.

QAfter some research on the Hot Heads website, we realized that identifying this engine was fairly simple. Beneath the water crossover was a flat surface on the front of the block where we could find the engine numbers.

QWe wiped away years of barn dust and a little bit of oil sludge to find the numbers. Here we see a prefix of NE57, telling us this is a 1957 Chrysler 392ci Hemi engine. The other stamped numbers are just a serial number.

QWith our newfound Hemi knowledge we found another early engine to identify. This one immediately stands out because of the bolt-on bellhousing, raised water passages and smooth cylinder heads. Is it a 354? Let’s look at the numbers. Directly in front of the valley cover is a series of letters and numbers that tell us exactly where this engine originated. The NE56 prefix tells us that this is, in fact, a 354ci Hemi, which came from a 1956 Chrysler New Yorker and made 280 horsepower.

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Sources Bondo Products; 3m.com/en_US/bondo Eastwood; 800.343.9353; eastwood.com Evercoat; 513.489.7600; evercoat.com Paintucation; 931.388.3531; paintucation.com Summit Racing; 800.230.3030; summitracing.com 70 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

TEN THINGS I’VE LEARNED AFTER 20 YEARS WORKING IN AUTOBODY REPAIR Automotive Painter and Autobody Technician (plus writer and TV host) Kevin Tetz offers his top 10 lessons gleaned from many years of working in the field.

KEVIN TETZ ❱Doing your own bodywork on a project is one of those hoodoo-voodoo subjects that polarizes people: to some, it’s wiring, some it’s EFI and programming. Everyone has their jam, and for me, it’s paint and body. One of the things I love is the fact that the autobody repair industry is constantly improving and evolving, mostly due to innovations in collision repair that eventually make their way over to the restoration and custom side. As an instructor, I see the need for more training and education as new techniques and products come along, and it’s very inspiring knowing that, with a few tips, we can nudge someone on their way to a more successful experience either fixing their daily driver or doing better on their restoration or custom paint & body job. Here’s a few things about the autobody industry that stand out as marked improvements that have a huge benefit to the DIY guys.

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There’s long been a debate over what fits better, aftermarket or OE replacement sheetmetal. I’m just gonna come right out and state that aftermarket parts are much better than they used to be! Sheetmetal manufacturers have seriously stepped up their game when it comes to making quality parts that fit pretty darn well. Companies like AMD and LMC Truck have worked with their own foundries and manufacturers to recreate dies and stampings that faithfully reproduce replacement parts. Not only do the parts fit much better than they used to, but the primer coating on them matches OE quality in most cases. The “E-Coat” (electrodeposition primer) equals or exceeds the quality of the OE coatings, and contrary to a lot of social media lore, does not need to be stripped off because it can’t be trusted. Quality control has improved across the board due to competition and new high standards set by manufacturers. Bottom line: Aftermarket sheet metal is as good as OE in many cases.

Bondo is a trade name for the first brand of polyester body filler, even though it’s now generically used as a verb to describe the use of body filler in a repair. Evercoat has led the way in innovations with their new Optex line of colorchanging fillers that indicate different stages of crosslink and readiness. The new filler mixes with a proprietary catalyst and turns a pale pink color when it’s in a liquid paste state. As the catalyst crosslinks (cures), it changes to a green hue, letting the user know exactly when it’s ready to sand instead of having to constantly wait, guess, and poke and prod the filler pool until you’re pretty sure it’s ready to work. Evercoat has also changed the adhesion properties so that it’s now direct to metal (DTM) on all substrates, including galvanized metals and aluminum.

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3 Evercoat’s polyester spray-filler has been around for decades, but it’s much more sophisticated and easier to use these days. Their Optex 4:1 DTM super build polyester spray filler has almost 70% solids, can build up to 5 mills per coat, and is super easy to mix with its 4 to 1 catalyst instead of measuring out drops of MEKP liquid (fiberglass hardener). Optex Polyester makes it much easier to block-sand a panel super straight, and it no longer requires a ground coat of epoxy for adhesion on multiple metals and surfaces.

4 Acid Etch primer is old technology, and etching primers can lead to adhesion problems and incompatibility between layers of bodywork.

5 Dry powdered guide coat is now a staple in most shops due to the trend toward dry autobody repair rather than wet-sanding. The guide coats are rubbed into the sanding scratches and show when the panel is straightened or when the coarser scratches are sanded out, without removing excessive materials. This is a time-saving method that is (or should be) industry standard in every shop!

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Panel bonding adhesive (PBA) is now the norm in most collision shops and many manufactures. Structural adhesives are incredibly versatile and give us tons of options for typical repairs, as well as many custom options, since with a PBS we can bond dissimilar substrates together permanently. . .try mig-welding a heat extractor duct to your aluminum hood! You can bond it with a half dozen options for speed, set time, and size of your repair.

I always recommend buying the best paint, materials, and tools that you can afford at the time, but I realize that you have to start somewhere. Companies like Eastwood and Summit Racing have introduced pre-bundled kits that get you started with everything you’ll need to do a repair, and save you from forgetting important components and even necessary safety gear.

7 8 Paintless dent repair (PDR) has become industry standard, especially on late model collision-repair procedures. Any time you can avoid breaking through the paint coating on a panel you save a lot of repair time and material costs. Paint materials are much more expensive than ever before, so it’s not uncommon for a PDR strategy of pushing or pulling dents out with rods and pry tools, or even glue guns and leverage be tried before conventional collision repair techniques are used.

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9 Technical data sheets (TDS) are the manufacturers bible when it comes to instructions and recommended procedures. TDS guides are available for every product in the shop and give important information on everything from application to drying times, and even troubleshooting. Take the time to find the TDS on your products before you use them and have them on hand when you’re in the shop working.

10 YouTube is an incredible resource if you have time to go down the rabbit hole of sifting out what is accurate and what is not. Sometimes it’s just a video of all the wrong things to do! Companies like Paintucation (www.paintucation.com) have been around for more than 20 years and offer technical online training in repair and refinish disciplines. The newest “Paintucation University” courses feature online trade-school styled learning that offer tests and even certifications upon completion.

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FOUR-DAY HEADERS When off-the-shelf won’t do, consider a set of custom-made headers. ❱There are hundreds of off-the-shelf headers in the aftermarket, but every once in a while, a project comes along that needs a special, handbuilt set that are not available over-the-counter. Case in point is Larry Jacinto’s 750hp, 454-powered 1971 EL Camino being built at the Veazie Bros. hot rod shop in Pomona, California. There was just nothing available that fit the bill, cleared the steering shaft, as well as other components, and nothing that really had the look they wanted. The only option left was a set of custom-built, stainless-steel headers. Evin and Justin Veazie contacted Jeff Johnson of Accurate Mobile Welding, in Upland, California. Jeff, a certified and licensed welder, can and does handle any welding task. He has been doing this for more than 32 years, and his specialty is building beautiful, custom headers. After discussions with Jeff, the Veazies ordered up a stash of header parts from SPD Exhaust, in Rancho Cordova, California. The list included header flanges with a 4.84-inch bore center (flanges with a 5-inch bore center are also available), a stash of 16-gauge,

1-7⁄8-inch diameter U-bends, a couple of collectors, and a couple of VBK flanges—the latter V-band clamps offer maximum sealing. Before any work was done, the parts were sent out for polishing. Jeff arrived with the smallest, emptiest bag of tools I have ever seen—just a hammer, a pipe cutter, and a tape measure. Notwithstanding his small bag of tricks, Jeff does amazing work. Despite a false start trying to beat the pipes into a D-shape to fit the flanges, Jeff changed his approach and was soon on a roll. Within just four days, he pretty

TONY THACKER

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much had the headers completely fabbedup, and they were sent out for final polishing. After the polishing was complete, Jeff moved on to the exhaust system. It was made from 3-inch, 304 stainless. The 304 alloy was chosen because it is more resilient to corrosion than, say, 303 stainless. Obviously, with the time spent back and forth to the polisher, the process takes more than four days, but that was the actual fab time. If you’re looking for a set of stunning, one-off headers then this might just be the way to go.

01 Larry Jacinto’s ’71 ElCo is seen here in process with a mockup big-block Chevy and a new but as-yet unfinished firewall fabbed by Janne Forsvik. At this point, there was nothing in the way of the header route. But wait…

Sources Jeff Johnson; AMWelding@verizon.net Specialty Products Design (SPD); 888.778.3312; spdexhaust.com Veazie Bros. Fabrication; @veaziebrosfab

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05 02 Here, the 750hp aluminum-headed 454 built by Ray Zeller had been installed, and space for headers had shrunk due to the placement of the steering shaft, master cylinder, and oil filter. 03 On the passenger side, it was the same story. Here, the APS starter motor and engine oil dipstick are in the way. It’s not as bad as the driver side though.

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04 A stash of exhaust items including U-bends, collectors, header flanges, and VBK flanges were ordered from SPD Exhaust and promptly

sent out for pre-polishing. These parts would be polished again after assembly. 05 I’ve heard of traveling light, but Jeff arrived with the smallest bag of tools I’ve ever seen. He brought just a hammer, tape measure, and pipe cutter. It doesn’t detract from his quality of work though. 06 Unexpectedly, Jeff began by positioning the collectors using jack stands. There wasn’t much room, so their placement was critical. Note the use of protective material to prevent the collectors from being scratched.

07 You can see clearly how tight the space was, given the location of the steering shaft and the oil filter. Before he did anything else, Jeff positioned the collectors and contemplated the tubing layout. 08 The passenger side was only somewhat better, even with a mini-starter and the dipstick to contend with. Jeff wanted as close to a mirror image as possible, so careful planning was necessary. 09 Jeff next installed the polished stainless D-port header flanges.

Something important to consider here is the flange bolts. You must, of course, be able to reach and get a wrench to them.

10 With the flange bolted on, Jeff held up a couple of tubes just to see how things might look. Experience and having an eye for this is how you get it right with minimal reworking and scrap. 11 Jeff began by forming the ends of the 304 stainless pipes into the D-shape of the hole in the header flange, but that proved to be very difficult. There had to be an easier solution.

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13 12 Rather than beat the tube into submission, Jeff decided to cut small slices of tube that could be more easily formed into the D-shape. This proved to be the simple answer to shaping the ends of the tubes. 13 Here, you can see how the small slice of pipe was formed into a D and welded to the end of the pipe. When it’s all welded and polished the joint will be invisible but this little trick saved hours of beating.

14 Eventually, Jeff was happy with the first piece of pipe that angled down and back

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toward the block and behind the steering shaft. It proved to be a good place to start. 15 With the layout coming together, Jeff was able to tack more lengths of pipe together to take the first tube down to the collector. It was a lot of trial and error and trial fitting to get it right. Patience is the key. 16 At the other end, you can see how the first pipe aligned with the collector and was tacked into position. At this point, everything was only tacked because adjustments were necessary as the work progressed.

17 17 The same process was then repeated on the passenger side. Notice how Jeff used lengths of pipe to affect his mockup before cutting and tacking each section into position. 18 Once he was happy with the way the pipe flowed down to the collector, he generously tacked all the pieces of pipe together. These pipes were coming on and off and needed to not fall apart. 19 With the first pipe on both sides more or less in the correct position, Jeff began on the second pipe of the driver side. As you can

see, things will start to get crowded soon. 20 Likewise on the passenger side, Jeff moved his attention rearward and positioned pipes two and three. You can see that this is all trial and error. 21 On the bench you can see how the jigsaw puzzle comes together, and after an enormous amount of jiggery, pokery, trial fitting, and tacking Jeff had the makings of the passenger-side header. Sure, there are plenty of cuts and shuts, but when it’s all welded and polished there’ll be a smooth set of pipes.

19 20

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22 Of course, as he moved along Jeff had to constantly check that the headers could be installed and removed. It’s not much good to have them finished, only to find out they can’t be installed. 23 Installed on the engine, you can see that the first three pipes on the driver side are pretty well set, only the fourth pipe is still in process. It’s certainly a jigsaw puzzle to make 12-feet of pipe fit in such a small space. 24 For final welding, Jeff back-purged the pipe, filling it with

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Argon to prevent contamination of the weld from the inside. The steel wool regulated how fast the Argon escaped. 25 After the finish welding was complete, Jeff cleaned up all the welds and repaired any little blemishes he may have missed. The headers were then sent out for a final polishing. 26 Part of the cleanup process was to fit the primary tube to the exact shape of the flange. This was an easier task now that the pipe had been welded on the outside.

28 27 After forming the tubes to fit the flange, Jeff neatly welded them together on the inside. Note: This is prior to any clean up of the flange. 28 Viewed from underneath, you can see just how tight the space was that Jeff had to work

within. Nevertheless, he made a beautiful job of the installation. 29 The full system, complete with x-pipe, is still in process under Larry Jacinto’s ’71 El Camino at the Veazie Bros. hot rod shop in Pomona, California.

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1,200 HP FOR UNDER $3,500 How to build a 1,200-hp-capable 392ci Hemi short-block that won’t break the bank.

❱Hot rodders are at a crossroads of sorts. New performance machinery from the factory is not only getting a lot more powerful, but also mighty expensive too. Folks with well-endowed wallets are gobbling up Detroit’s latest 500-, 600-, 700-, and 800-horsepower machines with gusto, leaving the regular-guy, DIY hot rodder on the side of the road playing catch-up. And it’s only going to get worse as the inevitable flood of uber-powerful EVs hit the road en masse. For those with gasoline in their veins, like it or not, the bar for what’s considered fast is now a lot higher. Mopar fans, however, are fortunate to have in their corner the third-generation Hemi, a powerplant that’s been in production for 20 years now.

JOHNNY HUNKINS

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With our BGE 392 Hemi core checking out good with IMM, we got in touch with the third-gen Hemi experts at Modern Muscle Xtreme (MMX). Inspection revealed we’d need an overbore, and after consultation with MMX’s head engine-builder, Byron Walker, we selected a drop-in piston/rod upgrade that would work with our stock forged 392 crankshaft and BGE 392 block. Comprised of full-floating 2618 forged pistons from Mahle and forged H-beam rods from Molnar Technologies, our MMX drop-in, no-balance power package combo spec’d out at a 9.7:1 compression ratio. Ideally, customers will want to optimize the compression ratio for either a naturally aspirated configuration (between 10.5:1 and 11:1) or a power-adder scenario (around 9:1), but we wanted to be able to use this 392 for either configuration, so we split the difference for future product testing under both regimes.

Stellantis’ predecessor, Chrysler, put plenty of latent capability in its third-gen Hemi V8 architecture, and these engines are ubiquitous in salvage yards across the country. The largest variant, the 392ci Hemi, is made in two basic versions: passenger car (“Apache”) and truck (“BGE,” or big gas engine). The parts are largely the same, but the BGE truck version of the 392 (2014-present) is not only more prevalent (and thus less expensive as a used core), but also incrementally better in some critical areas, like the cylinder heads and block. If you’re a Mopar fan on a thin dime, and you want to leapfrog over the sea of belly-button Hellcat Hemis, Camaro ZL1s, Shelby Mustangs, and Corvette ZR1s (not to mention the onslaught of 800hp EVs in the wings), a junkyard 392 Hemi is what you’re gonna want. While we discovered our junkyard 392 Hemi in a local wrecking yard for just $400, we know little about the 2016 Ram 2500HD it came from, other than the fact that the engine wouldn’t run before it was taken out. It’s a better-thanaverage deal, and when we spoke with a representative of EngineQuest Cores & Recycling we discovered that BGE 392 cores typically sell for $1,000-$1,500, still a relative bargain compared with a salvaged Hellcat Hemi and associated kit for around $20K. In Part 1 of our Junkyard 392, we covered the disassembly and postmortem of our $400 392 BGE core and found it to be A-OK. The goal is to build the BGE 392 Hemi short-block to handle 1,200 hp safely and reliably, leaving enough cash in the bag to fortify our stock BGE 392 cylinder heads, induction, and valvetrain. We want to come in at a price tag decisively under $20K while pounding out a solid 1,000 hp, but you’ll likely be able to do it for less if you don’t punish your 392 with hundreds of dyno pulls for product testing like we plan on doing. One issue that crops up here is that no self-respecting engine builder like IMM Engines of Indio, California, is going to build an engine full of cost-saving shortcuts—that’s a staple of reality TV and social media that’s designed to create a spectacular on-camera failure, not usable test data. Our plan with this build, in partnership with IMM, is to be cost-conscious where we can, but smart where we need to be. IMM’s Brian Hafliger made sure we didn’t skimp in the wrong areas, and we’d recommend him for building any kind of Mopar V8.

MMX’s drop-in, no-balance piston/rod combo (above right) in theory can be installed directly without balancing, and the crankshaft doesn’t even have to come out. The bobweight of the MMX combo was right on point when we checked it. The 392ci Hemi has a factory bore of 4.09 inches versus the 3.92-inch bore of the 5.7-liter Hemi, but a 0.010 overbore put us at 4.100 (393 ci). The factory 392ci BGE Hemi piston (above left) has a 10:1 compression ratio; it’s a hypereutectic casting on a full-floating pin attached to a powdered-metal connecting rod. Pistons in the passenger-car Apache 392 (not shown) have a higher 10.9:1 compression ratio, but otherwise the pistons and rods have the same construction as the BGE 392 Hemi. Both the factory Apache and BGE 392 Hemi piston/rod combos are done at around the 650hp mark—not enough for what we’ll need.

The arrow on the left shows how much taller the ring land is on the Mahle PowerPak piston compared to the OE piston on the right. This pulls the ring back from the piston crown, shielding it considerably from the high heat from boost and nitrous. The 2816 alloy also has over twice the strength of the stock cast piece, which is super critical as the temperature and pressure increases. As a budget-oriented build, we kept things simple by doing just a cylinder hone with a .010-inch overbore. To prevent any money being wasted, we had IMM hottank the block and inspect it for hairline cracks. For a more serious race effort, you may want to add torque-plate honing or even hot honing to the list.

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In preparation for installing the crank, verify the bearing clearance, which needs to be 0.002-inch. Start by checking the inside diameter of the main journal with the bearing shells installed and the cap torqued to spec. (We are using ARP’s 244-5400 Hemi main stud kit, considered mandatory at this power level). You’ll need a set of precision inside micrometers (like these sold by Summit for $25.99) as well as a set of outside micrometers for the crankshaft journals (also available through Summit for $59.99). When you subtract the outside diameter of the crankshaft main journal from the larger inside diameter of the main cap, you should get 0.002-inch. If the number is too small or too large, you’ll need to order bearings in oversize or undersize increments (typically +0.001, +0.002, -0.001, and -0.002 sizes).

One important check you’ll want to make before spending lots of time on assembly is to verify the flatness of the deck. The sealing integrity of the Hemi’s multi-layer steel (MLS) head gaskets depends on making the deck as flat as possible, and you’ll need a machinist’s straightedge designed for precision measurement like this. IMM’s Brian Hafliger is using a .002-inch feeler gauge in the photo as a go/no-go test. If it passes under the straightedge, you’ll need to have your machinist deck-equalize the block.

Rod bearing clearance is measured in a similar way, but you’ll want to check the concentricity of the rod’s big end at several places before test-fitting the bearings. Once you verify a consistent ID for the rod journal, fit the bearing shells to the rod and rod cap. It’s important to distinguish between upper and lower bearing shells, which are called out (arrows) by an embossed stamp with “U” or “L” for upper and lower.

392 HEMI PRE-ASSEMBLY PREP Before you begin screwing together your Hemi short-block, there are a couple of preparatory steps you’ll need to complete, one of them being file-fitting the rings to the cylinder bores. You’ll need a precision feeler gauge, a ring-squaring tool, and a ring filer. Our Mahle 4105MS112 rings (included with Mahle’s PowerPak pistons) are a .010-over (4.100-inch) 1mm/1mm/2mm low-drag, standard-tension set that we’re giving a boost-friendly 0.026-inch gap (top and second ring). For naturally aspirated use, we’d tighten that up to 0.020-inch for the top ring and 0.021 for the second ring. In a boosted or nitrous engine, the extra heat generated causes extra ring expansion. With too small a gap the ring ends can butt together, lifting the ring land and damaging or destroying the piston.

Once again, use an outside micrometer to measure the diameter of the crankshaft’s rod journal and an inside micrometer to measure the inside diameter of the rod’s big end with the bearings installed and the cap torqued to spec. Subtracting the rod journal diameter from the rod inside diameter should yield a rod bearing clearance between 0.002 and 0.0025 (ours spec’d out at 0.0025 inch).

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MMX’s Max Effort SC cam is designed specifically for 392ci Hemis and is optimized for centrifugal blower applications like the popular ProCharger P-1SC. Ground by Comp and sold by MMX, the Max Effort SC VVT cam specs out at 224/236 degrees duration (at 0.050-inch lift), a 114-degree LSA, and 0.598/0.595 inch of valve lift (intake lobe center is 111 degrees). The long exhaust lobe provides the blow-down that’s necessary when you have boost; a wide LSA puts the grind on the street-friendly, torque-heavy side. This cam should be used with a Comp 5761 VVT cam phaser lockout kit, which MMX supplies as part of their cam kit. Our factory cam bearings were deemed good by IMM. Torque the four T30 Torx bolts of the camshaft thrust plate (arrow) to 106 in-lb. We’re pairing our MMX Max Effort cam to a set of PSI 1511 beehive springs with a rated 130 lbs of seat force (1.800 inches installed height) and 370 lbs of open force (0.625-inch lift, max).

You’ll have the choice of reusing the BGE 392’s factory piston oil squirters or piston squirter block-offs from Stanke Motorsports (arrow). Stanke Motorsports specializes in third-gen Hemi engine parts, like these billet aluminum squirter block-offs sold for just $45. They reduce the amount of oil around the crankshaft and windage in the oil pan, but at our power level and with the amount of heat produced, MMX recommends that the factory squirters be reused. It’s important to check the squirter’s clearance with aftermarket pistons. MMX recommends slightly enlarging the squirter’s fastener hole, allowing it to be rotated counterclockwise a few degrees to avoid interference with the piston. Keep an eye on this clearance as you install the pistons and make the necessary adjustments. Torque the squirters’ 10mm fasteners to 16 ft-lb after applying a thread-locking compound. In preparation for laying in the crankshaft, insert the upper main bearing shells and give them a helping of assembly lube . At our power target, an ARP main stud kit is considered by top Hemi engine builders to be essential for long life. Hand thread the ARP studs into the block and note that the longest stud is designed to anchor the oil pump pick-up once the mains are torqued down. (Top right) This stud must be placed in the No. 3 main (center) position on the passenger side.

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If we may indulge in some shameless Mopar partisanship: The factory 392 crankshaft is forged steel, a huge gift from the factory that can handle upward of 1,200 hp. You won’t find anything like this hiding in any junkyard GM LS engine, nor will you find any LS block close to 6.4 liters made of high-nickel alloy like the BGE 392 Hemi block. Both the BGE 392 block and crankshaft forging are the same units that go into the Hellcat Hemi, the only difference being the BGE’s stroke is longer at 3.72 inches (versus the Hellcat’s 3.578 inches).

Before installing the main caps, insert the thrust bearings in the center (No. 3) mains. These crescent-shaped units are embossed “R” and “F” for rear and front (inset) and can only slip in from one side. In most cases, the original thrust bearings are OK to reuse if they show no wear. We’ve seen these last a quarter-million miles with no sign of wear, but new units from Mahle Clevite (part No. TW-611S, $9.99) are available. The oil grooves (not shown) will face the crankshaft cheek.

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The Hemi’s cross-bolted main caps are made of billet steel. They’re stamped at the factory with their position and have an arrow cast into them indicating their orientation, so it’s almost impossible to put them in wrong. Since the caps are mated to their mains from the factory during initial machining, getting them out of order can spell serious damage.

The 392’s billet main caps are a precision fit so you’ll need to incrementally walk them down, alternating between the ends of each cap with a speed wrench, then remove the nuts to apply assembly lube before torquing. Stock main bolts can be used up to around 700 hp, but they can’t be reused more than once because they lose their ability to stretch. For stock bolts, torque the mains first to 20 ft-lb in a spiral sequence starting in the center, then go over them again with an additional 90 degrees of twist. Then, torque the cross bolts to 21 ft-lb. If you’re upgrading to the ARP main stud kit, use the same spiral torque sequence from the center, torquing the mains to 100 ft-lb. The ARP side bolts are torqued to 25 ft-lb.

In preparation for the timing chain and degreeing the cam, install the COMP VVT cam phaser lock-out. This kit includes the lock-out chock, set nut, and installation tool. Before taking anything apart, read the instructions carefully. Failure to do so can result in the tensioning spring unwinding, and it will be impossible to reattach correctly. 1) Identify this specific spring retainer pin adjacent to the large wedge-shaped window in the front of the VVT drum. 2) Flip the cam gear over, note which of the five Torx screws this pin corresponds to, and mark it (we wrote the word “no” next to it). This is the one fastener

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that you will not be removing down the line. 3) Flip the cam gear over and locate the indicated pin in the center of this hole on the VVT drum. 4) Slip the small fingers of the COMP tool on either side of this pin, then tighten the adjustment screw until the tool lifts the spring off the retaining pin. 5) You can observe the VVT spring being lifted off the retaining pin in this view.

FIT FOR

FALL

Remove all the Torx screws from the VVT cover plate except the one you marked. Loosen the one you marked, but do not remove it. Slide the cover plate off to reveal the VVT pressure vanes. Put some threadlocking compound on the included set nut, thread it into the lock-out chock and drop the lock-out chock into the VVT pressure cavity opposite the stamped hash mark on the cam gear, then tighten the lock nut on the lock-out chock to spread it enough to lock it in place. (It may not tighten enough—if it doesn’t, it may produce a slight rattle when the engine is operating.) Slide the VVT cover back in place and reinstall the four cover plate screws. Make sure that the long screw goes back in its original hole (arrows).

392 HEMI TIMING CHAIN SETUP AND INSTALLATION This split image shows how the crankshaft timing gear “dot” lines up with the single chain link having the rectangular icon facing outward (left arrow). The

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right side shows how the cast-in slot mark on the camshaft gear (right arrow) lines up between the pair of timing chain links that have two consecutive rectangular icons. Unlike a small-block Chevy, these marks do not align at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, but at 12 o’clock and 5 o’clock. When installing the timing chain assembly with the block right side up, the crankshaft’s timing gear keyway will be oriented at roughly 2 o’clock.

Unlike a small-block Chevy timing chain, the third-gen Hemi uses a cast aluminum timing chain guide and a black plastic timing chain tensioner. Attach the aluminum guide to the block first, followed by the tensioner, which is a hinged thermoplastic piece with an integral spring and cylinder. Fasteners should be torqued to 250 inch-lb. Hold the swing arm on the tensioner away from the chain by inserting a small pin while compressing the spring (IMM used an Allen key). Once the cam bolt is snugged onto the cam gear, remove the pin from the tensioner to place pressure on the chain. You can use the stock single keyway crankshaft gear, or if you need some incremental adjustment, Stanke Motorsports offers a five-keyway gear for VVT Hemis with additional keyways for -2, -4, +2, and +4 degrees of advance or retard (inset).

(you can get away with using the handle of an ordinary hammer) to carefully tap the piston into the bore. Orient the piston with the exhaust notch down and the crank’s rod journal away from the bore so you don’t accidentally knock a divot in your rod journal with the big end of the rod.

The Molnar rod caps are held in place with ARP 2000 rod bolts, which we torqued using the stretch method. After applying a dab of ARP assembly lube to the threads, snug the bolts down until they bottom out. Using ARP’s rod bolt stretch micrometer on the ARP cap bolt, we zeroed the indicator to set a baseline (right). A glance at the stretch chart provided by ARP says these 7⁄16 x 1.600-inch bolts need between 0.0060 and 0.0064 inch of stretch to produce the correct amount of clamp load, which is produced by approximately 30 ft-lb of torque plus another 60 degrees.

ARP’s rod bolt stretch micrometer is also available from Summit for $175.99. After torquing the rod bolts to 30 ft-lb and then turning them another 60 degrees, you should get the indicated 0.006 to 0.0064 inch of stretch, verified on the stretch gauge (right). Brian Hafliger has done this a few times over the years, and using ARP’s assembly lube, he’s discovered that 72 ft-lb produces the required amount of stretch with these bolts. Mock up the Molnar forged rods with the Mahle PowerPak pistons and slide the wrist pins in. You’ll want to place each piston/rod assembly into a vice to hold it steady while you snap a spiral lock into the retaining groove at each end of the pin boss using an awl (inset photo). Then use a pair of piston-ring-expander pliers to install the rings. It’s a good idea to clock the ring gaps of the top and second ring opposite from each other to improve cylinder sealing. Begin the piston installation by thoroughly cleaning the bores with solvent then follow with a coating of engine oil. Use a ring compressor and a piston knocker

You may choose to degree in your cam after installing the No. 1 piston/ rod assembly, or after all eight are done, but it’s critical that you do it before

completing the top end of the engine. Rotate the No. 1 piston to TDC, attach the degree wheel to the crankshaft, set up a wire pointer that is attached to the block indexing it to 0 degrees on the degree wheel, and position the magnetic dial indicator on the fire deck so the translating pushrod sits in the intake lifter pocket at the proper geometry. With the dial indicator zeroed out at TDC, rotate the crankshaft slowly through the cam’s full rotation, noting the valve opening and closing events and their position on the degree wheel. The intake valve events should correlate with your cam card; our cam card’s intake centerline was 111 degrees, and our actual measurement was very close at 110.5 degrees.

THE COST SO FAR Part Number:

Description:

Price:

Notes:

BGE 392 Hemi core

2016 Ram HD 2500

$ 400.00

Reported non-running

MMP-64FPRP2618

6.4 2618 drop-in piston/ rod kit +.010-over

$ 1,798.99

4.100 bore pistons, file fit rings, pins, Molnar/MMX 6.200 rods

coated rod bearings and premium main bearings

$ 353.00

standard size rod and main bearings

6.4 Max Effort centrifugal supercharger camshaft

$ 619.60

camshaft with lock kit

5.7L/6.1L/6.2L/6.4L HEMI main studs kit by ARP

$ 186.32

1 set of ARP Hemi main studs

MMP CB1808HN

MM-SC6.4ME-CENT ARP-244-5400

Parts only cost to date

$3,357.91

We’ve still got a couple of things to do to our short-block, like install the oil pump and rear main seal assembly, but it’s ready to get a coat of Hemi Orange engine paint before moving on to the cylinder heads, valvetrain, and induction. We priced a couple of forged 392ci short-blocks like ours (but without a camshaft or timing gear) and found that turnkey assembled prices start around $5,700 and go up from there for one specced like ours (these quotes run higher if no core is provided). Over the course of planning our Junkyard 392, we were highly impressed with Modern Muscle Xtreme. When you’re spending this kind of cash for parts, it’s imperative that you get solid advice. MMX has the experts on hand and really know the third-gen Hemi with a familiarity that is breathtaking and refreshing. We don’t usually comment too much about customer service at HOT ROD, but we need to give big props to MMX for this—the edge here can really make a difference in your next Hemi build.

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WINDSOR FOR THE WIN

STEVEN RUPP A CAST SCAT CRANK AND THE RIGHT PARTS PUSH THIS STROKER SBF OVER THE 500HP MARK!

❱In terms of engines, bigger really is better. Yeah, you can spin a smaller engine to the moon or stuff it with boost to make good power, but for a naturally aspirated (NA) engine, life is just easier if you have more displacement. The good news is that if you’re building a new engine and buying a rotating kit, going with a stroker will only cost you a few bucks more than building one with the factory displacement. Then you just need to determine your budget and how much power that will get you. The decision to use a forged versus a cast crankshaft vexes many a builder. In short, a cast crank can handle a good amount of power and free up funds for other areas. If you are making big power, say over 700, or hitting the engine hard with nitrous, a forged crank is a must-have, but for most street engines, cast cranks will get the job done just fine. Like any engine, this 408-inch small-block Ford could have been built for less cash, but we feel it’s a good balance

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between saving money where we could and spending on the parts that count, like a set of free-flowing heads or a roller valvetrain. In the end, the combo made well over 500 horsepower on pump gas, and for a street car that’s more than enough for a really good time, blasting from stoplight to stoplight to gas station (or even the occasional romp at the track). Follow along as we punch up the power output on a 351 Windsor small-block Ford.

Sources Air Flow Research; 877.892.8844; www.airflowresearch.com ARP (Automotive Racing Products); 800.826.3045; www.arp-bolts.com Competition Cams– COMP; 800.999.0853; www.compcams.com Edelbrock; 800.416.8628; www.edelbrock.com Holley/MSD; 866.464.6553; www.holley.com Scat; 310.370.5501; www.scatcrankshafts.com Summit Racing; 800.230.3030; www.summitracing.com

01 The backbone of this build is a workedover 351 Windsor block. The seasoned (fancy term for used but not yet worn out) block was hot tanked, decked, and then the cylinders were bored out to 4.030 inches. After a fresh coat of black engine enamel, the block was ready to receive its parts. 02 Since this SBF is destined for a 1966 Fairlane street car, the owner, Tim Lee, chose a middle-ofthe-road cam that would get him to his 500-plus hp goal and still be excellent on the street. The Comp Xtreme Energy mechanical roller tappet cam (PN 35770-8) came in at 236/242 duration (at 0.050 inch) with 0.602/0.608 lift on a 110 LSA. 03 This Scat Series 9000 Pro Comp cast crankshaft (PN9-351400-6200-2100W) from Summit Racing is about half the cost of the forged version and, given our modest goal of 500 hp, is more than strong enough to hold up. Features like aerowing counterweights, straight-shot oil holes, and lightening holes in all the rod throws offer reduced windage for more power. Scat cranks are precision ground and micro polished, and work in both oneand two-piece rear main seal blocks.

04 Rods take a ton of abuse, so this is one area where it’s worth spending a few extra bucks on forged pieces like these Scat Pro Comp I-Beam rods (PN 2-ICR62007/16A). These 6.200inch rods are forged from 4340 steel, come polished and shot-peened, and use floating-style pins. They are also profiled with clearance for stroker applications.

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05 Adding to their strength is the use of ARP 2000 7⁄16-inch cap screws that are forged from 8740 chromoly steel. These ARP 12-point fasteners have a tensile strength of 180,000 psi, so stretching out a rod bolt isn’t something we’re going to have to worry about.

06 Cast pistons could have saved us money, but we like the strength of forged, so we opted for eight ICON FHR series slugs (PN IC9923-030). These flat-top pistons feature four valve reliefs and a compression height of 1.280 inch. Made from a VMS 75 alloy, they pack a lot of features for a set of pistons that only cost around 400 bucks. 07 The Scat crank was set in place and the two-bolt mains were torqued to spec. The stroker kit from Scat included Clevite main and rod bearings.

07 08

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08 After file-fitting all the rings, the Icon pistons were mated to the Scat rods and installed in the block using a ring compressor.

09 Once all the piston/rod combinations were installed, we could torque the rod bolts down and then spin the rotating assembly to make sure there were no clearance issues between the block and the rotating bits.

10 With that, our short-block was done and ready for the next phase of our build. 11 Oil is life, especially in a performance engine, so we picked up this high-volume Melling pump (PN MEL-M83HV) from Summit Racing. This pump offers a 25-percent bump in oil volume over a standard pump but maintains factory pressures. It came from Melling pressure tested and ready to rock in our stroker Windsor. Oil volume is what’s important, not so much having higher pressures which can, in extreme cases, push oil past the seals. 12 We finished off the oil system with an affordable, fabricated Summit Racing oil pan that would work with our 1966 Ford Fairlane.

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13 Before moving on to the heads, we lubed up and installed the Comp link-bar mechanical roller lifters. Yeah, a roller setup will cost you a bit more in parts, but with today’s oils we’re just not willing to risk damage by saving a few dollars on a flattappet cam. 14 Going with a set of free-flowing heads is the key to making as much power as you can. For our smallblock Ford we chose a pair of AFR Renegade aluminum cylinder heads. They are 100-percent five-axis CNC ported for the intake, exhaust, and combustion chambers, and came fully assembled with dual valvesprings matched to our camshaft type and lift. 15 AFR’s Renegade heads came with lightweight 2.080-

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inch intake and 1.600-inch exhaust valves. Extra-thick 0.75-inch decks make these perfect for blower or nitrous applications. After penciling out the math with the pistons and head chamber volume, our 351W stroker ended up with a 10.75:1 compression ratio. 16 The heads were installed with Fel-Pro head gaskets from Summit and a set of ARP head bolts. 17 Finishing off our Comp roller valvetrain are these Pro Magnum roller rockers (PN 1631-16). These 1.6-ratio rockers have the weight savings of aluminum rockers but are made from stronger 8650 chromoly steel. The kit came with poly locks and was designed for the 7 ⁄16-inch studs on our AFR heads.

18 This is a street/strip build, so we chose an Edelbrock Victor JR intake (PN 2981) for our 351W stroker. This single-plane intake will help us make more top-end power and the 2.70-square-inch (cross-sectional) runners make great power from 3,500 to well over 7,000 rpm. 19 Remember the money we saved on the cast Scat crank? Well, we spent it on a top-shelf Holley Ultra XP carb (PN 0-80805BKX). This 4150 has a ton of features found on professional-level carbs, such as aluminum construction, anodized billet metering blocks and base plate, contoured venturi inlet, dual 30cc accelerator pumps, higher-capacity fuel bowls, and more. Even small items like the knurled primary and secondary curb-idle screws that can be adjusted by hand will make life, and tuning, easier. Going with a budget carb will cause you to buy aspirin in bulk; so buy once, cry once.

QAfter adding an MSD Pro-Billet distributor (PN 8354), Lokar billet oil dipstick, and a set of fabricated aluminum Mr. Gasket black powdercoated valve covers (PN 6844BG), our 351W stroker small-block Ford was ready to head over to Westech Performance so see how much power our stack of parts would make. After breaking everything in on Westech’s Superflow 902 dyno, our 351W SBF spit out a best pull of 535 hp at 5,900 rpm and 527 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm. As expected, the stroker was making a stout 456 lb-ft of twist at 3,500 rpm, where the dyno started, and was still making over 465 lb-ft at 6,000 rpm, where we stopped the pull. Altogether, this should be nothing but a good time when stuffed into Tim Lee’s 1966 Ford Fairlane.

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TIME TO SHINE How to paint your engine: All you need is $147 and some patience to get killer results. ❱You want your engine to shine when you pop the hood, don’t you? For most hot rodders, the engine is the whole point of building, driving, racing, or otherwise owning a kick-ass machine, but it’s not as simple as picking up a rattle can from the corner parts store and setting off a spray bomb in your mama’s driveway. The news here is both good and bad: Unlike a major paintjob to your car’s exterior sheetmetal, an engine paintjob is way easier, it can easily be done at home, and involves very few cash expenditures, but like a full-vehicle paintjob, you really need to sweat the details big-time. Cut corners, and you may discover bigger problems down the line. We chose to paint this third-generation Hemi after the short-block was built but before the rest of the engine was assembled. This stage is the ideal time to paint a block because the paintjob won’t get beat up from the assembly process. Obviously, you wouldn’t want to paint your block before it’s cleaned, inspected, or machined, but if you want your aluminum parts to be painted for a stealthy effect (intake manifold, cylinder heads, water pump) you might want to wait until assembly is further along. We didn’t want our aluminum parts painted, so the short-block stage worked best for us.

JOHNNY HUNKINS

Point your phone camera here to see how the engine in a fully-restored Dodge Daytona was painted. 98 HOTROD.COM/2022/SEPTEMBER/

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QIf you want your engine to look great for years to come, it needs to be prepped properly before a drop of paint hits it. The first decision you’ll need to make: Will you clean the block yourself or have it hot tank cleaned at a machine shop? With hot tanking, you’ll have two choices: a hot bath with a mild detergent, or one with caustic soda. If you plan to reuse your cam bearings like we did, go with a hot tank cleaning that uses a mild, non-sudsing detergent.

QAny caked-on dirt left in crevices (it tends to collect around gussets and pan rails) will only look amplified after you paint over it. Our 392ci BGE Hemi engine is going together at IMM Engines of Indio, California. Here, IMM’s Johnny Wadlund is shown cleaning the 392ci Hemi BGE block with some parts cleaner around the edges of the pan rail. QFor this 392ci Hemi build, Summit Racing Equipment was our source for materials, and from them we bought one can of Dupli-Color Primer (DE1612) and two cans (but we only used one can) of Chrysler Hemi Orange (DE1652) for a total of $41.97. Beyond that, we secured a can of non-chlorinated parts cleaner (Summit, SUM-941241) for $4.99, a roll of green 3M masking tape (TES-7000048805) for $11.99, a pack of disposable utility knife blades (WMRW744) for $1.99, and had our engine builder, IMM Engines of Indio, California, inspect then hot tank our block with a mild soap solution for another $100. Altogether, we spent a total of $146.95, but if you’d rather have Brian Hafliger at IMM paint your engine block as part of an engine-building program, he gets $200 for the job—a good deal considering the roughly three hours of labor involved in prepping, masking, and painting the block.

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QYou may be wondering if you can paint an engine without removing it from the car? That’s a negatory, big fella. You’ll never be able to mask off the areas that don’t need paint. This photo only begins to show how much stuff is still attached to a modern fuel-injected engine after it’s been removed from the car. You’ll achieve your best results if the engine is partially disassembled, or partially assembled in our case.

QLike we said up front, the devil is in the details. There are a lot of precision machined surfaces on engine blocks that need to be protected from paint and overspray; these are areas that are sealing surfaces for gaskets, fastener holes, motor mounts, and other sensitive areas that can’t see paint. Cover all these areas with 2-inch wide green masking tape. (Most gearheads call this tape “frog” tape because of its green color but note that FrogTape is a brand name of green tape known for its clean edge lines that is used for the same purpose.) It is not necessary to completely cover cylinder bores, the open crankcase, bellhousing flange, and timing-chain access area, just make sure there’s ample tape coverage at the edges to be painted.

QOf all the operations involved with painting an engine block, trimming the tape takes the longest and makes the biggest difference in the cosmetic and functional outcome. The idea is to carefully trim away excess masking tape along the edges of the block, using the razor’s edge to scrape rather than using the point to cut. When used in this fashion, the razor blade is a consumable item, so you’ll need to start with a box of these. (A set of five blades from Summit costs $1.99).

WRENCHIN’ @ RANDOM

QThe 392ci Hemi block has a lot of machined areas that need masking. Besides the pan rail and timing cover sealing surface seen here, you can see many additional machined areas within view that needed masking. If in doubt that a machined surface, dowel, or attachment hole needs masking, just do it.

QIf you’ve done everything right, the actual painting will be the fun part, starting with the primer coat. Don’t skip straight to the color coat because primer is designed to aid the adhesion of the paint, improve its durability, and give the color coat an even color. A straight-edged piece of cardboard can be used as a handheld mask to keep paint away from the cylinder bores, pistons, and other paint-averse areas. Shake the spray can vigorously and hold it 12 to 18 inches from the surface. Dispense paint only while moving the can gradually over the surface, being careful not to let the spray stop or dwell over any area too long. You don’t want to get this far only to create ugly drips and runs. After an hour’s dry time for the primer coat—about the time it takes to eat lunch—you can hit the first color coat. Here is where you get to let your freak flag fly: You may choose to go with brand loyalty (in our case Dupli-Color Chrysler Hemi Orange), or you may want to step out on the wild side. Be sure to research whether there is a vendor that makes custom colors in a hightemperature formula before you decide. A second color coat is highly recommended, and there is a one-hour recoat window, after which you must let the paint fully cure (one week) before laying down another coat.

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QFor color-conscious hot rodders, Chrysler Orange and Chrysler Hemi Orange are not the same; Chrysler Orange is slightly darker and less vibrant (more pastel) than Chrysler Hemi Orange, which is the most vibrant of all the Dupli-Color orange engine paints available over the counter. Chevy Orange, by contrast, is whiter (more pastel) and is visibly redder in hue than either of the Chrysler Oranges. To complicate things, there are two shades of Chevy Orange; Chevy Orange and Chevy Orange-Red, which is quite nearly a tomato red. Always test your color on a piece of cardboard first to see if it’s the right shade and whether you’ve shaken the can enough!

The Cost

QRemoving the masking tape after the final color coat is one great feeling! The trick is to do this while the paint is still a bit tacky; waiting until the paint is dry can cause cracks in the color coat at the edge where the tape is pulled off. Dry time is only an hour, after which you’ll be good to complete your engine assembly.

Dupli-Color Chrysler Hemi Orange engine paint Dupli-Color engine primer Non-chlorinated parts cleaner 3M green masking tape Utility knife blades Hot-tank block Total cost:

SHW-DE1652 SHW-DE1612 SUM-941241 TES-7000048805 WMR-W744 labor

$13.99 $13.99 $4.99 $11.99 $1.99 $100.00 $146.95

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IG followers*

Tony Thacker Peterson Publishing Archives

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Instagram Followers Let’s get Don some more followers on Instagram. ❱How many Instagram (IG) “followers” do you have? F1 driver Lewis Hamilton has 28.1 million, whereas John Force Racing has 137K. Does it really matter? I can’t profess to be any kind of a social media expert, so you have to take what I say here at face value. During a recent trip to El Mirage, California, for an SCTA land speed race, my buddy, Nestor Cabrera, of First Up Apparel, and Holly Martin were discussing marketing. The conversation eventually got around to wondering how many followers certain sanctioning bodies might have, and therefore, the racers. Does it matter? Yes. If you are a savvy marketing person trying to reach a specific enthusiast audience, you want to know how many fans a race driver has. In short, how well can they spread your message to their followers? Or, if you’re a driver looking for sponsorship and/or a ride, the size and level of engagement with your audience will help you to justify your value to a potential sponsor. To get a more knowledgeable view, I spoke to Greg Emmerson, PR Director at The ID Agency in Los Angeles, “As a marketing/PR person, it’s important for us to see how a driver connects to and engages with his audience. A large number of followers will obviously give them access to more people. However, a bigger audience isn’t necessarily better. It’s also useful to see how that audience engages with the

driver in terms of likes, comments, and views. Lewis Hamilton, for example, not only shares elements of his racing, but also his personal life and the issues he’s passionate about. This gives his followers a better understanding of who he is, making the interactions feel more personal. “As an amateur racer, you can apply many of the tactics of the bigger teams and drivers. Choose the right platform for your audience and message: Instagram is great for powerful photos, short captions, and easy likes; whereas Facebook might lend itself more to storytelling, insights, and tech. Eventually, you might reach the limit of your ‘organic’ growth—the size of the audience you can reach without promotion. At that point, you might want to consider boosting, advertising, sponsored posts,

and so on. With this, you can target very specific audiences in terms of demographics, location, and interests. You can reach the people who are more likely to want to follow you. However, it’s a slippery slope; once you open the pay-to-play floodgates, your channel might not perform as well as it does without payment. At that point, you have to ask why you’re doing it. If you can gain more for your racing program by attracting sponsors and providing them with engagement, it could be a worthwhile expense.” We’re only scratching the surface of how to use social media as a tool to help increase your followers, raise awareness, and either attract or satisfy sponsors. If this is something you think would help your racing program, there’s plenty of advice online. There’s a reason many of the big names have a team running their social media channels: because it takes hard work to make it successful, but the potential rewards are significant. Nobody got a milliondollar deal with only 300 friends. As you will see from the list to the right, nobody in motorsports even comes close to soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. In fact, there are no motorsports figures in the IG top 50. So, we compiled a list of top athletes and celebrities to offer some perspective. Note: The following numbers update constantly and are correct as we went to press.

Cristiano Ronaldo Kylie Jenner David Beckham Lewis Hamilton Donald Trump Joe Biden Valentino Rossi Ken Block Marc Marquez Travis Pastrana Kimi Raikkonen Richard Rawlings Fabio Quartararo Sebastian Vettel World Rally Championship NASCAR Chip Foose Michael Schumacher HOT ROD Magazine Justin “Big Chief” Shearer Farmtruck and AZN David Freiburger Shawn Ellington “Daddy Dave” Comstock Chris Forsberg Sebastian Loeb Jimmie Johnson NHRA Nikita Mazepin Jeff Gordon IMSA David Coulthard Billy F Gibbons John Force Racing Mark Martin Jeff Zwart Jimmy Shine Matt Hagan Clay Millican Antron Brown Ron Capps Niki Lauda Ray Evernham Rhys Millen Jack Beckman Cruz Pedregon Robert Hight Marcus Gronholm Tony Schumacher J.R. Todd Ivan Stewart Doug Kalitta Mike Salinas Mendy Fry Don Garlits *Rankings compiled by Mia Thacker

Hot Rod (ISSN 0018-6031), September 2022 Vol. 75, No. 9. Copyright 2022 by Motor Trend Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Published monthly by Motor Trend Group, LLC, 831 South Douglas Street, El Segundo, CA 90245. Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA and at additional mailing offices. Subscription rates for 1 year (12 issues): U.S., APO, FPO and U.S. Possessions $20.00. Canada $32.00. All other countries $44.00 (for surface mail postage). Payment in advance, U.S. funds only. *Trademark registered. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to HOT ROD, P.O. Box 37199. Boone, IA 50037.

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446M 341M 73.9M 28.2M 23.4M 17.7M 13.6M 6.9M 6.6M 4.4M 2.8M 2.6M 2.2M 1.9M 1.8M 1.6M 1.4M 1.1M 1.1M 904K 813K 710K 659K 604K 547K 547K 517K 513K 573K 415K 348K 327K 218K 137K 122K 84.5K 64.2K 63.6K 61.5K 61.3K 58.1K 49.0K 47.2K 36.7K 32.2K 28.6K 25.6K 21.7K 18.2K 12.0K 9,219 4,945 3,262 1,140 999

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