1000 Horsepower on a Budget? And Rebuilding a Windsor 351

(Narrator)>> Today on Engine Power we revisit an old classic, the Ford Windsor. And since there's truly no replacement for displacement we're giving it more power by making it a stroker. And speaking of HP, we're putting our Chevy big block through the paces in search of 1,000 horses or more. [ engine revving ] ♪ ♪

(Pat)>> Welcome to Engine Power. Today we're dragging one of our engines out of the archive to do a few upgrades. This is our 351 Windsor we used as a comparo engine against an LQFour LS earlier. Now this is a Powertrain Products short block. So it has good solid internals. It has a set of Trick Flow heads on it, some decent valvetrain, and a dual plane intake. Right now the engine is stock-ish in cubic inches. It has been over bored but retains the stock stroke, and we're gonna make it into a budget friendly stroker engine. But before we do that we are going to carefully tear the engine apart to truly evaluate how it was running. There were several variations on this five point eight liter engine from the factory, making around 200 horsepower and 310 pound feet of torque. Reasonable numbers for a stock piece but we need more power. We started with a Powertrain Products long block that had a four inch bore and three and a half inch stroke. We added a new oil pump and a Summit racing oil pan along with their SFI certified damper. For induction we used the Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap dual plane intake manifold. Next EThree diamond fire spark plugs and MSD ignition components. Finishing off the top end were a set of Summit racing one point seven ratio rockers and Trick Flow's 225 high port cylinder heads. These upgrades netted a stout 344 horsepower and 398 pound feet of torque in the dyno cell, but the last upgrade was the most impressive. After dropping in a Trick Flow Specialties hydraulic roller cam the Windsor made 448 horses and 423 pound feet. [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> A common question I always get asked. Why do such a careful teardown when half the parts aren't going to be reused again? Arguably teardown is as important as assembly. It gives an indication on how things are wearing, from the valvetrain to the bearings, and will also tell you if something is going to be goofy before you start. You can learn a lot just by looking at the distributor gear. If the oil pump is putting too much strain on it the gear will wear excessively. The wear pattern on this gear is centered and the teeth aren't knife edged or worn. So far so good! The valvetrain will often reveal a poorly running engine, but after removing the valve covers from this Windsor we made an unexpected discovery. You'll notice there are no push rods in this engine. Now this engine was drug out of our archives. So obviously there was something else that needed push rods worse than this one, but that's okay. It'll actually save us a little time. ♪ ♪ With the rockers removed and carefully organized in the engine assembly tray we'll gingerly pry off the intake manifold to examine the lifters. [ hammer tapping metal ] ♪ ♪

(Pat)>> As these hydraulic roller lifters come out the first thing you want to look for is any tracking or wear on the rollers themselves and anywhere on the bodies, which would indicate an oiling problem or a geometry problem. These look spectacular. Also you want to look for wear on the push rod cup itself, and like I said before, you want to stick them in the order as they came out of the engine. ♪ ♪ With the cylinder head off we can get a glimpse of the top of the piston. Even with as little run time as this engine has the carbon tracking on the top of the piston looks great and the hone looks good. Most importantly the top of the piston is dry, meaning it's sealing up. Also there are no burn marks or discoloration between the cylinders. So the head gasket was sealing properly. A well running engine! Next we're gonna drain the oil into a clean pan. That will give us a look to see if there's any debris in it, and we're also gonna cut apart the filter. If the oil looks milky or diluted it could mean there's a coolant leak somewhere internally. If the oil smells like gasoline the engine is poorly tuned. Any metal chunks that come out would indicate some sort of internal failure, usually the bearings. With a Goodson oil filter cutting tool we'll take apart the filter. It works just like a can opener. Look at that! We'll thoroughly look through the pleats in the filter for any debris. It catches anything from flecks of paint and silicone to small metal shavings let over from the machining process. Large amounts of debris indicate a problem. There's no particles in the filter or in the oil itself. So that's a good indicator that the engine is fine. We still have to get the rest of the parts out but chances are they're gonna look great.

(Narrator)>> Up next high octane and high horsepower!

(Pat)>> We are continuing on our high compression 632 that we're doing for Jeremy and Eliza down in XOR. This is gonna power their Wild Willys Wagon. Now this bullet is gonna make well into the 1,000 horsepower range and they need that kind of power to motivate that thing through the mud. It's started with a solid foundation from Blueprint Engines. Using their 632 cubic inch big block Chevy short block. It's designed to run on pump gas and crank out over 800 horsepower. Since we're looking to add another decimal figure to that number we made some changes. First a set of Mahle Elite Sportsman series 42cc domed pistons took the compression ratio up to a stout 15.03 to one. The pistons were paired with a set of Eagle forged H-beam connecting rods with an upgraded ARP L-19 bolt. Comp Cams' solid roller cam shaft will give the proper lift and duration for this high performance application. A Jesel belt drive is used for precise timing. An ATI super damper will keep the harmonics in check. On the bottom end a Melling high volume oil pump and a seven quarter oil pan. Then we addressed the top end with AFR 385cc cylinder heads. They flow 452 c-f-m at 800 thousandths valve lift, and that extra air will help us reach our power goal. For the valvetrain we chose Comp Cams' solid roller lifters, heavy duty Trent push rods, and finished up with a rigid and accurate Jesel shaft rocker system. The induction was capped off with an Edelbrock Super Victor Two intake manifold that's ready for a 4,500 series Dominator carb. An MSD crank trigger assembly and matching distributor will light the air/fuel mix. A set of Summit Racing polished cast aluminum valve covers sealed up the heads. For spark plug wires we went with a set of MSD eight point five super conductor wires. Now these are the same type they'll use on a top fuel car. So if they're good enough for that they're good enough for us. They have a resistance level of less than 50 ohms per foot. The lower the better. These come in either black or red, 90 degree boots or multi-angle boots as well. They are cut to fit and I've already gone ahead and made them up to fit the engine. So they fit tight and out of the way. We're using The Right Stuff from Permatex on our water pump gaskets. It'll create a water tight seal between the pump and the engine, and just as important, it will help keep the gasket in place during installation. This is very helpful if you're doing the job inside the tight confines of an engine bay. For efficient cooling we're installing a Summit Racing billet aluminum electric water pump. It's rated at 60 gallons per minute. ♪ ♪ For high performance lubrication in this bullet we're gonna be using Royal Purple's XPR in Zero-W-20. Race Gas race fuel concentrate is the official fuel concentrate for us here at Engine Power, and we've used it on several of our big power applications. The next generation fuel concentrate is Race Gas Ultra. This is designed to take 93 octane pump gas all the way up to 112, which is seven octane numbers higher than the original 105, and it's easy to use with no mixing cup. You simply take 32 ounces and mix it with four gallons of gasoline and shake vigorously. Just like the original, Race Gas Ultra raised not just the octane but also the chemical oxygen and chemical energy of the fuel. It's designed specifically for boosted, nitrous, or high compression engines. Our 632 has a compression ratio of 15.03 to one, making it the perfect candidate for this fuel concentrate. ♪ ♪ We're finally to my favorite part of all of this, the dyno'ing and we're gonna baseline this engine running it from 4,500 to 6,500 r-p-m at 600 r-p-m per second to make sure everything is okay. So all that's left is to fire it up. Hold on to something because first hit. [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> All right, the initial hit looks good. We stopped the pull at 6,500. So we haven't reached peak power yet. It's making 975 horse at 6,500 but peak torque is up at 809 pound feet at 5,700, which is a great baseline. That means everything is working and it still has its guts, and now the fun part comes, tuning.

(Narrator)>> Up next, we promised the crew from XOR a 1,000 horsepower engine and they're here to hold us to our word.

(Jeremy)>> That's fantastic!

(Pat)>> Welcome back. We are continuing on the dyno session of our 632 that's going down to XOR. Now before we do any sort of mechanical changes with it we're gonna change the operating range of the engine. It's designed to run between 5,000 and 7,500. So we're gonna actually make our pulls in that range and we're also gonna knock down the acceleration rate from 600 r-p-m per second to 400 r-p-m per second because it's gonna load the engine more like it's in the vehicle. Let's give it a shot. We set a goal of 1,000 horsepower for this engine and on the first full pull we're almost there. 981 horsepower at 7,500 r-p-m and 819 pound feet of torque at 5,700 r-p-m. Searching for more power we added two degrees of timing for 32. [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> We picked up six horsepower. Torque dipped slightly to 817 pound feet. Made a little bit of a change. Gotta keep going! After adding four more degrees of timing for a total of 36 degrees we like our odds for breaking 1,000 horsepower. Grand finale! Let's see what it really makes. [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> Look at that! 1,020 horse and 830 pound feet of torque. That's a real race bullet right there. Awesome engine for bolt together parts. That is spectacular actually. Jeremy and Eliza can't wait to get this big block going in their Willys Wagon, and when they heard it running they ran down to the dyno cell.

(Eliza)>> Are you finished?

(Pat)>> Not quite yet. Now this thing's making great power but all that's left are for you two to make a pull on your own engine. So it's fair, I'm gonna pick who makes the first pull but I'm gonna make fate decide. Heads, tails?

(Eliza)>> Tails!

(Jeremy)>> It was tails.

(Pat)>> Tails makes first pull.

(Jeremy)>> Yes, I get to pull it first.

(Pat)>> Are you nervous?

(Jeremy)>> Yes I'm nervous!

(Pat)>> I would be nervous too! [ engine revving ]

(Jeremy)>> Yeah!

(Pat)>> Okay!

(Jeremy)>> That's fantastic. That is unbelievable!

(Pat)>> So you're doing a 1,000 horse. You just dyno'ed a 1,000 horse engine. Is that better than riding a roller coaster?

(Jeremy)>> That is unbelievable! [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> And away you go.

(Eliza)>> Oh my god, that is so scary fun!

(Pat)>> See, you made the same as him, nice and smooth. This thing is literally ready for you guys. So now you have to complete the vehicle.

(Jeremy)>> Well now we should go work on it.

(Eliza)>> Yeah, see you later then.

(Jeremy)>> So we've got one thing though. So once we get it all done and it's running, driving you're gonna have to come down and drive it.

(Pat)>> That is an absolute, yes. Very much looking forward to that. Nice job!

(Eliza)>> Thank you! I don't know, awkward hands.

(Pat)>> It got awkward!

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(Narrator)>> Up next, all the benefits of e-f-i. The straight forward setup of a carb. This kit has got it all.

(Pat)>> Welcome back. Our 632 is very healthy cranking out 1,020 horsepower on the dyno, and we've got one more thing we're gonna try to get even more power out of this engine. This is Holley's Sniper EFI Stealth 4,500, the next generation of their Sniper EFI throttle body systems. This one contains eight 100 pound per hour injectors in it and will support up to 1,500 horsepower naturally aspirated and 1,250 horsepower in forced induction applications. It has two and a eighth inch throttle blades and will flow up to 1,440 c-f-m. The e-c-u is mounted right to the throttle body itself and is capable of controlling the ignition, the fuel, and a whole lot more. It comes with everything you need to wire it up, and it's actually very easy with only four electrical connections. This is high tech at its finest. With six programmable ground outputs and five programmable ground inputs. So it can control external devices such as nitrous or boost control solenoids. It comes with a Bosch wide band oxygen sensor and install kit. It's all controlled via a three and a half inch touch screen. No laptop is required. It goes on identically to the 1,475 c-f-m Ultra Dominator that just came off. Even the fuel connections are in the same place. ♪ ♪ Install a coolant temp and o-two sensor, wire the main harness, and it's ready to rock. ♪ ♪ With everything installed I've programmed the computer to have a 14.1 air/fuel ratio, and we're gonna see if we can make the same power as our old Dominator did. [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> With nothing else that's impressive. That is the first pull out of the box and look at that, 1,022 at 7,400, 821 pound feet at 5,700. Now that's a little bit more on horsepower, a little bit less on torque, but that is literally the first hit off a fresh injection system just putting it on and making a pull. The advantage of e-f-i over a carburetor is pretty straight forward in this application. You don't have to take any jets or air bleeds around to make a tuning change. Plus you don't have to get under the hood, and in this case get covered in gasoline and mud. Now as far as power is concerned, because of their c-f-m rating and the amount of fuel that goes through them, they'll make the same power. And because this e-f-i unit is very, very much mimicking what a carburetor does in the manifold it's gonna make the same power, maybe even more. So all good. About $300 bucks price difference but totally worth it when we're doing what we're doing. For more information on anything you've seen on today's show visit Powernation TV dot com. ♪ ♪ To have an engine make more power a common technique is to increase its cubic inches, and you can do that three different ways. You can increase the bore size, the length of the stroke, or a combination of the two. You've heard the term stroker when talking about high performance engines. So that's what we're gonna go over today. But what exactly does stroker mean? Simply put it's an engine that has the stroke of its crank shaft increased beyond its stock specification. This mod can be done two different ways. First you can offset grind the crank shaft. Before aftermarket crank shafts were readily available the crank shaft's rod journal would be intentionally ground to a smaller diameter and to a center line further from the actual center of the crank shaft. This effectively lengthened the travel of the piston in the cylinder, increasing its cubic inches, but the offset grind yielded a small increase because the crank shaft can only be ground so much. In addition it was labor intensive, expensive, and potentially weakened the stock crank shaft. The second method is to replace the stock component with a purpose built aftermarket crank shaft. These are designed specifically for longer strokes, are constructed out of better material, and are built to yield maximum cubic inches without sacrificing strength. We build stroker engines here all the time and they fall into three categories. Over square, meaning the bore is larger than the stroke. Square, meaning the bore and stroke are equal. And under square, meaning the bore is smaller than the stroke. Over square strokers are common in most racing applications. The larger bore and shorter stroke produce the needed air displacement while keeping the average piston speed lower at high r-p-m, which improves reliability and allows efficient air induction. Square strokers have a good balance of horsepower and torque production. They can be tailored to make stout low end torque or high end horsepower depending on the components selected. They are excellent for weekend warrior race cars and just about any high performance street car. Under square strokers really shine in lower r-p-m high torque applications. When the engine's bore size is limited an aftermarket crank shaft will increase the size by 50 or 60 cubic inches. For instance, a 351 Windsor with a four-zero-30 over bore and a stock stroke of three-500 equals 357.15 inches. Increasing just the stroke to four-170 gives us 68.36 additional cubes. The result is a 425.53 cubic inch engine. Several aftermarket companies offer not only stroker crank shafts but entire rotating assemblies with all the associated parts to get your bullet together. The only thing that limits stroker applications are the physical size of the engine block and your bank account.