Technical engine masters 2019

The one issue of Hot Rod I look forward to is the one with engine masters builds. My surprise this year was the to top pre 69 engine category a 402 inch Ford FE @586.7 HP and a 296 inch SBF @446 Hp. This year no aftermarket heads and a commercially available intake manifold and single 4 barrel 4150 carb.

 

I'd be curios what production/Ford head was used on the SBF to achieve that number.

 

The article says they used a D10E block and C5AE heads. Peak HP was at 7,000 rpm, peak torques was 371.8 at 5,700 rpm. No mention of what cam was used.

 

They said porting was OK but no welding or epoxy. As to cam any style but a max of .550 lift on small blocks.

 

I was equally impressed by those two Ford engines!
(Sounds like 2019 was the last year for the Engine Masters competition, unfortunately.)

 

Those are just 65 289 heads, I wonder how much duration?

 

There is a number of good threads on the FE-Power.net forums. Most of them from the engine builders themselves, often with live updates from the competition in November.

http://fepower.net/simplemachinesforum/index.php

 

Not bad for a single 4bbl 390, eh? Heads were garden variety C4AE-Gs that came on many 352s and 390s in the mid-60s with some work. Pretty good for a guy who works from a wheelchair

 

I really enjoy these too. What "month" is this article in?

- EM

 

Hot Rod, MARCH 2020, Engine Masters

 

From the article It had to be a 352 block with a 4 inch stroke.

 

The later 352 blocks used the same cores as the 360/390/410s, just only bored to 4.00". Several ways one can go with a "352" block, including boring to std. 4.05 size to use cheap pistons, plus regular 352 oversizes. Blair got a little creative with the bore & stroke, but nothing exotic- still a 402" FE with massaged factory iron heads

 

So...what crank would that be? An offset ground 390 one? Sorry for sounding stupid but I'd like to know what the combination was to get 402. Thanks.

 

The online Hot Rod article says it used a Scat 4.00" crank and 4.098" bore. However, that math doesn't work as that combination would get you to 422 ci. I am not surprised that Hot Rod's website has a typo.

If the bore was accurate in the article, that would require a stroke of 3.81" to get to 402 ci. That would be easy enough to accomplish with an offset ground 390 crank and smaller diameter BBC rods and bearings.

A 390 crank (3.784" stroke) and a 4.11" bore would get you close to 402 ci. Using readily available piston sizes, a 0.060" over 390 would be a 401.6 ci motor.

 

Thanks FrozenMerc.

 

I'm still curious about the duration of cams, getting power out of old iron heads is as much the cam as it is the port work.

 

With that issue an article in front of me. For the early iron competition the boundaries were 68 and earlier domestic cast iron engines with OEM heads and blocks, Max of .065 over bore and .015 from stock specs on crank. 10.5 compression .550 lift on small block cams .60 lift on big block cams.
Puts it a lot more on the skill of the engine builder than just buying the trick of the week parts.

 

My subscription ranout last mouth and with the way magazines are going down I'm not going to renue, so I'll have to fine it on the stand somewhere. Do they have book stores anymore?
https://www.hotrod.com/events/engine-masters-challenge/

 

I just recieved my copy and I always look forward to the Engine Masters article. That being said I was very dissapointed in the vagueness and lack of tech info that was obviously omitted in comparison to previous years articles. Hot Rod has gotten to be less and less every month, I will not be renewing my Subscription. And yes I am still pissed about Hot Rod Deluxe!

 

Thanks @saltracer219, you have summed up what I’ve been thinking for a long time. If it wasn’t for Marlin Davis HRM would have zero tech.

 

Wait Fords can make that much power?? Ha ha JUST KIDDING don’t start swearing at me. I agree, the engine masters stuff is cool! Love a vintage mill, that’s why I got one!!



Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Lucky the cutoff was 1968 not 1969 ( I think they did that on purpose) or you would have had a 550 hp Boss 302.

As far as the little 289 goes the late Kip Martin SS/L 65 Mustang made around 20 more hp than the engine masters entry.

 

Here are some pictures of the FE engine build But not much info.https://www.hotrod.com/articles/iro...-heads/#012-2019-engine-masters-blair-patrick

 

What are the brass barbed fittings threaded into the valley for?

 

They aid in venting the crankcase but won’t allow oil drain back onto the crank , preventing windage.
A whole bunch of little tricks add up to a winning engine.

 

The rules of Engine Masters put an emphasis on a long flat torque curve, engines that have the largest area under the torque curve within the specified RPM range win. The guys that build motors with peaky torque curves and go after peak horsepower don't do well. Needless to say, to get a very short stroke 289 to be competitive with a relatively long stroke FE in nearly the same rpm band is a very impressive accomplishment, even with the correction factors for displacement that are used.

 

They would have a hell of a time getting the horsepower and torque out of a Boss 302 and stay within the specified RPM limits.

 

Very clever.

Didn't know there was a rpm limit. Boss 302 would need at least 7500 to be at the 500+ mark I would think.