Big cylinder heads, roller camshafts, and monster cubic inches help produce impressive power figures. Each month we test a variety of power combos using many of these cool parts to bring you the latest tire-shredding buildups, dyno results, and track numbers. But much of the engine-building excitement takes place outside the pages of the car-magazine world. These guys rely on combinations assembled in hometown garages and shops to develop huge power. No crate engines or catalog motors here. Just custom engine builds with off the-shelf components to power their hot street cruisers and weekend haulers.
To scope out the action we spent plenty of time at the track, lurking around the dyno rooms, and on the street, searching for the best engines we could find. Cumulatively, we logged plenty of miles, but in the end we were rewarded with potent mills and the chassis to harness them. No boring powerplants here, only real-world, and only those that scorched our fancy, including machines that sported 800 horses with people who aren’t afraid to drive them on pump-friendly petrol.
In the end, we had a difficult time whittling down to our favorites, but suffice it to say, we certainly found 10 of the coolest combinations; each of which stands out on its own and deserve full merit for its achievements on and off the street. We should note that most of our heroes prefer pump gas and, without a doubt, that’s just the way we like them. Is there a pay-off to building something similar? You better believe it. With the big dyno numbers or killer e.t.’s, these guys are the envy of their neighborhoods, leaving us in daze, and pushing us to be more like them.
Mike Saiki's 700hp 377ci small-block- powered Corvette produces some very low e.t.'s with an easy-to-follow combo. Just use a relatively light car and steep gears, and build an engine combo that produces low torque to help traction and high rpm. Add in a 300hp nitrous kick, a real loose converter, and a set of Mickey Thompson rubber and dip into the 8s. As Mike puts it, "I roll out on the motor about a car length, hit the nitrous, and keep just a little tire spin happening so that the front of the car doesn't yank the wheels up."
Mike Saiki
'72 Corvette
Specs
Displacement- 377 ci Block - Motown block w/four-bolt billet caps Bore x Stroke - 4.155 x 3.48 inches Compression - 14.5:1 Rod - 5.85-inch, aluminum GRP
Induction
Carburetor - Holley 800-cfm Intake - Edelbrock Super Victor
Steve Mundy's '72 Camaro was one of the most impressive cars we saw: big rear tires, a mammoth big-block, and a loud rumble at idle. Steve bought the ex-racecar online minus the engine. The guys at Ace Machine in Riverside, California, assembled the 564ci Rat, and Westech Performance dyno-tested the engine. When we first arrived to shoot Steve's Camaro he told us he just checked with his insurance company, and we could take the Camaro for a spin around town. One thing we especially liked was the Camaro's license frame that reads "9 seconds on pump gas."
Steve Mundy
'72 Camaro
Specs
Displacement - 564 ci Block - Dart iron Bore x Stroke - 4.530 x 4.375 inches Compression - 10.5:1 Rod - 6.385-inch
Induction
Carburetor - Holley 1050-cfm Intake - Edelbrock Super Victor
With nearly 2 tons to move, Les Hays wanted to make certain that he would not have a power problem. So he assembled his own 588-inch big-block that converts pump gas into over 800 happy horses. Les's engine develops huge power by flowing lots of air through a set of Air Flow Research cylinder heads that flow 385 cfm measured at 0.600-inch lift. The bumpstick is a very big solid roller. We had a chance to hear the thunder of this motor and can attest that it is awesome.
Les Hays '56 Chevy
Specs
Displacement - 588 ci Block - Merlin block w/splayed billet caps Bore x Stroke - 4.560 x 4.500 inches Compression - 10.25:1 Rod - 6.700-inch, Scat
When Dave was just 19 years old, he bought his '00 Camaro new. For the first few years he meticulously detailed the Camaro and won several car shows in Stock classes. After a few dozen events he needed something more exciting, so he decided to make the engine larger and add a blower. With some help from the guys at Morgan Motorsports in Reseda, California, an ATI-1SC supercharger providing 12 psi, and a reworked big-bore LS1 motor, the F-body missiles easily into sub-9-second e.t.'s.
David Ross
'00 Camaro
Specs
Displacement - 388 ci Block - LS1 Big bore, resleeved 4.125-inch bore Bore x Stroke - 4.125 x 3.75 inches Compression - 9.6:1 Rod - 6.125-inch, H-beam
Craig Boone designed his motor to power this G-machine rapidly through the turns and quickly down the dragstrip. The 421-inch small-block is built from a Motown all-aluminum block that is topped off with AFR heads modified by Slover's Porting Service in Sun Valley, California. Ollie's Machine Shop in Van Nuys, California, completed the engine assembly. Fuel delivery is electronic with an ACCEL DFI unit. With 445 rear-wheel horsepower, Craig spends Saturday afternoons looking for unsuspecting Viper and Z06 owners. The F-body keeps contact with the ground using suspension items from DSE, Global West, Hotchkis, and Guldstrand.
Craig Boone
'69 Camaro
Specs
Displacement - 421 ci Block - Bill Mitchell, World Block aluminum Bore x Stroke - 4.155 x 3.875 inches Compression - 10.7:1 Rod - 6.00-inch
Induction
Throttle body - ACCEL 1,300-cfm, EFI Intake - ACCEL
Scott Miller knows it takes a truck to haul, so to his factory 355 small-block he's added both a supercharger and a dose of nitrous. With the supercharger, better breathing cylinder heads, and a high-lift cam (minus the funny stuff) the combo has produced over 500 horses and 500 lb-ft on the dyno. To feed those extra horses, he improved the fuel system with parts from Holley. What's especially fun is that on the track the 4,000-pound pickup stops the clocks in the low-12-second zone.
Scott Miller
'90 Silverado
Specs
Displacement - 355 ci Block - Factory Chevy four-bolt main Bore x Stroke - 4.030 x 3.48 inches Compression - 8.5:1 Rod - 5.71-inch Trick Flow I-beam
This Nova may look like just another show car, but it packs some impressive power. Under the flaming flanks Chuck built a 406 small-block from a stock GM two-bolt main block and added AFR 210 cylinder heads, a hydraulic roller camshaft, a moderate amount of compression, and an adjustable NOS 150-horse kit. An MSD ignition system ignites the air/fuel charge. The package has been dragstrip-tested to power the X-body through the quarter-mile in the low-11-second range.
Chuck Immormino
'71 Nova
Specs
Displacement - 406 ci Block - 400 GM two-bolt Bore x Stroke - 4.155 x 3.75-inches Compression - 10.5:1 Rod - 5.70-inch
Induction
Carburetor - 750 Holley reworked by the Carb Shop to flow 830 cfm Intake - Edelbrock Victor Jr.
Camshaft Specs
Comp Cams hydraulic roller
Valve lift - 0.540/0.562 inch Duration @ 0.050 - 242/248 Lobe separation - 110 installed on a 106
Transmission - TH400, manual valve body built by Denny Savage Rearend - 12-bolt, bearings, Moser 39-spline, Detroit locker, narrowed, mini-tubbed Gears - 4.10:1
What we especially like about Mike's small-block Nova is that it runs 10s and looks so unsuspecting. The well-thought-out combo is more that just an impressive engine build; it's a total vehicle system that puts the X-body deep into the bottom-10-second quarter-mile class. Gaining power from a 414-inch small-block with lots of compression and no squeeze, engine dyno-testing has recorded over 600 horses. Mike is also a regular at his nearby eighth-mile track, where he dials in his car's 60-foot times.
Mike Morgan
'69 Nova
Specs
Displacement - 414 ci Block - Factory 400 small-block Chevy Bore x Stroke - 4.165 x 3.800 inches Compression - 14.5:1 Rod - 5.85-inch Eagle H-beam
Induction
Carburetor - Holley 1050 Dominator Intake - Edelbrock Super Victor
By car number nine we finally figured it out. Buy a reasonably priced '68-74 Nova and spend the rest of your budget on the motor and drivetrain. Pete's gameplan enlists a common 383 small-block, some very good-flowing Dart Iron Eagle Platinum cylinder heads, a five-speed trans, and a decent shot of NOS. The combo makes for a very low 12-second e.t. The combination is also well suited for long cruises with the overdrive trans and hydraulic flat-tappet camshaft. Better yet, it's his daily driver.
Pete Cervantes
'69 Nova
Specs
Displacement - 383 ci Block - GM 350 Bore x Stroke - 4.030 x 3.750 inches Compression - 10.5:1 Rod - 5.7-inch
Induction
Carburetor - Holley 750-cfm Intake - Edelbrock RPM Air Gap
The key to Gil's power combo is how well the selected parts complement one another. The cylinder heads, camshaft, and rearend ratio have been chosen to provide good mid- to upper-rpm power from the 383 small-block. The cylinder heads are good-flowing AFR aluminum items and the camshaft a reasonably stout hydraulic roller unit with moderate duration. The rearend ratio is a steep cog, but with the overdrive automatic, freeway driving is accomplished at low rpm. The package with a shot of NOS (applied in High gear only) propels the Camaro to low 12-second e.t.'s--on DOT tires and through the mufflers.
Gil Roldan
'89 Camaro
Specs
Displacement - 383 ci Block - GM Bore x Stroke - 4.00 x 4.380 inches Compression - 10:1 Rod - 5.7-inch
Induction
Fuel injection - Turbo City high-flow SBC TBI Intake - Edelbrock Performer TBI Controls - Turbo City custom EPROM
Horsepower Combos - Horsepower Rules
Linear Mode
