The MOPAR power myth?

Killer6 said
Mopar meant power with what they came with off the showroom floor, for the range that most OE's were expected to perform in. Bowtie parts abound because they were
mandatory before they could compete with stock Smallblock competiton, Cleveland Fords being the cylinder head champs in the SB world, Mopars had superior valvetrains
(They weren't the only) compared to Chebby and can accept lots of cam w/o buying parts just to do it. Chevy's central main priority oil galley is the only real superior
feature it has in the SB realm. When it comes to Bigblocks, Yeah, flow-wise they are not the best,..but they are as reliable as anything out there period. Mopar skipped
going any further on the BB because, well HEMI. You're building a 512 from parts and You're complaining about the price, that isn't Mopars fault, at least not the One
from 40 years ago.
"The rear ends ain't great".....what, a 7.25"? You bought a car with a 7.25" rear and started building a 512 to put in front of it & are disappointed it won't hold up?!?
I have brand X friends, They've broken 10 bolt Chebby rears with 14 second automatic 350's, WTF are You talking about? ALL brands have economy duty rears that
"ain't great". Trannys do have their limits, there are brand X ones that are better, but race-prepping any of them costs $$$$ and I don't "price point" them so I can't
say what relative build costs are. I imagine an A727, C6, & THM400 all cost within' a few hundred fully prepped for a built 512ci mill.
If You want to pay Your way to fast w/o putting in the work to make it happen, crate engines are out there, but for Mopar it is getting smaller selection wise. A former
co-worker bought a "great deal" crate BB Chebby, cheap as dirt by God, 11 sec capable in His mid '70's Nova. Cammed it small to run reliably in the low 12's, solid cam,
blew up after 3 seasons. Oh, and after tanking the 12 bolt rear the 2nd time, He put a 9" Ford in it.
It seems that You think the HP/Reliability Fairies will follow Us because of the history of "Mopar Power".............................................things have changed 40yrs. later
.............or 20yrs. for that matter..........................................

Since we're giving a serious answer to the original question, here's one builder's perspective..

quote "Shrinker":

<snip> Ohh Ok, what i mean is you dont have to do much to make power from the factory design. Chevs have to be hotted up with aftermarket heads to get close a Chrysler. I'm sure some chevs heads must bite soon.
Chryslers can have a cam change and extractors and thats all you need to make a powerful car. The cams don't need to be as big as a chev because you dont have to get around that rediculous pushrod pinch caused by the stupid unneeded 5 head bolt arrangement thats a throwback to the 50's way of thinking.
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<snip> Are you talking stock heads or racing ones/ It doesnt matter from the head point of view as once you go to racing heads then its just a racing head like any other. Stock heads; well you just flow check em and go from there BUT the big thing about Chrysler motors is their stroke rod ratio. They have the theoretically correct 1.85 or get close to it most designs. Fords and Chevs are short ratio engines (unless your using racing blocks etc).
...

With the Chrysler engine having a long rod ratio the piston dwells for longer at TDC so the opportunity for a dished piston is there for a different reason than a Chev etc. Dishing the piston gives a better chamber because the flame kernel is further way from metal in every direction so thats good.
It makes the plug more central when viewed from the side if you get what I mean. But the reason for doing it with a Chrysler is different to a Chev. Doing it in the Chrysler long rod engine is not just that the piston clearance is there but its to create a longer flame path before the flame extinguishes against a surface while the rod is dwelling at TDC. 1.8 stroke rod ratio motors are different gas production to shorter rod ratio motors. They have more complete burn with less HC wastage. they are awesome to work with, unfortunately theres not much Chrysler racing stuff here in Oz.

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