My Mopar Performance short block

I used to have a very nice 340 +.030 with Ross pistons, Eagle H beam rods and floating pins. The block had good windage and oil control but when it spun a rod bearing and broke a rod two weeks from the end of the season and 3 weeks away from the Division finals I didn't have time to build another short block. I was in 2nd place at my home track and needed to get something together in a hurry.

I had the MP shortblock that next Tuesday and after mocking and measuring everything I disassembled it for machining, installing ARP rod bolts and getting a smaller cam because I was afraid to cut the valve reliefs any deeper than I already had. My son and me thrashed all week, I took off from work on Thursday and Friday and worked to 2 or 3 am in the morning every night. I had the engine back in the car, cam broke in, valves readjusted and oil changed by 4 pm that next Saturday when the race got rained out. I was ready to race though. So I went out that next Wednesday night for test and tune where the car ran 10.90, 10.89, 10.88.

I won the next weekend but still remained in second place in the points but I was ready to go to the finals. It was all kind of a waste though since I got pneumonia at the finals. I was sick as a dog with a fever of 105. Needless to say I went out first round.

Anyway for a $1000 I can't gripe about that short block, I had to go to some extrordinary measures and some really tight clearances for piston to head, (.028, valve .058 int / .086 exh, this was after I got an extra piston and cut it up to see how deep I could cut valve reliefs) to get my big Hughes cam in it but it works.