The MOPAR power myth?

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Yea man! NO DOUBT!
A good friend of mine did a Buick 455. He is NOT happy with the cost but still LOVES his car. (‘66 Skylark)

The Buick is actually NOT to bad of an engine in its design. But the cost! Ooooo-weeee did he pay!
 
I can't imagine that all the guys that build 10k motors could even use a 10k motor unless he's an experienced racer.
 
451Cuda said:
Try going fast with a Buick or Olds...you'll think Mopar is cheap.
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Agreed. And i guess one has to determine what's fast........
Saw a guy that threw a cast iron 906 head 440 in his dart, 727, 8 3/4 3.55 rear pound 10.50's all day. Single 4bbl, solid cam, 9.5 compression. What, a 1500 dollar motor roll'n 10.5's? Pretty cheap to me, and reliable.

Same day a stroked 440 (big cube motor) Duster with 4.11's couldn't get out of 11's.

A lot of times going fast is knowing what you are doing...... just say'n.....
 
TrailBeast said:
I can't imagine that all the guys that build 10k motors could even use a 10k motor unless he's an experienced racer.
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I agree I totally think that my 416 is going to out power my supercharged 340 and I am going to have to learn how to handle the extra power, but ya gotta start somewhere. Had I known that it was gonna be $10,000 to build it I might have went a different route. All this being said I can't wait until I can run it at the track, it's going to be fun.
 
superchargeddrt said:
I agree I totally think that my 416 is going to out power my supercharged 340 and I am going to have to learn how to handle the extra power, but ya gotta start somewhere. Had I known that it was gonna be $10,000 to build it I might have went a different route. All this being said I can't wait until I can run it at the track, it's going to be fun.
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I'm sure it will be.:D
 
Ten grand is a lot of money, but u really cant expect to pay anything less for good quality parts to build a reliable stroker engine kim..........
 
oldkimmer said:
Ten grand is a lot of money, but u really cant expect to pay anything less for good quality parts to build a reliable stroker engine kim..........
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I think I have around 6k into my 408 so far and around 1k worth of parts to buy yet. Another 1k for machine work. So 8k ish ...
I shopped and found deals here and there.

4" Forged/Balanced kit NEW
W2 heads NEW .. ported by Ryan
Custom solid roller... Ryan
Crower Extreme Duty Offset oiled with large wheel lifters NEW
Comp dual valve spring NEW
Comp Tool Steel Retainers NEW
Eddy Victor W2 NEW
Holley 850 DP Annular -$100 used
Harlan Sharp W2 1.6 race rockers NEW

Stil need Pan, balancer, smith bro pushrods, timing chain and gaskets...
Few engines are cheap to build.
 
Like my dear departed Father used to say. Don’t let the door hit you in the azz in the way out the door. Don’t cry about what it costs if you can’t or won’t learn to do most of your own work.
 
318willrun said:
Agreed. And i guess one has to determine what's fast........
Saw a guy that threw a cast iron 906 head 440 in his dart, 727, 8 3/4 3.55 rear pound 10.50's all day. Single 4bbl, solid cam, 9.5 compression. What, a 1500 dollar motor roll'n 10.5's? Pretty cheap to me, and reliable.

Same day a stroked 440 (big cube motor) Duster with 4.11's couldn't get out of 11's.

A lot of times going fast is knowing what you are doing...... just say'n.....
Click to expand...

Yeah I used to build Mopars as cheap as possible - tons of stock parts and used speed parts. Only bought new parts when I couldn't find it used or it was a wear item like gaskets/hoses/bearings/etc. They still ran great and stomped a lot of "built" cars. Granted that was before the era of $300 5.3 LS motors and eBay turbos, but I know if I duplicated a couple of my old setups and added some extra nitrous and a controller it would still be somewhat competitive in local events.

If you're buying all new parts, expect it to be expensive - you're the first "sucker" in the equation!
 
451Cuda said:
Yeah I used to build Mopars as cheap as possible - tons of stock parts and used speed parts. Only bought new parts when I couldn't find it used or it was a wear item like gaskets/hoses/bearings/etc. They still ran great and stomped a lot of "built" cars.
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I hear that! I came from the ol’poor boy school house. You did what you could with what you have on hand. Money was really tight.

This is where you learned the stock intake, heads & carb was a lot better than the credit it was given. Swap meets and a decent net work of friends to get this used parts as cheap as possible.
“I will install your headers for that intake over there! “
 
Matts440 said:
-- I love seeing all types of muscle cars as well, what I hate is going to car shows and seeing the new corvettes, camero' s even the new chargers and challengers, when I go to a car show I want to see old cars _ _ _ _ _ --
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-- Me too.
 
Can I have the 512 project? I am a glutton for punishment!
 
I miss the good old days of 40 years ago and turning crap into gold. My budget build back then still puts a lot of todays engine to shame. .030 over 440, stock crank, reworked stock rods, weiand tunnel ram with two 750 holley carbs, 750 lift roller cam, and TRW junk heavy weight pistons. All wrapped in a 2900 pound 1974 Duster with 14-31 slicks, 4.56 gear, and Super Stock springs. best ET was 9.82 and boy did we have fun back then. Oh I forgot to mention ported 906 heads.
My old 74 Duster 001.jpg
Norwalk #2 001.jpg
74 Duster. My third race car 001.jpg
74 Duster at Halloween classic 001.jpg
 
@pittsburghracer

What did you use for headers?

S/S springs?!?! Don’t let anything body in todays day and age hear that!!! There are impossible to use and run 9’s!!!!
ROFLMFAO!!!!!!!!
 
rumblefish360 said:
@pittsburghracer

What did you use for headers?

S/S springs?!?! Don’t let anything body in todays day and age hear that!!! There are impossible to use and run 9’s!!!!
ROFLMFAO!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

If I remember right they were Competition (something) fender well exit and came with tube extensions so you could play around with lengths. I hear ya about the Super Stock springs. I would love playing with a set again with how good the track prep is now but I'm to old to step that far back in time. Heck I still have 2 or 3 of my oldschool 750 lift rollers that everyone ran back then
 
IMO the 408 small block is the best combo. About 10 grand to build one that runs well....

20171104_172745.jpg
 
Wow !! You guys spend more on your engines than I have budgeted for the whole car..Of course you could definitely drag my *** on the street or at the track.:steering::steering:
 
Be that as it may. You could be knee deep in an engine build NOT driving the car.....
 
Yup. Builder not a buyer. Not sure you will ever know what you really have when all you did is write a check for it. I leave the "between rounds" stress at the track. The car is done when it is done.
 
451Cuda said:
Yeah I used to build Mopars as cheap as possible - tons of stock parts and used speed parts. Only bought new parts when I couldn't find it used or it was a wear item like gaskets/hoses/bearings/etc. They still ran great and stomped a lot of "built" cars. Granted that was before the era of $300 5.3 LS motors and eBay turbos, but I know if I duplicated a couple of my old setups and added some extra nitrous and a controller it would still be somewhat competitive in local events.

If you're buying all new parts, expect it to be expensive - you're the first "sucker" in the equation!
Click to expand...
Yeah I used to buy used parts but when you hear the horror stories about too tight valve guides and valves coming apart on aluminum heads you worry about your engine turning into a 400 pound boat anchor. I bought brand new Edelbrock RPM heads (bare) and had the machine shop go through the valve guides and install quality valves to limit the chances of issues. The other extra costs are for the rotating assembly. My machinist highly recommended the Molnar crank, rods and pistons. It's also been 30 years since I built the last engine and man have the costs gone up. Almost $300.00 for a oil pan.
 
What they were know for was drivelines. Not body or fit or finish. And for the most part, that was in relation to the factory offerings. But even at best, the sales were 10 to 1 in favor of Ford or Chevy. A rare Chevy has 30K units. A rare mopar has 100. Ultimately, any true racer who has a limited budget will run CHevy. Not because it's better. Because the aftermarket offerings are available, and available for less coin. Simple laws of economics: bigger market = more parts, and less money per part needed to be profitable. We're waiting for a decent quality aftermarket block. When and if it comes it will be $6K and need work to be "right". I can order a Chevy block right now, it will come needing only a little tweaking, be here this week, and cost $3K. So if winning is your goal and brand loyalty is not, and my checkbook has limits, I'm racing Chevy. (I'd reference Dominator's Dar on Street Outlaws for an example of that)
Now I'll add I owned a Pontiac once, and I own a Chevy I got to flip. Out of probably 100+ cars, those are the only non-mopars. So don't take that as I'm not a Mopar fanatic. but reality is always what it is. Welcome to the real Mopar enthusiast's life.
 
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