We had Mike Lewis ( wolfplace ) machine our new 331" SBC road racing engine a few months back, you may recall the pics of the ugly block. I finally got the engine together a few weeks ago and strapped the Nova up on the chassis dyno yesterday. I was very pleased with the results and the performance.

It's a 331" SBC, 11:1 compression, 6.125" rods, SRP flat-tops, 240°/240°/110° lsa Camcraft roller cam with .615" lift. We used an old set of AFR 195 heads, a Vic-Jr 2V and a Holley 2-bbl, 1-5/8" x 40" headers with a 2-1/2" merge collector, Dr. Gas x-pipe and some ultra-flow mufflers. Even with a carb calibrated for 7000' altitude ( 14:1 a/f ratio ) it made 365 rwhp @ 6600 rpm, with 340 #ft @ 4600. It was still over 360 hp @ 7000 rpm, but I hope not to be up there a lot. We got lots of questions from the local speed shop patrons ( they're 2 doors down ) about the sound of the mufflers as it sounds like a V-12 Ferrari at high rpms, yet has the sound of a much larger motor at idle.

Ok, my Rat is now jealous.....

Originally posted by onovakind67:
We had Mike Lewis ( wolfplace ) machine our new 331" SBC road racing engine a few months back, you may recall the pics of the ugly block. I finally got the engine together a few weeks ago and strapped the Nova up on the chassis dyno yesterday. I was very pleased with the results and the performance.

It's a 331" SBC, 11:1 compression, 6.125" rods, SRP flat-tops, 240°/240°/110° lsa Camcraft roller cam with .615" lift. We used an old set of AFR 195 heads, a Vic-Jr 2V and a Holley 2-bbl, 1-5/8" x 40" headers with a 2-1/2" merge collector, Dr. Gas x-pipe and some ultra-flow mufflers. Even with a carb calibrated for 7000' altitude ( 14:1 a/f ratio ) it made 365 rwhp @ 6600 rpm, with 340 #ft @ 4600. It was still over 360 hp @ 7000 rpm, but I hope not to be up there a lot. We got lots of questions from the local speed shop patrons ( they're 2 doors down ) about the sound of the mufflers as it sounds like a V-12 Ferrari at high rpms, yet has the sound of a much larger motor at idle. =

Damn Mike,, that's excellent power at the wheel's graemlins/thumbsup.gif
What do you figure for loss in your setup about 12-15%? I know you have a pretty efficient drivetrain.


Here's a chronology of the block for everyone that didn't see the pictures to get an idea of what Mike is referring to

From this:

http://wsm.ezsitedesigner.com/share/scrapbook/19/190264/Goble_Block_Pics_003_2_.jpg

To this:

http://wsm.ezsitedesigner.com/share/scrapbook/19/190264/Goble_Block_Pics_012_2_.jpg

To this:

http://wsm.ezsitedesigner.com/share/scrapbook/19/190264/Mike_Goble_s_Block_Bore_Deck_008.jpg

And this:

http://wsm.ezsitedesigner.com/share/scrapbook/19/190264/Mike_Goble_s_Block_Bore_Deck_006.jpg

And this:

http://wsm.ezsitedesigner.com/share/scrapbook/19/190264/Mike_Goble_s_Block_Hone_003.jpg

This:

http://wsm.ezsitedesigner.com/share/scrapbook/19/190264/Mike_Goble_s_Crank,_Balance_005.jpg


And on to Mike for his obviously magic assembly & tuning,,, graemlins/beers.gif

Nice numbers!

It certainly went from ick to perty as well! graemlins/beers.gif

What did you come up with to compensate for all of the altitude changes? I thought you were going higher with static compression at one point.

We try to run as much compression as reasonably possible, and all the piston manufacturers and cylinder head gurus I talked to liked flat-tops and small chambers. With only 331" you have to have a pretty small chamber to exceed 11:1. We bought the heads off eBay for $900 and they were already cut to 55cc's, so I just installed the springs that the cam guy sent me - 225# on the seat - and put the heads on.

The carb metering blocks are made with power valve channel restrictions and jets to run between 6000-8000'. We don't go for the nth degree of tuning, we just want to be in the ballpark. With a stock 4412 that I pulled off a truck at Pick-n-Pull the engine made 354 hp. I run this carb for the break-in of the motor because it is jetted for sea level.

The drivetrain is a Super T10 and a 9" Ford with 3.25 gears. We probably lose 15% or so in the drivetrain, but that's just a guess. You know how those Ford rear ends suck up the power... :rolleyes:

Good luck with the race. I read Smokeys book and the parts on the Mexican road race were great.

Now that's what I call a seasoned block! Mike sure does nice work. Good luck racin!

Here's a link to Jerry Churchill's site with some pics of the cars in competition. We're in the white Vette #395. This year we're in the 64 Nova.

http://www.jerrychurchill.com/la_carrera_panamericana.htm

Talk about a diamond in the rough! Good work on both Mikes' parts! Man, onovakind, you can sure design and tune a enigne!

The 65 Vette btw? :cool: Thanks for the lunch time break.....you must understand why I secretly long for a little white Cortina with a nasty Cosworth twin under the hood! Too much fun!

Just curious...how much power difference do you think there would be between something your induction setup and a 4bbl vic jr. and say a 600 vs. holley? The 4412 is the 500cfm 2bbl right? It seems like they rate the 2bbl's at 3" vac and the 4bbl's at 1.5" vac. I am curious because I have a sleeper engine in mind.

We have a local dirt tracker who switched from a 4412 to a 4779 for the last race of the season and we dynoed the car with both carbs. Adding the extra 2 bbls ( a 4412 is half of a 4779 ) was worth about a 10% increase in peak rwhp, from 300+ to 330+. Keep in mind this engine is designed as a 2-bbl motor and runs about 7200 rpm's at the end of the straight, so the additional air really helps at the upper end. He also uses limited heads and an RPM manifold per the rules. This guy is a very successful local racer, not having missed a race in 24 years, some 600+ in a row.
Our Nova motor is designed for the 6000' - 8000' altitude we compete at, so sea level numbers are a little misleading. The bulk of the racing is uphill, around tight corners at high altitudes. If you make a mistake, you find yourself at a lower rpm with little chance of downshifting without swapping ends, so you need a broad torque curve to power your way out. The 4600 rpm torque peak is just what my driver needs, as he tends to run at a lower rpm than most.
We had a similar motor in a 65 Vette a couple of years ago, 331" with a 4779 Holley on a RPM manifold that made 380 rwhp at 6000 rpm.

That is an awfully long rod for your motors stroke. I am assuming it works in a pretty narrow RPM band. Have you found gains going to that length or is it your first try with the combo.

I chose the rods because they connect the pistons to the crank. Good inexpensive pistons for a 327 are hard to find. Most 4.03 lightweight pistons are made for a 355 with a 1.25 or 1.26 compression height. 6.125" rods with a 1.26 CH put me at 9.01" to the top of the piston.
The torque corve is actually very flat, with the peak at 45-4600, and the horsepower peak is at 6500. This motor drives very well, with little lope at idle and drive away power from 1500 up. We use a 9# flywheel so having the good low end helps a lot getting the car rolling.