Using our superior skills...
Using our superior skills (where was our pal and ace fabricator Berniewhen we needed him?), we whipped up this lifter valley tray in an effortto reduce the oil splash onto the underside of the intake manifold. Thiswas done at the last minute, and we did not perform a back-to-back teston the results. Please feel free to proceed with the stone throwingsince we are so adamant about testing.
As expected, the drop in compression had anegative effect on the power production, and the average score droppedfrom 1,043.8 to 1,025.3 points. Though we were disappointed to losenearly 20 average points, they would be useless if the motor would notrun on the 92-octane spec pump gas. Not only would detonation hurtpower, but it also might kill what was beginning to be a highlyexpensive Windsor.
We suspected the score of 1,025.3 was going to befairly respectable. We also knew that guys such as Jon Kaase take thiscompetition quite seriously and would be looking for every last point.Back on the dyno, we tried changing the rocker ratios in everycombination, eventually settling on a 1.7 ratio for the intake and 1.6for the exhaust. All the rocker swapping was worth just 1.2 points. Theguys from Kooks headers shipped us a set of their 13/4-17/8-inch stepheaders complete with merge collectors. We were a little disappointedafter letting Dunn test them on his motor, as they showed no gain overthe Hooker Super Comps (just like ours). Since the combinations weredifferent, we decided to give them a try nonetheless. Good thing we did,as the Kooks headers were worth an extra 6.1 points.
Initially, we chose a Keith...
Initially, we chose a Keith Wilson-modified Edelbrock Super Victorintake but later switched to an Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap. Asexpected, the peak power was down (by a whopping 50 hp at 6,500 rpm),but the dual-plane Air Gap offered exceptional power throughout the revrange. Remember, we were looking for average power from 2,500 rpm to6,500 rpm, and it is in this rpm range that dual-plane intakes rule.Installing the Performer RPM right out of the box resulted in a gain of9.1 average points, so we knew we were heading in the right direction.
This next test hadto be run several times before we were convinced, but increasing thespeed of the CSI electric water pump was worth 3.9 points (three timesin a row). A large shield to isolate the carburetor from the radiantheat generated by the (uncoated) headers and the motor was worth another2.1 points, bringing the final tally to 1,038.6 points.
The final testperformed on the 410 stroker was to run pump gas. The timing was backeddown to 21 degrees (from the best setting of 31 degrees total) forsafety, and the 410 was run from 2,500 rpm to 6,500 rpm. Run with 21degrees of timing, the 410 produced 998.9 points. The timing wasincreased in 2-degree increments until we were able to successfully run31 degrees of timing on pump gas, where the 1,038 score was once againrepeated.
We then ran three consecutive runs to mimic the EMCcompetition, with excellent results. The average score dropped by lessthan 1 point across the three runs. A post-test leakdown showed allcylinders were in the 2-3 percent range. The motor was ready to beshipped to the competition.
Unfortunately, this is where things began togo wrong. After hooking up the motor to the DTS dyno, the power andground feeds to the MSD were crossed--the MSD 6A was toast. The waterlines to and from the motor were shut while locating a suitablereplacement for the fried MSD. After finding one, the motor was refiredand warmed up under load only to discover the water to the motor wasnever turned back on. The motor overheated badly (steam shooting out ofthe thermostat housing is bad sign).
Realizing the Performer RPM...
Realizing the Performer RPM intake was restricting the powerful 410stroker, we brought it over to Extrude Hone for porting. We know of nobetter way to attack the long runners in the dual-plane intake than withthe pressure-fed abrasive media used in the Extrude Hone portingprocess. Our hunch was right in that the Performer RPM intake(originally designed for a mild 351 appli-cation) was indeed restrictingthe 410 stroker, as the Extrude Hone porting unearthed another 14.7average points.
The water valves were reopened, butthe damage was apparently already done as evidenced by the first powerpull. No amount of tuning could stop the ever-decreasing powerproduction. We managed to make the final six with a score of 991.6points and finished sixth overall with just 971.4 points. On thepositive side, we did manage to make the finals in our first attempt andproved we could compete in this arena. It's just a bummer the motor wasnever given the opportunity to show its true potential. A post-mortemleakdown showednumbers as high as 26 percent on seven of the eight cylinders.
[Editorsnote: Initially we were concerned about the difference between theSuperFlow and DTS dynos, but we were relieved after seeing thepreliminary score posted by fellow Ford competitor Dunn. His motorrepeated the score achieved during testing at the Westech dyno within1-2 points, so we were excited about running our motor, especially giventhe eventual winning scores.]