It's the time of year when car guys get their machines out of hibernation, wash the winter's worth of dust off of them and make plans to drive, race, and or improve their cars. One again, it's time for the All-Chrysler Nationals held each year in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Each year, the folks at Carlisle Events, Muscle Motors of Lansing Michigan, and us here at Mopar Muscle magazine, work together to build a cool engine that one lucky show participant or spectator can win.
This year, we chose to build an LA-based small block, in order to make sure that even the small block guys have a chance to win something cool. This year's engine features a seasoned Magnum block, RHS' new cast-iron cylinder heads, a complete Eagle rotating assembly, Comp Cams valve train and cam, an Edelbrock intake, and an Ultra Holley carburetor.
The engine is a pump-gas friendly 408-inch stroker that will be right at home in any muscle car or street rod. Now, we couldn't give an engine to someone with actually dyno testing it, now could we? Well, we could... So, once the guys at Muscle Motors had the engine together, it was time to hook it to the lie detector.
The base for this 408 small block is a seasoned Magnum-style block. This makes it easy to use a roller cam, as opposed to retrofitting one into an older LA block. The block was treated to a complete machining process.
Keeping in mind that this is a pump-gas friendly engine with a hydraulic camshaft, when the numbers came in at a respectable 439 horsepower at 5,900 rpm, and 493.9 lb/ft of torque at 3,900 rpm, we were more than satisfied.
Once again, the guys at Muscle Motors have assembled an engine that will make any Mopar enthusiast proud to open his or her hood at a cruise night, or at the weekend street/strip event.
