The obvious start for this phase is to tear down the engine in preparation for our next set of upgrades, and George makes quick work of it.
Our quest to squeeze some extra horsepower and torque improvements out of our pair of V-8 mule motors without breaking the bank continues. This month, we're back at the Vrbancic Brothers Racing digs over in Ontario, California, with George and Bob Vrbancic to direct our attention to our small-block Ford. As you may recall, we pulled our baselines right out of the box and then proceeded to start some easy and affordable tweaks-the first of which was the installation of a set of COMP Cam's Pro Magnum roller The obvious start for this phase is to tear down the engine in preparation for our next set of upgrades, and George makes quick work of it. Our small-block Ford is a great choice for a street rod powerplant right out of the crate (in fact, an identical engine was my choice for my next project), but as we car guys realize, we can't leave well enough alone. Luckily, though, our upgrades are being handled by a pair of the best performance engine builders we know-Bob and George Vrbancic. Plus, they were smart enough not to let me within 5 feet of it while it was apart. from basic to bitchin' rockers that garnered a pretty good bump for the SBF. We next outfitted the Ford with a set of performance Lunati valve springs, lifters, and camshaft to see what we'd gain horsepower and torque wise.
As you'll see, a few affordable and relatively easy modifications have turned a more than respectable street rod engine into a real performer for much less than a king's ransom. So follow along and check out our latest quest for more power and torque.
After setting up and doing a couple of new pulls, we sat back and took a look at the gains produced by both George's efforts and the new components he installed. I was pleasantly surprised at the gains achieved; it looks as though the cam, springs, and rockers garnered quite a nice increase from the premodification results of 358.1 lb-ft @ 3,200 rpm to a post-modification result of 379.9 lb-ft @ 3,200 rpm, and 228.7 hp @ 4,400 rpm and 281.6 hp @ 4,400 rpm, respectively. An increase of nearly 60 hp and 20 lb-ft of torque-pretty impressive for minimal outlay and a few hours of labor! I'm impressed, and can't wait to see what the future holds. So stay tuned, next time we'll check out how the same set of mods affects our SBC mule motor in the near future.
