CAR CRAFT Magazine Ford 302 Build - March 2016

So how do you crank-dyno an engine that's installed in a car with accessories (even though not hooked up)?
You can't. Maybe you're right about them lying. They've done it before.

 

It's SAE J1349 and yes, all the accessories and the stock exhaust components are supposedly hooked up but the torque is measured without the transmission and rear end in place. There is probably some bending of the rules going on.

MD

 

You guys honestly think the auto mfgrs didn't have the resources to test a engine as it would be configured in chassis??? We aren't talking back yarders or even a high end dyno shop, but multi million/billion dollar companies...

They didn't just have dyno rooms but warehouse size buildings that had multiple dyno cells... There are stories of Ford running 427 NASCAR engines and the cammers, till they blew leaving gouges in the concrete from flying rods and broken cranks...

 

Of course they had all necessary resources, but what would be the point of doing it that way? You can get crank hp on an engine dyno and you can get RWHP on a chassis dyno. What would be the point of installing an engine in a car and then hooking a crank dyno to it??

 

All three car makers down played HP on their big blks in those days to get past the insurance companies so they could sell their cars.This is also when in Nascar they wanted to win on Sunday & sell on Monday so the competition was fierce.

 

magazine fluffery aside.. the GT40 heads are worth a solid 20-25 horsepower over older castings. Put those same parts on a 302 running high compression 289 heads with a near 230° @.050 camshaft and you have nearly the same power.

The other thing many car guys don't understand is that state of the art valvejobs make a HUGE difference in potential power while pushing average power up at the same time. Even pure stock drags leave ample room for improvements in that area. Many race classes also allow some wiggle room for compression ratios and valve angles too.

Then you get into full engine blueprinting where even more power can be found. I've also seen firsthand and been told by a previous engine masters contestant that the e6se heads(the ones with the deep heart shaped chambers) can easily be FLAT milled .100 or more and squash the E7's and GT40 stuff on a compression motor and especially when porting is allowed.