Reply to "Cheapest and easiest way to get approx 600HP"

Mikael,

If you want something impressive in your engine bay that will improve the performance of your car in a "smart" way, consider building a 351 cubic inch motor using an aluminum block, heads and intake manifold. You could use one of the currently available after market Windsor blocks with a 9.2 inch deck height, or the new Tod Buttermore Cleveland block, which I expect to become commercially available sometime this year. This will remove about 200 pounds from your car. Use an alloy radiator and a few other lightweight parts, with a target of lowering your Pantera's weight to 2900 pounds. A 2900 pound car with a 440 BHP motor has 6.5 pounds per horsepower, that's Z06 Corvette & Ford GT territory. Those cars accelerate 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds, they do the quarter mile in 11.5 seconds.

It's very easy to build a 400+ BHP street motor with the Cleveland, peaking at 6000 RPM, and retaining reliability and drivability. Dan Jones hit 440 BHP with his dyno motor. No major expense in stroker kits, roller cams or aftermarket cylinder heads is needed. And 400 to 440 BHP will put a smile on your face all day long. Of course, if you build an all aluminum motor you will be buying some aftermarket parts, but I would consider reducing the weight of the car spending your money more wisely.

If you install the widest street tires that will fit in your Pantera you can spin them all day long with 400 BHP, 500 BHP will simply overwhelm any commercially available street tire, and 600 BHP is even more over-kill . And lets not forget the Pantera's coach has a propensity for cracking, even with the stock motor.

One thing to consider, the ZF is good to about 550 ft/lbs of toruque. The radiator's foot print is good for about 500 BHP. The 351C was designed by Ford to produce about 520 BHP at 7000 RPM as an endurance racing motor; like Larry wrote, its pretty easy to make 520 BHP with a Cleveland. Increase the displacement and the engine speed where peak horsepower occurs will decrease and the powerband becomes more driver friendly. With the Pantera the stars align to make 500 to 550 BHP a reasonable limit. A 2900 pound car with 500 BHP has 5.8 pounds per horsepower.

If you go through the trouble and expense to build or purchase a 600 BHP motor and shoe horn it into your Pantera, there shall be broken parts, a cracking chassis, loosing control on the road and hitting something, finding the car is too difficult to drive and no longer any fun. Eventually you will regret the choice. I've seen people regret even having a 500 BHP motor.

If you gotta have 600 BHP we'll help you do it, but as a friend, 2900 pounds & 440 BHP is my up front advice.

-G