Roll Call ....Who has 600HP ??....

My engine was right at 500hp with 534 ft lbs of tq but we limited RPM to 5500. We set this engine up for TQ and it got 435 ft lbs at 2000 rpm.

So not 600hp but......

I have about 425 or perhaps 440HP now and I must have 380 to 400 ft lbs also ? I want the power, and I know plenty of guys have that much power/torque going through their gearbox. But, I'm just wondering if any power related issues have shown themselves.
Of course, I could just build for less power but I just can't. A relaxed 427 windsor at 500 to 550 sounds really good, I just don't want premature gearbox trouble down the road.
I love the car the way it is, but I just can't find a nice C block to build. So, if I'm going to overkille w/a dart block, may as well slip in a rotating assembly, at that point your looking at decent HP.
I hope I can still drive my car 3, 4, 5 times a week for ten years...
Paul...

If you drag race you risk malfunction of a major internal shaft. Arm chair education shows guys who track the car have been able to do 800hp providing they keep the trans cool with with a cooler.

So the 2 issues are hard launches and sustained cooling.

Point being, 600hp doesn't scare me unless you track it for more than a 1/2 hour or drag race it with hard launches.

Thank you, I figured cheap tires and street use around town with the A/C running would be pretty easy on parts.
Thank you for your advice.
Paul

I have over 600 HP .. by adding all of my several car's HP together. :-))

5481 has 623 HP and 520 ft/lb torque thanks to Dave McLain and Dan Jones. I just love it.

Specs. can be found at: http://pantera.infopop.cc/eve/...801050356#5801050356

Mark

Thank you Mark!...

640 hp 537 ft/lbs, 393 original Cleveland block, 7,000rpm limit. Good street manners, easy to control wheelspin if not wanted and comes alive when you want excitement.

My 408 stroked Cleveland dynos out at 552 peak Torque and 681 peak horsepower and averages 544 ft lb torque and 614 hp. I also speced out a Windsor stroked to 454 cubes that made substantially more hp and tq but I wanted to keep the original Cleveland and thought that any more horsepower/torque would eventually cost me an expensive ZF build.

I've spent enough time on the track at Laguna Seca & Infineon to realize that Sheer Horsepower does NOT translate to competitive/winning lap times.

In 1968/69 the winning cars at the 24 hours of Le Mans were 4.9 liter V8s producing 425.0 bhp @ 6000 rpms...

A late Le Mans was run in August and was the decider for the International Championship for Makes. With the GT40 win, Ford was again at the top. The winning car, chassis P/1075 repeated history in 1969 by winning Le Mans again.

Featured above is Ford GT40 Chassis P/1075. This is the most important GT40 as it won both the 1968 and 1969 Le Mans 24 hour races. Only 2 cars in history have ever achieved that goal.

1968 Ford GT40 Mark I ‘Gulf Oil’ Gallery

1968 Ford GT40 Mark I ‘Gulf Oil’ 1968 Ford GT40 Mark I ‘Gulf Oil’ 1968 Ford GT40 Mark I ‘Gulf Oil’
1968 Ford GT40 Mark I ‘Gulf Oil’ 1968 Ford GT40 Mark I ‘Gulf Oil’ 1968 Ford GT40 Mark I ‘Gulf Oil’
1968 Ford GT40 Mark I ‘Gulf Oil’ 1968 Ford GT40 Mark I ‘Gulf Oil’ 1968 Ford GT40 Mark I ‘Gulf Oil’
In Detail

type Series Production Car
built at USA
production 3
engine Ford V8 w/Gurney Heads
position Mid Longitudinal
valvetrain OHV, 2 Valves per Cyl
fuel feed Weber 48 IDA
displacement 4942 cc / 301.6 in³
bore 101.6 mm / 4.0 in
stroke 76.2 mm / 3.0 in
compression 10.6:1
power 316.9 kw / 425.0 bhp @ 6000 rpm
specific output 86.0 bhp per litr

It's NOT, "How many horsepower do you have, it's about, how many can you apply to the track"

quote:

Is anyone else out there living happily under the conditions of 600HP and 550 ft lbs ??

Yes, 600HP MME Racing engine nestling behind my shoulder. And I love it, but there's good and bad.

The good:
A WOT 2nd gear blast on a dry day, it's like warp speed in the Enterprise. It's finally a car where I don't sit and think "I wish I had more power". I actually think "I hope I survive this trip".
It's also good to have 600 HP when everybody else have max 500-550 HP, you know that the risk of meeting a faster car/Pantera is infinitesimal...
Mileage on trips is about 18 mpg, so not crazy

The bad:
While driving on a country road is super fun, driving in town is not so much. I don't have much power below 2000 rpm, and it prefers 2500 rpm. That means I use only up to 3rd gear in town, 4th on country roads and only on freeway do I use 5th.
The angles in the rods etc to get to 408 cu and the curve on the roller car, both are stretched, so I do not expect a 60000 mile problem free drive.
"I hope I can still drive my car 3, 4, 5 times a week for ten years...", hhmm, might be an argument for not getting 600 HP...

Drove it yesterday on a sunny afternoon, soon the insurance won't allow me to drive. Just got in, started it and drove off. It has a nice 4 corner idle at 1000 rpm. Had a great trip. I wouldn't switch to a milder engine...

Good luck

Thank you gentlemen, I feel better about this now.

quote:

Originally posted by No Quarter:

The bad:
While driving on a country road is super fun, driving in town is not so much. I don't have much power below 2000 rpm, and it prefers 2500 rpm. That means I use only up to 3rd gear in town, 4th on country roads and only on freeway do I use 5th.

We set the 434 up with as much TQ as we could. We got 435 ft lbs at 2000 rpm. At 60mph I am slightly above 2,000 and it feels like it needs to shift to a higher gear! I will be putting a taller 5th in mine at some point!

With 600+ bhp and a 'std' ZF, 1st gear is likely useless, making your ZF a 4-speed. By regearing, you at least get to use all the gears!

This is obvious but changing ring & pinion, you lose (slightly) the heart-stopping acceleration but gain top speed and mileage. By changing only the 5th gear pair, you retain acceleration but pick up the top end, & 5th gear mileage. The downside really only affects racers: with the 5th gear change, your open-track lap times may increase due to a wider gear-split.

Yes it is possible to spin the tires all the way through 1st gear.

bdud's car sounds like a beast!
I am not really a wheel spin guy (in this car) nor am I a top speed guy. I am more a zip around town, harass new performance cars in 1st, 2nd perhaps 3rd, just drive 75 OTR type driver.
I am so glad to hear from so many owners with big power. Makes me feel better at 525 or 550HP.

Dave Mclain built my engine: 438" Dart block Clevor stroker, CHI heads, solid roller. 666 hp @6300, 627 lbs/ft @4700. I like the cubic inches on the street, useful torque from below 1500 rpm up. With lots of top end power.

I've had no problems with the ZF transaxle. People have been putting big displacement motors in the Pantera for years (I saw one with a 572" big block Chevy). Street tires don't hook up like race tires. And I don't abuse the transaxle.

P.S. I tried to attach a dyno sheet, but it says the file is too big. Pardon my ignorance, but how do I reduce the file size?

Jack

That is big power Jack ! I should have no issues around town.

Thank you for your post!

quote:

Originally posted by jd3:
P.S. I tried to attach a dyno sheet, but it says the file is too big. Pardon my ignorance, but how do I reduce the file size?

Jack

best I could do, reducing size makes it hard to see

Big power !

I would guess it would be over 600 after break-in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUhpnE2Cjr0

Hi Jack.

Real nice numbers, where can i get one like this?

Best regards.
Kjeld Pedersen
Denmark

quote:

Originally posted by jd3:
Dave Mclain built my engine: 438" Dart block Clevor stroker, CHI heads, solid roller. 666 hp @6300, 627 lbs/ft @4700. I like the cubic inches on the street, useful torque from below 1500 rpm up. With lots of top end power.

I've had no problems with the ZF transaxle. People have been putting big displacement motors in the Pantera for years (I saw one with a 572" big block Chevy). Street tires don't hook up like race tires. And I don't abuse the transaxle.

P.S. I tried to attach a dyno sheet, but it says the file is too big. Pardon my ignorance, but how do I reduce the file size?

Jack

I suggest calling Dave Mclain (Mclain's Automotive, (573)885-3920). He built my engine.

I am very happy with it, and Dave is great to deal with.

Jack