Stock engine basics

[X-TECH MAN]

Originally Posted by Danpa

I have always been amazed at the amount of horsepower Stock Eliminator racers have been able to extract from their cars. I would think that the engines must be extremely efficient, squeezing the last bit of hp from every drop of fuel.
My question is, what do you guys do to the engines to make them run so strong on seemingly mundane parts?
I realize some basics like fully balanced rotating assembly and cc' ing the heads would help, but what else?
I'd like to apply some of the things to my street engine when I rebuild it.

Thanks,

Dan

I know you are looking for a somewhat honest answer here but I will leave that for another to answer. A lot of the combos are....shall we say "Enhanced" to the limit and in a lot of cases beyond. They would make a poor STREET engine. The cams are way to radical, the spring pressures are way to high and the piston rings would not seal for very long in everyday street use. Not to mention the operating range (RPM's) they are twisted to with 5.13-5:38 and up rear gearing. You would not be happy with this type of rear gearing in an everyday street car. Its a combination of precision machine work, careful assembly, and picking the right combo to begin with. On the street you are stuck with pump gas (no lead) and lower compression ratio's. Use a stroker kit for your brand of engine and go for torque to run on todays junk gas and you will be happier for it. If you want to fool your buddies just make the engine "LOOK" stock on the outside.