A Preview into our 1000 HP Small Block Ford Build

1000 Horsepower, 91 octane, and reliability, all words that you normally don’t hear together. Right here is the newest recruit, a blown and carbureted, 427 cubic inch small block Ford for our ’65 Mustang we call “Biting the Bullitt.” Our quest behind this project is to walk the fine line between all-out power while keeping it reliable enough to cruise on the streets. The ‘65 Mustang currently has its anemic inline six still installed in it, but that’s all gonna change.

The men behind the engine build is QMP Racing. They will be performing the machining, assembly, and dyno work. Brad Lagman is heading up the project and will be doing a few trick things to our combination, including lifter bushings and some custom oiling features. We will be filming the machining and assembly over two days and then a full day on the dyno to dial in the combination.

An Overview of the Short Block

The heart of our build is Dart’s ultra durable Iron Eagle block. Dart offers this block. Going for maximum cubes, we selected the nine-five deck in a 4.125 bore. Dart recommends a maximum bore of 4.165, though you might not want to go that big if it is a forced induction application. Reinforced head bolt bosses are blind tapped to prevent leaks while extra thick decks prevent head gasket leaks. The block features Dart’s proven priority main oiling system that feeds the main bearings before being pumped to the cam. This system also promotes better oil pressure and does not need a high pressure pump. The bottom end comes with large journal, 351 Ceveland mains and splayed billet steel four bolt main caps. Dart also offers billet aluminum main caps as an upgrade.

Ross 9:1 Pistons, Eagle 4340 H-Beam rods with the ESP finishing process, and Total Seal AP rings

The rotating assembly starts with Ross 4.125 bore, 9:1 dish pistons that are based from a single piece of 2618 billet bar stock that has been heat treated and aged to a T61 condition, just like a fine wine. They will be wrapped with a set of file-fitted Total Seal AP steel rings which are among the flattest, tightest tolerance piston rings available. The pistons and rings were hung on a set of Eagle’s 6.200 length, 4340 H-beam rods with ARP 2000 rod bolts. The rods have been surface treated with Eagle’s ESP process that is designed to help shed oil and increase horsepower. To compliment the pistons and rods, we went with a Eagle 4340 forged, internally balanced, 4-inch stroke crankshaft that also features the ESP finishing process.

Innovators West new Super Duty dampener with upgraded blower hub and 3/8-inch hub bolts.

A properly matched oiling system is crucial to an engine’s survival. The Melling high volume, standard pressure oil pump supplies the additional oil we need to lubricate our Paxton supercharger while retaining standard pressure due to Dart’s priority main oil feeding design. The bottom end is covered up with a Canton extra capacity, front sump oil pan that is perfect for a street/strip application and is secured with ARP fasteners.

QMP is machining a second key in our crank that was designed for our Innovators West Super Duty dampener. It is an all new design that sports an upgraded blower hub and larger 3/8-inch hub bolts. The hub is even so thick that it includes a new, thinner front main seal.

Capping it off with the Long Block

Dart's CNC Pro 1 heads come with 225cc CNCed runners that flow a 325 CFM

The cylinder heads are the main organs when it comes to controlling new air and fuel, as well as exhausting the spent fuel. Our cylinder head of choice are the Dart Pro 1 225cc, CNCed cylinder heads. They feature full CNCed runners that flow A LOT of air. They can move 325 CFM on the intake and 235 CFM on the exhaust at seven hundred lift. The assembled heads come fitted with high quality components, including dual valve springs and titanium retainers.

Crower's ultra durable stainless steel shaft mount rockers in a 1.6 ratio and upgraded roller bearing tip

Backing the Dart heads is a set of Crower’s stainless steel shaft mount rockers. These are extreme duty rockers that feature a 1.6 ratio. The shaft mount rockers heavily resist flex under load while keeping the rotating weight low onto the valve. The needle bearing tip option further reduces resistance and valve guide wear. Since our 427 is designed to see a lot street driving, we again turned to Crower for their hydraulic roller tie bar lifters. These lifters feature a redesigned body and bearing for superb longevity. Tying the rocker to the lifter is a Crower one piece push rod. The Crower custom ground hydraulic roller camshaft features a 260/266 duration at fifty, .619 lift and a 114 degree lobe separation.

A direct line of slight and a port volume large enough to flow the air you need is critical to a boosted application. We selected Edelbrock’s Super Victor intake manifold that features everything we are looking for. To enhance the intake manifold even further, Ford Performance Solutions hand ported our Super Victor for a smoother flow over the casting and boasts an additional 45 CFM of airflow.

Providing the air/fuel mixture to the intake manifold is a AED 950 CFM blow thru carburetor. AED wet flows and designs their carburetors specific to a customer’s combination so that it performs the best it can right out of the box, on both the street and strip. Aiding the fuel delivery from the AED carburetor will be a Snow Performance water/methanol kit that will eliminate the need for a intercooler while giving enough additional octane to run a more aggressive tune-up.

The spark comes from none other than MSD with their mechanical, billet body, pro race distributor. Accompanying the distributor is a set of MSD 8.5 MM plug wires. On the dyno, the ignition will be finished off with a HVC-II coil and 7531 box, that will later go in the Mustang.

Paxton's new NOVI-2500 supercharger boasts a total power output of 1300 horsepower with its new redesigned wheel.

For our power adder we turned to Paxton and their all-new NOVI-2500. It features a redesigned compressor wheel that allows it to produce over 1300 horsepower at 30 PSI of boost. The supercharger feeds Paxton’s new Forcepower carburetor hat, which has been engineered to distribute air evenly across the top of the carburetor, that can be a problem with other carburetor bonnets on the market. Exhausting the additional off-acceleration boost pressure from the system is Vortech’s Maxflow BV57 blow off valve.

Acting as the glue to hold all our components together are a full line of ARP bolts and studs as well as Fel Pro and Cometic gaskets that were supplied by netgaskets.com.