[DeTomaso] Flat crank V8

jderyke at aol.com jderyke at aol.com
Wed Jan 13 14:03:24 EST 2010


The 299 cube overbored & destroked Boss 302 (4.125"x 2.8") that Al 
Bloomberg used at Bonneville was pretty dependable up to 8000, until he went briefly 
to 9000. Then he pitched an expensive steel rod thru the oil pan. But you 
gotta start with strong components: see past POCA newsletters that showed 
stock 5-liter blocks splitting like firewood down the lifter valley and Bob 
Bensen's 5-l crate engine block that blew the rear main support completely off 
the block along with #5 crank journal. 351C blocks have a weak spot in the 
sculpturing above the crank journals that lets them split apart horizontally 
at very high rpms. Note this leaves the main cap bolts nicely torqued as the 
crank lays on the pavement... 
Most very high-revving engines are built for drag racing; hardly the 
Pantera's forte. If I was going to build such an engine, the first thing I'd buy 
would be an aftermarket iron cylinder block and the second would be a steel 
crank and hi-dollar rod set. NASCAR short-track manages to run 8500-9500 for 
seconds at a time, all day long but those are $60,000 motors. Good luck- J 
Deryke



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