2006 Mopar Muscle Engine Challenge - We Have A Winner!

Mid America Racing Engines - Washington, Ia

You may remember David Bruns of Mid America Racing Engines from last year's engine challenge, which featured 500ci Hemi motors. While David didn't win last year, he certainly made a good showing and impressing us with a powerful and very street-worthy entry. One thing David did do last year was pay attention. Carefully interpreting the rules, he realized that a stout combination of power and torque, combined with an economical list of parts, would win this year's challenge. The wedge that David brought this year epitomizes the concept of our challenge. It wasn't the most powerful engine, though it did make great power, nor was it the most economical. It was, however, the best combination of the two, and won our challenge with points to spare.

The Mid America Racing Engines' entry was the third engine to run in this year's challenge, and builder David Bruns came ready to compete. The 500-inch big-block fired right up and sounded healthy, needing only minor ignition timing and jetting changes to tune the motor to the conditions of Comp's dyno cell. This entry not only made the most horsepower of any Edelbrock-headed engine, it also made the third highest combined power and torque score. Mopar Muscle congratulates David Bruns, his wife Dianne, and the crew at Mid America Racing Engines for winning the '06 Royal Purple/Mopar Muscle Engine Challenge. Be sure to follow future issues as we go in-depth to tell you what parts and techniques were utilized to build this and the rest of the engines in our challenge.

Engine builder David Bruns preps his 500-inch big-block to run on Comp's dyno. His careful budgeting and some 741 hp and more than 644 lb-ft of torque were enough to win this year's challenge.

Engine builder David Bruns had definitely done his homework for this year's challenge, making only minor tuning changes to optimize power from his big-block.

After making the highest numbers thus far in the contest, Bruns was cautiously optimistic that this may be his year. Turns out he was right as only two of the entries out-powered his engine, but had to use expensive parts to do it, which gave him the win this year.

J.D. Engine and Machine - Columbia, MO

Jeff Dickey of J.D. Engine and Machine is also no newcomer to our engine challenge. In fact, the Hemi Jeff brought to last year's competition set the standard in terms of horsepower and torque, narrowly missing a win in the contest. This year, Jeff kept his spending in check, building a budget-minded engine that made good power as well. Knowing the big-block's propensity for big torque numbers, Jeff tuned his wedge to the highest torque of any of the Edelbrock headed engines, and the second highest torque of the contest. When the final results were tallied, the J.D. Engine and Machine entry was literally decimal points away from first place, netting a second place finish in our contest.

When the J.D. Engine and Machine entry fired up it sounded strong, but at the end of the first qualifying pull Jeff heard a noise. At the beginning of his second pull, Jeff noticed something and aborted the pull early to check his engine. What he found was a broken rocker arm adjuster that had let the number-six cylinder intake rocker back out, rendering that cylinder useless. Since the rules allow a limited time for tuning and maintenance between pulls, Jeff and his crew scrambled to make repairs. Luckily, their experience at the track taught them to work quickly and always have extra parts, so they had their engine repaired with time to spare. Making minor jetting and timing changes, Jeff proceeded to put up some impressive numbers to the tune of 718 hp and a stump-pulling 654 lb-ft of torque. We congratulate Jeff and the crew of J.D. Engine and Machine for a second place finish.

Engine builder Jeff Dickey and his crew from J.D. Engine and Machine also utilized Edelbrock's new Victor heads on their entry this year, tuning their engine to a second place finish.

A broken rocker adjuster had Jeff and his crew making repairs instead of tuning their engine during the time between dyno pulls. They still managed to make enough power, however, for a second place finish.

After their dyno pulls, the crew from J.D. Engine and Machine prepare their engine for the post dyno inspection. This engine was not only legal, but demonstrated that impressive horsepower and torque could be made without breaking the bank.