The 2008 Amsoil/Mopar Muscle Engine Challenge - Cedarstrand Racing Engines

With a tunnel-ram intake and... 

   

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With a tunnel-ram intake and dual quad carburetion, this 440 certainly has intimidating looks. On Comp's dyno, the Cederstrand Racing 440's numbers backed up its appearance.

To top this solid short-block, Cederstrand Racing Engines was required to use the same Indy SR aluminum cylinder heads as the rest of the field. Starting with Indy's CNC ported castings, August installed S.I. Silverline stainless steel racing valves with undercut stems and performed a full-radius valve job before hand-lapping the valves. Isky PN 9357 double valvesprings were used to control the action of the .728-inch lift, 260-degree duration at .050-inch lift, Comp custom ground solid roller camshaft. T&D 1.6 ratio roller rocker arms were used for their durability and ratio accuracy, and the rocker shafts were shimmed .030 inch for perfect valvetrain geometry. Manley 3/8-inch chrome-moly pushrods with a 7.65-inch overall length were used to actuate the rockers. To spin the camshaft, August chose an accurate Milodon gear drive instead of the conventional double-roller timing chain and gears, stating that for valvetrain accuracy and durability, nothing beats a gear drive.

As a foundation for their... 

   

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As a foundation for their 440, Cederstrand Racing Engines utilized a factory '71 440 engine block.

Topping this combination, August chose Indy's tunnel-ram aluminum intake manifold with a pair of 650-cfm Holley HP series carburetors. The intake was port matched in house, and Magnaflow anti-reversion plates were installed before bolting the carbs on. To light the fires, an MSD Pro-billet distributor and MSD 8.5mm race wires routed the spark to the NGK platinum race plugs. Like most of our competitors, August says there's no one part or technique that helped him build such a powerful 440, but rather a well thought out combination of parts and techniques that helped his engine achieve its impressive power numbers. At over 670 hp, this is one bad 440 and would be fun in any street car or bracket racer. We congratulate Cederstrand Racing Engines for placing fourth in their inaugural Engine Challenge and wish August success with his new business.

Since this is a stock stroke...        read full caption Since this is a stock stroke 440, Cederstrand chose a factory forged steel crankshaft in their engine.	To keep this 440 properly...        read full caption To keep this 440 properly lubricated, Cederstrand installed a Milodon single-line external oiling system combined with a Melling high-volume oil pump. This is one of the best setups available for the big-block Mopar and will easily handle oiling duties up to 7,000 rpm and beyond.	To beef up the factory block,...        read full caption To beef up the factory block, Milodon main caps, studs, and hardware were used throughout.
To further reduce power-robbing...        read full caption To further reduce power-robbing windage, a Milodon "top fuel" style windage tray was modified slightly, and then sandwiched between the block and oil pan. A large capacity oil filter also helped reduce windage by keeping oil out of the crankcase.	6.76-inch Oliver forged connecting...        read full caption 6.76-inch Oliver forged connecting rods were combined with Ross PN 99539 forged pistons to complete the rotating assembly, and the assembly was balanced to within 1/2 gram.	Diamond flat-top forged pistons...        read full caption Diamond flat-top forged pistons were treated to special coating on the piston tops and installed to achieve a compression ratio of eleven to one.
Cederstrand Racing Engines...        read full caption Cederstrand Racing Engines used the same Indy SR heads as the rest of the competitors, and treated the combustion chambers and exhaust ports to a thermal barrier coating.	Total seal rings, with a gapless...        read full caption Total seal rings, with a gapless top ring, Napier second ring, and low-tension oil rings were used to seal the pistons in the cylinders.	S.I. stainless steel valves...        read full caption S.I. stainless steel valves were utilized and treated to the same thermal barrier coating as the cylinder heads.
	T&D roller rocker arms were...        read full caption T&D roller rocker arms were used and shimmed .030 inch off of the rocker stands for proper valvetrain geometry. Requiring the use of ball-ball pushrods, these are some of the toughest, most accurate rockers on the market for a big-block Mopar.	Cederstrand port-matched the...        read full caption Cederstrand port-matched the intake to the cylinder heads for a smooth transition at the intake port, then topped his tunnel-ram with a pair of modified Holley HP series 650-cfm carburetors.
For his last judged pull,...        read full caption For his last judged pull, August sprayed his intake with electronic parts cleaner to cool it down, netting a slight gain in power. The NHRA outlawed this practice in Pro Stock racing, so there must be something to it.	Since our contest factors...        read full caption Since our contest factors peak power and torque, Cederstrand used an Indy tunnel-ram intake manifold, giving his engine the potential to make better peak numbers than if he'd used a conventional single-plane intake.	By using underdrive pulleys,...        read full caption By using underdrive pulleys, less power is used to spin the water pump so more power is available at the crankshaft.
Like many high-performance...        read full caption Like many high-performance engine shops, Cederstrand Racing Engines is a family run business. August states that without the help and support of his family (his sister and mother attended the dyno challenge with him), he couldn't have accomplished his fourth place finish in our contest.