Royal Purple Engine Challenge Featuring the Hemi

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The state-of-the-art dyno facility at Comp Cams will be the place for each Hemi engine to show its muscle.

The first engine to arrive was from Speed-o-Motive.

Next to arrive was David Bruns and his wife from Mid America RacingEngines. Boy were we glad all these guys had engine cradles.

We had our trailer and shade tent ready to go when the Challengeparticipants arrived. When the engines were residing under the tent,there was several thousand horsepower on hand. Unfortunately, one of theparticipants, Hensley Performance was unable to have their engine to theNats.

At the conclusion of the Mopar Nationals, the engines were all loadedinto the trailer, and the trek to Comp Cams in Memphis, TN, began.

As soon as the truck and trailer arrived at Comp Cams, all the engineswere off loaded and placed inside Comp's facility. We chose Comp Camsfor the testing, due to their professionalism, ability to accommodatethe builders, the reputation they have for being enthusiasts, and takingcare of customers.

And here they are, our seven participants in the 2005 Royal Purple/MoparMuscle Engine Challenge. Stay tuned as we thrash these engines on thedyno, and let the numbers tell the story.

Royal Purple- Mopar Muscle Hemi Challenge Debuts at The 'Nats

The single largest national turnout for any and all things Mopar took place the weekend of August 12th through the 14th in Columbus, Ohio at the National Trail Raceway. Displaying everything from concourse-worthy restorations to tube-chassis, fiberglass-bodied supercharged Hemi dragsters, the Mopar Nationals hosted tens of thousands of spectators, manufacturers, racers, enthusiasts, and vendors. Starting things off bright and early Friday morning, the 'Nats went three days strong under the blazing Ohio summer sun and sticky thick humid air. Many, including most of us at Mopar Muscle found sanctuary under the shade of many of the giant Mopar Performance tractor-trailers or with an icy beverage.

Speaking of trailers, Mopar Muscle brought it's own trailer along for the Royal Purple Engine Challenge. Stationed between industry bigwigs,MP and Year One, Mopar Muscle's display featured seven of our eight invitees presenting their participating powerplant. Standing next to their engine for three days straight, we have to commemorate each builder for toughing out the harsh temperatures and gladly answering all the questions that were thrown their way over the three-day weekend. It was a trying time, we all had to agree it was totally worth it. The attention each engine builder's 500-inch Hemi received was worth the trouble alone.

At the conclusion of the Nationals, tech editors Dave Young and Steve Dulcich loaded up the trailer and headed South to Comp Cams gorgeous facility in Memphis, Tennessee where in the next few weeks Mopar Muscle will return to dyno test each participating engine and draw this year-long competition to a close with the victor returning home with the bragging rights of producing the winning engine of the first inaugural Royal Purple Engine Challenge!

It's a concept that peaks the interest of every Mopar guy. When anything is planned around a Hemi engine, you better believe that people will notice. We decided to borrow a platform for edit that has been around since magazines have been printed, and tailored it so the Mopar faithful could call it their own. What we came up with is called the Royal Purple Engine Challenge with Mopar Muscle. For this first of what should be an annual event, we chose to feature the 426 Hemi in a dyno challenge.

Now what we don't want, is engines to show up that are purpose-built to survive a few pulls on the dyno, and then never see the light of day in a car. So we have come up with a few guidelines, that we hope will curtail the wanton use of high rpm race parts, and focus more on parts and manufacturers of street performance parts that can be used on any potent street performer. What we're getting at is, that all of these engines must past a verifiable parts list, using only parts available over the counter through any supplier. One-off, custom-built items are not going to be used. What good is an engine for an engine builder if it's life span is used up during one day of dyno testing? Hopefully, when these engines are tested, they will be something that any reader wanting a good performing street Hemi can buy through the builders. Each engine will be scored using a simple composite scoring system that when tallied, will show how affordable Hemi horsepower is. We will do this by listing the cost per horsepower (See rules for an example).

We don't only plan to do this once, but after we finish the HemiChallenge, we will do a 440, and then 383, and so on.

Unfortunately, limitations dictate that we will only be selecting eight engine builders to participate in each Challenge. So, if you areinterested in being a part of this exciting competition, check out the rules via the link below, fill out the application and send it in.

Click the Picture Above for Rules and Application

Or Click here for Royal Purple Mopar Muscle Engine Challenge FAQs

For more information on the Challenge's title sponsor Royal Purple Synthetic Oil, please visit their web site www.royalpurple.com

We are happy to announce the eight chosen finalists for the 2005 Royal Purple/Mopar Muscle Engine Challenge. These eight finalists were chosen from mailed entries, and have all confirmed to be able to participate. The eight finalists are: