The valves are titanium and...
The valves are titanium and measure a healthy 2.300/1.780-inch diameter, but have .100-inch longer stems.
It's The Tops
Heads make power! No one can argue with that, and to make sure there was enough power made, a set of Brodix B-1 heads was chosen. Now, Brodix makes a really good head right out of the box, but these were given to Dwayne Porter, who cleaned up the bowls, gasket matched the intake ports, and polished the chambers. Afterwards, Best Machine touched them with a Serdi valve job, using custom cutters designed by Best Machine. Special provisions were also made to the heads to accommodate additional cooling lines added under the center exhaust ports to help cooling. This extra cooling was deemed necessary for when the 350hp NX Pro Shark Fogger is applied. To finish the heads, Stealth titanium valves, measuring 2.300/1.780 inches, are actuated by the T&D rocker arms and Manton 71/416-inch pushrods. Feeding the monster a metered dose of juice is a Pro Systems 1250 Dominator perched on an unported Brodix intake.
There are several good aftermarket...
There are several good aftermarket distributors available; the problem is that with our heads, a stock-style distributor will not fit. Best Machine chose to use a NRC (Newman Racing Components) offset distributor.
The Results
We can blow a lot of hot air, and tell you the what, where, and how of what we did, but unless we show you the what, where, and how of what we did, it's just that-hot air. So follow along, as we show you just what it took to build enough horsepower to make a '72 Dodge Dart travel the quarter-mile in 8 seconds.
Chart 1
B-1 Head Flow
Super Flow 600 measured at 28 inches of water
| | Intake | Exhaust |
| Lift | cfm | cfm |
| .100 | 80.7 | 64.6 |
| .200 | 159.1 | 121.5 |
| .300 | 223.6 | 186.7 |
| .400 | 286.2 | 235.0 |
| .500 | 339.3 | 254.4 |
| .600 | 374.6 | 262.7 |
| .700 | 393.4 | 267.2 |
| .800 | 371.4 | 270.5 |
| RPM | TQE | HP |
| 5,500 | 731.9 | 766.5 |
| 5,600 | 731.0 | 779.4 |
| 5,700 | 729.7 | 791.9 |
| 5,800 | 726.5 | 802.3 |
| 5,900 | 731.8 | 822.1 |
| 6,000 | 726.7 | 830.2 |
| 6,100 | 729.5 | 847.3 |
| 6,200 | 727.5 | 858.8 |
| 6,300 | 721.2 | 865.1 |
| 6,400 | 720.9 | 878.4 |
| 6,500 | 711.5 | 880.6 |
| RPM | TQE | HP |
| 6,600 | 704.3 | 885.0 |
| 6,700 | 693.1 | 884.2 |
| 6,800 | 692.0 | 896.0 |
| 6,900 | 684.5 | 899.2 |
| 7,000 | 679.7 | 905.9 |
| 7,100 | 672.9 | 909.7 |
| 7,200 | 666.8 | 914.1 |
| 7,300 | 658.5 | 915.2 |
| 7,400 | 644.5 | 908.1 |
| 7,500 | 636.1 | 908.4 |
With the engine together,...
With the engine together, it was time to see if it really was as good as we hoped. The engine was loaded on the Superflow 901 dyno at Impastato Racing in Chesterfield Township, Michigan.
Making this engine live requires...
Making this engine live requires some serious oiling concerns be addressed. The custom Striaghtline oil pan was fitted with several location-specific oil lines. A Milodon Pro Stock oil pump with an Indy Maxx Remote filter cover ensures oil reaches every place it's needed.
The single-plane Brodix intake...
The single-plane Brodix intake was not ported. These intakes possess an impressive flow capability without needing any touching. We're sure there are one or two more horsepower to be had by grabbing a cutter, but opted to not do it yet. Besides, we will be trying another intake plumbed for nitrous at a later date.
Before the engine was run,...
Before the engine was run, valve lash was set at .023/.029-inch. After a brief warm-up and break-in run, lash was reset at .014/.017-inch warm.
Once everything was connected,...
Once everything was connected, the Pro Systems 1250 Dominator carburetor was primed, and the engine roared to life with no hassles. Running an engine on the dyno is a harsh environment, so before any testing was done, the engine was allowed to run with no load applied at various rpm.
After the warm-up period,...
After the warm-up period, a couple pulls were made to get the carburetor jetting where it needed to be (84 front jets with a 5.5 power valve, and 92 rear jets with no power valve), then a final power pull was made.
And there you have it, 915.2...
And there you have it, 915.2 hp at 7,300 rpm and 731.8 lb-ft of torque at 5,500 rpm. If that ain't enough to curl your toes, give the guys at Best Machine a call, we're sure they can accommodate you.