2007 AMSOIL Mopar Muscle Engine Challenge - The Final Two Engines

In addition to a Milodon oil pan, Milodon windage tray, and Melling high-volume oil pump, Mike added these oil squirters to oil the bottom of the pistons. While this may help detonation when compression is pushed to the limit with very lightweight pistons, it also adds the weight of extra oil to the rotating assembly.

Like many of this year's competitors, MRL Performance used Magnum cylinder heads. These heads offer great potential for the money, making Magnum head swaps very popular for small-blocks.

Comp "beehive" valvesprings are some of our favorites because they offer great valve control while lightening the valvetrain to free up horsepower.

Though not as powerful as a stroked 360, Mike did show that the 318 shouldn't be overlooked as a performance engine. With the right combination of parts, the 318 can be a great choice for an A-body street/strip car.

While porting some of the pinch area from the intake ports is a common way to improve flow, Mike chose to leave his Magnum ports pretty much stock, stating the 318 just doesn't have the displacement to justify the extra flow.

To top his 318, Mike ported a factory Mopar M-1 intake manifold in-house, then added a Holley 750-cfm vacuum secondary carburetor to handle mixing the fuel and air.

Not scared to take a less conventional approach, the guys at Diamondback Engines are known for making power. needless to say, we were eager to see what kind of numbers their stroked small-block could produce.

During initial start-up, the Diamondback entry sounded strong. Had it survived, this engine would have certainly placed better than eighth in this year's contest.

Hearing a noise during their first qualifying pull, engine builder Damon Kuhn quickly aborted the run well before the required 7,000 rpm. Unfortunately, the damage was already done and was too extensive to repair in the allotted time, which resulted in a disqualification.

Though we didn't perform a complete teardown on the disqualified Diamondback entry, we did notice several tricks they employed, such as "tunneling" the cam with epoxy to direct returning oil away from the cam and rotating assembly.

Though disappointed this year, look for the crew from Diamondback Engines to compete in future engine challenges. If this year's entry is any indication, these guys have what it takes to be competitive. We congratulate the crew from Diamondback Engines for trying new technology and thinking outside the box.