2007 AMSOIL/Mopar Muscle Engine Challenge - Tech

RM Competition
Roseville, Michigan
If you look at the top three engines in the '07 Challenge, you might notice a trend. It seems that it's hard to beat the 408 Mopar small-block and Magnum cylinder heads when it comes to power on a budget. Inside his factory block, engine builder Randy Malik used a Lunati flat-tappet solid lifter camshaft and a Scat crank for durability. To keep costs down, factory connecting rods and Keith Black cast pistons were utilized. This engine was topped with a tunnel-ram intake and a dual Edelbrock carburetor and made impressive horsepower, landing RM Competition a Third Place finish in the '07 Engine Challenge.

Mid America Racing Engines
Washington, Iowa
Having been in all three so far, David Bruns of Mid America Racing Engines is no stranger to our dyno contests. After winning last year's competition with his stout 500ci big-block, David decided to impress us by bringing a powerful small-block to this year's Engine Challenge. Like most builders, he used a factory 360 block, boring and stroking the engine to the contest limit of 410 ci. Inside his block, David used a Cam Motion solid roller camshaft, Probe pistons, and Eagle crank and scat connecting rods. Atop the short-block, Indy 360-1 aluminum cylinder heads combined with an Indy single-plane intake and Holley four-barrel helped this engine achieve more than 560 hp for a Fourth Place finish.

Speed-O-Motive
West Covina, California
Like all the top finishers in the '07 Challenge, Speed-O-Motive used a seasoned 360 block for their build. Though the block was factory Mopar, the crank and rods were Scat, and the pistons were CP forged units. A Howards Cams solid roller camshaft actuated the valves through T and D rocker arms, and the engine was topped with aluminum Brodix B1-AMC cylinder heads and an Edelbrock Victor 340 intake manifold. This engine made great power and completed all its dyno pulls effortlessly, finishing Fifth overall in the contest.

Muscle Motors
Lansing, Michigan
Instead of bringing a purpose-built dyno engine to the Challenge, engine builder Mike Ware of Muscle Motors brought a true street engine he had built for a customer. Inside the factory block, he used a Callies crank, Ross forged pistons, and a solid roller camshaft to assemble this durable short-block. Mike topped this engine with Edelbrock Performer RPM cylinder heads and a Six-Pack of Demon carburetion. While a relatively small 400 ci and relatively expensive parts kept the Muscle Motors entry from placing better, we were impressed with the power and torque this small-block made.

MRL Performance
Jackson, Michigan
Rather than bringing a stroker small-block, engine builder Mike Liston of MRL Performance decided to show the potential of Chrysler's most widely available LA engine-the 318. Using a factory block and crank, he installed Scat rods, Keith Black pistons, and a Comp solid flat-tappet camshaft in his engine and topped it with Mopar Magnum cylinder heads. A Mopar single-plane intake and vacuum secondary Holley carburetor topped this 318, landing Mike in Seventh Place. While 380 hp was a little shy of the number he hoped for, it is still respectable power from a small-displacement engine.

Diamondback Racing Engines
Richmond,Texas
We were eager to see how the Diamondback Racing Engines entry would perform in our contest, but, unfortunately, it was not to be. While their engine fired immediately and sounded strong, a rocker arm issue caused them to abort their first qualifying pull, and repairs couldn't be made in time for the judged portion of the contest. With Brodix B1 cylinder heads, an Eagle crank and rods, and a solid roller camshaft, we're sure this engine would have placed higher if it had made the required pulls.