clutchdust
Millionaire Playboy
I have a friend here who is originally from France. I like this guy, he cracks me up. Part of what makes him so entertaining is also what frustrates me to no end.
A few months ago he bought this old Chevy pick up someone else had already put a late model 454 in. He pulls it out and asks me to rebuild it. He says he wants to "go crazy" with it, can I build it. "Hell, ya" I say. Now here's the fun part. I tell him we can build a 600hp NA motor and he gets all excited. Then I tell him we need to buy forged pistons, rods and crank.
"Oh, no. I want to reuse the stock pistons, rods and crank". Keep in mind these are just the stock bits that this motor left Tonowanda with. Not only that but we had to use a ridge reamer just to get the pistons out without breaking the ring lands.
So he then asks me how much I think I can build. I tell him reusing the old bottom end and just putting a cam kit in (I'm giving him a good set of oval port heads for it) we can make around 400, for a little while, but it will also burn oil.
He's all disappointed in this and just can't understand why.
So how do I explain to my friend that you can't just slap a big, fat cam and carb on any engine and make 700hp?
A few months ago he bought this old Chevy pick up someone else had already put a late model 454 in. He pulls it out and asks me to rebuild it. He says he wants to "go crazy" with it, can I build it. "Hell, ya" I say. Now here's the fun part. I tell him we can build a 600hp NA motor and he gets all excited. Then I tell him we need to buy forged pistons, rods and crank.
"Oh, no. I want to reuse the stock pistons, rods and crank". Keep in mind these are just the stock bits that this motor left Tonowanda with. Not only that but we had to use a ridge reamer just to get the pistons out without breaking the ring lands.
So he then asks me how much I think I can build. I tell him reusing the old bottom end and just putting a cam kit in (I'm giving him a good set of oval port heads for it) we can make around 400, for a little while, but it will also burn oil.
He's all disappointed in this and just can't understand why.
So how do I explain to my friend that you can't just slap a big, fat cam and carb on any engine and make 700hp?