Think I could get 500 hp to wheel na with that block? I was thinking of going eit
He put 434 to the wheels with that BBw setup. That's crazy, I always wanted to go n/a as I always believed forced induction was for commies dammit. I guess I'll put together the money for the boss block then, he mentioned in that thread he wanted to try the Ford Hot Rod Cams, to see how much power he could make, but now I know I'm sticking with Ford Performance parts whenever I can. I wonder if I could get that block 500 wheel.
Throw enough money at an engine you can make it sing and dance like a possessed toaster from Ghostbusters 2. Cylinder Heads are as important as what block they sit on. The 3v was a great design for its day, but it's still just a 3v. Cranking 500whp NA out of a 3v is a tough goal. I know plenty who sunk bundles into their NA setups just to squeeze 400 NA out of a 281 3v. The big bore block gives you displacement advantage, but Natural Aspiration is like conducting a symphony, all of the parts have to play to the same goal. Look at the GT350, for example. Specifically built for bucking NA power, yet every boost-addict on the planet was thinking, "Imagine if it had xx psi behind it!"
I'm just a 3v junky, not a conductor, I can't say what it'll take to crank 500whp NA out of a BBB. All I know, it'll be expensive. What Bruce did with his was gorgeous, but I don't think he had an agenda behind his build other than it was built to his specification of personal enjoyment, that just happened to rev to the tune of 400+ NA 3v. I would own his car right now if I had the money I have now back then to drop on another car (or could have sold mine sooner).
I'm more of an efficiency man, personally. For every dollar I sink into a car, I expect a certain margin of performance in return. NA potential in a 281 3v has diminishing returns. More cubes increase those returns considerably, but you're changing the platform to get bigger returns (no longer OE 281). As much as I envied Bruce's build, I made similar power or better with a $2,000 used blower kit on an otherwise OEM 281 3v. My aspiration for more power faded quickly when I came to terms with the power I had put to the street. I have a friend with a 630whp Terminator, and frankly the car is a waste on the street. There isn't a gear that's useful at WOT below 90mph. Unless you just enjoy drifting from light to light.
I certainly recognize the entertainment in high power builds, though. I fantasize often of buying a '98 Cobra as my base platform and building it to turbo spec's, hog the heads out and port match everything, call it done somewhere around 600-700whp. Personally, I like the "B" head 4v 281, so often under-estimated and under-valued. But, I would be coming out of pocket (car + build) almost the same money I could buy a used '11-'17 for, and have an inferior chassis. It'd be great in a straight line, but I'd have to sink even more money to hope to keep up in braking, cornering, and stability. While the S550's are the better car, I still can't get over the fact that they've turned them into tanks, nearing full size pickup weight of yesteryear. I fluster today's charger's and challengers with my little Focus ST, by the time they make full steam I'm long gone being 1,000lbs lighter and making max power at 2,500rpm. Given enough road, one could certainly reel me in, but such circumstances rarely exist in random street grudges. Leaving them red with a $40,000 asphalt yacht. No, I faced the choice of my little hot hatch or a used S550 already, I just couldn't drag the boat anchor in my environment. The call of a Ford V8 will just have to brood a while longer, preferably to the tune of a '07-'11 GT500 when the time comes. TVS swap, done.
If you do go for the big bore block, I'm certain BruceH is still lurking these parts to give you pointers. The hot rod cams sure sound great and produce some decent gains, not exactly a max effort cam but gains with style. I think he wanted to swap just for curiousity. I don't recall if his 3v heads were ported or not, I want to say they were. Either way, once you hit the diminishing returns wall NA, the only step left is power adder. If I had still had the drive to build engines, for a 3v, the big bore block would have been the direction I wanted to go.
Mounting the P/S pump was the only fabrication I did.
