By the way, I asked Ken if he could use the Synergyn Synthetic Race Oil on the dyno. I always heard you should break in a new engine on "regular oil" but that is NOT true. He poured in the Synergyn 15-40 and let it rip. He said he prefers synthetics and, if they offer better protection, why not protect it right from the start.

The dyno results were impressive. The horsepower peaked out at 817 hp at 6800 rpm. Peak torque of 728 foot pounds was attained at 5400 rpm. A really flat torque curve and over 800 horsepower fill all the needs I had. One interesting note was the exhaust gas temperature. At 7000 rpm they only varied 120 degrees between cylinders, which is proof the Indy 440-1 head and intake package is a very good one.

When I arrived at the Indy Cylinder Head shop on a Saturday morning to pick up the engine it was a "jaw-dropper" for me. A huge shop filled with tons of MOPAR POWER. Aluminum blocks, racks of Callies cranks, complete engines and literally dozens of engines in different stages of completion. MOPAR "paradise" for me. I can guarantee you if you are a Chevy or Ford guy the engine builders for those engines should have the same "look." I am used to local shops that rely on OEM machine work to make a living and do "race work" as a sideline. I am sure Reher-Morrison, Shafiroff, Bill Mitchell, etc all have the same type of operation.

Once I had the engine deal all sorted out I needed a set of headers. If you have a big block Chevy there is a huge selection of headers out there, but MOPAR racers have more decisions to make. I talked to Jim at Dragstar Chassis and he said he could weld me up a set. We called Indy Cylinder Head and got their suggestions on tube size and Jim ordered a kit from Dyna-Tech Headers. He ordered a set of tubes and did a terrific job of fabricating a set of headers. The amazing part is I had already picked up the car so he made them without the car being there.

I decided I wanted mufflers and, after talking to Dyna-Tech, we ordered a set of their newest header mufflers. They come coated and with three different noise rings that can be used to adjust the noise levels. We are planning some tests when we get to the track and will let you know if the noise levels are related to changes in E.T. or MPH. The mufflers looked great with the factory applied high temp coating.

When I received the headers from Jim they were in need of a quality coating. I contacted LO-KO Performance Coating in Oak Lawn, IL. They offer a coating they call "Superkote." When you consider what headers cost these days you might as well protect them and make them look good at the same time. They did a great job and turnaround time was less than a week. The pictures show the quality job they did.