We are "getting there" but it is a slow process

Converting to Top Dragster
in 2004

3/10/04

I came to a conclusion this month when I sat down to write the update on converting our Super Comp / Quick Rod dragster into a dragster that could compete in Top Dragster, Quick 16 and be one of the faster cars in local bracket races. The conclusion is: I am beginning to understand why places like Reher-Morrison, Huntsville Engine, Shafiroff Race Engines and many other engine shops are doing so well. Getting parts ordered and actually delivered is almost a full-time job. All the engine parts are now sitting at Roeder Performance Machine and Jay started the assembly process this morning.

The main changes to the engine include boring it out from the 4.380" to 4.500". That bore size and the 4.500" stroke give us 572 cubic inches. Remember this is a Mopar engine so every item has to be special ordered. There are no "shelf pistons" or ring sets. We decided to go with CP Pistons for the custom ordered pistons, pins and ring package. They were great to work with, got us the pistons in about eight weeks and they are an exceptional piece of work. As most of you know I am NOT an engine builder. I have built them before for my other cars but I wanted a pro to do this one. The engine started out as the Indy Cylinder Head Bracket Master 540". It never failed me and we won a lot of races with that engine. It was time for a serious rebuild and that is what we are doing.

The Project 4-Link Mopar Mega-Block in the honing tank with the torque plate attached. Jay likes to torque the plate on then let it "set" overnight before honing those cylinders. The results are worth the wait.

The CP Pistons were a design worked out by Jay Roeder and Ric at CP Pistons. Like everyone, I wanted durability and the most horsepower we could get. The piston and pin came back weighing 598 grams which saved us about 60 grams per cylinder compared to the Indy set-up. That is pretty surprising considering the pistons are .120" larger in diameter for the new bore. CP Pistons treated the pistons to some tricks trying to squeeze some more power out of my Mopar. They cut the pistons for a .043" moly top ring and the top ring received their "CP Groove" as well as lateral gas-porting slots. This will let the compressed mixture get behind the ring and actually force it out against the cylinder wall to increase the ring seal.

Close up of the ringlands on the CP Piston shows the "CP Groove" just above the .043" top ring and the small slots are for the "lateral gas porting" option. The second groove is for the specially machined .043" second ring that has the "tapered hook" option and the third ring groove is for the 3mm (smaller than the more common 3/16" oil ring).

The second ring groove is also cut for a .043" ring but CP goes one step further and back-cuts the second ring and machines the ring with an operation called the "tapered hook". This also lets any compression that got past the first ring to actually get behind the "hook" on the second ring and force it our against the cylinder wall for better sealing. The oil ring is a very light tension 3-millimeter setup. Everything in the ring package is about minimizing ring drag and parasitic losses in horsepower caused by rings with too much tension dragging up the cylinder walls. Ric and Jay both knew I ran a Moroso 4-vane vacuum pump and this type of ring setup is almost always used with a vacuum pump to create the best oil control by the ring package and offer the best horsepower.

The finished cylinder walls are smooth as a baby's butt and almost perfectly round. This should make for a very good ring seal and better horsepower than a more standard ring package could produce.

Jay finished the cylinder walls with a 400 grit stone and with the help of the very sturdy Mopar performance Mega-Block and a BHJ torque plate I borrowed from Pete Williams at R-J Performance, the cylinders came out as close to perfect as Jay could get. The worst one checked out with a variance of only .0003" in roundness and the best one was .0001. With my technical skills all I know about those numbers is that I have lost and won a few races by a few tenths of a thousandth and those were too close to call. Accuracy makes power in engines and especially if the cylinders are perfectly round and the rings can seal up tight.

Jay got the 4.500" stroke Callies crank laid in place so "things are happening" at Roeder Performance Machine. Next up is checking piston to valve clearance, degreeing the camshaft and final assembly.

We are changing to a custom grind roller cam from Comp Cams as well as their roller lifters, springs, retainers and 10-degree keepers. More details on the cam and valvetrain in the next issue.

Jay chose the Federal-Mogul "ugly" race bearings. They are called that because that is how they look. No satin silver appearance just a goldish color that indicates it is a "race-only" bearing and ready to go to work protecting a powerful race engine.

The oil pump had three seasons on it so we got a new Melling pump that bolts onto the Indy single line external oil system. The heads are getting new valves, the intake system is getting a huge upgrade. We are going from a 4150 style single four intake with an adapter for a Dominator to the new tunnel ram from Indy Cylinder Heads that will be outfitted with a pair of King Demon RS 1090 gas carbs. One of my old buddies, Woody, matched up the ports on the tunnel ram to the Indy 440-1 heads and I appreciate the great job he did.

The new Indy Cylinder Head tunnel ram with the 1090 cfm King Demon RS / TR carbs mounted. The wood spacers are from Moroso and I finally figured out the Enderle tunnel ram linkage. This should be a major boost for our induction system and overall power. We have switched back to Sunoco race gas for this year mainly because we race so much in cool weather. The alcohol has worked great but it is a pain in the butt in cold weather.

The next update should be covering final engine assembly, the dyno test at Jeff Stealy's shop in Moline, IL, where we hope to hit over 900 HP.

Stay tuned as this ol' Mopar gets ready to race.

SOURCE BOX	Roeder Performance Machine Race Engines by Jay Roeder 1009 Bronson Avenue Waverly, IA 50677 (319) 352-2220 www.roederperformancemachine.com
CP Pistons 1902 McGaw Irvine, CA 92614 (949) 567-9000 www.cppistons.com	Comp Cams 3406 Democrat Rd. Memphis, TN 38118 (800) 999-0853 www.compcams.com
Demon Carburetors Barry Grant Fuel Systems 1450 McDonald Rd. Dahlonega, GA 30533 (706) 864-8544 www.barrygrant.com	Indy Cylinder Heads 8621 Southeastern Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46239 (317)862-3725

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