Rant: Horsepower/muscle car tv shows

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Dotchguy

Dotchguy

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[1st] Ok wtf I get up turn on horsepower tv to get motivated to my surpise they are building a 440 WOO HOO a mopar engine finaly , these guy put {by my estimation} 8000.00 to 10,000$ into this thing eddy heads, hydraulic roller , roller rockers , eddy 6 pack intake, trick ballancer, eagle crank , look like speedpro 9-9.5 pistons pop in on the dyno and walla 500 or so tourqe HUH?
and a whopping 429 hp ...WTF? those are weak *** numbers for ANY roller cammed BigBlock WTF WTF? the factory rating was 390 hp for a sixpack 440 thay gained 40 hp??? WTF? not to brag but I put together a 580 hp 560 tq 440 together 2 years back for 3200.00$ {not including headers , carb ect..things any hot rod guy has arround]. wtf are these guys smoking on that show? wtf is an " intake ManiFOWD BOWT" oh and imediatly after they dynoed the 440 they follwed up with an 800 hp Shitty BigBlock} wtf?:thebirdm:

{2nd} next up Muscle car loved that show when Lou Was on on it "lets make some biscuits" Boom guess what they are working on a Mopar SAAA WEEEET a baracude at that...its gunna be a good day and WTF happens they proclaim the 8 1/4 is too weak for there monster 429 hp 440 probably true although I have used that 8 1/4 behind some of my 440's on street tires without issue..im cool with that but WTF its 8 3/4 WTF? do thay not know what the rear end was? no way....these guy are always replacing rearends with ford 9" how could you mistake an 8 1/4 for an 8 3/4 which looks a hell of alot like the 9" they love to install on EVERYTHING that rolls in the shop? WTF?
Sorry Rant!:thebirdm:
 
I hear ya, at least there better than nothing.

Make sure you log on to horsepower TV and post a ***** and rag on Loy and the crew(s)!

After all, the self proclaimed car guy should get a full salomi in his *** for such mistakes.
 
Ya I just watched that and was severely disappointed. The reason they used the 9" is that a Dana "might" be better but it is too heavy and has availability issues and you can't get a good gear selection. Buy a Moser and get your gear selection from Strange Engineering. Anything from 3.54 to 5.13 at least.

Must be sponsored by Ford.
 
Those shows are nothing but advertising. They aren't interested in doing anything right, it's about selling product.

Look at that Nova as an example. The guy that got it chopped the entire rear suspension they put in out of the car.

They probably get a deal on 9" rears from currie or whoever is supporting the show.

The 440-6 engine was pathetic. My $2500 360 makes more hp than that pile.
 
I saw that episode and as a rule I'm usually fairly happy to watch. But I have to agree about that particular show. Seems like they had a component mismatch with that 440 or maybe low compression pistons. Maybe thats what they get for having a chevy guy build a Mopar engine
 
needsaresto said:
I saw that episode and as a rule I'm usually fairly happy to watch. But I have to agree about that particular show. Seems like they had a component mismatch with that 440 or maybe low compression pistons. Maybe thats what they get for having a chevy guy build a Mopar engine
Click to expand...

Yeah, lets heat the rod ends cherry f'ing red with a torch to install the pins. Genius! If you build engine for a living, buy a dang rod heater.
 
I sent a very nasty email to them on how they do things and what they are using and their combo,and if they needed a real engine builder to contact a few people I know to show them how to do it for 1/3 the money and make more power,mrmopartech
 
Damnn! You beat me to it! Actually I couldn't find the contact link...

That engine buider they have is a moron...I'd love to send them some hate mail too. My freakin Grandma could make more h.p than that 440 build.
 
okay i've built plenty of motors with my Dad so after watchin HP TV i have some questions:

Why sandblast the rods? I always just cleaned them normally

Why were they cutting the rod caps?

Why grind the corners of the rod caps?

They put the rod and rod caps together and "ground" them where the bearing would go, why?

I always took pistons to the shop and had them pressed on the rod, The guy used heat on both...Is that good, practical or cause severe damage at home?

Now what was he measuring rod bearing clearance for? My dad always mic'd things and called it a day.

I apologize if i sound stupid but i am really curious why on some of this stuff

Thanks everyone, FABO rules!!

Floyd
 
ibleedmoparts said:
okay i've built plenty of motors with my Dad so after watchin HP TV i have some questions:

Why sandblast the rods? I always just cleaned them normally

Why were they cutting the rod caps? to resize the big end of the rod. Over time the ends get out of round and this is done to bring them back into tolerances

Why grind the corners of the rod caps? Didn't see the show, but, likely to remove any burrs

They put the rod and rod caps together and "ground" them where the bearing would go, why? Same as above

I always took pistons to the shop and had them pressed on the rod, The guy used heat on both...Is that good, practical or cause severe damage at home? Only heat the rod end, no need to heat the pin, only makes the pin bigger which isn't what you want. I know guys that have put the pins in a freezer.

Now what was he measuring rod bearing clearance for? My dad always mic'd things and called it a day. Can't answer how they got the bearing clearance. Didn't see the show. Plastigauge is used, not the best method, or use inside/outside mic and dial bores gauges.

I apologize if i sound stupid but i am really curious why on some of this stuff

Thanks everyone, FABO rules!!

Floyd
Click to expand...

Those guys are interesting...
 
missed the show but were they using a crank that was radiused to where they had to chamfer the rods and the bearings were already chamfered? and was the power numbers at the wheels? maybe a bad converter or bad trans not directing the power to the wheels throwing numbers off significantly.Or possibly a improperly center lined cam giving up a lot of power. Mechanic friend i know retarded his sons clevelands valve train and it was weak for a 351 but when he turned 18 the old man set it straight up and it was a screamer. Something isnt right on this show.
 
ibleedmoparts said:
okay i've built plenty of motors with my Dad so after watchin HP TV i have some questions:

Why sandblast the rods? I always just cleaned them normally

Why were they cutting the rod caps?

Why grind the corners of the rod caps?

They put the rod and rod caps together and "ground" them where the bearing would go, why?

I always took pistons to the shop and had them pressed on the rod, The guy used heat on both...Is that good, practical or cause severe damage at home?

Now what was he measuring rod bearing clearance for? My dad always mic'd things and called it a day.

I apologize if i sound stupid but i am really curious why on some of this stuff

Thanks everyone, FABO rules!!

Floyd
Click to expand...
Sandblasting is supposed to relive stress risers along the parting line to prevent cracks BUT to work the rod correctly you need to grind down the parting line{carefuly} and then bead blast,
Cutting the rod caps is standard practice to resize the big end
IE: remove enough material to make the hole round again
they ground the Material on the top and bottom of the rods
to remove weight to match the lightest rod found in the set for ballance
as far as the pressing the pin..maybe they were showing a low buck home method for putting in the pins??? but using a pin heater is the only Way I have it done, rod bearing clearance is to measure for oil clearance too much and you end up with low oil pressure bad for street but better for racing,
too little and you may spin a bearing.
 
daredevil said:
missed the show but were they using a crank that was radiused to where they had to chamfer the rods and the bearings were already chamfered? and was the power numbers at the wheels? maybe a bad converter or bad trans not directing the power to the wheels throwing numbers off significantly.Or possibly a improperly center lined cam giving up a lot of power. Mechanic friend i know retarded his sons clevelands valve train and it was weak for a 351 but when he turned 18 the old man set it straight up and it was a screamer. Something isnt right on this show.
Click to expand...
was just motor on the dyno , they didnt degree in the cam it was straight lined using a crane TC setup{iirc} which is probaly pretty accurate for a toss it in cam setup , also I dont think they said what the cam specs were but if it was mild anough for 429 hp wouldnt a decent stock stamped rocker and a std hydraulic cam made the same or even more hp?
 
well you know that most that watch that show are bow tie or blue oval lovers they could not let any MOPAR look to good I think they did us a flaver now those guys think 440 's can not make big power even when you spend big bucks
 
Thanks guys, i appreciate the input---like i said my dad always just "built" it...not over measured, ground, etc...and he always had some awesome power in his engines.

Floyd
 
340demon said:
well you know that most that watch that show are bow tie or blue oval lovers they could not let any MOPAR look to good I think they did us a flaver now those guys think 440 's can not make big power even when you spend big bucks
Click to expand...
By the way that 580 hp 440 I built
for $3200.00 hit 7500 rpm eazy and with those Cheap chinese
needle bearing rockers too :}
Srry had to add that in~
 
I had to email musclecar tv...im wore out with their abusive Mopar histroy...here is my email, lets see what they say

I am writing because i am very disappointed in your show. You guys always buy these expensive kits and parts and make it impossible for a normal person to build this in their garage. Not to mention you've cut up 2 E bodies at my count...that Challenger and Barracuda. These are hard to come by and expensive when you do! So thank you for thining out the E body community (thats already thin) for real Mopar enthusiasts. A Ford 9 in? really? Im guessin that the the 60's and 70's hasn't taught anyone a drag racing lesson. Ma Mopar built "Factory Hotrods"...These are not Fords or Chevys like you try and make them. If you wanna build those buy and build. Maybe you need to hire a Mopar person on staff who can gut check these projects before you hack up a part of Mopar history.

Concerned Mopar enthusiast
 
Dotchguy said:
By the way that 580 hp 440 I built
for $3200.00 hit 7500 rpm eazy and with those Cheap chinese
needle bearing rockers too :}
Srry had to add that in~
Click to expand...


Not everyone builds to get every last HP out of an engine. Sounds like they were just building a solid, long lasting street engine that will run on pump gas.

You can't compare factory HP numbers with those of a modern build unless the same dyno is being used.

For example...... My car has ran a best of 11.78 @ 118 in the 1/4 mile..... I put it on the local chassis dyno and guess what I got..... 290ish Hp at the wheels. Obviously wrong....

Oh.... and this... How long do you think your Chinese rocker 440 would last hitting 7500 all the time?

Did you really use cheep Chinese rockers, then spend money to put the engine on a dyno? How do you know you made 580HP? Was it making that power at 7500?

See... Numbers are easy to toss out....


Not saying that their build was good or bad.... Just saying that could have been all they were trying to get out of it.

If they were building for 400hp, they did great. If they were building for 500hp, they didn't do so well.
 
IMO, that 440 build was sad at best.

They used parts that with any thought or tuning would make in excess of 500hp. They got 425.

A 426 wedge, 10:1, 440 source heads, rpm intake, XE275HL and 950hp, headers made 485hp/460tq on a DTS dyno.

I looked at the Crane catalog and they have some dinky hyd roller cams listed, like 204/214 .429/.452 and 214/222 .488/.509. I wouldn't be surprised if those tards, and that is an insult to the mentally challenged, put that camshaft in the thing. Likely a huge mismatch of parts. Don't talk about making power and potentially put a camshaft smaller in lift than a 440-6 hydraulic in it. If they put the cam they recommend for a 440-6 230/236 .528/.539, that thing is the ultimate dog and not even close to tuned or assembled properly.
 
What about Overhaulin?If Chip Foose gets a hold of one of my Mopars I will punch him right in the Fu@#ing teeth.That guy needs to stick to Chevys and Fords.I know all intentions are good but come on.I have seen over and over t friends and familys of the mark told Chip what the owner of the car would want and he totally ignored them.And 95% of the cars that Fu@#ing clown does are two tone in color WTF...If I want a damn two tone car I would have a car from the 50's...
Jim
 
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