Thursday October 8th Engine Masters Challenge Updates and Results Sponsored by SAM

8:00 - Team #7 Revolutionary Performance & Machine/Chevy

Revolutionary Performance brought the big gun out for this year's event, loading the largest engine of the competition, a 573-cube big block Chevrolet. A glitch in the water pump caused difficulty early on, but the team handled it smoothly, and the engine was fired and ready to run. The big Chevy pulled cleanly through the warm-up phase, but the team felt it was down on power. During the tuning period the team focused on carburetor calibration with an air bleed change, and also bumped the timing. These moves did improve the output, but with a score of 2,358.8, it was not quite enough to qualify for the finals

9:00 - Team #6 Ted Eaton Specialty & Balancing/Ford

Ted Eaton of Ted Eaton Specialty and Balancing has a fondness for the Y-block Ford. These engines were very advanced for their time, and achieved notoriety in Nascar and other racing venues in the late fifties. Ted sought to update the performance of one of these classic engines, while keeping a traditional look. The 375-cubic inch engine performed well, easily making over 400 horsepower. While the combination definitely came to the competition as an underdog, it was a treat to be able to see what one of these engines can do.

10:00 - Team #5 Jon Kaase Racing (Almost Kaase)/Ford

Almost Kaase, the second team from the Jon Kaase shop came into the show with a 403-cube Cleveland combination, using the CHI 3V cylinder heads and a tunnel ram with dual quads. The engine showed very strong number in the warm-up, while Kaase and crew remained cool and collected. Scrutinizing the dyno sheets, the team decided to make a single adjustment to the ignition timing, but elected not to test run the engine during the allotted tuning period. Straight into the elimination pulls, the engine seem to benefit from the change. The numbers were stout, scoring 2,646.0 and putting the team in the current first place position.

11:00 - Team #4 School of Automotive Machinists (Entry #2)/Ford

The School of Automotive Machinists (SAMS) entry showed the tell-tail signs of the kind of execution we come to expect from SAMS. The team came to the show with a Cleveland Ford combination featuring the powerful CHI 3V cylinder heads. The engine performed flawlessly during warm-ups, and as the results of these practice pull came rolling off the dyno, the crew went to work in developing a tuning strategy. During the tuning period, jetting was adjusted, and it was the right move, with power showing an improvement. The team finished qualifying with a score of 2583.9, putting the team fourth in the standings.