We live in a world of outrageous street machines capable of making astounding amounts of horsepower. With enough money in hand, horsepower levels are limitless, and a thousand street ponies seem to be becoming the norm. Look around; engines of this caliber are popping up all over cruise nights, car shows, and road trips across the country-exactly why we've decided to build our own 1,000hp pump-gas big-block. Our goal is to uncover just what it takes to build one of these monsters. We will be right up front and say that unless you are a professional engine builder, this is a time-consuming, expensive project (but one that'll surely impress).
To get things started we contacted SA Engine Design about what it would take to build a street-friendly 1,000-plus-horsepower engine. We filled out a complete SAED preview sheet and presented our requirements: It has to run on pump gasoline (91 octane), be fuel injected, and make at least 1,000 hp at or below 6,500 rpm. Sounds challenging, but we were assured that it wouldn't be impossible. The design called for a 496ci Coast High Performance stroked Rat block, a Comp Cams valvetrain, Dart cylinder heads, a complete ACCEL DFI fuel injection, and an intercooled F2 supercharger from ProCharger. Our recipe for power had arrived, and we dove into the build from the bottom end up.
The engine began its life at Coast High Performance, where a complete 496ci short-block was built with a double-keyway 4.250-inch forged crankshaft, H-beam rods, and 4.311-inch-bore dished pistons. Underlining the crankshaft is a high-performance Milodon oil pump and pick-up covered by a matching 7-quart oil pan. To mate with the crankshaft snout is a double-keyway Fluidampr harmonic balancer responsible for keeping internal engine shakes at a minimum.
Up top we opted for a set of aluminum-casting Dart Pro 1s ported and massaged by High Velocity Heads in Knoxville, Tennessee. While the 335cc intake-runner design may seem small at first, it's anything but. The smaller runner will actually increase low-speed airflow to promote idle quality, while still being more than capable of pounding the grunt on pump gas. Speaking of pump gasoline, the cylinder heads are set up with 119cc combustion chambers to work with 0.053-inch-thick MLS head gaskets. After checking the piston-to-valve clearance we dropped in a set of Schubeck lifters for added insurance. Above and below the mighty lifters is a Comp cam measuring 0.673/0673-inch lift with 256/266-degrees of duration at 0.050 inch, while being ground on a boost-friendly 114-LSA. Above the Schubeck lifters are 31/48-inch-thick, 8.850-inch-long exhaust and 8.050-inch-long intake Hi-Tech Comp Cams pushrods working 1.7:1 Pro Magnum roller-tipped rockers on 71/416-inch studs. All the gaskets are Fel-Pro, while the valve covers are scripted and polished HVH specials. The valve covers come complete but will require a driver-side notch to clear an F2 supercharger. Closing the engine up is a fuel-injected EFI single-plane ACCEL intake manifold that's been topped off with Wilson Manifold's 90mm throttle body and matching side-mount elbow. According to SAED, a 90mm throttle body is more than capable of handling in excess of 1,300 hp, but if there are plans for big boost, a 105mm throttle body and elbow would be the way to go. Something to keep in mind for future reference is that the Wilson elbow and throttle body require substantial hood clearance-so plan on stepping up to a cowl hood if you don't already have one.