Chevy Small Block Part 22 - Lunati - Super Chevy Magazine

The Fel-Pro head gaskets we'd installed for the blower test were not up to the boost levels we made (almost 15 psi) and began to push out of the block. Amazingly, this happened right at the end when we changed blower pulleys one final time. The engine did not break on the dyno and we didn't find this problem until we tore it apart.

The Fel-Pro head gaskets we'd installed for the blower test were not up to the boost level

Speed-O also installed the biggest cam we had run up until that point, a Crane Cams hydraulic roller with plenty of lift and duration to make the power we were looking for. And then they topped it off with an ACCEL GEN VII DFI fuel injection system to give it the utmost in tunability. At the time, Speed-O had not finished their engine dyno cell yet, so we trucked the engine back to Vrbancic Brother's Racing and once-again bolted it onto their DTS engine dyno for a days worth of blowin' in some power!

In order for the boosted power increase we got to mean anything to you, we first left the blower belt and induction plumbing off so we could test it without any boost (see T31). Then we hooked the blower up and spent the rest of the day searching for power. And boy did we get some! Max 697 hp and 613 ft-lb of torque, all on pump gas (see T32). But, there was a problem, which we only found when we tore the motor back down after the tests. The Fel-Pro PN1003 head gaskets we used were never meant to hold back the kind of boost we were running (almost 15 psi) and they literally began to push themselves right out of the engine (see photos). If we were to do this again, we'd simply install a set of new Multi-Layer-Steel (MLS) head gaskets that can hold back much more pressure.

DM Part 18-Test 31:
355 cid, 9.1:1 cr, 4.030-bore 4-bolt Motown block, 3.48-stroke Lunati crank, 5.7-inch Lunati steel rods, TFS aluminum heads (Summit Racing PN TFS-30400013-CNC, 72cc chambers, 195cc runners, 2.02/1.60 valves). Accel Gen VII DFI with 55 lb-hr injectors and Dual Sync Accel computerized distributor. Crane Cams hydraulic roller camshaft (PN 119681, 306 intake / 314 exhaust advertised duration; 240/248 @ .050; .595/.595 lift, 114 lobe separation). Crane retrofit hydraulic roller lifters, Crane pushrods, and COMP Cams 1.6:1 rockers.

DM Part 18-Test 32:
Installed Procharger D-1SC centrifugal supercharger with 4.25-inch pulley.

ATI's small street blower impressed us very much with the extra power it gave (almost a 50-percent increase). If we'd known better, we would've used MLS head gaskets and could have probably cranked up even more boost and peaked over 700 hp.
ATI's small street blower impressed us very much with the extra power it gave (almost a 50
The blower test also featured the largest Crane hydraulic roller cam we'd run until that point. And considering the great power it made, even without the blower, (466 hp/424 tq). We'd say that's a winning combination.
The blower test also featured the largest Crane hydraulic roller cam we'd run until that p
When we went back to normal aspirations, we peaked the 500hp mark using a new Victor Jr. top-end package from Edelbrock and a new Mighty Demon 650-cfm carb.
When we went back to normal aspirations, we peaked the 500hp mark using a new Victor Jr. t

Test 31			Test 32
	Motor		Blower		Boost
RPM	TQ	HP	TQ	HP	(PSI)
2600	316	156	388	192	2.5
2800	346	184	415	221	2.9
3000	364	208	439	251	3.2
3200	384	230	462	282	3.9
3400	384	248	482	312	4.4
3600	385	264	500	343	5.0
3800	383	277	520	377	5.4
4000	388	395	545	415	5.8
4200	398	319	568	454	6.5
4400	404	338	583	489	7.4
4600	405	355	597	523	8.1
4800	411	375	609	557	8.9
5000	420	399	611	582	9.7
5200	424	419	607	601	10.4
5400	423	436	612	629	11.3
5600	419	447	613	653	12.2
5800	413	456	613	677	13.0
6000	405	462	606	692	13.8
6200	395	466	591	697	14.7

Max	424	466	613	697	14.7
Avg	393	333	545	471	7.8