Where to buy or how to find it?

I am in the process of starting to look for hemi engine possibly for my 23T Altered. I am no mean very financially well and can buy everything on the spot so I will have to buy one thing at a time till I have everything so where is the best place to look and see what it cost and might take me at least two year to do that so I want to start buying like block, heads and so on that will need to be rebuild (Don't think I can afford new ones). I guess I will have to say what do I look for in the block or the heads. I am not looking to run like a fuel altered or a 5 sec run. I will be happy if it runs mid to high 6 or even low 7 but is tuneable to run into 6 sec zone. It will be build for blown alcohol motor. my 23T altered used to be a fuel altered and is sfi certified for 6.00 sec. Thanks for all the information and appreciate it all.

Thanks!

 

Do a Chevy engine. Not a hemi. Best bang for the dollar and 7.0 in a altered is fairly easy without beating parts to death.

 

I am more of, or just as big of a novice at blown alcohol as you are, so take my advise for what it's worth.... This article seems to be right up your alley.

Brendan Murray is a 6 X champ in his category. He also has a web site where he sells parts. I've talked to him a few times and he seems like a heck of a nice guy.

First link is an engine build. Second is his web site. You might look him up on facebook as well. Good luck

http://www.draglist.com/stories/SOD Apr 2001/SOD-042701.htm How to Build a Bulletproof 7.50 Blown Alky Chevy By Brendan Murry

http://www.racecarparts.com/





Here is some more free advice..... I spent 5 years building a super, super nice 4-link blown chassis car from scratch. I would have been WAY BETTER to have saved my money for 2-3 years and went out and bought a turn key car. Cheaper, better, no surprises, known chassis builder for resale etc

I'm looking hard at getting a alcohol or nitro funny car that I can just run for fun around here. I've decide to just go w/ a turn key deal. At worst buying a chassis and full engine/trans combo for it. I learned my lesson about building from scratch. I want one because no one else has one and it would be a show stopper for sure to hear a hemi cackle on nitro at a bracket race

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

 

509 Chev Blower Motor

I have a long Block with all the blower stuff on the front of the motor for 18500 cdn. I ran a 6:81 in a Pro Mod car that weighted 2820lbs and was only a K8 blower non-Superman. This was a very reliable motor i run it for 7/8 year with no problems. Just sold the blower and this motor is fresh and ready to run again. If you want to know more you can contact me at ray.leyten@mammoet.com or 780-598-5532 and I have some spare parts for this motor.

Thanks
Ray

 

Hemi

I agree w/ Will, go the hemi route.

We run low 6's in a 2200 lb TD, and we're babying the Brad motor, whereas you'd be pushing a BBC to near limit for the same result.
Price-wise, if you add it all up, your probably ahead w/ a good used hemi set-up, as used blocks & fatheads are easy & inexpensive to buy, repair perfectly, all use the same parts. and easy to sell. Try selling a worn out BBC with special EVERYTHING on the inside, for a decent dollar.

I know several fellas that run TD / TS, and they have spent $60 to $70 K on a super elaborate BBC full of unique stuff and/or nitrous and/or turbos and/or ...etc, and when they break, there is not a spare part at the track to be had, unless they have it in their own trailer, and good number don't.
And, most have to send the entire motor back at season's end to get it 'freshened up' (costing a bunch).
And try to sell one of these that are 5 years old for a decent dollar...

You can pretty much build an entire new Brad/TFX for the same $$, or a perfect used one for 1/2 that, and you simply have way more motor.
And keep it simple. Add any decent hi-helix 8 to 14-71 blower (don't even have to re-strip them), a good ole Enderle K barrel valve, a decent fuel pump (Waterman / Enderle 1100 ), get it all flowed & set-up (Gorr, Davenport, etc), add a 44 mag, a KB oil pump, 14 qt wet pan, and give guys like JR at RBS to help with a few small parts.
(For $30K you can drop in a full ready-to-run completely fresh used hemi)
All of this stuff is common, and easy to use, easy to tune, easy to fix, and...really cool!
Need spare parts, or a spare head? Super easy, and a perfectly built used fathead, loaded up, sell for under $2K.
Break a part on a brad motor, and the pro pits are full of parts & help (at divisionals/nat'ls).

I'd rather run a motor that i'm using 70% of it's potential, than run one that I'm asking for 110%...

Don't get me wrong, i am not anti BBC...I have several of them, and they are probably one of the best & most durable engines ever created.
But they were not created as a specific race motor...

My 2 cents (cdn funds) worth.

Clif

 

Coming from someone who built a complete car chassis up and spent many years piecing an engine/trans/clutch etc. together....


I would not start on the project or start buying anything unless you have enough money to buy a complete racing operation. Car complete, truck/trailer all the support gear/ tools etc. Even if you are going to piece it together.
Ask racers who are currently running a car at the level you want to be at what kind of money you need. and it will still not be enough...... Now this is a moving target and the truck and trailer are the big wild cards...

You need to know what your abilities are. you are better off hiring something done than messing something up.

Have a plan and decide a specific engine/trans program before you start. DON'T change your mind multiple times or buy anything until you know your direction. Stick with the guy or team you know and trust to help you with parts selection etc. Make sure your (Knowledgeable guy) Knows the level you are going to run this car at. Call Will Hanna if you want and see if he will work with you.


If you have the opportunity to help crew on an alky car do this as much as you can before and during your build, and really try to learn as much as you can about every aspect of what it takes to run one of these cars. preferably
with a team at the level you plan to run at.


And yes you better have a mill, lathe, Tig etc. no matter what you do. so figure that in your budget.

 

Buy an engine that is together and running. Period.

That way you've already paid someone else to figure out the little quirks, and you have a known foundation to learn with (plus help and advice from the vendor and from those around you). That's by far the best and most economical way to go.

Don't shy away from the BBC stuff. It will do what you want nicely. The main thing is to have fun and to learn and to get some seat time. Unless you plan to go out and rotate the earth out of the box, you can pretty much run whatever dial-in you want with reliability with any known conventional combination. In many ways the Hemi has several misgivings versus a BBC.

Look at some of the newer New Century BBC stuff, or the 481X, or the Miner/Arias/Fontana stuff. It's all about what "you" are comfortable with. BAE "Brad Mart" is handy for buying stuff but the BAE/Hemi is not the king of the heep in terms of reliability and steadfastness. It's inherent trait is that it is common in a lot of places, that's all.

For those who say a BBC can't keep up with a Hemi I say BullS^&t.

Sorry, just my 2 cents worth. No disrespect.

Thanks.

 

Wanted to thank everyone for your comment and replying it back. I guess some thought this is my first time but no I have been racing for a long time from stock to nos and now I am running a blown alcohol big inch small block Ford in my altered but it is not designed for the best boost package as many know that but it works but now I do have some issues on it but will get it fix and figure it out. I already have everything the truck, 42 ft goose neck trailer and like a racing operation should have. I just want to go a different route and see how I go about going the Hemi way or not. I am a very big F O R D guy always runs ford motor or all my truck and cars are FORD. I want something that is conservative and easy to maintain without having issues or problems like my current engine now.
I used to run a 67 Mustang blown alcohol and am using the same motor but bigger stroker now so the Mustang is just sitting and waiting for the return of that motor back in it. I am not a big into Chevy and I know it is the easy way out because it is cheap and parts are more available than Ford but I am sure Hemi is plenty around. I have thought of going with a Boss motor or Jon Kasse Ford engine and I know it aint cheap but if I am lucky to find a good deal out there somewhere. Currently I do have a A500 Pro stock block and bare heads and realized it will be too expensive to have it done( just for the heads looks like it will be easy 10k-15k ouch) as it is brand new never run or machined.
Also if I decided to go Hemi route I can always make changes to run faster if I decided to and who knows I might turn it into a Fuel Altered...
Again thanks for all the reply...

 

Whoever said you can buy loaded nice hemi heads is full of it. Brad 6 heads loaded that are ok. Not great. 3500-4500. All day. Properly repaired brad blocks are still fine without any issues . I've had 3. No complaints. If it's possible buy a whole unit done. Sorting out problems of what it wants sometimes gets more costly than going to a dyno up front. I had a bbc that made 2340 @ 20 od and it would bracket race at 6.30 anywhere in a 2800lb door car. Cool off clutch and check valve lash was all we did. Rods went 35-40 passes. Great engine until we tried to run 6.0 with it. Don't be dumb twin turbo it and just forget about all your problems with fuel systems and beating parts to death!!!j/k.

 

When we started our Nostalgia project we wanted to go easy on parts and our goal was mid/low 7`s in an altered.
We were talking about goin Chevy but when we got really good deals on used stuff ( but no junk) from Pro-teams we ended up going Hemi and I gotto say from our wiew, we chose the right way.
We made a plan on how many rpms, bore/stroke, rod/piston combo etc and also we wanted a proven combination not just to get down the track but also to have parts that are easy to find, even used if we would end up in trouble at a track.
With that plan we could buy parts whenever we had money.
We have always used TFX, BAE Fuel heads, same stroke, same bore and we do not have a lot of stuff for sale from a old enginecombo used in the beginning.

Shure, you can go fast with Chevy but I belive that in most cases people end up with a hemi.

Not sayin this is the right way, but this is how we did it.

Good luck!

 

My earlier post referencing Murry's BBC deal wasn't to advocate it vs Hemi. It was just a reference to a durable cheap alky set up. I didn't realize that the original poster already had so much experience. Looks like the only common knowledge that I gained from experience is... buy complete.


So, back to the original posters topic. Where are some good sources to buy assembled pieces? Maybe not a hat to pan set up, but long blocks, assembled heads etc? Both for nitro and methanol.

 

Well Brendan is a nice and helpful guy, I`m shure he could help,
Also, I ´ve heard nothing but good words about Mike C (Hemi parts King) ,Holbrook performance maybe?

Maybe we arent allowed to mention business/company names here in the forum? If so I guess my post can be deleted....

 

long block

Not sure if he still has it, but Will here had a great deal on a hemi long block.