In no small way, this is where it all began. The conceptual dyno sessions were held at Westech's facility, and it seemed only fitting to hold EMC Western Regional competition here as well. But the reality of a contest this big presented a problem. As you know, we recruited other dynos around the country to fit all the tests into our schedule and give each competitor a fair test. In the world of dyno testing there are many variables, which are difficult to control and almost impossible to equalize. The problem stems more from location than facility in this case. The part of the country that a particular dyno is located can play a big role in how much power it'll read. This is not to say that an engine tested on the East Coast is less powerful than one tested on the West Coast. To the contrary, there's just as much power on both sides of our nation. Unfortunately, there's not always as much air on both sides of the pond. Or, more precisely, out west we don't typically have to deal with things like hurricanes and tornados, both of which play havoc on the barometer.
Hypothetically speaking, if we were to test the same engine at exactly the same time on both sides of the country, there could easily be a sizable disparity in the power each dyno would measure. Even though there are correction factors used by the dyno to calculate power, these factors cannot compensate for an engine running in a dyno cell that has different atmospheric conditions than the one it was tuned in. And you'll note that the top engines at Westech produce quite a bit more power than anywhere else in our challenge. All of that is just food for thought. You can't get a scientific test until all the engines come out here for the finals. In the meantime, here's what went down out west and the results are impressive.
Ron Shaver
Shaver Specialty Company Torrance, CA
Tq: 400.5 Hp: 348.0 = 748.5
Our first competitor, Ron Shaver, was the West Coast's only casualty. When Shaver bolted his motor on the dyno and everything was checked over, something was overlooked. One of Shaver's spark plugs broke. The porcelain cracked where it meets the steel end of the plug. It did not break completely off however, which is why it was missed. The plug wire was still tight when you wiggled it so there was little chance of spotting it on the dyno. The rules strictly state that once the engine was started and running on the dyno, the engine builder could not touch it, no matter what happened. Shaver's engine was able to start and run, but the sound it made told us something was definitely wrong. Shaver said, "Run it anyway and let's see what happens." It scored right around the 750 mark and by mid-day it was clear that wouldn't cut it. Once Shaver's engine had officially been knocked out of the contest by other motors in the competition, his crew hauled it back to their shop determined to find the problem. Ironically, the first part they removed was the number one spark plug so they could perform a leak-down and that's when they found the broken plug. Immediately, Shaver called Westech and offered to pay for a re-test, even knowing that there was no way he'd be allowed back in the competition. Westech agreed and Shaver hauled his motor back for its chance at redemption. With the new plug in, Shaver's Mouse eventually cranked out enough power that would have put it in fourth place on the West Coast (at 879.6 points, with 470.5 average torque and 4.09.1 average hp). That would have guaranteed a Wild Card slot, but it was all to no avail because, although we hated doing it, rules are rules and Shaver ended up with an official DNQ. The following day he called to graciously thank us for allowing him the chance to redeem himself and vowed to return next year for the win. What a classy guy.
Ray Wagner
Prince George, B.C. Canada
Did Not Finish
Ray Wagner hauled his all-black, stealthy, stock-appearing mini-Mopar in the back of his pickup truck over 1,500 miles just to enter the contest. He's not a professional engine builder and normally works on gigantic electric power generators, one of which he'd just finished that he told us makes something like 76,000 hp. Unfortunately, that also took time away from building his ultimate Pentastar entrant. When he fired it up on the dyno, it, like Shaver's motor before him, sounded bad and would not even rev past 5,300 rpm. Peak power was just above 200 hp and since the motor couldn't rev, Wagner had to drop out. His trip was not completely wasted because the crew at Westech offered to give Wagner a free dyno re-test the following day, if he could figure out what was wrong and fix it by then. They even offered their tools and shop for him to work in. Turned out that in his rush to make our deadline, he had miss-aligned the dot on the cam gear with the key in the crank (like we've never done that before!). One hour later the cam was realigned and ready to go. Unfortunately, it still could not muster enough steam to compete and ended up with a DNF.
Byron McElfresh
Pacific, MO
Tq: 405.6 Hp: 354.4 = 760.0
This 365ci Pontiac was the only non-Chevrolet GM engine entered at Westech. The blue Indian came dressed for the fight with Edelbrock aluminum heads, intake manifold, and valve covers and it was driven to the competition running the same Demon carb they planned to make power with. The engine's builder drove his blazing-red Pontiac Ventura to Westech on Thursday afternoon and parked it on their chassis dyno. He paid Westech for the chance to tune the motor on the chassis dyno before his slated spot to run in the challenge the following morning. He thrashed to make the 9:00 a.m. call, but was on the pump and making power by the time we said go. In the end, the Pontiac was strong, but couldn't match the competition and finished making just a little more power than Shaver's broken Mouse.
Douglas Baker
ESI Racing Engines San Diego, CA
Tq: 430.8 Hp: 373.7 = 804.5
The only Ford (359ci) entered on the West Coast was also the first engine to break into an 800 total score. Its builder Doug Baker equipped it with a complete Ford Motorsports top end package and a Holley carb, but admitted he wasn't sure how much ammunition to bring to this gunfight and claimed to have left some bigger caliber stuff back at the shop. That's not unusual for a first-run type of competition like this. All of the competitors had no idea what it would take to win, so they built what they thought might work and strapped it to the dyno. Baker and his Blue Oval finished about 50 points shy of a Wild Card slot, but we don't think he left too disappointed.
Bob Wagenhals
Ten Point Racing * Conifer, CO
Tq: 454.7 Hp: 396.8 = 851.5
Look closely at the photograph of this Colorado-built, 365ci Mouse. It looks normal enough, right? Wrong. This engine wins the EMC 2002 award for "Most Insane Compression on Pump Gas." How's 16:1 sound? Impossible, you say? So did we, but it ran and made enough power to land in the fourth Wild Card slot. The Demon double pumper sitting on top of an Edelbrock/Wilson CNC manifold and a Wilson carb spacer must have helped breathe life into the Brodix cylinder heads to send it on its way to making the second-highest peak horsepower on the West Coast, which says a lot for maxing out your compression and running the right package. We don't know how the crew at Ten Point Racing did it, but we're sure going to find out.
Tony Manzer
Comptech * El Dorado Hills, CA
Tq: 459.7 Hp: 394.1 = 853.8
Here's the closest finish we saw at Westech. Like everyone else who entered this contest, the guys at Comptech brought along what they thought might work best. Comptech's motor was also the "Most GM" of any of the entrants, running a GMPP block, dual-plane intake manifold, cylinder heads, gaskets, and even GM roller rocker arms. All the General's parts, especially the dual-plane intake, helped to make a ton of low-end torque and send it on its way toward securing the third Wild Card slot. Compare its total score to the number two Wild Card engine belonging to Tom Nelson, which made much less low end, but a whole lot more top end power and you'll see what we mean. The 365ci Comptech Chevy finished just .07 of a point behind Nelson! The tragic irony here is that it may have beat Nelson if it had been equipped with a few different parts. Comptech's engine was the only entry without a carb spacer. And it ran a mechanical water pump; where as every other engine had an electric pump. We certainly don't have the final say on how much power either of those two parts could have added or taken away, but could it have been worth .07?
Tom Nelson
Nelson Racing Engines * Chatsworth, CA
Tq: 458.1 Hp: 396.4 = 854.5
Tom Nelson probably worked longer on his motor than any of the other competitors on this big bore, short stoke 359ci engine. And his hard worked showed, but Tom is also relatively young and new to this game when compared to old-timers like Joe Sherman and Ron Shaver. His youth inspired him to take some risks that obviously paid off. This motor wins the EMC 2002 award for "Wackiest Hydraulic Roller Grind", as Comp Cams ground some lobes with mild 236/236 degrees duration at .050 but then pushed the rest to the limit with, gulp, .858-inch net valve lift! Nelson worked late into many nights just getting the Comp Cams, pushrods, and rocker arms to work with that much lift. The Pro Action heads he used sported big-block sized 285cc intake ports too, so we know this Mouse had no trouble getting the air in. We guess that's one way to capture the number two Wild Card slot with only 10.4:1 compression.
Dan Crower
Crower Motorsports * Jamul, CA
Tq: 473.7 Hp: 407.4 = 881.1
The guys at Crower built what appeared to be a very normal, small-block Chevy street engine. From the old and abused GM ZZ heads wearing stock, stamped steel valve covers, down to the beat-up GM balancer, Crower's entrant could have almost passed off as a stock replacement mule. What it lacked in appearance however, it more than made up for in gusto because Crower's total score was almost 30 points ahead of the No. 2 Memphis finisher. Crower's motor was also one of the few to run a solid, flat-tappet camshaft, which, along with the Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap dual-plane intake manifold, helped make it one of only three West Coast engines to break the 500 lb-ft peak torque barrier. In fact, it even edged out the peak torque of No. 2 Qualifier, John Beck. But, Crower's motor peaked 400 rpm lower than Beck's, making it that much more ideal for the street. Crower also wins our "Get it done at any cost" award for their ingenious use of a titanium valvespring retainer to hold their harmonic balancer in place. We don't think it was worth any power, but we guess its okay to use just any old part you might have lying around when you're in a hurry.
John Beck
Pro Machine * Placentia, CA
Tq: 472.4 Hp: 410.3 = 882.7
Finishing with just enough power to edge Crower out of the No. 2 Qualifying slot, John Beck, with some help from his partner, Eric Weinrich, made a first class showing. The blue Mouse that Beck entered ran a lot of GMPP stuff, including the Fast Burn cylinder heads. And his choice to use an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold helped it place second overall in the contest. Beck listed his motor with 12.2:1 compression, and a 234/234 hydraulic roller COMP Cams camshaft with .648 valve lift. While we still think 12:1 is high for pump gas, we've already seen more compression in this show and can't wait to get Beck's input on how to make it live on the street. That just goes to prove again how the right combination of parts can do the trick. Beck admitted to working very hard on this motor because he wanted to win. He's a lot closer to that spot than any one else, so we'd say he's got a good chance of getting there.
Joe Sherman
Sherman Racing Engines * Santa Ana, CA
Tq: 481.7 Hp: 420.9 = 902.6
What else needs to be said for this unassuming guy named Joe Sherman? He came to the competition dressed in sweat pants and a T-shirt, still wearing the same smirk on his face that he had when we visited his shop earlier this year to get the details on his approach to the challenge (PHR August '02). He knew he had what it would take to beat these guys and that's exactly what he built. Toward that goal, he showed up with a Demon carb sitting on top of an Edelbrock Victor manifold breathing air and fuel through a Demon carb into a pair of 215cc Air Flow Research CNC cylinder heads. Sherman was the only competitor on the West Coast running AFR heads and he was also the only competitor in the whole shootout to crack the 900 total points barrier. His engine was also the only one to peak above 600 hp in the entire show (feel free to draw your own conclusion here). This author thinks he must have done his homework and surely showed up with all the right stuff. Although he's admitted that he's concerned about the competition and thinks that maybe there will be some more power for those guys coming to the West Coast. Ironically, his number one competition is also from out here and still finished a full 20 points behind him. That's a lot of ground to make up. We can't wait to see the finish!