Joe Sherman's Motown Block Build - Traditional Evolution

Joe Sherman has been involved in racing since his teenage years, and if you're a math wiz, you'll soon figure that 61-year-old Joe has been chasing horsepower for decades. Southern California drag racers have seen him on local strips since the late-'50s, so seeing his entry came as no surprise.

We chose to profile Sherman's efforts since he's truly old school. This is not to say he's not up on the latest technologies--he is. But, Joe has been tweaking on small-block street engines of all disciplines for so long, he'll be the first to tell you he's old school, and we know our readers can understand that. The traditional lines of thought responsible for bringing our beloved domestic small-blocks to the top of their game are how Joe learned to build engines. All of the whiz-bang, fly-by-night gadgetry that has come and gone over the years has served to temper Sherman's enthusiasm about radical design changes, while the "good" parts have had plenty of time to be tuned under his capable eye.

Sherman made it clear to us that he'd be approaching this buildup the same way he would for a customer's engine. First, he'd research the need, then carefully plan a well-orchestrated parts combination to achieve the goal. He's relying heavily on his years of experience and on the solid relationships he's built on many years of success. His parts choices hinge on educated estimates and personal friendships, with the benefits of both common sense and an in-house dyno to fine-tune the combination.

"My plan is all based on my experience. I've researched the relationship between port size, flow numbers, and horsepower. I'm shooting for intake flow of about 320 cfm at .600-inch lift, and exhaust flow is targeted at 230 cfm at .600-inch lift. I normally coax about 2.3 hp per cfm in race engines, and if I can come very close to that target with this 365-inch package, I'll win the Challenge. This engine has potential to 675 hp, but that number would require too much camshaft for the way you're testing these engines. So, I'll run a cam with about .590-inch lift with about 236 degrees at .050. I want the engine to peak between 6,300-6,400 rpm, and I'll play with the combination until I get it the way I want it."

With this said, Joe has chosen a Chevy-based combination and will be working hard toward maximizing the efficiency of his project powerplant. Let's look over his shoulder and see what he's decided to build upon. How this old-school-styled motor will compare with others entered in the Challenge cannot even be estimated now but look carefully at what over 40 years of experience has led Joe Sherman to choose, and keep an eye on this entry when the Engine Masters Challenge Dyno Day officially arrives.

When asked why he chose a World Products "Motown" block to base his Challenge entry on, Sherman told us flatly, "I've researched this point thoroughly. I honestly believe aftermarket blocks are worth more than 20 hp over conventional production car blocks, especially when we're talking about race engines. I've taken high-performance innards out of a stock block-based performance engine, dropped them into an aftermarket block, and saw a marked increase in power with no other design changes."

The Motown block is an awesome piece, but Sherman warns against thinking all other common small-block goodies will be accepted without worry. "This additional bulge on the drivers' side bank provides a generous water jacket, which is great, but when I went to bolt the Jesel beltdrive in place, there was the bulge! I've had to machine down the Jesel part to fit, which isn't a big deal and won't affect durability in any way. But, it was time consuming and people should be aware of it. It's something I've seen in other aftermarket small-block Chevrolet's too--so it's not just the Motown."

The bore in Sherman's Motown block will be 4.040 inches, and the SCAT crank will provide a 3.562-inch stroke. That's 365.2 ci, just under our displacement limit of 366. The SCAT crank is an Ultralite 4340 piece weighing only 43 pounds, and a steal for street guys at around $1,200. "These cranks come finished to the right sizes and work best for me with Clevite 77 or Vandervell bearings. I'll be using Clevite parts on this build. I really like these SCAT cranks. They are well engineered, affordable, and plenty strong."

The connecting rods are from Howard's Cams, and are both lightweight and inexpensive ($450/set). These I-beam designs measure in at 6 inches in length, and Sherman will polish the beams to eliminate stress risers and lose even more weight.	The balance pads on these rods are minimal, as they were designed to be lightweight from the start.
The JE pistons are also lightweight by design, tipping the scales at a mere 330 grams. In this case, the PN 923FL pistons were actually designed for common roundy-round "claimer" engines, and that makes them affordable, too. The simple flat-top design also boasts deep cavities under the outer deck surface to lose more precious grams (arrows). The piston pin is also lighter than factory designs, but it maintains the factory .927-inch diameter. It loses weight in length, as it's 2.3-inches long versus the factory 2.5-inch length.	Sherman will also run lightweight (32g) JE rings in 1.2 mm(top), 1.2mm (second) and 1.5mm (oil) thicknesses. These are thin and light compared to what we're used to and will produce much less friction. Once the piston combination has been finish-machined, they will be coated by Calico Coatings (888-236-6079) with a thermal barrier on top (Calico's CT-2) and a friction reducing coating on the skirts (Calico's CT-3).
More lightweight parts are found in front of the crank--namely this BHJ balancer. These race-proven balancers are proving to be very popular in the Engine Masters Challenge.	ARP Fasteners are also showing up plenty in our little contest, and Sherman will use ARP hardware wherever he can. "I've used them forever, and they've never let me down. ARP makes great parts, and I'm glad they're a part of the Challenge."
Sherman has chosen Cometic gaskets to seal the deal, and while some readers may never have heard of Cometic before, we're confident they will in the near future. When asked why he chose Cometic, Sherman responded "I called Cometic to ask about their products, and after I heard about all the work that has gone into these designs, I wanted to see them. I watched a NASCAR race over the weekend after I'd called, and saw their decals on several Winston Cup cars. I decided to run them on my entry, and the more I've looked into the materials and engineering on these things, the more I like them. I expect to use Cometic gaskets in plenty of future engines. Look into them yourself and see why." Cometic's spring steel designs are new, and they offer builders the option of custom-sizing gaskets for odd bore sizes.	Sherman also chose Royal Purple synthetic oils to lubricate this small-block. If you're still using petroleum-based oils in a racing application, you haven't done enough homework.
The valvetrain will be armed with Isky goodies, including this hydraulic roller rev kit. "I've run plenty of hydraulic roller cams, and they all seem to finish between 6,000-6,500 rpm. With this rev kit in place you can push them further up the rpm range, and I need this engine to pull right up to your 6,500-rpm limit without hesitation. This Isky kit is top notch."	In the same vein, all of the valvetrain parts will come from Iskenderian's shop. Sherman told us: "I've been working with Isky for years. Their parts are as good as anyone elses parts, you just don't hear as much about them. I've got plenty of experience with Isky parts, and you can rely on them to work for you. They always have for me."
Isky has color-coded their rocker arms for quick identification. The purple anodizing on these roller-tipped offset rocker arms tells us they are 1.6:1 ratio--the limit for Chevys in the Challenge.	Joe chose to feed the Motown block through Air Flow Research (AFR) aluminum cylinder heads. These particular heads are AFR's CNC-ported raised runner 215cc models. Joe says that these heads are really close to being perfect for the Challenge as-delivered, but he'll still give them the "once-over" to ensure all is up to his specifications. The heads will also run Ferrea stainless valves (2.08-inch intake, 1.6-inch exhaust), a brand chosen by AFR to ship with their cylinder heads. Joe appreciates the effort AFR has put into making the Ferrea design work well with their ports, and sees no reason to change valves.
The chambers will be shaved to 63 cc to produce approximately 11.75:1 compression ratio. Isn't that high for 92 octane? With the aluminum heads and carefully-prepped combustion surfaces, Joe claims he can do it without detonation. This is exactly the kind of limit pushing we expect to see plenty of in the Challenge, and if it's possible to push a street engine hard with high compression on pump gas, you'll see it here.	These Isky adjustable guideplates deserve a mention, too. Sherman told us "It's critical to have the rocker arm perfectly aligned over the valve, and these plates offer the freedom to the builder to accomplish this."
The intake is an Edelbrock Super Victor (PN 2925), and is designed for heads with a standard port location. The runners match the "flat floor" entry of the latest 23-degree heads. The carb pad height is 5 1/2 inches (measured from the end seals) and overall, the Super Victor is about 1-inch taller than the Victor Jr. (PN 2975). Naturally, Sherman will match the ports to the heads. Sherman says, "Using a good intake design like this is more about port matching than port sizing. Edelbrock made a good intake, and all it needs is some matching work to fine-tune it."	The carburetor is also an Edlebrock product, in this case an 800-cfm model. Joe told us his plans: "Milling off the choke horn on this carb will add about 40 cfm of flow. I've had really good results using these carbs on street-bound engines, and your 2,500-rpm pull range led me to choose this design. I needed a carb capable of high efficiency down there, and I feel this carb can do it."
The oil pan is one of Joe's favorite parts calls. "This Moroso pan (PN 21016) is very well engineered. It's a design that's evolved to this point and look at all the features in there. It's nice and deep (8.25 inches), has an integral windage tray, and plenty of other "goodies" we normally have to pay a custom pan builder to include. This is a great part for street guys and racers alike.	Using a pan like this (with its matching oil pump and pickup--also from Moroso) we've seen gains in horsepower over factory pans, sometimes as much as 25 hp. They really work, and choosing the right pump/pickup (PN 22125), you know it will fit correctly.
Here's a look at the PN 22125 pump and pickup assembly from Moroso, designed to fit Sherman's chosen pan. The oil pump is a popular high-volume design, and the correct pickup ships installed and correctly welded to the pump. No guesswork here!	Another Moroso part is this trick water pump (PN 63557). It mounts in the stock location and provides plenty of water flow, even for street engines. It's a relatively new part from Moroso, and one worth looking into.
Ignition duties will be handled by MSD products. "Another great product I've run for a long time with great success. Reliable, durable, and effective," says Sherman.	While we're looking at Moroso stuff, check out these valve covers. Joe likes them because they offer so much clearance and look so good.
"They added notches inside the top of the cover to clear tall aftermarket rockers, which is nice. Now we don't have to grind on the rockers to clear the covers anymore. Also, they slotted the bolt holes to allow for the best-possible fit. On modified engines, it's important to have a little room to adjust things, and these parts offer the flexibility I like."	Moroso wires will transmit spark from cap to plugs. "I really like these Moroso wires. The Ultra 40 Race Wires (PN 73605) are good for serious race vehicles. They may be overkill for this street engine, but I've got no worries about wires with them in place."
Exhaust duties will be covered by teaming Hedman Hedders (PN 65104) with MagnaFlow mufflers (3-inch-diameter inlet and outlet).	"I've tested plenty of mufflers over the years, and these are my favorites. I recommend them to all my customers who need to run mufflers."