BES Racing's Engine Masters Challenge - Common-Sense Small-Block

Inside the lifter valley, we see the World block was treated to lifter bore bushings by BES Racing. Tony did not make a major point of trying to control windage and drainback, as evidenced by the lack of valley standpipes.

All of this concern was because Tony was intent on using the most aggressive solid flat tappets he could find in the COMP catalog for the .842-inch lifters, and then punishing those lobes with a very high rocker ratio. Here, the Mopars and Fords have an advantage over the Chevrolets, since the larger .904- and .875-inch (respectively) lifters allow for faster-acting lobes and more lift for a given duration. Tony's selection was a pair of COMP's MH-series lobes, No. 6280 on the intake and No. 6284 on the exhaust, giving a duration specification of 252/258 degrees at .050 tappet rise. Combined with the 1.9/1.8:1 Jesel rocker combination, .697/.670-inch valve lift was achieved. The cam was ground on a tight 106-degree lobe separation, and Tony found optimal average power at an installed centerline of 98 degrees.

Overall, attention to detail and common-sense engine building are the hallmarks of Tony's style. Many at the Engine Masters Challenge were convinced there was nothing that could compete with the Cleveland Ford engines, especially not an ordinary 23-degree small-block Chevy. We think part of the reason Tony went with the Chevy was to prove a point, and the engine just performed. We didn't see any secret magic that made this engine stand above the others, just the basics of experienced engine building played out at their finest.

Filling the bores is a set of Ross pistons. The dish profile here reduces the compression ratio to the required 10.5:1, and is a standard Ross shape.	A feature of the pistons that stands out is the massive skirt structure. Tony originally started using these forgings for nitrous engines, and then surprisingly found they make a little more power even in normally aspirated applications.	Tony points out that regular off-the-shelf Eagle rods are a performance bargain, and more than up to the job. A ring combination featuring a Dykes top ring, an .043-inch second ring, and a lowtension 3mm oil ring seal the assembly to the bore.
Inside the World Products iron four-bolt block, an Eagle crank was selected by Tony, who again cited an excellent performance value. ARP capscrews clamp the doweled iron caps to the beefy main webs of the World block.	With the heavy-skirt piston, the crank needed extra weight for balance. Tony's effective solution was to simply weld weight plates to the counterweights.	A fabricated Stef's oil pan with an integral screen-type windage tray was run without further modifications. This pan is said to fit a Chevy Nova application.
Tony's BES Racing team-from left to right, Tony Bischoff, Richard Kulb, Brett Vondeameulen, and Brad Nagel-not only brought a brutal small-block Chevy, they worked together masterfully in tuning to achieve a second consecutive championship at the Jeg's Engine Masters Challenge.