I would like to give a tip of the cap to my 2 Y block competitors Ted and Joe who placed 2nd and 3rd..Ted was plowing new ground with a 403 inch Y block.. It is a real feat to get a 4.3 inch stroke into engine architecture that is closer to a small block than a big block. As so often happens in racing, when you plow new ground you are bound to hit some stones. Ted was unlucky as he was the first up on the dyno and had to deal with the new fuel. Sunoco 250 GT was the fuel that was provided in 2017. Nobody had any detonation problems. The same fuel this year destroyed 5 engines... Unfortunately the Sunoco rep was nowhere to be seen. Joe had the best looking tidiest engine in the contest, plus it was a real contender.. He was on track for the best Y block score ever and potentially a win till he was bitten by the detonation bug.
I was again teamed with Jon Kaase as we fielded basically the same engine as 2018 with a few modifications. It is the same 473 inch MEL short block and the highly modified heads . The tunnel ram was reworked with a new plenum and twin dominators, and it was running a cam that made some more top end horsepower. We had planned to run a cam that scored better, but Comp did not finish the custom cam in time, so we ran what we had.. We finished about 100 points lower than last year, sacrificing low and mid range to gain top end horsepower.. The way EMC scores, low end is very important to making a good score.. We did want to make an 800 horsepower number but came up just short with 798.6.
Our engine avoided the detonation carnage. Being the 5th engine to run we had seen some failures.. Jon backed the tune way down till we got 3 solid runs in, then started creeping up on the timing and fuel curve..The MEL is running about a point less compression than the others, plus it is essentially an O ringed head so gasket failure is unlikely. We ended up with a middle of the road tune, as Jon did not want to push the envelope.. after all, when the contest is over I get the engine back and he did not want to have to rebuild it again lol
A lot of people think since Jon is a big time builder that he can throw a lot of money and hired labor at these entries. With the MEL that is not the case at all.. He did all the labor himself, and the parts are nothing special. $600 crank $400 set of rods Diamond pistons, off the shelf valves and springs, mid level roller lifters. bullet proof valvetrain custom made using a T&D FE street setup. Stock timing chain and oil pump, crank trigger firing though a stock distributor.. A well used Weiand tunnel ram. The Dominators are custom pieces but they were built for another boat project. Actually the twin 750s we ran last year were probably better performers.
The secret sauce is what comes from the creative mind of Jon Kaase..To turn a low rpm torque motor with no performance reputation into a race motor is an extraordinary feat.. The creativity and machining skill that went into the heads is mind boggling. One needs to lay eyes on them to understand what he did and how he did it..We have been invited to be at the PRI show at the JE booth with the engine on display, so if any of you are attending, stop by for a look see
Finally I can't say enough about Jon Kaase the man and engine builder.. Obviously he is creative and skilled.. What most people don't know is he has the killer instinct for winning.. yet he is humble, never brags, respects others, always is willing to chat and answer questions, wants other people to succeed. It has been a pleasure and honor to partner with him.
