The name Ted Eaton is synonymous with high performance Ford engines. For the last 15 years plus he has been been a major force in the Y-Block world regularly entering the Engine Masters Build off. With his Y-Blocks consistently placing in the of top power makers in the dyno runs. But before becoming one of the names in the Y-Block world he raced and built FE engines for 40+ years . His addiction to FE's started in 1970 with the purchase of a 390 HiPo from of a junkyard to be dropped in a '56 Victoria, after a bearing and re-ring it was ready to go. Shortly after it was upgraded to a 406 then a 427 Tunnel port filled the engine bay . Later racing a FE powered Altered he ripped down the strip in a best of 8.58 with a PSE intake and a single four . His engines have shown up in, rally runs , drag strips, and Bonneville just to mention a few venues. He was a regular contributor to the original FE Club magazine and we are excited to have his input again. We are going to be featuring a series of dyno test of a 390 Ted built for a 1966 Fairlane being entered in the Big Bend Open Road Race. The race is a timed 118 mile race with target speeds in each class. The second place finish this year Ted attributes to his wife Linda who is his navigator in the race!! Each issue we will be bringing you a new series of test . These test will cover a variety of combinations , from manifold comparison to a test to see the horse power difference between oil filters ! So join us over the next several issues and get a peek into what it takes to squeeze the last once of power from this combo and hopefully you can apply some of these findings to your own project.
TEST 1 : intake manifold comparison . The tested a Edelbrock Victor , Ford Sidewinder single 4 , and a C8AX dual 4. Carburation on the single four Victor is a 750 vacuum secondary Holley , the sidewinder is fed by a 750 double pumper Holley while the dual four Medium Riser is breathing through a set of 780 vacuum secondaries . What is surprising about the test is twofold one is the 20 horsepower gain from the factory Sidewinder to the Edelbrock Victor intake. While the Sidewinder is a dual plane and the Victor is a single plane. The Victor produced 10 foot pounds of torque over the factory dual plane . Conventional thinking is the dual plane should produce more torque , this is shown to not apply with this combo. With its peak of 432 lbft coming at 3900 rpm vs the Victors 441 lbft @ 5400 rpm it shows the difference between daul plane and a single plane.. The other surprise is that the Victor produced just two horsepower less than the Dual four Ford Medium Riser . While both intakes made peak power at 5600-5700 hp the Victor does it with one less carb and produces 5 lbft more torque. If looks are what you are after the C8AX is a impressive piece , but for simplicity and power the Victor takes the pole. With an average cost of $750 new and only one carb . Compared to the factory intakes that are selling for over $1000 plus the added cost of a second carb and linkage it gives you something to think about. So look over the results and hopefully it will aid you in your next build.
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TEST 1 : intake manifold comparison . The tested a Edelbrock Victor , Ford Sidewinder single 4 , and a C8AX dual 4. Carburation on the single four Victor is a 750 vacuum secondary Holley , the sidewinder is fed by a 750 double pumper Holley while the dual four Medium Riser is breathing through a set of 780 vacuum secondaries . What is surprising about the test is twofold one is the 20 horsepower gain from the factory Sidewinder to the Edelbrock Victor intake. While the Sidewinder is a dual plane and the Victor is a single plane. The Victor produced 10 foot pounds of torque over the factory dual plane . Conventional thinking is the dual plane should produce more torque , this is shown to not apply with this combo. With its peak of 432 lbft coming at 3900 rpm vs the Victors 441 lbft @ 5400 rpm it shows the difference between daul plane and a single plane.. The other surprise is that the Victor produced just two horsepower less than the Dual four Ford Medium Riser . While both intakes made peak power at 5600-5700 hp the Victor does it with one less carb and produces 5 lbft more torque. If looks are what you are after the C8AX is a impressive piece , but for simplicity and power the Victor takes the pole. With an average cost of $750 new and only one carb . Compared to the factory intakes that are selling for over $1000 plus the added cost of a second carb and linkage it gives you something to think about. So look over the results and hopefully it will aid you in your next build.
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