Multipurpose Power

We Try Out Two Different Methods to Add Big Power to a Big-block

- Richard Holdener

Big-block builds come in many shapes and sizes, or more accurately displacements, but this build offers something special. While a 496 is a common displacement, this combination was designed with more than just additional cubic inches in mind. Dedicated buildups often focus on maximizing for a single purpose. By this, we mean that naturally aspirated engines are built slightly different than ones built for nitrous and different yet for blower combinations. The three distinct combos often differ in things like cylinder head configurations, cam timing, and compression ratio. The cylinder head and cam needs of a nitrous engine differ from those of its naturally aspirated or supercharged brethren. Blower engines typically receive a drop in static compression, which works well under boost, but definitely gives up some off-boost power. Rather than choose a specific path, we decided to build a combination that worked well in all three configurations, essentially capable of supplying multipurpose power.