I agree, a 460 or stroker version of a 460 would be easier. 1-800-visa card, and wait for the UPS man, but...
On paper the Roll Royce Merlin 'suffers' from several of the negatives that are mentioned when discussing the Ford SD engines. Plank head with no turbulence - yup. Low compression ratio - yup. Rods that limit revs to just over 3000 - yup. Yet nobody calls a Merlin gutless.
Like Dustin Hoffman in 'The Graduate'; "One word... Boost".
The SD motor has a big tough block, big tough crank, tough rods, tough pistons, and sodium cooled exhaust valves. Build on those positives. Follow in the foot steps of the WWII fighter V-12s, and design for for serious boost at 3000 or 3200 rpm. Late war Merlins were cleared to run 35 psi !!!! boost during 'war emergency' conditions. As long as there is no knock or detonation keep pushing the boost up. Bolt on a big turbo or two big turbos. For even more power pipe the charge through an big intercooler and/or install water injection. Go for racing gas or 100LL from the local airport. With intercooling, water injection, and good gas these engines might be able to take the sort of boost where turbos in series might be needed.
If you need instant throttle response without turbo spool up delay (aka turbo lag), make a blower manifold in the basement and bolt on a 8-71 blower with plenty of overdrive. Not nearly the power of a turbo set up though. Way too much of the power at the crank gets used to turn the blower, high charge temperature limits allowable boost pressure, and the blower itself is limited in its ablity. Nothing like a big GMC blower to wow a crowd though.
Warning. This is a thought/paper exercise. I have not tried any of this on a real Ford SD engine. Not responsible for blown up
engine nor depleted bank account.
Piper106
