526 Shelby 742hp/709tq. Details below from the Cobra forum:

"I just wanted to post my sincere thanks to Keith for the great engine he just completed for me. I told Keith I dreamed of a reliable, low maintenance Shelby block street engine that would deliver around 700 hp and be aesthetically pleasing in my new SPF. Together we discussed the various ways to fulfill my dream; the pros & cons of cast vs. billet cranks and rods, solid or hydraulic rollers, single vs. dual plane intakes and webers, 2x4’s or big ‘ol single quads. When we were done planning, he promised me a 700 hp/675 tq engine on pump gas. I did my best to wait patiently… and was I ever rewarded !!! This engine made 635 foot lbs of torque at 4000 and pulled 709 at 5000. It still made 616 at 6100 and 608 at 6200. It was making 570 at 3000 rpms !!!!! That’s a lot of torque! As for horsepower, well, it made 685 hp at 5200 and pulled 742 hp at 6700 rpms. It was still making 681 hp at 7400 rpms on one of the pulls!!! Every reading between 5900 and 6900 rpms was somewhere in the 730’s !

I couldn’t be more pleased. This engine is a big bore Shelby at 4.380 with a LAE Kryptonite billet crankshaft (4.375) displacing 527 cid. It’s got a custom hydraulic roller (Yes, it idles at 900 rpm!) with Craft Racing CNC Edlebrock heads, custom JE pistons (10.6:1) Lunatti billet rods, polished victor intake, DaVinci 950 and polished water pump. We lightened up the valve train for increased rpms with titanium valves & retainers. Not only does it produce… it’s gorgeous also !"

I love it when they post good detail like this.

Also, my engine is 16 cubes smaller than this, but it has a solid roller and 2 points more compression. Kinda makes that 750HP number look possible.

-Scouder

 

See if you can get the guy to email me! That is awesome! I am amazed that the engine held together with that much stroke and that many RPMs! 7,400! What kinda dampers are you all running?

 

I'll see if I can get him to email you.

When I talked to Keith Craft about connecting rods He knew I was running a 511. I was asking specifically about the strength of the Scat/Eagle/Manley H-beam rods. He summarized that if you are running 800 HP and "only" (direct quote) spinning 7000-7500 they should be fine. When I told him about the nitrous he said I would probably still be OK because I wasn't going to be on the bottle that often, but maybe I should look at billets just for insurance. He then added that alot of guys that build an engine like this will put the billet rods in just to be complete. I then asked directly if I would be able to spin 7500 with my bottom end if I used billet rods and he said yes.

Keep in mind the engine above has the best components money can buy. The Shelby block is double cross bolted, billet tolerance fit main caps, and rated at 1500+ HP. Billet crank, billet rods, custom forged pistons. There is a pretty good chance, especially since he is running titanium valves, that he could run that thing up to 8500 without making little parts out of big ones.

I'm using a Romac balancer. I have talked to several knowledgeable people who all agreed that the Romac was top of the line.

-Scouder

 

I sent him an email using the email you posted in the other forum. Let's hope he gets in touch.

-Scouder

 

Cool, my machinist said that my bottom end was good for 7,500 rpms.. I looked at him like he was crazy. He is the same guy that drilled my balancer so needless to say I will not be turning that kind of RPM any time soon. I would be interested in maybe getting some good aftermarket rods next time. When I get my heads ported and if I run a big solid cam someday I will probably need 7,000rpm. I have seen some stock rodded engines turn some rediculous RPMs but I'm not going to try it wilth my engine.

 

I know Keith has at least one big FE running Scat H-beams that is putting out 800+hp. He said they have had no problems. For the price they are tough to beat. Alot of people are concerned that they are forged outside the US. But the fact is that they are proven every day by street guys and racers alike in a variety of different makes of engines. If I am not mistaken the Scats, Eagles, Manleys and others are all forged outside the country. Scat machines their forgings here in the US at least.

Other than the forged H-beams the next step is billet at around $1250. Pricey, but you can spin the hell out of them, and they are rated for 1200-1400 HP. When you get to that point be sure to keep us posted.

-Scouder