Brad Lagman and his crew at Chatsworth, CA-based QMP Racing Engines (qmpracing.com) get to build engines for some pretty cool toys all day long, but this one may be one of the more unique builds they have ever done. The engine will be dropped in a buggy that runs on sand and kicks giant roostertails of the stuff for miles throughout the dunes up and down the West Coast. Lagman says the engine produced some pretty stout horsepower numbers in the end.
The engine features a 427 Dart aluminum block, AFR 227 cylinder heads, Jesel belt drive, Ross pistons, Oliver steel rods and Total Seal AP rings. It also features an 8-71 blower with 8-lbs. of boost, a FAST fuel injection system and a custom NOS system. The valvetrain includes Crower shaft rockers with .937 roller lifters, COMP Cams 50 mm roller cam and Manton pushrods. “We bored the cam tunnel, CNC bored, decked and lifter-trued the block. Then we hot-honed it with our Gehring diamond hone. It made 847 hp on pump gas at 7,900 rpm and 620 ft-lbs. of torque at 6,600 rpm,” said Lagman.
