Forces' Ford TF Motor

[BBR]

Is it:

A. Mopar
B. Ford
C. Generic NHRA spec'd TF engine
D. An AMC/Buick/Cadillac with the mags on the wrong side

this oughta get this board livened up..... ;D

[bowtiemonster]

Re: Forces' Ford TF Motor

i'm going to say d. ;D

[Tom P]

Re: Forces' Ford TF Motor

It's a mix of A and C, not AMC . Mostly Chrysler though since NHRA rules out proper Ford engines for the fuel classes along with anything else.

[BangShiftChad]

Re: Forces' Ford TF Motor

It's a mopar. DF says the heads and crank fit into a 426 block so it counts as far as I'm concerned. Take that.

Chad

[seered]

Re: Forces' Ford TF Motor

The following is sarcasm:
Doesn't Force drive a mustang?
When did the blue oval allow mopar to power their vehicles? ;D

[BBR]

Re: Forces' Ford TF Motor


My opinion.... Mopar didn't make it, therefore it's not a Mopar. It does have roots in the original 426 hemi, but that does not make it a Mopar any more than an S&S V-twin is a Harley-Davidson or a Chinese Honda-copy motorcycle engine is a Honda. They took an existing spec and improved it. Ford had the parts designed, cast, machined and assembled, therefore it is Ford's version of Top Fuel motor. NHRA rules spec most of the critical dimensions of these engines, so it's not feasible to do a clean sheet design of a totally new powerplant especially since the basic architecture has been the defacto standard for such a long time.

Disclaimer: I am about as big a Mopar fan as they come, but like to think I do not suffer from 'brand loyal blindness'.

;D

[CDMBill]

Re: Forces' Ford TF Motor

This question is a lot like the one regarding the Toyota NASCAR engine. Answer is the same the best they could figure out within a very narrow set of rules and not have the existing manufacturers freak out. My personal theory is that Toyota teams are managing their success levels so as not to piss people off too soon. Their truck results show that they can win. I also think we'll soon see the Engine of Tomorrow soon enough as NASCAR wishes the car brand thing would go away as it is (See Car of Tomorrow for proof) Next: Driver of Tomorrow or Attack of the Clones

As to what makes and modern race engine brand specific? I'm not sure anymore. The LS1 etc. like Chad has in Rusty is the best small block Ford ever built in my opinion. It's got 10 head bolts, equally spaced intake and exhaust ports and the block is architecturally most similar to a Ford FE.

My own engine in the Mustang has no Ford produced parts in it at all and even the aftermarket bock only has the deck height, bore spacing and main bearing sizes in common with the original Ford design.

All that said I'll be rooting for the Force cars with their Ford powered Mustangs.

I still love the Marqee feature.

[Dynoroom]

Re: Forces' Ford TF Motor

All that said I'll be rooting for the Force cars with their Ford powered Mustangs.

I still love the Marqee feature.

Yep.
I like a couple others too! :o

[KeithTurk]

Re: Forces' Ford TF Motor

Mike.... MEET CDM BILL... or Bill Fowler...he's the real deal when it comes to land barges going fast... Bill, Meet Mike LeFever...he's the real deal when it comes to going REALLY FAST in a passenger car... matter of fact his motor was in the first door slammer over 300mph at Bonneville...

You two are damn near neighbors....

And will like each other instantly...

K

[BangShiftChad]

Re: Forces' Ford TF Motor

Okay,

So last I heard, there were only four commercially available Top Fuel Engine blocks available. There may be others and if so I would love to hear about my mistake. The four manufacturers I know of are TFX, BAE, Alan Johnson, and KB. For all you Ford guys out there who are getting worked up, chill out. Yes I am aware that Ford has launched it's Boss500 TF engine. The fact of the matter is you cannot buy one, and only John Force racing will have access to them at least through 2008. In addition, there will only be one car in 2008 running this engine. Mike Neff will run the engine exclusively in 2008 in order to test and verify it is up to the standard Force Racing requires. It "may" be available to Top Fuel teams sometime in 2008, but will be exclusive to JFR for use in Funny Car. There are actually a couple of parts for it that will be available in the Ford Parts Book, but they are small. The fact of the matter is they have made some changes they feel will make the engine stronger and more reliable, but NHRA is very very very strict on what can and can't be done to these engines. They all have the same max and min cubic inches, same bore spacing, same valve angles, cam centerline, etc. So, label it how you like, it's still going to be the same basic engine. It may take us a while, but I will see if one of our stories on the new site can be about how many parts actually cross over to what engine. Hemi, Ford, Chevy, etc. Then we'll let you know the full scoop. Sound good?

So until then, my opinion is it's more Mopar than anything else. Regardless, it's still a HEMI.

[BillBallinger Sr]

Re: Forces' Ford TF Motor

Its too bad the Austins got screwed like they did or it would have been a real Ford.

[BBR]

Re: Forces' Ford TF Motor

but I will see if one of our stories on the new site can be about how many parts actually cross over to what engine.

DOOOO EEEEEEET.