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How Much Power Can You Make With A Crate 514 Big Block Ford? A LOT!


How Much Power Can You Make With A Crate 514 Big Block Ford? A LOT!

GM always owned the factory crate engine world. No matter what make or model, you could go to any car show or race and find dozens of GM Crate engines in everything under the sun. But Ford and Mopar offer their own crate engines too! And they have for a long time. Sure, of late it’s the Coyote and Late Model HEMI that people are talking about, but what if we want to talk man motors? Yeah, big blocks. Real HEMIs, and Big Block Fords? Well luckily for you our boy Richard Holdener is all over the Big Block Ford crate engine from Ford Motorsports and has put one through the paces with all kinds of upgrades and power adders and stuff. It is no surprise that they really really do love all the upgrades you could ever want to throw at them.

Wanna know just what they will do with a certain modification? Wanna know what kind of power you could have in your hot rod? Then watch this video and see just what it makes stock, what Richard did to make even more power, and look at see what you think of the modifications. Would you do them all to yours?


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13 thoughts on “How Much Power Can You Make With A Crate 514 Big Block Ford? A LOT!

  1. Gabe Mccarty

    No gm didn’t own the crate motor world. Better check hot rod magazine they done an article on who had the most powerful crate engine! Dodge sent a 600 cid hemi gm sent a 525-525 and ford sent a 460. The 460 made more hp than the 525. So do your homework and check your facts before you write an article.

      1. Peter Kay

        Yeah right, years ago I’d probably agree with you, but do your homework and check the prices, it’s very comparable now a days, and when I built my 514 I had many races with BBC’s and sent many of them scratching their heads thinking wait a minute Ford’s ain’t suppose to run like that! And all I had was a solid roller cam, SCJ heads and some 14-1 compression, while the Chevy had Brodix heads, Merlin block and all sorts of exotic parts. It was actually kind of humourous watching the look on their faces. All the talk, Chevy this, Ford that, is all hype that people just love to believe Chevy is better than Ford, don’t believe any of it, cause you WILL be surprised sooner or later. More likely already have if you even have a race car

    1. James Betts

      So the real question is how much did all the improvements cost on top of price of the crate engine. A dollar/ hp number will do. The next one bow long did it last before it blew up?
      What compression pistons were you running and a cast crank with 700 hp. I don’t recall ford being know for their metallurgy nor long lifespans for any of their engines. They do have the deserved rep for making cars quickly and cheaply. Made quickly doesn’t mean building a quick car. 700 hp is very respectable but at what cost? Hell through it in a cobra kit car, that sounds like a beast of a car combo!

  2. Gabe Mccarty

    No gm didn’t own the crate motor world. Better check hot rod magazine they done an article on who had the most powerful crate engine! Dodge sent a 600 cid hemi gm sent a 525-525 and ford sent a 460. The 460 made more hp than the 525. So do your homework and check your facts before you write an article.

    1. Alonzo

      Why don’t they have more Buick, Oldsmobile, or Pontiac crate engines.? A few years ago I heard these stories about all of the different Chevy crate motors that were available. I was thinking Hmm, I will go to GM dealer and order a 400 Pontiac or 455 Buick crate engine or maybe a 455 Oldsmobile. The only BOP crate engine that I could order was the 307 Oldsmobile. That sucked.

  3. Alonzo

    Why don’t they have more Buick, Oldsmobile, or Pontiac crate engines.? A few years ago I heard these stories about all of the different Chevy crate motors that were available. I was thinking Hmm, I will go to GM dealer and order a 400 Pontiac or 455 Buick crate engine or maybe a 455 Oldsmobile. The only BOP crate engine that I could order was the 307 Oldsmobile. That sucked.

  4. Wes

    I had a very early version (535 advertised HP) of the original Ford Motorsport big block crate engine in 1998. Back then is was “just” a .030″ over 460 at stock stroke (466″) with the first version of the aluminum Cobra Jet heads. That engine had a flat tappet, hydraulic cam, 4150 intake, and 10.5:1 CR. I threw a 1050 methanol Dominator on top of an adapter, built a basic set of downswept headers, and installed the engine into a proven hard-tail dragster. Results? solid 8.80’s without touching a thing. Over time I gasket-matched the intake and heads, installed a nice Clay Smith roller cam, and some copper head gaskets to bump the CR just a bit and got the same car into the 8.30’s at 160. Combo was amazing as a Super Comp car.

    I later threw in a nice set of Carillo rods and some CP pistons to bump the CR up to 13.5:1 along with a cam that would be happy with nitrous. In a car that was almost 200 pounds heavier it ran 8.0’s on motor and 7.40’s on a 300 horse tune. Did I mention the engine was still at 466″ with the cast crank that came with it?

    In the 11 years I ran the engine I put two sets of main bearings, two sets of valve springs, and one set of cam bearings in the engine just because I felt guilty about running them so long. The mill made its way into a 67 Cougar that would run 5.60’s 1/8 mile. Sorry I let the engine go with the car.

    Cute fact about Ford Motorsport/Ford Racing/Ford Performance crate engines…the bulk of them are built at AER Manufacturing in Carrollton, TX. That original 466″ cost less than $6000 through a local Motorsport dealer in the summer of 1998.

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