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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpNy2l1wq6Q&eurl=
I am a member of the 1962 to 1965 Mopar web Site and they also have this photo there
Here is the engine I built for Christophe Schwartz for the Nascar Returns to Lemans project. After early trials in France the project gathered huge sponsors and added a couple of drivers and it went from a little guy project to a full blown assault. A Vintage USAC race car was purchased complete with a hemi and the little 400 that could was relegated to promotional use and driver practice. I was disappointed to say the least but the 400 cu. in. motor I built for this car delivered much more power than I was asked to build and has endured much more driving than just the Lemans classic. I have to gain my satisfaction from that. I was asked to produce a reliable engine that could stand the road racing enviroment running on 95 octane fuel. I was asked to produce at least 400 HP at the engine and was told that 450 HP would be wonderful. (I have kept all correspondance on this engine) On a chassis Dyno in Germany it produced 408 rear wheel HP at 5550 rpm and held its power curve more or less flat till 6240 rpm when it was still producing 407 rear wheel HP. Although most say rear wheel HP is about 75% of engine or flywheel HP I tend to error on the side of caution and use more modern standards which use a best case/ worst case method. Best case is figured to be 85% driveline efficiency which would peg the 400 engine at making NOT LESS THAN 480 HP at the engine. Worst case would give a driveline effciency of 80% which would have the 400 engine making NOT MORE THAN 510 Flywheel HP. Much, much more than I was asked to provide so I take my satisfaction from that. That was AS DELIVERED. On the dyno sheets I received there was no lambda readings (AIR FUEL RATIO) As with any engine improvements can always be made by dialing the AFR and timing to match exactly the climate and fuel of the area of operation. Gains of 20 to 30 HP would be the minimum one could expect and even more than that is often seen. And it is reliable Horsepower besides. The engine has only 9.6 to 1 compression ratio. It has a custom made hydraulic cam (my own private grind) . The cylinder heads heads are iron castings ported here in my shop to give a stabilizing intake port swirl which helps in producing torque and stabil high lift flow. There are many trick parts in this motor. I poured 6 months of my retired life into it It will be my last customer's engine although I hope to play on a bit for myself. A link is provided so you can see it blasting through the grandstand at Lemans during a practice session. Be sure to turn up the sound enjoy the 400's might roar! I would also like to comment on the fine work done on this Charger by Oliver Zinn and the Mopar Shop in OLFEN Germany. They installed my engine and took care of the set up in a fine fashion. Wish things had turned out different as I a sure Oliver does as well. Still it was an interesting project and one I will always remember. The car with my engine that Oliver Zinn and crew readied is the #4 1972 Charger. It is a street style car or a real Dodge Charger. The car they eventually entered was a USAC racer purchased from the USA and carries the number 49 instead of 4. It has no door handles or windows unlike the real one (#4).
The engine was built here, the carb set up on my 63 MAX WEDGE in actual driving and then the engne was bench fired and run in with coolant running through it for 23 + minutes before everything was drained and sent to Oliver Zinn's Mopar Shop in Germany .
SPECIAL VIDEO in car camera http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKGxe_PTDeQ&NR
Go for THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE!
This video was made in the real car's(#4) first outing, just days after Oliver finished installing my motor and getting it ready. Watch some of the cars Christope goes by. It is surprising to say the least Listen to the sound of this 400 special as it pulls from down deep to up high. It was this outing the sealed the whole project's success and drew attention to Christphe.s efforts . This engine has a very distinct sound and can be picked out easily on both video links here.
Video posted by a fan during practice on Fast Day in France http://www.zippyvideos.com/8633985225147436/dodge_moins_propre/
Here Christophe easily powers by a Mustang. There is also one by the same individual of him blowing by that new Vette that he almost ran over in the in car video. http://www.zippyvideos.com/3705037705147396/dodge_propre/ Low end torque from this 400 inch motor is surprising.
Here is what Christophe Schwartz said to Stephan Sheahan (Canadian TV Producer) after his FAST DAY experience behind the 400 engine
"I'm very happy with the engine that Don built. I kept the revs belox 5500 for this first track testing day, but it already pulled very strongly. Even when I came out of the tight corners and despite the 2.94:1 rear ratio!" C Schwartz May 17 2006
The real #4 Mopar Shop de /Dolmetsch 400 V8 Charger on display at Lemans 2006. Note small maple leaf just visable on air breather housing. This car also has Door Handles and License Plates.
Here is a Link to Olivers Shop. Please tell him Don sent you. http://www.moparshop.de/
