The 363 cubic-inch Gen III Hemi engine is pressurized by the class-standard 2.9-liter Whipple twin-screw supercharger and is said to make 1,250 horsepower and 900 pound-feet of torque, while spinning north of 8,500 rpm.
This Mopar Drag Pak supercharged 354 engine starts out with the Mopar aluminum block bored to 4.125-inch, with a 3.400-inch stroke
Winberg crank added for an actual displacement of 363 cubic-inches.
Carillo rods connect the custom
Diamond Racing pistons—which, word has, bump the compression to numbers normally thought to be insane to run with boost—to the crank, while Total Seal rings are utilized to keep the compression in the cylinders.
Clevite bearings are used in the main and rod journals, and a
Melling oil pump keeps the engine’s lifeblood circulating. A custom
Moroso oil pan with all the bells and whistles helps control the oil, and a
Manley timing set keeps the engine in time during its max-effort jaunts down the quarter-mile.
“The
JR1 Racing Oil has consistently been a great product with real advantages,” says Turk of his racing lubricant.
The aluminum Mopar block at the core of Turk’s record-setting engine features 4.125-inch bores. Previously, Turk ran an iron-block combination that left everyone surprised at his performances.
Up top are a set of Mopar’s high-performance cylinder heads, which Mopar has extensively refined specifically for class racing. A custom BES-specified Comp Cams camshaft actuates
Jesel lifters and Trend pushrods.
T&D rockers convert the cam motion into valve motion, and the
Xceldyne valves are controlled by
PAC valve springs. “Most of these guys will make good power to about 8,200 rpm and then will cross the line about at 8,600-8,700,” Bischoff says of this caliber of engine. A class-spec 2.9-liter
Whipple twin-screw supercharger provides the compressed atmosphere, while a
Holley EFI system controls the fuel and spark portions of the equation.
“Everybody has to run the same blower. That’s part of what makes the class so fair,” says Bischoff. “Chrysler has a great foundation to start with, so naturally it’s going to make good power. Then we just have to figure out how to tune it and keep them together. I’d like to take credit for it, but I think we get more credit than we deserve, however I’ll take it.”
The Gen III Hemi’s cylinder heads are Mopar pieces with an OEM part number, per the Stock Eliminator class rules. But make no mistake, these heads come from Mopar ready to rock and roll in this application.
The combination is powered by gasoline, as defined by the NHRA rulebook, and makes 1,250 horsepower and 900 pound-feet of torque on the engine dyno.
“They make about the power I expected them to make,” says Bischoff. “I’ll be honest with you, the cars run faster than what the horsepower says they should. That kind of surprises me, and I’m not sure why that is. They are almost 3,600 pounds, and now going 7.90s, that says 1,400 horsepower, but I have no idea where that comes from, because this makes 1,250.”
Building a competitive—let alone record-setting—class engine is no small feat, but this is by no means Bischoff’s first rodeo with the Gen III Hemi.
“We do a ton of Gen III Hemis for street cars for HHP, but I’ve found they are a very durable motor and they make great power. It’s an awesome platform for a factory motor,” Bischoff says.
However that doesn’t mean there weren’t challenges faced along the way.
“Being as we build a lot of those motors, and really, we build a lot of any kind of motors, we have struggled through some problems that all the brands have suffered,” says Bischoff of the Stock-class engines. “There are some things than can burn a motor up really easily if you aren’t on top of it. After all, these are boosted engines on gasoline. Your tuning window can get really small, and it’s hell on pistons, I can tell you that!”