Engine Performance Upgrades
At 2:55 in
The Birth of a Legend: NASCAR's Early Days and Pioneers (Bill Blair Jr's Personal Museum)
What happens here
To boost engine performance, moonshiners would install higher-compression aluminum block heads (often called 'Elco heads') and dual carburetors on their flathead Ford V8 engines. The Grancor (Granatelli Corporation) intake manifold was a popular choice for dual carburetors. Additionally, McCulloch superchargers, which later evolved into the Paxton brand, were fitted to engines to significantly increase horsepower, providing 7-8 pounds of boost. These modifications were cutting-edge for the 1930s and '40s, pushing the limits of available technology.
Goal: Understand how engines were modified for increased speed and power.
Tools and materials
- Aluminum Block Heads — Increasing compression and engine horsepower
- Distributor — Timing adjustment with a movable 'strip'
- Dual Carburetors — Increasing fuel delivery to the engine for more power
- Engine Block Ford — Example of a modified engine block for an oil filter and pressure/suction pump system
- Grancor Intake Manifold Grancor — Mounting dual carburetors to the flathead Ford engine
- McCulloch Supercharger McCulloch — Forced induction to significantly boost engine horsepower (7-8 psi)
- Methanol — High-performance fuel, requiring twice the amount compared to gasoline
- Nitro — Added to methanol for even greater power, often up to 40-50% concentration
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