From there, two custom-ground cams (from Comp Cams) based on Beck's specs were made, delivered, and installed to gain even more ground. Other parts were tested with as much vigor, including carbs (going from a 750 Holley to a 850, and finally a 950 Holley), heads (swapping out a set of Pro-Action units for a pair of GM Fast Burn heads), and intake manifold (starting with an Edelbrock Air-Gap but ending up with an Edelbrock RPM manifold).
Some of the items, though they had better peak performance in certain rpm ranges, were traded out for parts that would provide a broader range of performance, as this contest looked for overall average numbers instead of peak points. The rules dictated oil pans and headers were to be out-of-the-box units and for unmodified chassis applications, which meant those parts used on these motors were probably the same ones you might have laying around your own garage.
For John's motor, a total of 80 pre-contest dyno pulls were made (over three separate weekends) at Eric's shop in order to dial in the engine the way the pair thought it should work. When you figure Dyno-motive usually charges about $100 an hour for dyno time, it shows these guys were serious about winning. But, as Eric explains it, "Do you want to be the guy who shows up at the river with your boat but can't get it to run because you weren't prepared, or do you want to stick your boat in the water and go skiing?" It's like showing up to a gun fight with only a knife. Eric knows good preparation is everything, and he's tested everything on his dyno, from Rolls Royce engines to the new Honda motors.
John placed third overall in the Engine Masters contest, achieving an average torque rating of 474.9 ft-lb and a 2,500 - 6,500-rpm average horsepower rating of 412.6. Not bad for a 307 bumped to 365 cubes and set up with 12.2:1 compression, but the peak numbers for John's small-block were even better: 518.9 ft-lb of torque at 4,800 rpm and 556.3 horsepower at 6,500 rpm! A real mini-mouse stump puller! For his troubles, John received a check for $12,000 and the incentive to come back again in the future for another contest.
Even though he has more than 30 years under his belt when it comes to engine building, John learned a lot in the contest about combustion chamber shaping and camshaft design (the good ones never stop learning, right?). And this from a guy who has had several national speed records from Bonneville and the dry lakes (he currently owns the C/Fuel record at El Mirage in a modified '29 roadster at 225 mph!). Though it hasn't been the case in the past, anybody nowadays can buy a crate motor and get reliable efficiency from it. But, if you don't want what everybody else has, then John's your guy, and he'll squeeze every available drop of horsepower out of whatever you ask him to build!
For more info on the Engine Master contest, visit the Web site at www.enginemasters.com