Yates Roush NASCAR Motor - Heart Transplant

Cool Issues One thing I failed to mention at the start of this story is that this motor swap was such a major undertaking because we decided to do it between races. That's right we raced Saturday night, pulled the old motor on Sunday and planned on racing the new motor the following Saturday night. I know what you're thinking, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

One of the interesting things you'll find about switching from a Chevy to a Ford is that a Chevy radiator (which is what we have) has the inlet and outlet on opposite sides. On a Ford they are both on the same side. Couple that with the fact that the Roush Yates engine requires cooling hoses to feed both heads and we had some fabricating to do to make our Chevy radiator fit our Ford application. Now, before you start sending letters to the editor, remember we were trying to make a race deadline. We'll be swapping in a new Ford radiator in a separate story in a coming issue.

Cranking It Up The new Circle Track Dirt Late Model race shop is around the corner from our main office and is situated in a small industrial park. In addition to our DLM team there is a street performance shop that specializes in a number of different vehicle makes right across from us. They're a great group of guys but it's not unusual to hear that trademark tuner whine come out of their shop. With the last wire connected to our MSD ignition, it was time to fire up the engine. It was late Thursday evening and our tuner friends had been poking their heads in to see a "big" motor all night long. They took delight in revving up their turbo four-cylinders as the clock continued to tick, almost baiting us. It was pretty clear that they were almost as anxious to hear the engine as we were.

When Jeremy finally primed the carb, hit the switch and the 822 horses came to life the steel buildings rattled as if a Category Five hurricane just blew through. It was music to our ears and we felt ready to take on the world.

The switch to the Roush Yates motor was a huge step up for us. Other than the fact that both engines had eight cylinders, there are few similarities between our new motor and the old Chevy. But the real significant difference is when the car hits the track. With a ton more horsepower and torque in a much higher rpm band, driver Bobby Clark will have to drive the car in a whole new way. Flat-footing a track like East Bay Raceway Park (1/3-mile oval), in Tampa, FL, will no longer be an option. Rear gear selection, while always important, will be critical, just like Wells said. Harnessing all of that horsepower and learning when to use it and, more importantly, when not to use it, will be something that will take some getting used to.

Our inaugural run with the new Roush Yates Motor is set for Volusia County Speedway in Barberville, FL, followed by a visit to North Florida Speedway in Lake City. Stay tuned for next month, where we lay it on the line.

In the meantime, head over to www.circletrack.com to see video outtakes and bonus photos, including some really funny ones, from this story. And if you want a Roush Yates Dirt Late Model engine of your own, Jeremy Anderson will hook you up for $25,000-which includes everything but carb, headers, bellhousing, and plumbing. Get him a Cuban sandwich from Brocato's and he might even come help you install it.