Talk About Ponies

Crate engine proliferation has expanded in the last decade like casinos along Las Vegas' infamous strip--it seems there's a new one every month. But unless you're in the market for a Chevy engine, you might just feel like you're stuck at a third-rate gambling hall that doesn't even offer a cheap prime rib.

Bill Mitchell, the man behind Long Island, New York's World Products, has been one of the primary contributors to the Chevy-based crate engine craze. His Motown small-blocks and Merlin big-blocks have found homes in countless street and race cars, but now he's out to provide some balance for the Blue Oval side. Recently, World Products started producing their own Ford-style engine block based on the 302/351 small-block Windsor. It's called the Man O' War. As with the Motown and Merlin blocks, the new Man O' War is virtually indistinguishable from an original Ford block on the outside. Every stock accessory, whether oil filter or intake manifold, bolts up as if it were Ford's own casting.

Inside, however, the block is beefed up with thicker front and rear bulkheads and more iron in strategic areas of the cylinder banks. It all adds about 60 lbs over a comparable stock Ford 302 block, but virtually eliminates the chance for cracking that is prevalent in high-output, modified 302s. It also comes with splayed four-bolt mains.

Not too long after the sand was knocked from the first Man O' War block casting, Mitchell got to work developing crate engine packages--World Products also produces Windsor Jr. iron and Windsor Light aluminum cylinder heads. It was a brave new world for someone who admits to being a little behind the curve on Ford stuff.

"They look backwards," Mitchell jokes, in reference to the front-mount distributor of the Windsor engines. "Actually, it's smart to have the distributor up front--it makes more sense to drive it and the oil pump up there."

Mitchell called on NASCAR engine experts to help redesign the engine block. It comes in four deck heights--302 and 351 versions--as well as a unique 302 C model that has the offset oil pump/distributor mounting of the 351 engine, which allows for a larger-displacement 302 engine.

Other parts, such as intake manifolds, are sourced from other aftermarket companies. World, however, is working to produce its own line of intakes.

MILD, MEDIUM & CALIENTE
With his Man O' War parts corralled in New York, Mitchell developed numerous crate engines based on the World Products' five-stage hierarchy of power/affordability. The stages include Daily Driver, Cruiser, World Class, Hardcore, and Limited Edition--the distinguishing features of each being power and price. Iron cylinder heads are the norm across the board, with aluminum heads optional. The exception is the take-no-prisoners Limited Edition, which has all the best in dollar-intensive hardware.

Within some of the engine series, too, is a variety of displacement options. So, looking at the Man O' War range, you start with the Daily Driver crate engine, which comes in stock displacement--302 or 351 ci--and 9:1 compression, a 750-cfm four-barrel carb, and a hydraulic camshaft. It's a simple, relatively inexpensive combination that, with a 351-cube version, is good for 351 hp. It lists for $6,995.

The next step is the Cruiser, which builds on the Daily Driver recipe with increased displacement, as well as camshaft and other components sized to match. For our example, we'll use the 351-based 427ci displacement. It comes with a hydraulic camshaft and a 750-cfm carburetor. It's rated at 450 hp. Next up is the World Class 427 engine; it includes a higher-lift camshaft and an 870-cfm carb to produce 475 hp (495 hp with aluminum heads).

And sticking with the 427-cube Windsor-style engine, the Hardcore version uses a solid-lifter cam and valvetrain, as well as a Dominator carb, for a rating of 500 hp (525 horses with aluminum heads).

The nuclear option is the Limited Edition 460-inch Man O' War, which uses aluminum lungs, 10.5:1 forged pistons, a roller camshaft, and a bunch of other high-end goodies to make 575 hp. Don't forget this is a small-block engine, not the iron lump out of an old Lincoln.

"The Limited Edition is for the guy who thinks too much is just right," Mitchell says.

And while the Hardcore and Limited Edition engines would certainly feel at home in the staging lanes of a dragstrip, Mitchell insists all the crate engines are designed for street use and are pump-gas friendly.

"The idea is to give enthusiasts a range of power to fit their budget," he says. "You tell us you want a 427-inch engine and we've got several flavors to pick from."

As for the streetability of the upper echelon engines, Mitchell says the proof is in his garage.

"My '33 Ford coupe has a Limited Edition engine and I can drive it anywhere through any traffic," he says. "We did the Power Tour in it last year." Still, he admits the power capability of just about 600 hp in a relatively light street car is something even he has only fully tapped into a few times. "It's overwhelming on the street and the power is deceiving," Mitchell says. "We've designed the engines with excellent idle characteristics, so you can cruise along and it feels completely docile--but once you get into it, it's like there's no end to the pulling power."

STRONG FOUNDATIONS
Even the entry-level Daily Driver crate engines use Eagle 4340 forged steel crankshafts, forged H-beam connecting rods, forged pistons, etc. The engines also come with plugs, wires, distributor, and balancer. Also, every engine is dyno-tested prior to shipping.

We spent a couple of days recently at World Products to watch these new Ford-style engines go together and were struck by the relative simplicity of it all. The engines are assembled by experienced builders who follow the prescribed recipe for various combinations, but there is nothing exotic about the engines or assembly techniques.

If you've read car magazines for any length of time, you'll have undoubtedly heard references to the air pump analogy--since an engine is simply an air pump, the more you pump in, the more power it pumps out. That's the case with the World Products engines, as these big-horsepower Man O' War engines derive their dyno numbers from large displacement, cavernous cylinder heads, and large carburetors.

In the accompanying photos, you'll see what goes into the buildup of a Man O' War crate engine--in this case, a World Class series 427 rated at 475 hp. Keep in mind that whether it's a Daily Driver or the full-boat Limited Edition, the foundation and processes are the same.

As we said at the top of the story, the lion's share of crate engine options have gone to the Chevy guys. But with more Man O' War combinations than you can shake a Flathead at, World Products is providing more opportunities for enthusiasts to keep their distributor up front--where it belongs.

ALUMINUM ALTERNATIVESThere was a time when an aftermarket aluminum engine block was the indulgence of professional and semi-professional racers whose sponsors could foot the bill for the exotic alloy cylinder cases. World Products is changing the status quo, however, with lower-cost aluminum block castings.It started about a year and a half ago with the Motown Lite, an aluminum version of the company's Motown small-block Chevy-based block. It continues this year with the lightweight Merlin X alloy cylinder case (see photo). This lightweight revolution will soon spawn aluminum versions of the Man O' War block used in our main story. World's aluminum blocks roughly chop in half the cost of a traditional bare aluminum cylinder case, thanks to an innovative machining process that dramatically reduces the time and effort involved in finishing a rough casting. Better still, World offers aluminum blocks as an upgrade to standard crate engine packages. In the Motown lineup, for example, the aluminum block is a $2,000 option, representing an approximately 25-percent premium on the entire crate package. It also saves about 100 lbs over a comparable iron-block engine, while offering the exotic distinction of being, well, an aluminum engine block.World Products says that, so far, about a quarter of Motown customers select the aluminum alternative. For the money, it seems like a worthwhile investment in technology and under-hood panache.