Hey Andy, Tim here.....yep, to much power....back when i built my '64 Tempest, i wanted a bracket car on the street, 462, Ported Kaffman heads, nice lumpy cam....NA pump gas....well it blew 4 mo's into it life, but was workin fine....but didnt like street driving.....had to sit for 7 yrs b4 i cud afford a new bottom end....all same dimensions a tiny bit bigger cam, better rods, etc.....now pump gas has changed, and it dont like it as much (i mix 1 gal of 110 leaded with 4 gal non-ethanol)....nets 94 octane, car loves it, but STILL hates bein in traffic....so much so, i feel i got to much power NA for real drivin around.....now i want a smaller 400, same heads, mild cam....comp wud be like 9:1....cud drive anywhere all day...ok, cant run 10:90's with it, but gee high 12's i'd be SUPER HAPPY!!!...if need more put a kit on it......tryin to drive a 10.5 comp 462, with big cam is gettin old......i just wanna go for a ride.....TY sir, as i'm agreeing with you!!.....sorry i'm so long winded.....PEACE to you and DV!!

As Enzo Ferrari said at the beginning of the turbo era in F1, "Now any idiot can make power". Truer words were never spoken in regards to power adders.

Build what you like, because you like it and not because your trying to impress the crowd...Well said!

A 5-600HP NA car that hooks up will surprise way more people than you think and be so much more fun because it’s not gonna break everything everytime you drive it. Seen it time and time again. 5-600 HP NA on the street is where it’s at.

Torque is where it is on the streets.

lol yes. Just think of the horse power to skill ratio that we see today with hell cats. Heck there is a lot of people on the road that 120hp is more then they should have.

Years ago I had a Mercury Marauder making about 550hp, ran mid 12’s @ 106 in 3000’ air consistently and I daily drove it in Canadian winters. I had a friend who bought an 09 Shelby, who kept adding more power but didn’t address traction or seat time to get to hook. One evening at the track we lined up 4 times and I beat him every time, he’d run 118mph spinning almost to the 1/8. He had a nearly 200hp and 500lb advantage on me but could never get the power to the ground, it was even worse on the street, the Shelby could not hook up on anything less than a 3rd gear roll. He was not having fun at the time and was always frustrated with the car, I was having a ball. It’s about the combo, not necessarily the HP and building it for the purpose you want.

I run out of skill long before I run out of horsepower!!

Way,way back, when mountain motors became a thing,a bracket racer said it was easier to dial back power, and be consistent than be on the edge.

Back when I was a young man in the 70s, I picked up a 69 nova,with the intent of dropping a 350 and a 4 speed Muncy.. the car was so tame and nice with it's 6 cylinder and power glide I just left it be. I was so happy that I had a car that would start in the morning on a cold day!

Man, you really hit the nail on the head. Talking big numbers while bench racing hasn't changed much over the years, but actually getting that power to the pavement is a whole other story. Most of my friends and myself included, found this out 40+ years ago. It's good that you're talking about this. We can all have a tendency to get wrapped up in the power numbers, when there is so much more to consider. Well done

Fellers, be realistic in what you need out of the car. You don't need 3000 hp to get to the grocery store, but you're gonna need more than 30 hp to get to the end of the track. 😂

Funny thing is too.. If you make enough torque down in the low range. You a run 3.31 3.08 gears ratios too. Where you can enjoy driving the car daily.

You nailed it Andy, the key is enjoy your car or truck for what it is, chasing horsepower is a dangerous and very expensive deal, and it's true the more horsepower the more you need to make other drive line components to able withstand damage.

AMEN! Well said Andy. God Bless you and yours this day my friend.

I actually thought Casper went pretty good for being over 4000 lbs. If you put that engine in a Maverick, you would probably be in the high 5's with some traction.

Life long Ford truck fan here. Have you considered doing a Crown Victoria front end swap on Casper? You might lose a couple pounds off the front end and gain better brakes and alignment adjustability. Plus, you can still use your truck for truck things. That twin I-beam setup is super strong and durable, but heavy with limited adjustment.

I think what your saying makes total sense. Having a race car that you can drive on the street and driving it normal and then go to the track and lay some rubber then drive home and get up in the morning and go to work with a race car sounds pretty good to me. I think it's pretty cool when guys are using highway gears at the track and getting good results.

Back in the day, 500 hp was fast, now it's 1000 plus, thanks for sharing, all the best to you and your loved ones

"It's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow." Said someone...

Never too much horsepower, just not enough car...

Conservative horsepower wins more races than all-out horsepower because the loss of control is more important . Look at pro racing. There are so many runs that are aborted every round that it gets boring. Personally, when I go to a national event, i leave before the pros come up. Rather watch stock and superstock

Casper is a beast in my opinion. The engine combo is very impressive and well thought out.

Very good advice. I kept my 69 Nova in the 450 horse range because it is my daily driver. It has very good parts and could be pushed far past that horsepower level but I need to be able to drive it to work reliably everyday. Fast, reliable, cheap you can only pick two

Hi Andy! It's all about the combination. Everything matters, brakes, chassis, suspension. It all needs to be built for the same purpose. It's a "team" of parts and they all need to be team players.

Crazy thing is, your truck is right in the mix with today's muscle cars weight wise. Aero of a brick, but way cool! I'm 💯 on board with streetable. You get way more use out of something you can put miles on.

70 Camaro,427 na sbc,625 at the crank, Gear vender with 4.11's. Drive it EVERYWHERE. Runs 10.60's and refuse to put a power adder on it. Way to much fun.

Thank you Andy! My ole brick nose will never be the fastest or best looking truck but that doesn't change the fact that I can't enjoy the thing. Yeah if I could crack open a deep check book and say " Abra Cadabra" I'd probably be trying to regain my youth and good looks! I'm now inspired to my original plan for the truck and maybe make a mild 347 from the 302 but nothing that's gonna destroy transmissions and such cuz I sure as hell can't afford it. But I always get a big smile when someone says " Hey I like your old Ford"

You nailed it, Andy. The point is to have fun and enjoy yourself. While it may make for good KZfaq fodder, pouring gobs of power into an incapable chassis isn't productive.

I'm a retired Automotive Engineer. Point of note: the factories now build their vehicles within a narrow design envelope for their intended purpose. Keeps costs down. Go too far astray with your re-engineering and you will quickly be outside that envelope. In 1968, a major mag took an off the floor 396 375 HP Camaro to the strip. To make a long story short, they broke and had to upgrade every part of the chassis and drive train before they could use the power of the untouched engine. Put on traction bars - break the drive shaft. Put on slicks - blow the clutch! Yahda, yahda, yahda.

For almost 2 decades I drove my 86 elcamino with a 500+ HP and 500+ ft lbs of torque,700r4,7 5/8 3:42 rear gear.150+ mph and 22 mpg.very docile everyday driver with ac and otherwise fully loaded .

Great point Andy,its putting the cart ahead of the horse. Ya want big hp,build the chassis n drivetrains first

I am 61 and just want to cruise with enough power to light em up a little and feel that roar....not racing and not breaking. I noticed the guys with those high HP cars all talk about racing from 30 miles an hour etc, they dont race from a dead stop because the cars wont hook/

Gosh Andy, you need to give that talk to the FABO crowd. Someone will post asking for recommendations to get a bit more performance. Then the race yahoos jump in and start blabbing big cam, aftermarket heads with 300 CFM intake flow, a 3500+ stall and 3.91 gears. There is a few I get into it with regarding a Cars and Coffee driver and occasional trip to the 1/4. For mostly street driving in the Mopar world a cam with 220°@ 0.050", a 2000 stall and 3.23 gears or maybe 3.55 with an OD trans for today. A mostly track or race car is a different story.

Go as fast as your pocket book allows. Breaks and do it again.

Were talking cars that are built for fun... drivers that we can take to the track, not dedicated track cars. 5-6:1 lbs per whp is the sweet spot on a 200TW street tire. Even at that power level, you can be spinning the tires at 100mph depending on the tire and conditions. Beyond that power level, its starts getting into a grey area. Sure, you can run around with at 3lbs / whp on drag radials and be fine... but its no longer safe to drive it in the rain and you've got to have a roll bar/cage and harnesses, etc. if you ever want to take it to the track. I suppose that's another type of "street car" but no longer what I consider fun... and I start wondering why not just build an actual race car.

If ur getting into 10s qaurter, you're doing good. In australia, if you crack a 9 second pass and you dont have a roll cage, they will ban you from the track. For that night, either detune it or put a cage in.. most full standard cars with big hp just run 8th mile, so they dont get banned

Absolutely right Andy. Too much hp and you can't utilize all of it's potential because the vehicle is not built like a race car is a waste of time and money, not to mention reliability issues. Like you said, with too much hp for a street vehicle, it's real easy to get in trouble real quick. Drag racing one thing, try it on a road course. Very few enthusiasts will have the skill or the balls to drive it to the max.

Naturally aspirated breakout racing is very exciting. Consistently and reliability is crucial for that regardless of elapsed time.

Very well said Andy. I don't know what the rules are at different tracks, but as I see it an 11.50 1/4 mile is a really fast car. At our local track in Tulsa, that's the fastest you can run before they make you install a roll cage unless your car is 2015 or newer. As I wouldn't want to put a roll cage into a car I actually use, I see that as an upper limit for performance. Now for a race car, sure 11.50 isn't that great, but I'm not interested in trailering a car everywhere. My guess is that Casper is a mid 11's truck, which is fast enough to beat the vast majority of cars that actually show up to the track. That's another thing, I have seen some really powerful cars on my dyno, yet these guys don't show up at the track.

Excellent video Andy. You've touched on a point that most people don't understand. I've had plenty of disagreements with people over the accuracy of the Moroso calculator and such like. They all think that it gives you engine horsepower. It doesn't, it gives you utilised horsepower. If you put the wheels off Caspar on a funny car, DV might get a win in his Mustang. On paper, the Mustang has made more power, despite the fact that the Funny Car has many multiples of the Mustangs power. Most people don't understand the difference.

Project Sleeper is a badass ride! Amazing build! I would love to see a video from you and DV of any and all optimizing, testing and the results (if any) on a DZ302 T/A Crossram!!!

Spot on Andy!

I think your trick is friggin awesome brother!!!

Let me answer your question: 711 crankshaft observed HP runs 130 MPH @ 4200 pounds, take 2 MPH off for aerodynamics of a truck now were @ 128 MPH, now it comes down to conditions, in zero DA conditions that truck should run 10.20s @ 128 MPH. Some how my NA fuelie headed 350 C-10 long bed runs 11.14 in +200 DA conditions, 536 HP bone stock suspension, two piece drive shaft.

Great video Andy 👍 There's so much to be said on this interesting subject.. Well it's got my gears turning lol 👍this is good👍

I've always been of the mindset of "As horsepower goes up, reliability goes down", the trick is to find that line.

I like your style and explanation on this Andy. (It takes all kinds to make the world go around) Like Joes Chevelle… It’s an almost 500hp street driver Chevelle. It’s a freaking beast street driver. (A sleeper car) The Crown Vic Project.. We gotta make another car like Dave had back in California. Turbocharged

I've always said 13 second cars are the sweet spot. Most v8s and bigger 6s can be made to run that fast with stock or modified stock parts. Depending on the car spec, that puts power levels around the 300 to 400hp range and maybe 450hp in the really heavy models. That hp and 1/4 mile speed would put you in the ballpark of a lot of modified road race cars from the 70s and 80s and engines of that power level can be built in the home garage by someone that's competent. That's fast enough to scare you but not so fast that it costs a fortune, and it definitely won't break down all of the time. Add in suspension and tire development since the 70s. The task just got easier. But for most people these days, that's just too slow!

so true, like yes. we pay, we know what we want. nice for other people to like it but at the end of the day it is ours, both good and bad. What 450 ft/bls does any street engine?

With a stock block, you can have too much HP, believe me.

Back in the day, a buddy of mine had an ‘79 Camaro high compression 327 with a nasty cam and a 4 speed. Another one had a 327 with 3 2s on it with a nasty cam and low gears in a 55 Chevy. I put together a volare super coupe with a stock 440 and an automatic with 308 gears. I’d drive around those guys every time at a little before the 1/8th mile. Horsepower ain’t everything 😅

Build to your weakest link, be it transmission, axle shafts, u-joints, etc. Always have a weak link you can change easily and economically. Personally, I chose u-joints since I have tall tires. Slip and grip situations means you need more than a heavy foot to drive it on questionable terrain to get back home with no more than a little trail rash.

Awesome video! Well said! Thanks!

These days when people say something is slow they usually have no clue what they are talking about. I hate that horsepower is so easily available now, especially through forced induction. A well sorted NA engine that puts out a lot for what it is and requires knowledge is much more impressive to me. My quiet, docile street car that "only" makes 585 horsepower has hurt a lot of feelings. I've seen several others doing the same. I love watching the catalog shoppers shake their head.

I’m currently working with the owner of the place I work on a 70 chevelle. It’s set up almost like a pro touring car from a ride height and tire standpoint. (4 link rear but no roll bar or frame braces at all) It’s currently equipped with an aluminum head 400 that is a good build (formerly on nitrous) the body is in really good shape nice paint and interior too. However, the frame is rusted, almost looks like the frame is a transplant from another car at some point. Thin spots near the rear, the 12 bolt has grooves in the stock looking axles where the bearings ride. The rear brakes are a disc conversion but small, front ones are stock also. He really wants to go LS and manual transmission. The rear brake calipers are both dragging from what appears to be fluid contamination, seals swelled. My suggestion to him was “no more horsepower until you do something with that frame and brakes” we’re currently waiting on a complete 14” rotor kit with 6/4 piston calipers and a matching master cylinder with adjustable proportioning valve from Wilwood so they can drive it this summer. This winter it will be getting a full chassis narrow rear, matching narrow frame for tubs. a 9” all ready to go and powder coated. Dirt cheap at 20k ready to bolt in and go. He loves the idea. But for now no more horses will be added to the stable. And 1st and foremost, the woah comes before the go. Know when to say when 😊 When we get this car done like it should be I’m gonna go get my 2002 ranger short box and build it. 331ish stroker on nitrous with some big ole tires tucked under it, body slung pretty low. Y’all get that 4r100 worked out, I’m gonna need one to beat up on this Chevy 😅

I know you love that old truck but I also would like to see you build a small ranger truck and put the drive train in it. That would be a high 5 to low 6 second truck on the motor alone and would be a killer street truck

Great video! Nothing but the truth was spoken.

🔔😎🇺🇲 25 yrs ago I bought HCI... concluded youre correct. Do I NEED 20% more power? Theyre still sitting here patiently waiting. LOL 😆😎 Fun to drive T5 and bust the tires as is.

Andy, your truck should go mid 10's in the quarter mile not hooking very well. The guy I work for owns a Heavy 1972 Pontiac Ventura with a health Poncho engine in it. 725 hp 765 Tq and it ran 10.15 paddling the rear tires badly with the front tires hanging about 6" off the ground for 20' to 30'. All on pump gas 92 octane gas. The car is more of a show car, It's called the " Angry Pumpkin" because its the color of a pumpkin, Bucket seats still in it, None manual valve body and that was when the torque converter was not stalling at all. Factory replacement V6 springs and shocks up front, Cal-Trac's out back with Viking Crusader's double adjustable shocks back there too. everything is still in the car from the factory but the engine, Trans, and Ford 9" Very comfortable to ride in but a little nuts nailing it at 75 mph and the rear tires look like a John Force burnout and wanting to go side ways. It's more about what rear end gears, trans gears, stall converter to match your engine power output. His goal is to hit 9.99 on pump gas 92 octane and not rag on it much more but take it to more car shows. He was at the Detroit Autorama last year with it. Set a goal on time you want to possible hit with your power out put and start changing gears, and torque converter stall and shocks. shocks is a major thing we learned to going after our selected time we want. He has ordered Viking Crusaders double adjustable shocks for the front in his car. We are hoping to plant the rearend and have better front travel or limit it.

Andy, u have done excellent with the truck. I hate the c4 didn't hold up for u. And I know u needed a bigger, beefier transmission but I also think the added rotating weight will slow it down.

There is no doubt that power adders are very impressive, however the statement I am fixing to make isn't universal but I feel applies to North of 50%. Nitrous begins where knowledge ends. I said nitrous because as it stands now, it is cheaper than a turbo system.

Boost eliminates the cyclic loading of tension/compression on the rods. They remain in compression under boost. Better power with better reliability? Within reason. Too much is just too much.

With today's drive trains behind the engine, you could get performance levels in your 0-60 times that would have taken an extra 150 hp to achieve with the old drive train. Imagine a 6 speed with double overdrive (5th and 6th) and a gear vendors overdrive. Now you can have 4.88 to 5.14 gears in the rear and still cruise at stock rpms.

I could not agree with you more Andy. I have videos on my FB where my car that only makes 540 at the tires is running over cars that are making over 2X the power my car makes. I’m a N/A stick shift guy to the end my coyote swap fox has been 6.20s @ 110+ in the 1/8 and that’s fast enough for me.

Ive always thought power adders where a little like cheatin. That Steve Morris guy has a T-shirt that says Boost fixes everything and will break everthing too. By god hes right All that being said I have respect for all the camps favorites. It`s amazing the power that can be obtained from alternate induction ideas and fuels used. The last three motors I did for pumpgas street cars are between 499HP to 750 and you can tell where they live by following the burn-outs, It`s hard to get tires to stick on the street.

I am doing a N/a Ls3 swap in a 03' Crown Vic Police Interceptor. 6L90E. And I will be upgrading the breaks and such. I am not building a race car. I am building a burnouts and ice cream build. That car should be so fun and blow off the tires at will.

Well said Andy. I don't want to put my 69 Camaro into the wall with new GM sheet metal on it. 421 SBC. N/A. Of course I want my cake and want to eat it too but I want it to have A/C and drive it anywhere. And with a modified Quadrajet believe it or not hoping for around 600 HP. Alot of homework. Learning from DV and others. Thanks for the videos!

Absolute Truth Andy Your 100% on the money

Good stuff! As I say often - bring your 1000 whp car to the autocross, and you will get embarrassed by a Miata. - Hope to see you at FTO 2024

A few things andy ...1/4 mile with slicks i think casper would go low 11s . Im into alot of fun for a truck like you have ..cause i have a 71 f100 and i just want it to be the most fun dont care about dyno and E.T numbers. Last thing when anyone says chevy i instantly turn it off. Everything chevy is so done to death . Really like your videos

Ha, I was #351 to like this vid. I'm not a diehard Ford guy, but I do like numbers. Commenting for the algorithm. Love your channel.

There is definitely a limit to everything. Is it safe and can you easily drive it? Does it become a chore to drive? Do you break components often? Do you build it, yet find yourself driving something else? Have you slaved over that vehicle and found it's no fun anymore? At some point, the quest loses its enjoyment. Some of the most fun i've had has been in low horsepower cars, that i could drive right to their edge without killing the car or myself. Lol

100% I am living it less power more fun .

I want my turbo panther car with the stock mufflers and tail pipes too. Total sleeper car

My cars all about being cool, interesting, and budget friendly. The really fast stuff will just make you broke anyway. But there are some fast budget cars with power adders. The problem with them, is the really fast budget cars are often dangerous cars that would never pass a tech inspection.

Ben Alameda has a cool Channel. He’s got a video on V-Grooves. So the flame front travels over into the quench section of the cylinder head. Ben Alameda Racing But I don’t think ole Ben knows about King David’s IOP program yet:)

Drive train problems will always exist.

Back when I get still young and dumb , I often saw early model camaros like] '69 in Super, Chevy magazine etc. With Dana rear ends. At t time I didn't know why, As I get a little older I learned that it was the weight. A heavy rear end gave better balance front and rear ends. And after watching years of F1 on ch. 7 I can see why. Well I'm 69 now, but still nol wizard. Wizer

300 hp is enough for me in a light car. The cost of the safety equipment alone for high HP cars is a lot of money, let alone the parts that you break !! Then, depends on where you live, where to use it on the streets?

You’re absolutely right

Spinning ain’t winning… Potential 6.60s @ 103 in a perfect world. Gearing and stall speed will have dramatic effect. With the new CasperMatic consider a lower numerical gear (3.23-3.55) to have a more reasonable Starting Line Ratio between 7 and 9 mainly because the harder you hit the tire the more advanced technology in rear suspension you’ll need to control it to keep from smoking the tires at the launch. You’ll have a slower 60’ time but Casper will pull like a freight train out the back door.

Just installed my new Progression Distributor. Sounds great at idle. Haven’t driven it yet. Anything I should know? Tuning tips? Anything?

I wouldn't worry too much about what people say Andy. If you're doing 6.80's in the 1/8 that's 10.60's-70's in the 1/4 and a plenty fast street truck. Those that think you should be faster obviously spend more time on the internet than the track. It's just not that simple. We have 2 street cars we drive everywhere and when I say street I mean bone stock looking muscle cars complete with everything they were born with. One makes 724/764 and the other 786/772 at the flywheel N/A. Pump gas and very easy to drive. One has gone 10.68 @128 mph with a soft 1.78 60. It's gone 1.47 60 but not on a full pass. Weighs 4120 lbs and on a 275 drag radial. Could it go quicker? Sure if I can finish one of those runs with a 60 foot in the 1.40's. Do I care? Not really. It's difficult when you only get one or maybe 2 passes in before I'm parked because neither car has a roll bar and they aren't getting one either. They are street cars primarily and we do 3-400 mile weekend trips in them regularly. It's all just about having fun for us. If I wanted to be serious at the track these 700+ HP engines would be in tube chassis cars that weigh 2800 lbs. I have more fun on the street surprising unsuspecting hot rodders. Keep up the great content.

This video is 10000% spot on!

Cleetus mcfarland making 5,000hp with his new engine n he's still going to lean it to make 5,200hp n blow up. But cleetus n his audience loves it. Only makes as much power as u could afford.

10 4 to that !

10.50s Andy..Casper should go mid 10s 10.50 is quick for something you can actually drive daily :)

I've had way more fun in a 300 horse s10/rangers on the street than our 1800hp track mustang! Get it to hook and she will book!

The problem with the current is disregard for context. Power to weight ratio is what it is. Traction control is altered reality. If you have twin turbos hooked up to any engine it’s just taking you three air pumps to get it done. Super charger there is two. Nitrous Oxide at one point in time was known as cowards power. The digital age has muddied up the art form of mechanics to a very large degree. I like the cars of today. They’re very good running and very well behaved. Take away the electronics and they’re not what they seem to be.

Just look at the old stock eliminator classes and the et's they are able to achieve with so little HP, but a lot of attention to details. Same applies to boats. All the HP in the world isn't going to help you if the hull and drive can't hold on to it. I would much rather have a bullet proof motor with modest HP vs. a hand grenade that breaks something every time you have it out. As for the people throwing shade at Casper, I'd wager they are racing laptops.

Casper was built to run high 17s.

Just imagine how fast American's would go down the track if they had a healthy BMI...

It needs 1000hp and to average at least 30mpg or it’s not worth talking about. lol my daily puts 1135ft-lb to the tire and gets 19 but it’s got a long way to go to be a bad dog. 🐕 😊 I will just settle on it still being a decent runner and a total sleeper.

How much HP you have is irrelevant if you can't hook it up to the track, hence the expression where the rubber meets the road.

most of us cant afford to build 1000 hp car

I don't remember if the weight of Casper is with you in it or not ? But at the weight you mentioned with everything like it should be and the power you have it should be a 6.6×× all day long, depending on the DA Factor in less the perfect conditions and it should still be a solid 6.80 truck. Cheers. Looking forward to seeing it go with the new Casper-Matic.

No, you cannot have too much horsepower, but you can have too little tuning and suspension prep for the situation at hand... I'd rather have more than I really need and be able to dial it up or down as needed.

Ask a set of oriellys u j joints

Love casper cant wait till u get the 4r100 in it its gonna b awsome