Mike LeFevres Comes Through BIG TIME
 

As some may know, I have just completed Kirkham #313. I hired Mike LeFevres to build my engine after I heard him speak at the Kirkham Summit. As some may recall, Mike was instrumental in the development of the Shelby aluminum block. He has since left Shelby and gone full time into building and testing engines of many types at his business, Mitech Racing Engines, located in Placentia, California.

I recently took delivery of my engine after travelling to Cali to observe as Mike dynoed it for me there at his shop. Mike, one of the most honest and straightforward guys I have met, had told me to expect somewhere around 525-550 horsepower when he was done. While these numbers seemed low in comparison to some of the, ahem, wild engine numbers I have seen posted, I was so impressed with Mike that I didn't worry about it. He knew that I wanted street driveability and bullet proof reliability, and he seemed capable of delivering it.

Well, at the shop, the engine outperformed my expectations. Peak h.p., corrected, was 592 at 6200, while Torque maxed at 559 at 4000. I could tell that even though Mike did not want to blow his own horn, he was pleased.

Particulars of the engine are as follows:

Shelby Block
Shelby Intake
Edelbrock heads
4.25 Stroke and Bore (488")
Velesco Crank, knife edged, rifled
Oliver rods
Holley 800 carb
10.3:1 Compression
Jetted for 4300 feet elevation
Flat tappet hyd cam

My thanks to Mike - I felt like he was the builder to go with because of his vast Shelby experience, and my confidence was well placed.

By the way, the engine idles at 900 rpm, starts every time I turn the key, and MAN-- DOES IT PULL. As one NASCAR driver of old once gushed -- "My car is all ate up with motor". I would highly recommend Mike to anyone in the market for a no- nonsense engine building experience.

Mitty,
I too had a great experience dealing with Mike when I ordered my Shel alum. heads.
He spent a ton of time on the phone answering all my questions, and told me the preferred gaskets, sealants and torques for the installation. Everything went together just as he advised and the chambers cc'd just as advertised.
Your motor sounds swell and I wish Mike the best of luck.

Re: Mike LeFevres Comes Through BIG TIME
 

So what you're saying is that maybe those "WILD" dyno numbers aren't so wild after all, that maybe they're actually closer to what people should be expecting?????

Sizzler,

Yes -- I thought it might be interesting to see some numbers from Mike as compared to some of the other engine builders. Mike impressed me as a straight shooter, and since the engine build components were pretty typical of aluminum 427s, the data might give a prospective engine buyer some insight into what to expect. Also, since Mike had predicted lower numbers and already had me as a customer, I don't think he would be motivated to juice the numbers to meet an overly optimistic sales pitch -- that's just not the way Mike works. In other words, the data is objective.

By the way, I drove the car a bunch this weekend, and it truly defines the difference between fun fast and scary fast. I love it, in a horrified, change your shorts when you get home sort of way.

Congrats = thats terrific! The only problem is if you had gotton eight more hp you would have put Mike on the (ahem) builder (full of crap) list - talking about toeing the line!;) Mike is a terrific fella and has been great to me in the past when he was at Shelby and I was buying odds and in's for my FE - good for you & good for him!

W,

I have talked to Mike ar Mitech about building me an aluminum 427 and I am on the fence on whether to get the tamer version (425-450hp) or one similar to yours. Is it unruly to drive with that kind of power? I want to make sure I will be comfortable driving the car. I would also be interested what kind of transmission works well with those motors. I would like to have a 5 speed if practical.

Chuck

Chuck H,

I'm really happy with my engine and find it to be quite streetable. It is not for the faint of heart, however. It has a rumbly idle and sounds like it wants to tear someone's head off. It is perfect for what I wanted -- something rude, crude and flagrantly anti-social.

I'm pleased to report that the cooling issues are all fine -- water and oil temps all stay on the lower end of the scale.

I'd go for the potent version, but what do I know?

BTW, I'm using a David Kee Toploader, and I like it. I five speed would be nice, but availability and durability in this power range is a real question.

W,

Thanks for the info. I think I will go with the potent version as well.

Chuck