The ultimate question when building a car like this is "What'll she do?" People, myself included, want to know all the vital performance statistics. While the car is not yet complete, computer software can give a good estimate of the sort of performance one should expect. This, along with empirical evidence from the manufacturer and other owners can produce a reasonably accurate picture of the Ultima's performance.
I have made use of two popular automotive analysis tools available to consumer, Engine Analyzer 3.0 and Drag Racing Analyzer 3.0. Engine Analyzer 3.0 is used to build a model of your engine and derive various bits of information about it, most importantly being the horsepower and torque curves. Once you have this information, it can be fed into a program such as Drag Racing Analyzer and, along with other statistics about your car like weight and transmission profile, can be used to produce acceleration times. There are additional programs available to do things like suspension analysis and more detailed engine analysis, but for my purposes these two programs work just fine.
One more thing: before someone goes and accuses me of blindly posting outrageous numbers and claiming them to be the Truth, you should know that these results are based on computer simulations using, in many cases, ideal conditions, and in some cases, my guesses about certain information relating to the engine. As much as possible I have tried to use profiles of the exact parts I used in the engine, but when this is not possible, I have given my 'best guess.' So here is my disclaimer:
Anyone who tells you the computer will give you real world answers is fooling themselves. When I have them, I will post appropriate dyno charts, weight readings, g-force metrics and time slips.
Jump directly to:
The engine being simulated is a 347ci V8 based on the Ford 302 profile. Following is the information as-entered in Engine Analyzer 3.0:
| Short Block Specs | |
| Bore, in. | 4.03 |
| Stroke, in. | 3.4 |
| # of cylinders | 8 |
| Rod Length, in. | 6.12 |
| Accessories | Production water pump only |
| Crankcase | Low windage |
| Pistons/Bearings | Lower friction design |
| Heads | |
| Chamber | Typical wedge |
| Compression ratio | 10.03 |
| Intake | |
| Layout | 1 valve & 1 port |
| Valve Diameter, in. | 2.02 |
| Avg. Port Diameter, in. | 1.79 |
| Port volume, ccs. | 165 |
| Port length, in | 4 |
| Flow Efficiency, % | 55 |
| Exhaust | |
| Layout | 1 valve & 1 port |
| Valve diameter, in. | 1.65 |
| Flow efficiency, % | <60 |
| Intake system | |
| Manifold specs (1 runner/cyl) | |
| Manifold design | Single-plane carbs |
| Runner diameter, in | 1.67 |
| Runner length, in | 5 |
| Flow efficiency, % | 92 |
| Intake heat | No heat |
| Carbeurator (actually, this is an EFI engine) | |
| CFM Rating | 1200 |
| Exhaust System | |
| Header specs (1 runner/cyl) | |
| Design | Tube headers |
| Primary diameter, in. | 1.875 |
| Primary length, in. | 30 |
| Flow efficiency, % | 90 |
| Collector Length, in. | 12 |
| Exhaust system | |
| Type | Ex. Dual Walker Dyno Max 2.5" mufflers |
| Exh System CFM rating | 750 |
| Cam/Valve Train | |
| General Cam Specs | |
| Lift for rating events | Seat timing |
| Total cam advance | 4.0 advance |
| Lifter (profile) type | Mild hydraulig roller |
| Valve train | Pushrod with rocker arm (race) |
| Intake | |
| Centerline, deg ATDC | 108 |
| Advertised duration | 276 |
| Max lobe lift, in. | .32 |
| Lash at valve, in. | .028 |
| Rocker arm ratio | 1.7 |
| Exhaust | |
| Centerline, deg BTDC | 116 |
| Advertised duration | 282 |
| Max lobe lift, in, | .32 |
| Lash at valve, in. | .028 |
| Rocker arm ratio | 1.7 |
| Calculated cam specs | |
| Lobe separation | 112.0 |
| Intake gross valve lift, in. | .544 |
| Exhaust gross valve list, in. | .544 |
| Engine performance results | ||
| RPM | HP | Torque (lb.-ft.) |
| 2000 | 77.4 | 203 |
| 2500 | 125 | 262 |
| 3000 | 185 | 324 |
| 3500 | 230 | 345 |
| 4000 | 283 | 371 |
| 4500 | 336 | 393 |
| 5000 | 383 | 403 |
| 5500 | 417 | 398 |
| 6000 | 443 | 387 |
| 6500 | 452 | 366 |
Using the power curve from above, we can determine on-the-street performance using DragRacing Analyzer 3.0.
| Transmission Specs | |
| Clutch/Converter | |
| Clutch Diameter, in. | 10 |
| # of clutch discs | 1 |
| Clutch material | Metallic |
| Transmission | |
| Efficiency, % | 98 Good or Lt. Duty Manual |
| First gear ratio | 2.25 |
| Second gear ratio | 1.789 |
| Third gear ratio | 1.269 |
| Fourth gear ratio | 0.966 |
| Fifth gear ratio | 0.68 |
| Body/Axle Specs | |
| Vehicle weight, lbs | 2550 |
| Final drive ratio | 3.444 |
| Diff. lock eff., % | 75% Race Locker Diff |
| Driveline layout | Rear wheel drive |
| %Wt on rear tires | 60 |
| Height of C.G., in. | 18 |
| Wheelbase, in. | 100 |
| Rear track width, in. | 60 |
| Front roll stiffness, % | Modern production |
| Frontal area, sq.ft. | 17.92 |
| Draw coefficient | 0.35 |
| Wheel & Tire Specs | |
| Front Wheel/Tire Specs | |
| Wheel & tire wt., lbs. | 40 |
| Tire Diameter, in. | 26.1 |
| Rear Wheel/Tire Specs | |
| Wheel & tire wt., lbs. | 40 |
| Tire diameter, in. | 26.1 |
| Construction | Soft compound street |
| Tread width, in. | 13.2 |
| Traction factor, % | 90 (tire on good concrete) |
| Driving Specs | |
| Launch Specs | |
| Type | Computer driven-no tire spin |
| Launch RPM | 5000 |
| Shift specs | |
| Shift time, sec. | 0.4 typical |
| Shift % throttle | 50 Match RPM |
| Shift RPMs | Computer picks RPMs |
The above configuration produces the following acceleration profile...
| Acceleration profile | ||
| Time (seconds) | Distance | Speed (MPH) |
| 1.928 | 60 ft. | 42.21 |
| 2.860 | 131 ft. | 60 |
| 6.770 | 588 ft. | 100 |
| 11.052 | 1320 ft. (1/4 mi.) | 130.69 |
| 14.377 | .38 mi. | 150 |
| 46.553 | 2.0 mi. | 200 |
| ~75 | 3.5 mi. | 205 (top speed, drag limited) |