MARK Arblaster and his mates are seeing some cool things on their way to Hot Rod Drag Week, but the gear at Henson Racing Engines was the cherry on the top of an amazing trip.

Mike Henson’s shop is located in Yukon, Oklahoma and you may have seen him and his engines on Street Outlaws. This time, we checked out three very cool builds he has on the go at the shop.

The first was a 434ci LSX motor, build for David Vasser of Nitrous Outlet fame. The engine will run with carburation – at least initially – and uses LS7-style RHS heads with big valves, Crower rocker gear, billet crank and aluminium rods, making around 13:1 compression. Up top is a two-piece Mast Motorsports inlet manifold. Mike says the donk should make 750hp in normally-aspirated form, with 800 or 900hp of gas on top of that.

Next, Arby took a look at the new motor by Mike’s 2002 Plan B Corvette. Mike previously ran the car with a 706ci big block and a whole bunch of nitrous, but has decided to give twin turbos and EFI a try. The new engine is a 540ci big block Chev, featuring a Brodix block and heads, Sonny Bryant billet crank, aluminium rods and conventional-style heads. The turbos are 91mm Bullseye units and Mike runs between 30 and 40psi at the No Prep-style events that the car is usually used for.

“I have had 50psi in it,” says Mike. “There is a track in Tusla where I ran their Pro Mod class and I was trying to keep up with those guys. That was with 88mm turbos, but the difference running 50psi was like night and day. 50 pounds feels like about 100ft out, that somebody has hit you in the ass with a truck.”

The final engine for today was a new combo for Jonathan Cornelsen’s 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass dubbed Rusty Hook. The team are aiming to be the first to run five-second pass with an LS-based motor and have pulled out all the stops.

The 454ci engine uses a Noonan aluminium block, with a billet Callies crank, R&R aluminium rods and All Pro heads with titanium valves. The power-adders are a pair of 94mm GEN2 Precision turbos, with 135mm throttle body, two-piece inlet manifold and a Wilson elbow. Engine management will be handled by a Fuel Tech FT600 and the car will run on VP Racing Fuel M5 methanol. There is a billet dry sump pan with integrated pump that is just a work of art to help keep body and soul together.

The plan is to turn the engine to 9400 and 9600rpm, with up to 90psi boost if needed! With the weight of the Olds, the engine needs to make 3500hp, which is what Mike is shooting for.

And the cost for something like that? Mike estimates around US$100,000 including fuel system and everything else needed.