A Look At The Build Of Kyle Morris’ 363-Cube Blueberry Bullet

If you love the idea of a twin-turbo small-block built for big power, Kyle Morris dropped an update on his 1996 Ford Mustang project known as Blueberry. After gathering parts for months, he went ahead to their shop to reveal the assembly process of a fresh 363-cube small-block Ford powerplant. Instead of bolting on simple upgrades, Morris is building a serious competition motor from a bare block upward.

Starting with a Dart Iron Eagle Pro foundation, the build relies on stout bottom-end hardware capable of supporting boost. A Molnar forged crankshaft spins BoostLine connecting rods, while specially designed Diamond pistons cap off the rotating assembly.

Using heavy-wall, tool-steel pins and securing them with pin buttons prevents catastrophic failures under extreme detonation. Anticipating a turbocharger layout running on high-quality fuel, he targets a static compression ratio around 10:1.

Moving up the block, a roller camshaft dictates the aggressive valvetrain geometry inside this impressive 363-cube small-block Ford engine. Morris opted to reuse his Trick Flow cylinder heads after giving them a fresh valve job and swapping in stiffer springs for more pressure. The upgraded spring pressure allows the motor to safely turn up to 9,000 rpm.

Custom race engines rarely go together without a fight. Up top, the switch to shaft-mounted rockers created severe clearance issues, forcing Morris to load the heads onto a milling machine to give the pushrods breathing room. Another hurdle popped up at the rear, where the cylinder head entirely covered the main oil feed port. After cutting a relief into the casting, he snuck a custom fitting into the tight space.

With the intake manifold bolted down, the heavy lifting on Blueberry is somewhat finished. The sealed motor would spend time on a dyno for fine-tuning before racing at the Fastest Street Car Shootout in Cordova.

Watching someone build a killer 363-cubic-inch small-block Ford from scratch is a good time for gearheads. Now we just have to wait and see what crazy numbers this blue coupe actually makes.