1,650 Horsepower For The Water

Certainly built for speed, this 565ci Chevy big-block is also designed to handle considerable punishment. It will be bolted into a 21-foot Nordic ski boat used in ski-racing events, which can get quite rough when the water is whipped up by weather or wakes from other boats. It’s also built to handle numerous endurance events.

“It’ll run two 2-hour marathons for the mens and womens divisions in one weekend,” explains Gordon Jennings of Paul Pfaff Engines. “And it’ll run all year long before it needs to be rebuilt.”

Starting with a Dart Big M Pro block, Pfaff added a Bryant crankshaft, CP pistons, Oliver billet rods and Isky camshaft. Compression is 8.2:1. The Dart CNC-ported 380 Pro2 cylinder heads were fitted with TD shaft rockers. On top are a Whipple intercooler and PSI screw-style supercharger designed for offshore use.

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“We do run a little looser clearances because the engine never gets above a 100 degrees,” says Jennings, noting other marinizing features are “tricks we’ve learned over the years.”

Fuel delivery is handled by an Autronic electronic fuel-injection setup and a pair of Accufab 4500 throttle bodies while spark is controlled by MSD. Other features include Barnes dry-sump oiling and IMCO water-jacketed exhaust.

Running at 10 pounds boost and on 91 pump gas, the big Chevy pulled 1,300 horsepower on the dyno. With race gas and 16 pounds of boost, it hit 1,650 horsepower.

This particular engine was dropped into the Nordic of Randy Davis, who pulls multi-champion Todd Haig in ski races both on the ocean and the river — the venue for which this Chevy was built.