Blackbird Performance

05/29/2026

New Facility Friday at Blackbird Performance !

After completing and testing two engines in Indiana, headed back to Kentucky to help Jena and Keaton keep the flow of parts and engines moving.

At the Skunkworks, between all his other tasks, Keaton has done great work picking away at the dyno plumbing. The Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) are in for the big fan and big pump thanks to Nate the Great, Electrician.

Yesterday, Keaton and I then ran up to Island, KY to see Jet Boat Bob and acquire and pickup some of his very nice, lightly used cleaning equipment. Awesome guy and shop, we’ll try to keep his gear in play as he winds down his engine building / testing and we wind ours up.

Today, the challenge was loading and moving our new crank balancer from the home shop, where it was inadvertently delivered, to the Skunkworks. Thanks to a clever idea from Jena, some Harbor Freight car dollies, Keaton help and the trailer winch the 5,000-6,000 lb balancer was safely transported and positioned in it’s new home at the Skunkworks alongside the newly acquired cleaning equipment.

Our biggest fan sure does move a lot of air when you crank the VFD up, perfect for all those big HP G3 Hemi soon to be running in there 😉😀

05/27/2026

It turns out that the Race Spec 1,000+ engines like alcohol about as much as I used to, before I quit drinking it, now happily saving it for these engines.

Today, we got to run Tim Straley’s Race Spec 1,000+ and he asked if we’d upgrade the injectors and run it on methanol. I’m so happy he did.

Of course Hemis, Superchargers and Methanol just go together so very well, and perhaps no big surprise but making the same horsepower and torque, with the biggest drive pulley (slowest blower speed) we had, well, that 100+ HP was a bit of a surprise. This one certainly earned its Race Spec 1,000+ emblem we will now adorn it with.

A change of pulley and it would make 1,000+ for a good long while at 13-14 psi of boost. For less than $20k, it makes for a great bracket / index racing motor and indeed that is where this one is headed.

05/27/2026

It turns out that the Race Spec 1,000+ engines like alcohol about as much as I used to, before I quit drinking it, now happily saving it for these engines.

Today, we got to run Tim Straley’s Race Spec 1,000+ and he asked if we’d upgrade the injectors and run it on methanol. I’m so happy he did.

Of course Hemis, Superchargers and Methanol just go together so very well, and perhaps no big surprise but making the same horsepower and torque, with the biggest drive pulley (slowest blower speed) we had, well, that 100+ HP was a bit of a surprise.

A change of pulley and it would make 1,000+ for a good long while at 13-14 psi of boost. For less than $20k, it makes for a great bracket / index racing motor and indeed that is where this one is headed.

Tim’s son, Dan (who has a 3.9s 1/8th mile capable blown ex fuel G2 Hemi Duster of his own, that HE built) is nearing completion of his Dad’s new / revised race ride where this engine is headed. It’s a gorgeous Avenger that with this in it, even with its crazy safe tune, should go 4.9s to low 5s in the 1/8th, over and over and over, slow it down a tick to go the popular 5.30 index racing.

Blackbird Performance ‘s Keaton White did another awesome job putting this alcohol drinking baby monster together. And the BES Racing Engines team did their usual excellent work. Along with helping us knock out testing of two pretty different engines in two days, they are already plowing into a pile of new Hellcat castings we brought them, so we can ship some more of these highly effective, excellent performing Blackbird Performance Race Prepped Hellcat Redeye New Factory Casting heads.

This one certainly earned its cool Race Spec 1,000+ emblem that we will now adorn it with and we can’t wait to see this G3 Hemi powered dream unfold, heck if Tim later swaps rods and pistons, some bigger yet injectors, he’ll be chasing Dan’s Duster even closer 😉.

05/27/2026

Today we got back on Mike Helman’s ‘Poor Man’s Demon’ project, and after the engine upgrades to forged internals, Blackbird Performance Race Prep ported heads, a Blackbird Performance Mach 2 cam, and selected tweaks here and there, we put his reassembled, by the always awesome, Ben the Builder, engine on the dyno today to check it out and begin tuning it up.

Keep in mind, he wanted the next step forward, not a giant leap, so we kept the blower spinning slow, the tune up incredibly safe and gave it a few pulls on the dyno to insure all was well. His slightly lightened Challenger had previously run 10.4s @ 134 and with now over 900 real horsepower under the loud pedal, mid 9s should be within reach.

You gotta love G3 Hemi’s, on 6-7 psi of boost, running the Whipple just over half speed, and making over 900+ HP.

05/27/2026

Mike Helman’s G3 Hemi powered dream began life as a potent 6.4l 1320 Challenger. Long before we met him, he had begun its transformation into the ‘Poor Man’s Demon’. With numerous upgrades, including a very capable Whipple 3.0l, he was well into the full race car journey with the car when it arrived.

He brought us the car late September last year to complete several steps in making it a faster, more consistent and easier to tune race car. These changes included a Sipple upgraded transmission and torque converter, upgrading the engine with a number of changes including forged internals and after some careful consideration of late, and in an effort to make it more simply tunable, a Holley Dominator tied into the remaining factory electronics with a B3R Bridge Module.

Mike has been in incredibly patient with us as the projects ahead of him in our shop grew in scope and consumed far more resources than initially envisioned, delaying his.

Well today, we got back on it, and after the engine upgrades to forged internals, Blackbird Performance Race Prep ported heads, a Blackbird Performance Mach 2 cam, and selected tweaks here and there, we put his reassembled, by the always awesome, Ben the Builder, engine on the dyno today to check it out and begin tuning it up.

Keep in mind, he wanted the next step forward, not a giant leap, so we kept the blower spinning slow, the tune up incredibly safe and gave it a few pulls on the dyno to insure all was well. His slightly lightened Challenger had previously run 10.4s @ 134 and with now over 900 real horsepower under the loud pedal, mid 9s should be within reach.

You gotta love G3 Hemi’s, on 6-7 psi of boost, running the Whipple just over half speed, and making over 900+ HP.

We have yet another engine to test tomorrow and then it’s high time to get this thing back to the shop, back in the car, add it’s Holley augmented brain, and then back to the track to make the next leg in Mike’s G3 Hemi powered dream a reality.

A big thanks to him for his patience and trusting us with his Poor Man’s Demon.

05/24/2026

Good to be back caught up on Supercharger Belt Tensioners and even have a few on the shelves.

Jena and I made a whole pile of them today, in all the flavors, Blackbird and Direct Connection, natural aluminum and black anodized.

Of course assembly is the last step, a big thanks to the Master of Machining and the Ace of Anodizing for getting all the made in the USA and Kentucky knocked out so we could get these to the finish line.

These babies will be shipping in mass on Monday.

05/21/2026

G3 Hemi the World ! This definitely is not your father’s Oldsmobile.

When we first saw Dr. OldsMopar Cutlass creation, we thought his G3 Hemi powered hot rod was awesome.

When we watched him go rounds, we knew was a skilled racer and all skilled racers need more power, right ? 😉. A very good racer and one sharp dude, we were blessed to work with him to inject some more G3 Hemi goodness in his beautiful ride.

Already out going rounds in Top Sportsman/Fast Brackets and doing Hemi under Glass wheelies, once the cage and safety equipment is updated, I suspect he’ll uncork his already 7 second ride some more.

Brian Wagner, as usual, does an excellent job telling the story. OldsMopar to the front !!!

https://www.dragzine.com/features/car-features/the-oldsmopar-brian-bednars-supercharged-gen-iii-hemi-powered-1987-oldsmobile-cutlass/?fbclid=IwdGRleAR72C9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEey0I9B-VkVg0wnjeF0egti7ue0vyVLDuYVLNBIIPmDtsPBqsrLlKUA1KXP10_aem_alOxoXDWx_vfS5E1aVXWYA

Learn about the transformation of the Brian Bednar Cutlass from a showroom car to a race car steeped in family history.

05/20/2026

Gotta love a Hemi bringing the heat to the decade dominant Chevies and Fords. The Briggs boys are learning fast and making the way to consistently up front.

05/19/2026

Looking forward to this event ! A beautiful track and awesome event up in Wisconsin!!!

We’re excited to welcome Blackbird Performance as the official Stick Shift drag racing class sponsor for the 2nd Annual Mopar Showdown!

Owned and operated by Geoff Turk, Blackbird Performance has built a strong reputation in the Gen 3 Hemi world for performance swaps, tuning, wiring solutions, and helping enthusiasts get modern Hemi power into just about anything. Whether it’s a street car, drag car, or full custom build, Geoff and his company have become a go-to resource for Mopar enthusiasts looking to take their projects to the next level.

Blackbird Performance will also be on-site all weekend at the Mopar Showdown, so make sure to stop by and check out what they have to offer.

On top of sponsoring the Stick Shift class, Geoff will also be hosting a tech seminar covering “Swapping and Racing the Gen 3 Hemi.” If you’ve ever considered doing a Gen 3 Hemi swap, want to learn more about making them perform at the track, or just enjoy learning from someone deeply involved in the platform, this is definitely a seminar you won’t want to miss.

We’re proud to have Blackbird Performance involved with this year’s event and appreciate their support of the Mopar community and the Mopar Showdown!