So many charity sweepstakes border on being a scam that it’s easy to overlook all the promotions and offers found on the Internet. But here’s one worth considering.

For the third consecutive year, a 1,200-horsepower 583ci big-block Chevy from Reher-Morrison Racing Engines will be raffled off at the Performance Racing Industry show.

“It’s a racing engine,” promises David Reher, who teamed up with Sunnen Products and a host of suppliers for the build. “It has all top-line parts. People are winning a real racing engine when they win this.”

All ticket proceeds go to the Victory Junction, a North Carolina children’s camp founded by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of their son Adam, who died in a racing accident in 2000 at the age of 19. The camp is opened to children ages six to 16 with chronic medical conditions or serious illness.

This year’s winning ticket will be drawn at 2 p.m. on December 14 at the PRI Show in Indianapolis, and the winner need not be present to win but will incur all costs of transporting the engine from the Indiana Convention Center.

Before Reher-Morrison was involved, an engine built for dirt-track racing was raffled. Reher suggested to his Sunnen rep that it should be a drag racing engine.

“A few months later he came back and asked if I wanted to do it,” Reher tells EngineLabs. “Sometimes you wonder if you can afford it, but I think it’s for a good cause.”

Reher got most of his usual suppliers involved and the ticket proceeds doubled over any of the dirt-track engines.

“Then last year it went crazy,” boasts Reher, noting the Reher-Morrison engine resulted in a check for $47,846 being presented to the camp.

Again, with help from his vendors, Reher has built another Rat motor that is popular with 4-link dragsters in the bracket-racing classes.

“One of these engines and a Powerglide will run 4.40 in the eighth mile,” says Reher. “It’ll go 7.0 and touch 6.9 in the quarter. It’s a fast bracket motor.”

Getting 1,200 horsepower and 880 lb-ft peak torqe out of a naturally aspirated big-block starts with a Dart Big M iron block bored to 4.600 and  fitted with a Callies Comp Star forged-steel 4.375-inch-stroke crankshaft, Manley H-beam steel rods, ARP 2000 rod bolts, Ross 15.0:1 pistons, Total Seal rings (.043, .043, 3mm), ATI damper and Trend tool-steel wrist pins. Lubrication is handled by a Moroso pan and billet pump while a Jesel belt drive rotates a Comp Cams camshaft (with a 7/4 firing order swap) that motivates Isky roller lifters and Manton pushrods.

Reher-Morrison provides the RMRE Raptor 12-degree heads that feature Manley titanium valves, T&D shaft-mounted rockers and PAC springs. Pulling vacuum from the Reher-Morrison/Moroso billet valve covers is a Moroso pump that is monitored with a Star Machine regulator. Induction is via a Williams carb, RMRE anti-reversion plate and Edelbrock intake manifold while spark is provided by an MSD crank-trigger distributor. Additional engine suppliers include Akerly & Childs bearings, BHJ lifter-bore sleeves, XRP plumbing, ARP fasteners and gaskets from Cometic, Fel-Pro and Mr. Gasket.

Those interested in purchasing tickets for the 2013 Engine Charity Sweepstakes can do so online by visiting here, or at the PRI show in the Sunnen booth on Machinery Row.