Guess on horsepower???

It is some number > 0 and < 1,000. The only way to get a meaningful number is to put it on a dyno.

If you can't dyno it, try a dragstrip and a weigh scale. That'll get you close and it's a lot more fun than racing a dyno. :)

Maybe this is an amateur question, but based on the build specs below, does anybody have a rough idea (or ballpark guess) of what kind of horsepower this engine could generate? I have yet to get my car dyno'd. If it's something that can't be figured out just by looking at the info above, just call me a rookie and I'll be quiet haha...

Car:

Engine:

Transmission:

B&M Ford C-6 Comp. Transmission - Part # 114002

Rear-End:

Exhaust:

Steering & Brakes:

Optional Power Steering Optional Power Brakes

New or Rebuilt:

Flywheel Starter Alternator Engine & Transmission Mounts Master Cylinder & Booster Transmission Yoke Fuel Pump Universal Joints Horns Weather-stripping Fuel Line & Filter Oil Caps

I know the factory 427s ran at 410 and 425 hp, depending on carb setup

- should I expect around the same, or even greater numbers since I'm bored .030 over to a 454???

I know there is a differernce between hp generated at the engine and hp generated at the rear wheels, due to lost energy, etc. Can someone explain that to me, and the differences I may expect?

Assume that I'd be running premium gas.

Thanks,

Jason

To take a guess at what you might hope to get with cam, carburetion, etc. well sorted out, have a look at some of these programs:

Cheers,

--Joe

What the drag strip time actually measures is the integral of horsepower over a wide rpm range. Now, in actual fact, that integral is probably more important than peak HP, which is probably what the first poster was interested in. It is possible, of course, to determine peak HP on a dyno, but not to pull it out of drag time.

One can compute delivered (chassis) hp knowing weight and using one of those accelerometer devices, which are getting relatively inexpensive these days.

Personally, I and a number of others have long felt there should be a formal name given to that integral, and say define it between the two half-power points. To my knowledge, no standard as such for it exists. But it certainly bears an important relationship to performance.

Certainly in F1 many decades ago several teams came out with new versions of engines which actually had less peak hp, but widened the power band, and were successful with these engines. That is one thing that makes a number of electric powered cars seem peppier than the HP of the motor would seem to indicate- these motors have a very broad range of rpm over which they develop very good torque.

Hey everybody,

Thanks so much for the advice. I talked with a guy at the local speed shop yesterday, and he said you can roughly estimate about 1.1 horsepower in a moderately built engine. I'm not taking that equation to heart, because he also let me know that there's another shop about

I'll probably wait til' next week (payday haha) to take it up there. I'll let you know just how nasty it is!

Thanks!

Jason

Forgot to add - here's the cam specs:

Wow. C'mon... I said you'd get CLOSE. Of course, the only way to accurately measure torque and calculate horsepower is on a dyno, but unless your goal is bragging rights or tuning... the dragstrip is (a) more fun and (b) the real world... bench racing from a dyno slip is just bench racing, and isn't the point of building a hot engine to see how fast it'll go? :) Man, some people need less coffee. :)

You're also lending weight to my theory on my next engine for my dirt track Camaro - a nice torquey Pontiac 350. We have to run stock carbs and stock exhausts, so going for 6000+ rpm through stock manifolds is like hooking up a firehydrant to a garden hose... whereas my old 'Bird would just kill from idle to 4000rpm.... and then fall on it's face. I wish I kept it to put the engine in my Camaro...

Ray

Okay, you want a guess, I'll bite. I'll say about 475 peak horsepower, maybe a bit more.

Not all speed equipment works as well together as the manufacturer suggests it should. That is why my guess is a bit on the conservative side.