One H.P. per cubic Inch??

Could a guy build a 1 h.p. per cubic inch moter without a turbo/blower or nitrous? What would it take? I am interested in your ideas on how to do it. Mabey one big carb mabey six small ones mabey a really tweaked out fuel injection? I dont know. Just wondering what a guy would have to do or if its even possiable..just think a 258 with 258 h.p.

Edited by amchornet1970 - Sep/12/2012 at 9:03pm

whizkidder wrote: Rick Jones recently built a 383 (stroked 360) that pulled over 400 hp on the dyno w/o any power adders, and did it for less than a grand over the cost of a standard 360 rebuild. Edelbrock advertises over 400 hp for their "top end kit," eddy heads, air gap, and big cam for the 401 -- again, just bolt ons with no power adders, so 1HP/CI is easily achievable.

That is for v8's not a 6 cyl where this is posted.

It is possible in the l6 . Its all in the head and cam work. We were building 200+ HP 232 and 258's in the mid 70's . these were track only engines but I put one in a spirit a couple years ago and it worked really well. the man that did the actual head work passed 20 years ago and the company closed . I still have the spec sheets and posted them here a while back.  I'm not sure if some of the parts required are still available or not . or where you could get someone to spend 200hrs on a head and not cost 2 arms and a leg.  

  A stock 4.0 in some years is 190hp out of 240-244 ci,  that seems within a practicle shooting distance of 1hp per ci.   And that's usable, streetable power .

Let's dispel a few myths - and one is how much you gain by a K&N filter and the swept intake on a 4.0......

http://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticles/engine/154_0911_jeep_4_liter_engine_myth_busting_true_lies/

These guys have some better facts, and more correct than most.
The jeep folks - the real die-hards who know, who have done the work will show you their K&N filters and other garbage tossed on a shelf in the garage somewhere.

Keep in mind they reference the stock 4.0, however, it's all a system so generically stating you WILL gain xx HP with this or that is just plain incompetent. In some cases, just making a switch of one part can LOSE power or MPG, it's often needed in association with another change. Very few engine parts operate so totally independent that you have real gains by a single swap - especially when we are talking engines from the 90s up, and the 4.0 specifically - it was already well-engineered, well thought-out and was out performing almost all over production 6s in the US and many V8s in its day.

That being said, I suspect getting to 258 hp on a 258 that is naturally aspirated is possible without breaking the bank, and still being able to drive it.
A 4.0 could do better without going to a radical build or budget, too - however, those internet claims of "just change this and gain 10 hp" are often hot air. Show me the dyno chart.

When I can scrape together the funds, I do plan on putting the little Eagle on a dyno - curious as to just what it IS doing, as it's very easy to tell, very obvious to me it's far more than any 258 i have ever owned or driven - especially on a cool damp day.(I need to figure out how to get cold air to the intake now)