kreb wrote:
It will be a lot of work, but if it turns you on, why not? To approach 200 HP is doable, but even 6 barrels of Weber goodness won't get you much unless you seriously rework the heads. On the intake that means milling off the integral log manifold to where you end up with three individual intake ports on each bank. At that point a custom intake can begin to breath, and the choke point becomes the exhaust, which is a much trickier proposition because it requires completely re-configuring-relocating the ports. Do that, port/polish, three-angle, custom intake, headers, fuel injection or good carbs, cam and ignition and you'll be getting close to what a stock pre-variable-cam Subbie H6 makes.
Believe it or not, that's not meant to scare you off. Just a reality check. Corvair HP figures were inflated. But if you don't have the resources for what I describe above, there are still many improvements that can be more easily done. As of a couple years ago, you could get a cheap retrofit electronic fuel injection/spark setup using mainly stock Chevy components for well south of 2 grand.If it were me, I'd do a mild build with good driveability and 160 genuine HP as my goal, and in a 1300 Lb. car, you'll still have a (very unique) rocket.
In the cooling department, cleaning up the fin gaps helps a lot.
Thanks for the tips.
I own a turbocharger,
along with your points about porting etc, do you think it would help.
I am currently looking at the light aviation mods on this engine. Yes they have FI. The $$ may be a factor however... not to run carbs matters to pilots more than it does to me, ... they don't mind forking money to gain altitude.
In 1965 GM was boasting 140 hp with 4 carbs. I can do that. Then improve headers and other exhaust hardware. Even if I end up with 160 bhp , if I manage to keep the weigh of this car under 1500 lbs that will suit me. Again this is not going to be a racing machine. This time the originality of my build will be that it will be a coupé.