Inliners International Forums General Discussion Hi Performance Chrome adds 6% across the board, road test proof

I had begun to compare all the low-budget tall-geared slushbox sixes being built and tested here lately (me, gbauer, mshaw230, integrated, MBHD, etc) and compare the numbers. A bit of fun.

Along the way I came across an old road test, the only test I can find of the good old 230 HiPerf, the 230/155 in the Chevelle. Unlike Ford's Sprint 6, Chevy actually hot rodded the 230 in a stealthy kind of way. Documented is use of the 292 "Big Jug" 1bbl (I actually have one, an automatic choke Big Jug, kinda rare), and my guess is they used the other 292 specs - cam, intake, and exhaust iron. The result was an honest 10% HP increase and the Gonkulator agrees.

But there's more. The engine came with chrome, valve cover, dipstick, master cylinder cap, I forget what else. So what?
That chrome added another 6% power and I can prove it. (Am I joking or not?)

Tested in March 64 Car Life, the 230 HiPerf sent its massive power thru a powerglide 3.08 to propel a 64 Malibu with 2 aboard to
13.4 0-60mph
19.60 at 72mph (likely 5th wheel for about a 19.20 et)

Sounds kinda ho-hum until I try to match this with the Gonkulator. I have to use every trick in the book, including a loose muffler, optimistic powerglide, and that still doesn't do it. I cant "cheat" and assume super-good weather because 2 other cars were tested in the same article (283/220 Chevelles) and they line up perfectly with no weather tricks. I have to add 6% power across the board to get the Gonkulator to line up. Now, I often encounter road tests where I have to DE-tune the Gonk by 4%-6%, but this was common, stuff was just mis-tuned out of the factory back then. But how do you assume perfect tuning and then find ANOTHER 6%? that's like jacking the compression up to 10.0 or something.

I can justify about 3% extra from a "loose build", not common but possible. But 6% extra is really reaching. I can only attribute this to the chrome.

Other explanations welcome!

In any case, this is my only experience so far with the 230/155HiPerf. If anybody knows the real specs from measuring parts I would welcome that too. I once saw one of these in the junkyard and ignored it, I should have yanked the engine just to measure it. Worth the $50 although the carb was already gone. Or wait, maybe I got it! Too long ago to remember.

With magazine tests, a lot of times, they correct for a standard degree day, 69 F, 29.92 barometric pressure, sea level, & most times they do not say that the ET & MPH were corrected for a standard degree day.

The typical correction factor for the track I used to race @ was typically 1/2 second.
So when I ran 14.3 seconds in my N/A 250 Camaro, with the correction factored in, it was really a 13.7 second pass!! WHEW!
But, I always post uncorrected times & MPH.
MBHD

Hank,
I hear ya, but note they tested a pair of 283/220 cars in the same article. Those did not need the "6% chrome power" correction, they matched nicely without it.

So I still conclude it was the chrome. Makes a better Urban Legend too, that way at the car shows we can all tell people we run chrome on purpose, and its documented to add power. LOL.

Could the other 283 cars been tested on a different day or with different people in the car that weighed different than the 230 test? I believe that I read somewhere that member Tlowe has a car with a hi perf 230 in it. I would love to know if the exhaust system is different and cam specs. Is the air cleaner the same? 6% is 7-8 hp. Could be underrated by Chevy to not get too close to the 283 2bbl rating? Could also be the Crome. Jay 6155

I'm on board with the chrome performance adder. It helped mine when I went from this:



to this:



Definitely was the chrome.

gbauer, LOL you are adding more proof!

Jay,
Well its possible the weather suddenly went from bad air to great air but not likely - 6% is like going from a hot summer day to a clear dry winter day.

Another possibility is that BOTH 283/220 cars were tuned badly, the 230/155hp was an extra loose factory build (it happens if you get lucky) and all 3 had great weather. Then I could make em all match. Something like that must have happened in fact, just no way to know for sure.

What it does say is that 230/155 was really the right combo.
Too bad it didn't make it into the 63 Nova (the 292 didn't exist yet in 62 so I assume those parts didn't either).

Since the 62-63 Nova was unfairly denied its 283 and 327 factory assembly manual options by GM Corporate (they didn't want the little Nova to kick butt on the Skylark, F35/Cutlass, and LeMans), the 230/155 and the chrome would have made a nice, mild-mannered "SS" Nova option instead of the doggy-dog 194.

I have one of those installed in a 64 Chevelle 4 door. It had 64K on it when I bought from original owner. My wife wrecked it with 72K on it. It is parked in the barn.
Had a few of them over the years. They had chrome, dipstick, air cleaner, fuel line, vacuum line valve cover and the PG cars had a chrome stick on them also.

Didn't they also have different timing curves in the distributor? I have a few of them partially tore down and the one described above is fully intact. It really did run well. We drove it on vacations and would usually see about 19 MPG.

Every 64 Chevelle with a 230 had this Hi PO 230. Well everyone I have seen thru the years.

Tom,
Have you ever checked, does that 230/155 in the barn have bigger intake and exhaust manifolds (vs say the 194/120 and 230/140 ?) I am guessing it does since it runs a bigger carb, but didn't look when I saw that original in the junkyard.

I will do some checking when time permits.

My guess would be the different cam. I have never seen one of these engines first hand. If the 292 cam grind was used that would bump the power a lot IMHO. The 250 cam is bigger and the 292 is bigger still. Although not as big as say the Comp 252, it would still be quite a jump over thw stock 230 grind. Was the exhaust pipe any bigger? A quick look at Toms Chevelle would tell pipe size. Knowing what besides the Crome was different would clear up a lot of history. Jay 6155

Jay,
Yes I am already assuming they ran the 292 cam grind in the 230/155, but you'd have to degree it to know for sure.

Good point on the exhaust pipe maybe Tom can check that too.
I assumed a bigger one (at least an honest 2") to try to match that road test.

It takes cam, carb, intake and exhaust (all from the 292) to get an honest 155hp out of the Gonkulator, compared to the 230/140hp which just makes near its rating.

All those parts are bigger on the 292, but you still get less than 5hp out of each one.

Gonkulator currently says

230/140
Torq 196 at 2000
Torq 207 at 2500
Powr 135 at 3900

230/155
Torq 186 at 2000 (-10)
Torq 213 at 3100 ( +6)
Powr 154 at 4500 (+19)
Seems instead of this being the "Chevelle Six", it should have been in Chevelle and Nova too but just with stick cars - much of its advantage would go away with the too-tall powerglide. Then again with the Chrome adding that extra torq across the board, that adds some low end back LOL.

How much added power does Aluminum give? That's what I got on mine. lol

TJ
Well per the Gonkulator, the aluminum actually is making it go SLOWER.
Here's proof:
Your 0-60mph time
12.0 sec stopwatch (LOL, super accurate....)

Gonkulator run, your 66 c10 even allowing for a super-slow 1-2 shift:
Torq 259 at 2900
Powr 192 at 4400
2.42 60ft
11.77 at 60.5 1/8 mile
18.59 at 70.1 1/4 mile
11.56 0-60mph
So this proves that the aluminum is slowing down your 0-60mph time by almost half a second!

Those specs must be for my old 292. haha My new on makes more power than that.

Does it have more chrome? Might be a function of how much chrome you have and not just the addition of chrome in general.

TJ,
Yikes, my 296 Nova might be at risk then, I only Gonkulate to 178hp but almost 900lb less weight. Sometimes the stock Powerglide will "chirp" the 1-2 shift (or should I say, "the shift") on its way to a low-9s run. Well, 0-60mph in the low-9s.

What are the specs on your new build?
Get that baby to Woodburn and let her rip!
Take it to All-Ford day at Woodburn in August. Great car show, you can look at old Ford restored Retractables while you listen to a T-bolt rip down the track 100 feet away. Car show is right behind the stands. They let any car at the show run down the strip for fun, also anything Ford-Bodied or Ford-Powered. If you paint over that "Chevrolet" on your valve cover, you might sneak that Ford-Blue engine past them as a 300 Ford Truck motor. LOL, well maybe not.

In any case whats your new build, cam? Compression? Head?

The biggest Crome power adder is the valve cover. The second biggest are side plates. An "all out racetrack only" engine would have a fuel pump block off plate also. At that point the car would have to be trailered because of such poor street maners. Seriously, I did read a article where a 2bbl 350 totally stock was dynoed at different stages of build. The thing that held the engine back the most was the stock air cleaner, I would think this would apply to any stock six be it Chevy or ford or any make. IIRC the air cleaner helped almost as much as headers! Jay6155

No, the old 292 has been put to rest. lol Only chrome it had was the air cleaner.

My new 292 is supposed to make around 310 hp and 340 torque. That and my tremec 5 speed will make for a nice combo. No, it would't pass as a 300...A ford friend of mine came to see the engine and is still wondering why all you folk call that ford blue. lol Like I told him....it must be the camera that changes the color. Oh yeah...the light to. I have a picture that makes the color look close to midnight blue. That Gonkulater is a wee bit off I think. lol.

TJ,
Well of course its very possible to have a 292 make 310hp / 340tq although not easy. Are those estimates or dyno data?

Cant compare it to the Gonkulator without the specs!
And of course the Color and Chrome are needed to get the power really accurate LOL.

Do you have specs on the new build?

I built this engine based off of other builds that have been dynoed so that is why I say Around 310 hp and 340 torque. I forget the guy's user name now, but he built a 292 Super similar to mine with 0.5.1 more compression(lol) and made 310 hp and 338 torque. What specs do ya need? Everything I did to the engine? That would be about the best I could do cause its still sitting on the stand! haha!

Oh just the basics -
* carb and intake
* head work and valves (of course flow numbers help but usually just have to guess)
* deck clearance and compression
* bore x stroke
* Cam, .050 durations, LSA, and advance or ICL, and lift and mech or hyd
* Headers, I always measure each tube length for reference, but overall diameters and lengths cover the basics

If chrome makes ya go faster how about billet and stainless headers?? Sorry I just had to ask LOL [/URL]
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625 Demond
Clifford intake
Clifford short tube headers
Lump ported the head
1.94 intake. 1.60 exhaust
.030 shaved from the head
block zero decked should be around 10.0.1 compression
.040 over 3.915 bore 4.125 stroke.
ross racing forged aluminum pistons. 18 cc dish.
268H cam 219 @ .050 .486 lift 110 lobe center hydraulic
crank shaft balanced and ground.
The whole stinkin engine is balanced! lol
Can you gonkulate boost? For the heck of it give me specs without boost(which I'll be running) and with 8 pounds of boost.

Demond carb? 4.125" stroke?
Demon, 4.120"?

Should run really good!
Once you go turbocharged, you will never want to go back to naturally aspirated.

MBHD

Demond carb with the 4.125 stock. lol. Yeah, turbos are nice until the engine explodes. haha.

TJ
Well there's a 625 Road Demon (Holley-Style) and a 625 Street Demon (3bbl version of the old Carter AVS with improvements), which one did you mean?

In any case, the Gonkulator guesses so far (same 3.73 gears but a posi and decent tires) with the TKO and dual 2.5" pipes:
Torq 324 at 3500
Powr 288 at 5200
I shifted the Gonk at 5200, higher might be better but it is a 292 after all....
2.24
9.65 at 70.8
15.27 at 86.5 1/4 mile
6.80 0-60mph

On the boosted version, will you still run 10.0 compression?
Same carb and exhaust setup?
Either way with the right turbo it should run good.

Thanks for the specs! Seems fairly accurate. On the boosted version I'll probably have to run a turbo worthy carb but you can use the same carb I mentioned and the exhaust will be a 3 inch single if I do a turbo. EDIT: I'll be running the 625 Street demon.