...<snip>..... 100hp per liter of displacement has been achieved decades ago and is now more or less a standard. In contrast.... 3.8 liters should EASILY make 300-380hp.... right? .....<snip>....
Let's chat a bit about engine design. There is no naturally aspirated, non-crossflow engines make 100hp per litre that are anywhere close to streetable. Looking at an example European engine of similar era to the 194/230/250: the English Ford 105E (which was very competitive in its day) made 39hp/litre stock high compression, 37hp/litre in regular gas verion - about the same specific output of a stock 230. In full race (totally unstreetable) the non-crossflow 105E hit 100hp/litre. It was not until the crossflow versions came that approaching a 100hp/litre in a streetable version was practical. The 105E also has the advantage of a very short stroke - the same bore was used for 1.0 to 1.6 litre versions of the "Kent" engine family - the most common USA application being the 1.6l Pinto. The last version of the Kent engine with a dohc 4 valve per cylinder head and turbo charged made over 800 hp in race trim.
A well designed 2 valve crossflow head is worth 25 to 50 % increase in specific output over a 2 valve non-crossflow head. (note: the VW flat four has crossflow heads)
It is educational to take a look at what the Australians did with the big in-line six cylinder engines, especially Ford: non-crossflow, then crossflow, then overhead cam..... and Chrysler - the Hemi head (crossflow) slant six.
To get more than about 60hp/litre naturally aspirated in streetable trim, you need a crossflow head. If you start with a dohc 4 valve per cylinder head, for example Vortec 4200, you are at 69hp/litre before you even start modifying, and approaching 100hp/litre naturally aspirated in streetable trim is not difficult - even with the very long stroke.
Bottom line, when discussing specific output, stay with the same type of head: non-crossflow vs non-crossflow, and the 194/230/250/292 is quite competitive.
