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Big Healey Horsepower

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BoyRacer

BoyRacer

Jedi Warrior
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I just rebuilt my Austin Healey 3000 backup "B" motor and had it dyno'd to break in the cam, seat the rings and get some #s for comparison purposes. Nothing exotic with this motor. Stock crank, iron head, Carrillo rods, 20 year old Venolia forged pistons, reground stock cam to my specs, triple Webers, my custom headers, and a few other tweaks. Compression ratio is 10.5:1.
Final results: peak horsepower is 230.8 HP at 5800 RPM, peak torque is 224.3 ft-lbs at 4800 RPM. These numbers are at the flywheel.
 
That's a very good output for an old iron pushrod motor. Must be a demon camshaft!
 
Nice numbers Richard. Are you running the 218 cam or your old Isky?
 
Dougie,
My camshaft is a special grind that I cannot divulge at this time. I will say that it is a stock Healey reground cam using a dual pattern. Plus, there a few extra secret tweaks as well that contribute to the result. Some day I may write a book (or an article) about getting that extra power out of that big hunk of iron.
I think the most important thing about my results is that my engine is only a 10.5:1 compression ratio motor. Can you imagine the HP if it was 12.5:1. But, then it might not last that long and I like to race a few seasons before having to do a freshen up.
 
Ah, yes the secrets from racing that same big Healey for 25+ years.
BTW - I recorded the NASCAR race today at Elkhart Lake to get some insight on the track for our trip there next year.
 
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