Tried and True free power.

I'll take a guess and say 12 ---20 hp

 

I want to say 5hp loss at low RPM and 15 up top?

 

I'll say 12-18 hp loss......but all I know about it is when the AC gets turned on while accelerating, you can certainly feel the power drop in my wife's car....so now I will sit and fold my hands and wait for your nugget of truth.

 

Really good distributor and ignition,I've put 2 in mine so far... Butt-o-meter says the second is the best... Belt and pulley system will free up some,but not a massive amount... Spending time with jetting... Overall good tune,both ignition and cam timing... I put GT40's and a good timing chain in mine with 4* of cam advance... Night and day difference...

 

before the pull I was guessing around 20-25.
it was a whopping.....48 RWHP.

 

Speaking of Engine Masters, they debunked the massive gains claimed with roller rockers.

 

I am not sure what that translates to in flywheel hp, but I wonder how a 4 cylinder car with 75hp can even move with the AC on. That is amazing.

 

Dang! That must be why the new cars shut off at a certain RPM, at least my f150 does. Guy's the Engine Masters Series is great. There is an early video of a failed show at WestTech. They made extra power with cutting the separated area in the plenum of an Performer RPM. They matched the cut of an RPM AirGap. It Worked! I will try that for sure. I Just hope others share there knowledge gained from testing.

 

One thing after Iver looked Is ignition timing. A recurve of the distributor can make a big difference.

 

I wonder how much compression would have to be added to a poorly timed engine to make it perform as well as an engine with optimal timing? A re-curved distributor is certainly free performance just waiting to be gained.

 

Compression within reason makes power but when compression is raised proper timing becomes critical. So raising compression in a poorly timed engine could lead to detonation and damage (yep have a couple damaged pistons as a result). I have not run a back to back on my current combo but have found that degreeing a cam (be surprised how many are off) makes big gains especially with a proper timing curve. Having a distributor custom curved was a noticeable difference in power and the engine runs cooler.

 

Sounds to me like it was either running a ancient York compressor, overcharged or had no air flow across condenser(maybe all three)... Modern compressor should not sap anywhere near that amount of HP... If it did the performance and fuel economy would both be in crapper... EPA would probably outlaw A/C...

That said, I once had a slug 4cyl Vega that didn't make enough power below 45-50 mph to run A/C and and pull car...

 

One of the cars I learned to drive in was a chevette... You had to turn the air off to accelerate from stop... Semi trucks would be upset because you were slower at lights than them... 0-60 in 15 minutes

 

Must have been made on friday afternoon...

Wife had one before we got married with automatic & air, it ran fine... In the late '80s for making a quick buck, I'd choose a Chevette over just about anything else on the dealers wholesale line... Usually they'd sell same day listing came out in newspaper... If I had a pair, could sell them both from one ad...

 

none of the above...Sanden compressor...