Took my 68 on a dyno :(

[euroZ06]

At a car show. Most cars were pretty much within their power numbers. I had like 210whp, and about 262wtq. Car is a 3 speed auto, and i believe 4.10 gears, engine is a 440j (from a 73). It does have edelbrock carb, some good intake mani, might have a mild cam (not sure), stock header, but a nice 2.5inch exhaust, msd ignition. Car seems to pull really well, in 1st it will easily go sideways and does seem to have a lot of umph (in 1,2 gear). I canr believe that it got such a low number i was thinking mid 300 with the way it drives. Is there a special way to do the dyno? It was only modern cars that were on the stand.

Also, if it is accurate, what can be done to get more power? Engine seems very healthy.

[Lennard]

Reality check!  
There are lots of things that can be done to gain horsepower.  If the engine hasn't been refreshed since 1973 then that is a good way to start. 1973 is a smog block.

[euroZ06]

It "looks" somewhat fresh. It was swapped into the car circa 2011, so i assume it got a refresh, it runs very well.

[Lennard]

Assumption is the mother of all f. ups.

[crj1968]

If it feels good to you when driving it, who cares what the numbers are?   

Note to self- keep mild street car car off dyno.   

[440]

Dyno = Dissapointment Machine

210whp is about 263 engine hp with 20% loss

[Mike DC]

 
Modern cars weigh 800 lbs more and all the road-feel is muted away with polish & sound deadening & electronics.  They need 300 hp to feel as fast as 200 hp should. 

That torqueflite does some things well but it also eats a ton of power.  And the 70's motor has too low compression. 

[euroZ06]

 
Modern cars weigh 800 lbs more and all the road-feel is muted away with polish & sound deadening & electronics.  They need 300 hp to feel as fast as 200 hp should. 

That torqueflite does some things well but it also eats a ton of power.  And the 70's motor has too low compression. 

Right, i figured 73 had 260hp (440), but with basic mods i thought it would make more. How do i increase compression?

[Lennard]

Domed pistons or shaved heads, or both of course.

[69wannabe]

Just like Mike said, that 727 eats alot of power since it's such a heavy duty transmission. My buddy ran his charger on a dyno and it kicked out 467hp at the rear wheels which is really good but keep in mind it was a 440 with an 871 blower on it. He was expecting more than that of course but the guy running the dyno said that the 727 transmission was pulling alot of the hp out of it. Don't know if this guy was running off at the mouth or what but he said if it was a manual transmission the numbers would be 100hp better on the dyno. The dyno's will hurt your feelings for sure!!!!!!

[Kern Dog]

Reality check!  
There are lots of things that can be done to gain horsepower.  If the engine hasn't been refreshed since 1973 then that is a good way to start. 1973 is a smog block.

What difference does the block make?
NONE.
The engines did not make "smog". Any 440 can be a great performer, even the lower compression engines. A nice set of heads and the right cam can even make up for the low compression. It has been done many times.
Something as simple as ignition timing can be worth 20-25 HP.

[Lennard]

Reality check!  
There are lots of things that can be done to gain horsepower.  If the engine hasn't been refreshed since 1973 then that is a good way to start. 1973 is a smog block.

What difference does the block make?
NONE.
The engines did not make "smog". Any 440 can be a great performer, even the lower compression engines. A nice set of heads and the right cam can even make up for the low compression. It has been done many times.
Something as simple as ignition timing can be worth 20-25 HP.

Not what I meant, screamer.

[69wannabe]

I think he was just saying that the 73 440 was an emission engine, they were low compression but can be built to perform as good as any other high hp 440. If you have a 440 you got some potential for good horsepower and torque!!! If it runs good and isn't smoking and using oil I would drive it and maybe look for another 440 to build up so you can build up an engine with a good recipe for more hp.......

[Lennard]

I think he was just saying that the 73 440 was an emission engine, they were low compression but can be built to perform as good as any other high hp 440. If you have a 440 you got some potential for good horsepower and torque!!! If it runs good and isn't smoking and using oil I would drive it and maybe look for another 440 to build up so you can build up an engine with a good recipe for more hp.......

You can make any turd deliver horsepower and torque with the right parts and enough $$.

[XH29N0G]

The seat of the pants feel will be the torque, and that comes in at lower RPM so you might not notice the HP difference in your daily driving, at least until you get up in RPM.  My guess is you have plenty of torque and that makes the car fun to drive.  Now if you want to up the HP (and torque) you have some incentive, which is can be a good (fun) thing.

 

[cbrestorations]

the low 7.8:1 compression engines dont make much power even with a mild cam and intake. with no big bang to push that piston down performance cams dont perform that well.  a stock 1967-71 440 would put more to the ground than 210rwhp

[1974dodgecharger]

In the end a lot of these cars are NOT as powerfual as modern cars hell even a Honda V6 has more RWHP than the old cars.  Though our cars are more upgradeable for more power of course. 

Just be happy and enjoy it because NO ONE EVER looked at Honda over OUR CHARGERS!!!!  I did a lot of work on mine and was able to get 392HP/398TQ RQHP from my little 383 and I felt it was maxed out the DYNO operator said if I had the stock 14 or 15inch rims I could of done 420RWHP, but I said Naw this is my style of car my vision.

http://www.thedodgecharger.com/muscle-cars/1968-dodge-charger-383-dyno-runs/

[Mr.Sixpack]

What converter do you have?
A high stall converter on a relatively mild engine will kill you on the chassi dyno.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

 


That torqueflite does some things well but it also eats a ton of power.  

[Laowho]

I'm in the same spot. Just got a rebuilt 74 boat 440 w/ the cast heads intact and am trying to figure out where they got the additional 150 hp to bring the car up to original factory specs. I'll have the paperwork and car soon, or have even been invited to just call the shop that did the work, but I'm learnin a lot tryin to figure it out. Guess we all value these cars differently. We could put those performance heads on but I'm kinda glad that they're "correct" for the block, even though, or maybe because, the block is wrong for the car. (But I really like that tranny pic above and still feel SOOO strongly that it's gonna get the 4-speed some day.)

Still tryin to tease out the confusion of the new measuring instituted and of the actual changes in head/cam, etc

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_B_engine

"In 1972, changes were made to the horsepower ratings of vehicle engines from gross (engine only, without air cleaner, exhaust system, alternator, or other power-consuming components) to net (with alternator, air cleaner, mufflers, and other vehicle equipment installed). The new rating system produced lower, more realistic numbers for any given engine. At the same time, emissions regulations were demanding cleaner exhaust. Engines including the 440 were made with reduced compression, modified cam timing, and other tuning measures to comply with the newly tightened emissions regulations. The 1972 440 produced 335 bhp (250 kW) (gross) at 4400 rpm; the new net rating was 225 hp (168 kW)—which very closely coincided with period German DIN ratings and TÜV measurements."