Turbo6TA

I was just looking at the engine specs on all the years that the Corvette has been made.

By far, the most disappointing years were the days of low compression / small headed 'smog motors' produced in the so-called automotive 'grey years'.

BTW .. The engines shown below are the only engines available during these Corvette production years.

1975 . . . . . . . . 350 SB . . . . . . . . . 165, 205 HP

1976-1979 . . . . 350 SB . . . . . . . . . 180, 210 HP

1981 . . . . . . . . 350 SB . . . . . . . . . 190 HP

1982 . . . . . . . . 350 L83 TBI . . . .... 200 HP . . . . (infamous 'Crossfire' engine .. a real letdown)

1984 . . . . . . . . 350 L83 TBI . . . .... 205 HP . . . . (don't have a clue how they managed to get an extra 5 HP out of this 'Crossfire')


I left out 1980, because Corvette actually offered an optional 230 HP engine in that year (WoW).

And the lowest HP Corvette V8 of all time award goes to the infamous 165 HP ZQ3 350 ci. engine offered only in the 1975 Corvette model year. A real choked-up wheezer to say the least!


Boy have we come along way since this list of sadness!

Disclaimer: I love all Corvettes ... the list above is just to show how low in HP these Corvettes got, during some very difficult years.

.

not08crmanymore

and what was the HP rating of the 1953 Corvette blue flame 6? Lower than 165 I believe.

EVRose

I had one of those '75s. I was 20 and all my friends wished they had it. It was definitely slow as glue.

Turbo6TA

The Blue Flame 6 was 150 HP

The list I showed just included the V8 engines

Even the 265 ci. V8 of 1955-1956 was offered in 195, 210, 240 HP versions.

Of course, HP ratings were calculated differently back in those days.

Rogers 07

And dont forget us folks here in California, we were treated to the California smog packaged 1975-78 305ci Corvette engines with automatics only rated at a whopping 180hp !!!
But hey, they got equally bad gas milage to make up for the lack of performance !! Good times !!

Rogers 07

The HP ratings back then were gross HP ratings meaning just the engine on the dyno with no accessories . Around the early 70s HP ratings were SAE Net HP, meaning, what was left after all the accessories were added to the engine IE Alternators, smog pumps, air conditioning, fans, NOX timing retards mufflers etc. that is why the later engines showed such a big drop in rated power (you were seeing what the engine actually had available to drive the car, not what it could but out unencumbered on a dyno. !!

Turbo6TA

Yup ... The infamous California-only 305 LG4

Another 'wheezer' that was short of breath!


(I didn't include that engine in my list above just because it was only available in 1 state)

Turbo6TA

Add all those various available HP numbers I showed above from the years 1975-1984, and you get an average of 194 HP .... kinda sad if you think about it

michaelinmech

In 1974, I paid the big dollar difference to get the big cubic inch 454 - all 270HP worth . . . a 20HP gain over the 350cu in

phileaglesfan

Unfortunately back then 180hp was actually pretty powerful. My first car was a slant 6 1974 Duster putting out a whopping 120hp in its best years. It got me around though which is what a teenager cares about the most.

Turbo6TA

Yup ... that slant 6 was good for about an 18 sec 1/4 mile ET

SpryGeezer

During that period I was driving a 1966 Porsche 911 with advertised 128 HP sucking thru six single Solex carbs.

wayback

I have a 85 with a blistering 220 hp 350ci. Sucker runs good till it runs out of air.

It is no C6, but with the 4+3 it is still fun to drive. At the time it was the fastest production car made with a top speed of 150. Do not want to go that fast in it today.

69L79

[QUOTE=Turbo6TA;1583988185]I was just looking at the engine specs on all the years that the Corvette has been made.

By far, the most disappointing years were the days of low compression / small headed 'smog motors' produced in the so-called automotive 'grey years'.

BTW .. The engines shown below are the only engines available during these Corvette production years.

1975 . . . . . . . . 350 SB . . . . . . . . . 165, 205 HP

1976-1979 . . . . 350 SB . . . . . . . . . 180, 210 HP



Yup, lived thru that era. And, owned Corvettes. Those Vettes competed well with most of the competition. The Buick GNs were always a "problem" for the Vettes. But, they were still Vettes. And, were .

Today, we are truly in the middle of the Golden Age of HP. Enjoy it.

Red08

Yes, we have come a long way

not08crmanymore

I remember having no trouble at all getting north of 100 (well,burying the speedo past 85 anyway) in a 1980ish Vette I had use of for the weekend...

billyboy47

i bought my 81 without realizing how LITTLE hp it had. kept it for three yrs. and sold it. the style on that car was awesome though. i had the burgundy with the camel interior, niiiiice.

jpee

Ya know if you race in NHRA (Stock Class) they determine your class by Factory rated HP... (You are allowed to make certain changes to the engine.. i.e. headers, cam can be changed but the "lift" must remain the same as the OEM ..you can remove the Cats, change gears, ...OR if I want to race it in "Super Stock" I can put in ANY cam, port the heads & intake manifold, use an electric water pump.. etc you get the point.. FACTORY it was 160 HP but trust me a "GOOD" engine builder should be able to get close to 300 HP out of that engine with the mods that are permitted in SS class!!

I'm going to "SERIOUSLY" look into what class that yr Corvette would fall into... I'm guessing "N" or "O" Stock and there are a lot of 4 cyl cars in those classes....

You may have put me onto a great car for "Class" Bracket Racing... If it turns out well I have you to thank

Turbo6TA

Well, there is one sure fix for these mid 70s - early 80s Corvettes:

Replace that choked-up livid smog engine with a modified 3.8L V-6 Turbo Buick GN engine!

Check out the video:

Gary '09 C6

...we certainly have !