I know this is O/T but it was on the forum a while back and I can't find it.The subject was about which of the American car manufacturers produced an engine with more than 1hp per cubic inch first(GM,Ford,etc.) I think someone said and had documentation that Ford built a "Daytona Special" (312cu.in./345 hp.in 1957)could that be correct?

I've always marveled that Chrylser, Dodge, and DeSoto each had their own "hemi" in the 50s and they were not interchangeable ie different bore spacings & deck heights.

Were there any earlier than this?
I didn't know you could get the 312 NASCAR in a production car, that would have been excellent!

Naturally aspirated (meaning on the engine only) I think the fuel injected 283 (Chevrolet 1957) was the first "Production" engine to reach 1 hp/cubic inch class. First offered in the Corvette, t later in sedans, passenger cars.

I could be wrong, but I doubt it. (I Keep forgetting about them Chrysler products, too much GM vs. Ford rivalry in the air).

I was wrong: based on another source, it was in fact a Chrysler HEMI engine. The first reply was correct.

...The Chrysler 354 was a 354 cu in (5.8 L) version produced in 1956. Bore was 3.9375 in (100 mm) with a 3.625 in (92 mm) stroke. It was used in the 1956 New Yorker, Imperial, and Chrysler 300B. Dodge used a modified version of this engine in the 1957 D-501. The engine was rated at 340hp. An optional 355hp version was available, making it the first American V-8 to be rated at one horsepower per cubic inch....

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as far as I can determine. I think the 1960 high performance 352/360 horse was Fords first production engine at 1hp per cube.

Dave Walters

427 Galaxie Registry

Website

http://home.ptd.net/~pwalters>

"Chevrolet introduced fuel injection as an option on the new 283 (4.7L) V8 for 57. As mentioned earlier, this allowed the "small block" to achieve that magical one horsepower per cubic inch of displacement. A full sized Chevy with this engine could hit 60 MPH in a little over 8 seconds--very quick.

Interestingly, DeSoto's Adventurer came standard with a 345 horsepower, 345 cubic inch V8 for 1957--a fact that Chevrolet's copy writers tended to overlook in their "One Horsepower per Cubic Inch" ads for the year.

Fords top engine for 57 was a 275 horsepower, 312 cubic inch (5.1L) V8. Some full-sized Fords were produced with a supercharged version of this engine rated at 300+ horsepower, but I have never been able to uncover any performance figures for such a beast. I would guess that they could have blasted to 60 MPH in 8 seconds or less, making them among the hottest of the hot in 57."

Courtesy of Drew's Site.

I don`t know who Drew is, but the 57 312 4 barrel engine was rated a 245 HP. There was a 2x4 barrel 312 also available in 57, that was rated at 270 HP, using 2 of the tiny Holley 4000 series "Tea Pot" carbs. Also, most of these early "performance" engines were rated pretty optimistically. The 58 352 4 barrel was rated at 300 HP, the same engine for 64 was rated at 250. As for the blown 312 engine, it was available in the 57 Thunderbird as well as the full sized Fords, and was rated at 300HP. I believe that the 312 "Daytona" engine was an over the counter package, kinda like the 56 Mercury 312`s "260 HP" kit. One of the most famous blown 312 drag cars back in the 60`s was Larry Walkers 57 2 door sedan business coupe, the "Legal Cheater", which was featured in a 1969 Car Craft article. This car has been up here in B.C. Canada since I believe, 1971, and was painted black, and called "Black Magic", and hasn`t been raced since the mid 70`s. The same guy that brought the car up here over 35 years ago still owns the car, and is restoring it back to the way it was when Larry Walker last ran it. Hopefully it will be at Mission Raceways "Mega Ford Weekend" in 2009, as it wasn`t ready for this years event. I only saw it race once, in 73 or 74, but being a big fan of the late 50`s Fords, it`s long been a favorite of mine.

428 powered Fairmont drag car, Best ET:10.03@132.11MPH, best 60 ft: 1.29
59 Meteor 2 dr. sedan 332, Ford O Matic
74 F350 ramp truck 390 4speed

Wow thanks for the tip, I dug a little further in Weertman's new book pg130. It says the Chrysler 300B had the 354/340hp hemi at 9.0cr, option for 354/355hp at 10.0cr, in 1956.

This was in some Dodges for 1957 also.
I never hear much about this - 1 hp/inch in 1956????

I don't know if it actually made 355hp.
The Gonk doesn't think that the production 352/360hp Ford made 360 either.
The Gonk feels that the 1st true 1hp/inch Ford was the 390/401 the next year.
Then again, the Gonk does not quite get 283hp out of the Chev 283/283.

Of course, with any given engine likely being +/- a couple percent of the average (even if the rating represented the average), it is kind of a numbers game.

the B7AZ-C cam,which was in the blown 300,made it over the counter 285 and was legal.Being I only beat most of the chevies on the street and went to Kingdon and Vacaville to play,I didn't really care.Seemed to me non of the chevies were stock either.I even punched it way out to 3&15/16".The machine shop said 4" would not be safe.My buddy had bigger gonads then me and went to 4" anyway.He had 3X2's on his but mine was faster.

Bobby, the old Vacaville strip was still there up until just a little while ago, it had fallen from sight with grown up grass, but a couple years ago I was bidding a job up there and looking for dirt dumpsites, went over the overpass, and there it was- they had taken a skiploader and scraped the grass off it, still in pretty good shape. The fence was open, I was able to drive up and down it, and the return road was even recognizable. I suspected that they cleaned the grass off it to grind it for aggregate salvage, looks like that's what they did, milled the asphalt and hauled it off. Probably were planning a complex there, the town's grown out to that point, probably be an office building soon

it's debatable as to which maker had a truly production engine in a readily available body that first hit the now magic 1hp/cid mark. I'd like to think Ford did it first but....

Chevy's marketing dept. seems to have hit on this milestone in '57 and capitalized on it by claiming it first. However, a number of sources, like printed Chrysler Corp. brochures and technical specs, now seem to confirm they did so in '56.

This is akin though to who has the fastest street car.....like Lencos, tube chassis, all glass body panels and 2,000 hp turbo engines are streetable!

One question I have is how available were the supercharged Fords of the same era? Were these really the walk into a dealer and order one cars, the T-Birds included?

I graduated in 57 and we moved to Pittsburg,Ca.I went to the local Ford dealer to see if I could get one.They said it was too late to order 57 models.They checked dealers exchange and found one in a business coupe in Washington.They called up there and the dealer said they sold it a few days earlier.So we found my car at Hayward Ford and went there with a dealer trade and started having a lot of fun.

Hey Bobby;
What's the best that 57 ran back then?
Thanks,
Kam

Going on memory I saw a YBLOCK magazine where a totally stock 300 hp 312 was dynoed at 340-360 hp. The addition of headers brought it up to 375+.
John Feistritzer's close to stock 57 Ford Hoosier Hurricane (F code 312) runs in the 11's Wally Kerstein has run 1260@108 with a normally aspirated single 4 bbl 312 in a 56 2 door sedan. These are race cars not driven on the street. The old days of one car does it all are mostly over. Slicks, shucks could hardly afford tires. Insurance was $16 every 6 mo.

Wally's 56 is very streetable (JMHO) as well as being one of the most beautiful 56's I have ever seen. John's 57 has run well int the 11's but he doesn't really want to go any faster as he doesn't want to put a roll bar in it. Just for you guys info the 57's with a blower would handily outrun a FI chev. That is why gm complained and the AMA manufacturer's ban took place. Ford complied but gm didn't

That was a long time ago.Seems like in the low 14's about 90+ but like I said,too far back to be sure.My 60 ran in the low 13's about 100+ and my 61 dipped into the high 12's and about 110+.390 with 3X2's rated at 401 HP.

The closest "believable" on-line documentation I could find.

The earliest claimed 1 horsepower / Cubic inch engine was the Chyrsler HEMI. In 1956 it produced a version of its 354 ci HEMI, which claimed 355 hp. This trumped the 283 ci FI Chevrolet, which claimed 283 hp - came out in 1957. Further it was available throughout the Chrysler product line.

Winner, on earliest to meet or exceed 1 hp / cubic inch, on motor only - no superchargers, no turbo, no blower has to be the Chrysler family ci 354, from 1956.

The biggest problem with the entire Chrysler line - they had some of the most Fugly cars on the road. Even with power, there has to be some style.

I doubt if anyone will question the bona fide of Hemmings publications. They are and have been a respected voice for the automotive entusiatd for many many years.

The Forward Look was further refined for 1956, and the 300 series once again had the top engine. This time a higher compression Hemi with a 10.0:1 ratio, punched out to 354 cubic inches, was available, making 355 hp at 5,200 rpm, far more than the competition, and the first engine to produce 1hp per cubic inch. But it was the next year's car that came to stand as an all-time high watermark for Chrysler.

Despite the power ratings, sales for the 1956 models were disappointing. Total sales included 1,102 300Bs and approximately 127,000 other Chryslers joined by 109,422 De Sotos and 233,686 Dodges, along with 452,958 Plymouths (which still did not have a Hemi of their own). All of these numbers represented sales declines from the year prior.

that Studebaker was the first to make 1hp per c.i. . Searched on line but unable to find any cooberation. Anyone else heard same? Mike

at 405 hp

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FE's, Thunderbolts and single malt scotch.

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the Merc 368 installed in T-Birds for the speed trials on the beach.
The supercharged 312's, rated at 300 hp, generally thought to be about 340 off the showroom were available in all 57's. Even Skyliners and wagons were built w/it. They were only available for about 3 months though. Strangly they only had 1 4000 series teapot carb.
Ron.

a 312 for my '54. During the time I had it, it had 1-2, 1-4, 3-2s, and 2-4s. The 2-4s set-up was 'competition' version, I was told. Found the manifold/2 'tea-pots' on a 'used' table and traded the 3-2s and $10 for it. Made of aluminium, with a pronounced step on the underside. Should have had a special valley cover to provide room. I clearanced mine with a ball-pein hammer. My supercharger was the race version---a VS-59. Had no boost control built in and looked somewhat like a Mopar alternator, but larger. Two small 'hats' connected by a T.
KS

Thanks for all the responses everyone,very interesting!Somewhere out there in the ether their exists a page that has listings of all available engines hp/combos for Ford in '57 and it lists the "Daytona Special" at 312/345 or 340 hp.I still think I saw it on the forum but I'm getting a bit forgetful.This has cleared up an argument,but not in my favor until I find that page.Thanks to all who responded!

it is wrong. 312's are VERY well documented.
57 Hp ratings are 245,270,285 and 300.
Hope you didn't lose a big bet!
Ron.

stampings or marks. Just a tube and baffle attached.
Ron.