For all the guys & gals who have '74 - 79 Corvettes and want more horsepower from their stock engine, Corvette Fever has an article in their May 2004 issue. The article is "Power Hungry". They take a '75 Corvette and install a new set of heads, intake, carb, camshaft, distributor, and headers/exhaust, and add 90 HP. The parts they use are all matched for the application. This is a very good build up for a street engine, if your short block is in good shape. They explan why they use the parts chosen and the short comings of the stock parts. A must read for the guys wanting to get more performance.

My turn to be stupid. Corvette Fever, is it available on line, or who carries what I assume to be a magazine. I hate to say I never saw a copy. Seem weird coming from me.


Never mind. I just typed in Corvettefever.com and found it. Now I know.
I didn't see the article on the web site, I sure I would have to get a copy of the magazine. I am already planning on making those types of mods, except I was not planning on changing heads. But that's down the road. To much other work to do first. After all I bought a basket case. A good basket none the less.

Ken Styer

|UPDATED|3/17/2004 5:16:40 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

On the right side of the home page for Corvette Fever, there is a menu. One of the topics is "This Month". This will bring up the list of articles and features for the current issue, but I could not access the article from their web site. The magazine is available at most magazine racks/stands and book stores. I was in Barnes & Nobles and breezed through their magazine. I thought it was a good article and a lot people have been asking about engine mods. I thought I would pass it on...

I have not read the article BUT gaining 90 horsepower
this way sounds kind of expensive...
165 to 255 Hp if it is a L48
205 to 295 Hp if it is a L 82

Off the top of my head I come up with
A Basic parts costs of about 1850

which in itself is not all that bad..... IF you are turning your own wrenches...

If you are going to pay a shop to do this then I think I would just pull the engine and drop in a Crate ZZ4 and
put the GM warranty in the glove box, gain 125 or so Hp...and drive it like I stole it.

Just my opinion...
Bob Griffiths

If you can afford to drop in a new motor from GM, that is definately the way to go! But, most people don't realize what all is actually involved in building a motor for more horsepower. This is a good article for people like myself who want more horsepower & torque, but can't afford to drop in a new motor. I have seen many post on this forum about adding more performance and this article covers this subject. The big ticket item on this build up is the heads. There are many good flowing heads that could be substituted on this build up that can be found at a swap meet or e-bay to cut cost.

There are also many good articles in past issues of Chevy High Performance magazine that cover this subject as well.

HI
i am from austria drinving a 81 vette with about 380hp
bought an High output engine for $3000 ie 100hp more
plus headers,plus intake plus carb, get ride of all cat crape and it has about 380Hp.
under 5se to 60mls.highspeed 270-280
cheers keep up tuning
by the way i rebuild the complete brakesystem and suspension .
mini

Guys,
This article is for building a "street" engine using today's technology and building 1970's horsepower using your existing motor. I believe the test are performed with the engine installed in the '75 Corvette and the numbers are rear wheel, not flywheel, numbers. I have a similar build-up in my Corvette, except with more compression. I have less than $2000 in my build up, and I enjoy the fact that I did everything, except the machine work. I think I fixed what GM didn't do right with the '76 Corvette.

ss, right on, I am a believer in doing the best you can with what you have. Many of the bolt on items in the CF build would transfer over should a different future engine be used. Porting the stock heads and many other labor intensive but pocket friendly mods were not discussed in the article. Yes, the cam needs to be changed, but not beyond the ability of the weekend mechanic. IMO the original 2 bolt main has plenty of cheap HP to be found if someone wants to roll up their sleeves. No better way to learn engine mechanics than squeezing what you can from those stock parts. There are several good books available that will walk a builder through the process.

I teach auto mechanics and have turned wrenches for a living for 25 years before that. I have not done a lot of high performance so the article will still be interesting, once I find it. My 75 has the original numbers match engine. SO I want to keep it. I could replace the engine and keep the original, but decided to build this one a bit. It will still look stock, or close to it, when I'm done. I have a lot to do before I do the engine. I bought the car as a bit of a basket case. After it's on the road and I get to start enjoying it, I will do the engine. I can do all the engine work over a good weekend. It's all going to be fun.

Ken Styer