Dyno results - Head Gasket Leak - Car Craft Magazine

OK, so this is the brutal part. Just about every enthusiast believes his vehicle makes more power than it really does. Before going to the dyno, prepare yourself for the reality and try to focus on just making solid improvements in power, reliability, and durability.
OK, so this is the brutal part. Just about every enthusiast believes his vehicle makes mor
With the vehicle strapped down, Gala "drives" it on the dyno to get everything up to temperature and then makes a few baseline runs to generate initial horsepower and torque results.
With the vehicle strapped down, Gala "drives" it on the dyno to get everything up to tempe
Gala used a timing light to determine both the initial and final ignition timing. The Buick had 32 degrees of timing advance in it, which seemed conservative. So a few runs were made with 3 degrees more timing advance in them, which resulted in what appeared to be a 6hp gain.
Gala used a timing light to determine both the initial and final ignition timing. The Buic

They found a blown-out intake gasket was so gone (see gasket closeup), it's hard to believe the engine ran at all. Kunkle also found a wide spray of fuel and oil on the firewall. A new gasket was installed and the blower case was torqued down onto the one-off intake manifold.
They found a blown-out intake gasket was so gone (see gasket closeup), it's hard to believ
The W2W team (now including General Manager Kurt Urban) thought there was a problem with the carburetors because the engine was cycling on idle speed. But on further investigation, a serious vacuum leak was discovered between the blower and intake manifold. The vehicle was removed from the chassis dyno to be tested again another day.
The W2W team (now including General Manager Kurt Urban) thought there was a problem with t

During one of the later power runs, when the engine was making good power and Gala was legging it up the rpm band, the engine bay gave off a large flash of fire and a plume of smoke. Gala immediately shut down the car and looked under the hood. After some time inspecting the vehicle, he discovered the dipstick tube was not installed securely, which dumped hot oil out of the engine oil pan onto the headers at high rpm. Ace W2W machinist Bill Blair whittled up a stainless tube that press-fit into the block and held the dipstick at the proper height. Problem solved with a minimum of damage and fright.
During one of the later power runs, when the engine was making good power and Gala was leg
As the testing progressed, the W2W team kept noticing the boost for the engine was only in the 9-psi range at peak rpm. They felt the engine should be seeing at least 10 psi or more, so they ordered a set of slightly overdriven pulleys from Dyer's Blowers in Summit, Illinois. The crank pulley needed to be redrilled to fit this application, but otherwise, the pulleys bolted on and netted a little boost in overall power. The final analysis was that the 6-71 blower either needed to be spun much harder or an 8-71 blower needed to be called in to service the big-block Buick to more horsepower. But that will be a project for another day. We learned a lot, the car is much more consistent, and it made a little more horsepower along the way.
As the testing progressed, the W2W team kept noticing the boost for the engine was only in
After each major discovery, which included the intake-gasket leak, blown transmission, and leaking dipstick, the vehicle was removed from the chassis dyno, repaired, and brought back. Was this frustrating? Are you kidding? Yes, it sucked, but it was more educational than going to the dragstrip-and everyone is confident the car would've burned to the ground without this dyno day.
After each major discovery, which included the intake-gasket leak, blown transmission, and