Bill, I understand where you are coming from in saying that they only made 320 horse, but that's thinking in decent cube v8 terms. That is roughly 1.37hp per cid from a severely strangled 225(234). To even begin to get the same numbers with a v8, would be similar to building a 380 horse 273.
But, I wasn't comparing it to a V8. I was comparing it to a turbocharged slant six. The whole idea was, that spending time and money on a naturally aspirated slant six will never get you anywhere near the 500+ hp that Tom Wolfe and Ryan Peterson achieved with boost.
In short, yes, a slant can be blistering fast. It takes 28 lbs of boost and a lot of money to make one run on v8 hp levels though. Throw almost 30 pounds of boost on ANYTHING and you automatically have a rocketship.
No, throw almost 30 pounds of boost on most V8s, and you'll likely be picking your short block's reciprocating assembly up off the ground. How many V8s have you seen that can survive 28 pounds of boost?
The whole concept of the turbocharged slant six is based on its Diesel-like infrastructure, which is what it us, because it was originally designed to be an aluminum engine, but that got changed, and when it did, Ma Mopar didn't make any significant changes to the load-bearing members of the block in terms of making them less stout, just because they would now, be cast iron. They were left as-is... so, we have a forged steel crank with main bearings the size of a 426 Hemi's and a block and head with unusually-robust construction.... that makes it possible to run boost-levels that would reduce my 360 Magnum to a pile of scrap metal. THAT is the rationale behind the turbocharged slant six...QUOTE]
