I didn't hear it. I see it, at the dyno days I attend. Most old school 350s won't turn over 300 on the dyno. The best I've seen for a pre-LS1 street-legal normally-aspirated carbed 350, so far, was 405, and that was a loping monstrosity that the guy could barely keep running at a stoplight.
The sad part is when the guy pulls up claiming that his car makes "five hunnert horsepower" and the dyno tells him that he is *sadly* mistaken.
I wouldn't expect you to know what this is... but at the time of the pic, it made 1100 horsepower on the dyno and was perfectly docile around town. Now it makes 1300.
Oh, and no, that isn’t my car. It’s just an example from a dyno day. :D
This is true. However, horsepower does not equal speed or torque. My old BMW M-5, inline 6 dohc with the standard Bosch injection is pumping a healthy 315hp without a turbo, tops 180mph, actually takes 20 mph corners at 90 mph thanks to TRX tires, Bilstein competiton shocks and shaved down 7 series ball joints. The Dinan chip replacement and 7 series turbo will adjust those numbers a bit upward.
600hp is useless if you only use 300. Now, as with the new Corvette, you are absolutely right, except the chip limits the car to 155 mph. Makes you want to cry.
*shrugs* I dunno about on the ground, but I built them for a living in the '80s, and it is no problem to bench a 350 at over 400 horse. Your probably not even talking about very serious compression yet. Any flattop motor with any cam at all, decent heads, intake, carb and headers is well into the 325-350 hp range. Another 50 horses isn't that hard to get.