I was reading Mechanix Illustrated, June, 1956, p. 86, where test driver Tom McCahill claims that "when equipped with available kits, [the '56 Chevrolet passenger car] can reportedly develop one horsepower per cubic inch of displacement...".
Of course he is referring to the factory kit, not factory production. The closest factory production would be the 1956 RPO 411 dual four barrel setup 225 hp engine in which you would replace the cam with a factory high-lift cam and replace the lifters with solid lifters.
This would then become the "240hp" setup available from the factory in Corvette form. Chevrolet didn't officially call this a 1 hp per cu.in. engine, but a representative from Chevrolet told McCahill that it was so.
So don't let the MoPar guys hornswaggle you with their 1956 Chrysler 300B claim of 1 hp per cu.in. option arriving before Chevrolet. Chevrolet had it in 1956 too, direct from the factory.
Of course he is referring to the factory kit, not factory production. The closest factory production would be the 1956 RPO 411 dual four barrel setup 225 hp engine in which you would replace the cam with a factory high-lift cam and replace the lifters with solid lifters.
This would then become the "240hp" setup available from the factory in Corvette form. Chevrolet didn't officially call this a 1 hp per cu.in. engine, but a representative from Chevrolet told McCahill that it was so.
So don't let the MoPar guys hornswaggle you with their 1956 Chrysler 300B claim of 1 hp per cu.in. option arriving before Chevrolet. Chevrolet had it in 1956 too, direct from the factory.