Still no go on finding the missing 70 hp on Dan's Camaro and I could use some suggestions...

Background: Orange CMC 2 4th gen with a ’93 speed density lt1. Car runs and sounds fine with a smooth idle. It doesn't overheat on track. It seemed like the car started to lose power progressively, maybe at Hallett, more noticeable at a DE in Houston, definitely at a DE in Cresson. Found an exhaust leak including lose/missing header bolts. Replaced the header gasket and tightened everything up. Sent it to the dyno to confirm. It blew a disappointing 194 hp in the same configuration that showed over 260 earlier this year.

Did a compression check with all cylinders at about 180 psi. Replaced the knock sensor. Connector seems fine. There are no relevant codes. Fuel pressure is fine with the vacuum line off and reacts as expected with it hooked up. Replaced the optispark, cap, rotor, and plug wires. Found missing motor mount bolts right next to knock sensor. Replaced those…

Back on the dyno, no change in hp. A wideband shows A/F at 14:1 straight across the board. Given the fuel pressure and consistent ratio, it seems like the computer is commanding a lack of fuel rather than there not being enough fuel?

Probably unrelated but I’ll throw it out there anyway: Car seems to want to kill the battery enough to keep the starter from turning over after only about a week. New battery before Hallett. Everything seems fine once you get the starter to turn over a bit…

Any suggestions on what to do next are appreciated. Dan is willing to arbitrarily throw money at low probability replacement parts to try and fix this. He doesn’t have much time to work on this and time is short before nationals. He really wants to go…


Richard P.