Ok Charley, not sure what your point is but I have a set of bias ply 14" tires I'll sell ya cheap.
Okay karthief, what is wrong with bias ply tires, other than they have stiffer sidewalls, wear faster, don't corner as well and don't stop as well as radials? Thy still roll just fine and support the car. As for 4-cylinder motors, if built and tuned properly a carburetor version can easily make 100 HP and be streetable in a driver. OH, I switched to radials years ago.
just push'n your leg, my dad had bias plys on an old dodge he drove, they were like square tires till they got some heat in them, he was not afraid to run it past 100 mph at any time!
oh and it had points too!
Karthief, one of the things us older car guys have trouble with, is the lack of knowledge many of today's car guys have about basic ignitions, cams, combustion and carburetors. It is as if the carb/points are a part of a steam-engine. I guess they are magic because they use physics and mechanical actions, rather than electronics and computers. Basically all things on today's motors are better and can sometimes be adapted to older engines/cars to make them better also. I have seen younger mechanics with terrific ideas and ways to modify today's motors by simply altering the computer settings...which is magic to me. And my degree is in electronics. So depending on one's perspective, the problems we face are basically the same, old mechanic or modern wrench-turner, but they solve problems by different means/methods. Ford says 88 HP on a carb version 2.3, so adding 12 HP (3 per cylinder) should not be a problem. Five HP should be achievable also, but at 10 HP per hole, things start to get into the race track modification area. For me, if I can accelerate quickly into traffic without being rear-ended, pass slow traffic without fear of a head-on collision, go faster than any speed limit, get good MPG and do all this in comfort, I'll be happy...even if the motor makes only 89 HP.