I've been working towards the goal of higher road speeds for today's world with the 230, and believe there's another 25-30 hp in it, and the capability to develop useful torque in the 1800-2000 rpm range. You won't do it with the stock carb, head, and exhaust, the breathing just isn't there.
The 1958-59 head featured 8:1 compression with better flow- a critical difference over older heads, as any mod you do to gain compression on flatheads usually kills flow, and vice versa. The 1959 230 was rated at 120 hp with the late model head, vs 94 hp with the earlier head. You should also split the exhaust manifold or go to Langdon's cast iron header. I intend to go to individual carburetion (3 CVK 40 Kehein Harley Davidson carbs)to keep all of the low end and get max high end.
Brakes, wheels, and tires are a primary concern. You need to get better brakes up front, preferably disc- look into the Ugly Truckling 3/4 ton Chevy disc brake mod, or go to more modern axles like Dana 60's. Using a split master cylinder with power assist is highly recommended. If you stay with the original axles, you will likely have to completely rebuild them, do this now while parts are still available.
The original wheels are split ring, and can run modern radials (Yokohama's work well) with tubes and flaps, but for sustained highway use a wider, modern rim should be used- this means custom wheels unless you go with modern axles. The Non-Directional bias plys are entirely unsuited to high-speed highyway use, and will kill you in the rain. Power steering is another needed mod- you'l want a quicker ratio than the original, but you'll still have a huge turning radius unless (again) you go to modern axles...
The 1958-59 head featured 8:1 compression with better flow- a critical difference over older heads, as any mod you do to gain compression on flatheads usually kills flow, and vice versa. The 1959 230 was rated at 120 hp with the late model head, vs 94 hp with the earlier head. You should also split the exhaust manifold or go to Langdon's cast iron header. I intend to go to individual carburetion (3 CVK 40 Kehein Harley Davidson carbs)to keep all of the low end and get max high end.
Brakes, wheels, and tires are a primary concern. You need to get better brakes up front, preferably disc- look into the Ugly Truckling 3/4 ton Chevy disc brake mod, or go to more modern axles like Dana 60's. Using a split master cylinder with power assist is highly recommended. If you stay with the original axles, you will likely have to completely rebuild them, do this now while parts are still available.
The original wheels are split ring, and can run modern radials (Yokohama's work well) with tubes and flaps, but for sustained highway use a wider, modern rim should be used- this means custom wheels unless you go with modern axles. The Non-Directional bias plys are entirely unsuited to high-speed highyway use, and will kill you in the rain. Power steering is another needed mod- you'l want a quicker ratio than the original, but you'll still have a huge turning radius unless (again) you go to modern axles...
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