Mike C

Sherman's cam was a hydraulic roller, but other than that compares nicely with the flat tappet. Your reason for switching to the large displacement engine was smooth, linear powerband and IME, that's just too much cam. My 331 with 9.8:1, LT-1 intake and 780 Holley had a 2800-6800 rpm powerband with the Cam Dynamics 284 .480 cam. It never really was as fast as I thought it should be. 14 teens at 100 mph in 3500# car. 13.4 with a 75 horse Marvin Miller N20 system. This was circa 1985 which says something about the durability of the little motor! It has an Energizer 266 in it now and resides in my Jimmy. 1200-4500 powerband. Does an admirable job of accelerating two plus tons with the new cam. If you are going to go with the mechanical cam still, I would seriously consider having an eqaul duration intake/exhasut cam ground on a sub 110 LSA. It's going to run fine regardless, but hey, I've got to get my 2c in!

I'd build a 358 (.040 350) and with all the money you saved on a core and hard parts, get a killer set of heads. Somewhat common manual trans are Muncie Aluminum 4 speed, Borg Warner Super T10 4 speed, more common is the Borg warner T5 5 speed from '83-'87, the World Class T5 from '88-'92, and the T56 from 93 to present. Note their are quite a few different T56. You really should be more specific about what your goals for the car are as well as how much $ you want to spend and how you want/plan to actuate the clutch.

Pete, I see no reason to add port volume since flow is higher on the smaller port head. Just base the decision on your intake. The 195 for a raised runner intake, the 190 for a standard runner intake. If you stick with the 300-36, run the 190's if you are going to buy a Victor Jr. AND heads, get the raised runner 195's and corresponding intake. What is the thinking in over 240 deg at .050 on a sub 6500rpm engine? I think your cam choice is way too big.The one in your 327 is WAY too big IME. My 331 hated lots of duration, especially on wide lobe centers. One of your reasons for doing the bigger engine was low speed performance, and I think that cam choice is equivalent to a bullet in the foot... Just for grins, you should stick that smaller 224/224 cam into your 327 and see how much faster the car is. My current 355 was in a '79 Z/28 that weighed the same as my '69 with the same gear ratio and same trans ran 13.70's with a Comp 292 244@.050 and .500 lift cam. It's a full SECOND faster with the smaller 236/236 (admittedly a roller, but the increased lift is slightly offset by significantly reduced overall duration so curve area should be similar.) I think the best choice in cam for you motor is the Isky 280 Mega Cam. There is no gain for running a solid cam in this street type environment. Only in above 6500 rpm operation for extended periods of time is their any real gains. Just adds to the noise and complexity. I would rather run shorter cam timing with a narrower LSA for the same idle but better power delivery. Besides, Vizard points out that 400ci motors make the most power at something like 104 LSA. Add 1.6 rockers to the intake, maybe figure out a way to get a 3" collector attached to the shorty headers and some 3" mandrel 90's into 3 to 2 reducers then use your existing exhaust out the back. Grind No./Type: 280-MEGA, HYDRAULIC High performance use/bracket racing. Lopey idle. 2500 Stall. 9.5-10.5:1 compr. 3.90-4.11 axle ratio. Up to 780 CFM Carb. RPM-Range: 2500-6800 Valve Lift - INT: .485 EXT: .485 Valve Lash Hot - INT: .000 EXT: .000 ADV Duration - INT: 280° EXT: 280° .050 Duration - INT: 232° EXT: 232° Lobe Center: 108° This cam is real close to the Joe Sherman grind that made 600 hp in his 365 ci motor. Just a flat tappet version. I'd put my money where my mouth is, too, running this cam most likely for my next motor. The reduced LSA shouldn't be a big concern with your FI setup since the overlap of the smaller cam/narrower LSA shouldn't be anymore than the larger cam/wider LSA. http://www.iskycams.com/productdisplay.php?sku=1322&hdwt=31101&loc=101&dealer=no

Those are nice numbers. Check out this page to compare. http://www.fierolt1.com/lt1_lt4_headflow.htm

The one Grumpy posted is the Proform tool. Manley has made it for at least twenty years.

i agree with not going nes, but with reliability being at the forefront, I would stay away from an M3. Check out some 325is/328is cars from 3 to 5 years old. We bought a 3 year old lease return 325is for my wife. It is a '95 and we've had it 5 years now. Its been a great car.

The M22 is not much quieter than the straight cut gears. I still think your best bet is the Super T10. Can't wait to see it all together! The saving grace is the lightweight. Much easier on transmissions than 3500# plus cars.

The link bar between the roller lifters, correct? It should be toward the center of the block and not towards the sides if I understand your question...

That Comp site is a good place to start. Most of the big valvetrain makers sell pushrod length checkers that involve an adjustble pushrod. Another option is a Proform or manley length checker. It is a pseudo rocker made of plastic. You put everything together with a stock pushrod. drop the plastic rocker on. If there is a gap between the pushrod and rocker, measure and buy that much longer pushrod. If there is a gap between the valve, buy that much shorter pushrod. About $15 from the mail order places.

Dan is exactly right. The 305 will run circles around the 215. It will be heavier, but as is well documented, a SBC V8 Z isn't significantly heavier than an L6 powered car, especially if running some aluminum engine components. (Intake, water pump, etc.) In the announcement posts at the SE Hybrid meet, a 305 powered car was running high 12's I believe? My buddies 305 powered '74 Corvetter convertible ran 13.90's with an SLP flat tappet cam, headers and an Edelbrock intake base because the stock one was warped. This was in 1988 he did the swap, first TPI conversion I had seen. About 5 years ago I bought an '86 305 TPI Trans Am with TH 700 for $1175. It was lightly smacked on the drivers front. I pulled the motor, trans, radiator, wiring, computer, electric fans, driveshaft and air intake stuff. I sold the shell for $1000. The TPI is probably the neatest looking induction system around, but the Vortec 5.7 from a truck or van 96-98 makes tons of power and can be had reasonably cheap as well. Even the Vortec 5.0 would run fine in a Z. If you are intereted in a manual trans, a TBI 305 T5 camaro can be had for much less than the TPI cars and it would still run circles around the 215.

This is going to be a 406, correct? With all of that taken into account, I think it leads you back to the straight plug AFR 190s and then optimizing camshaft for your combination. This seems to be a perfect application for a split pattern cam. Obviously not to crutch a poor exhaust port, but for exhaust compromises. I would try and keep .050 duration of the intake in the 220 deg range and 230 for the exhaust on 106 LSA. Definitely a custom order. Still running 1.6 ratio intake rockers and 1.5 exhaust. What intake is the TBI based on? If raised runner, do the 195's, if standard runner the 190's.

There are benefits into necking down the collector and then re-expanding it. There are some patented headers that neck down at the tube juncture but expand right after. Just like with an intakes plenum volume, collector volume can help even out pulses and improve flow. If you could get a shorty with 3" collectors and run 3" 90 manderel bends and then neck down to 2 1/2" to run down the tunnel, the shorty headers wouldn't pay the big a penalty compared to long tubes. But no doubt about it IME, that 2 1/2" collector hurts power output.

Congrats. Its nice to have a positive first experience... If you work on many of these cars, at some point you will have a miserable one. I broke Dan's tool twice before I finally got the last set I did apart. Heat-pound-heat-pound...soak...Heat-pound-heat-pound and so on for days off and on. Sheesh. Do you have a pic of your tool? Just curious to see how it compares to Dan's.

In talking about manual trans, I found this chart that shows how gear ratios are calculated. Maybe intersting to some of you. Also shows the UNBELIEVEABLE number of combinations for gear ratios in a Jerico 4 speed. http://www.jericoperformance.com/products/gear_ratio_table.html

At that price level, why not run the Richmond 5 speed? It would be perfect, especially if someone could find more of the 3.15 R200 gearsets... Any ideas what that ratio came in when I'm junkyarding? Unless you are doing hard core drag racing (meaning 500+hp and 10" slicks) the Super T10 is really strong, especially in a car that only weighs 2500#. I just have a hard time spending that kind of money on a Muncie, for just a little more you can have a Jerico. Actually, they are not quite twice as much at $3295 for the NASCAR spec tranny, but the most absolutely bulletproof trans available. 2,3,4, or 5speeds. Clutch or clutchless. Oval/road race or drag race. They use superior alloys as well as caged needle bearings in the cluster and needle bearings in the tailshaft instead of a bushing. If you have to have THE ultimate in strength: (I wonder if they want to hire a salesman... ) http://www.jericoperformance.com/

I agree with John 100% on that. The 2 1/2" collector on the headers hurt power way more than any that MIGHT be gained with angle plugs.

My antique chambered 492 run best with 92 octane at 41 deg. If memory serves, about 14 initial and 27 in the distributor. I really like the MSD distributors ability to adjust amount of mechanical advance with bushings.

The overdrive is still a 4 speed, they make 3rd one to one and 4th OD. The recommend it "only for people who have too much money already invested in their rear driveline to re-do it." The more interesting component they have is a M20 wide ratio gearset with the reduced helical gear angle of the M22. Their case is really nice also. The Borg Warner Super T10 stronger than the regular Muncie and almost as strong as the M22. It is available for $1200 with your choice of several different ratios. FWIW, the M21 close ratio Muncie (and M22 derivative) share the distinction of the closest ratio 4 speed trasmissions ever put in a production vehicle... Just the thing for a dedicated road racer, but too close for a real street driver. The smallest rear gear GM would option the M21 with was 3.73, and that was not really sufficient. The 2.2 first gear requires at minimum a 4.10 gear for any reasonable final drive numbers (except in 4th...) 2.2 x 3.71=8.16 1st gear effective ratio. Compare this to the 2.97 first gear of the G92 T56 and 3.42 rear gear of 10.154. And most of those guys wind up with 4.1 gears as well. IME, the more effective gear ratio you have, the more easily you can modulate the torque output of any given combination in order to maximize traction. For instance, if you have 2.73 gears and they start to spin, forget it, you'll never get it back. But if you have 4.11, just back off the throttle until the tires hook, then get back in it. If you've ever had a reasonably fast car with no rear gear, you'll know exactly what I mean.

Look at Pete's chart in his question about heads. The AFR 190's seem a better choice. As far as runner volume vs. diminshed rate of return, it depends on the rest of the combination. I'm a cheapskate by nature, so if you want to do FI, seems like the BEST way to do this is to buy a complete aluminum head LT1. You get FI, aluminum heads AND a roller cam. All for about the price of just the AFR heads.

Angle plugs are supposedly more efficient. Lighting the fire nearer the exhaust valve for optimum spark placement high in the chamber. Most likely, straight plug would be fine. LT1 with aluminum heads have angled plugs, but the iron heads have straight plugs. Stock the iron flow slightly better, and with bowl work, work awesome.

I posted this in the Exhaust forum a few weeks ago, but go to Jegs site and check out the Patriot headers. They make block huggers in round as well as D port that will clear angle plugs. They also have a cone type connector that doesn't use collector gaskets $229 for the coated ones seemed like a fine deal. No guarantee they'll fit, but they look like other block huggers FWIW...

Wow. Do a search here first, even scan all of the titles from the last few weeks. LT-1 was made in 1970-1972, the LT1 from 1992-1997. T56 can be found ONLY in LT1 Camaros and Firebirds from 93-97. '93 is the speed density motor, the others are MAF. There are other differences in motors as well as transmissions, so I would suggest a google search and then come back with any specific Q's. Lots of info can be found on Impala SS boards or F body boards. Also, buy the JTR (Jaguars that Run) manual. THat will be the number one piece of advice you get from this group.

Don, I'll give you a shout one day next week. Hopefully the weather will be a little better...

Torque loads don't break transmissions, shock loads do. (well, they can, but doesn't happen in practice.) Transmissions are rated on a strange scale. The torque is a continuous load for 24 hours. Don't know why they chose that. What breaks T5's are clutch dumps, speed shifts, and repetitions of same! The brand new Motorsport trans with the Gearzone countershaft bearing stabililzer seems like a pretty stout setup for $1200 brand new compared with everything else.

Yea, that is an interesting concept. It has changed a few of my beliefs and confirmed many others. Qualifications to get into the final was based on highest AVERAGE torque and HP numbers where that little 365 was 420 hp and 480 lb ft, I believe BELOW 5000 rpm? Insane. As far as heads, Your chart seems to answer you question quite well. Based on everything I've seen about your new motor, and this info, the AFR 190 seems to be perfect, but $300 difference almost pays for roller cam upgrade...