dr_hunt

There is no free lunch, no matter which cafeteria program your on. Fact of life boys, we use energy stored in materials to go from one place to another, that isn't going to change, ever. Alternative fuels are coming, the writing is on the wall.

logical thing would be to update to the R200, or if your into alot more mechanic work, the R230 conversion is about as stout as you can get while retaining the IRS. Do a little search on the R200 to find what years they come in.

Yes, you can but the real way to build compression is with piston choice. Besides, with today's gas, high compression isn't the way to go. Cam selection would be critical to optimizing your current setup with the 70cc heads, which are good heads by the way. You'd be suprised what kind of HP you can make on low compression.

I've got Four MSD 85551's in four different engines, but I run MSD 7 ignitions and have to run HVC 2 coils. It's the ignition box that dictates coils so I'm sure you can run whatever. MSD sells wiring adaptors for about everything as well. More adjustability in the MSD dizzy, you can set mechanical advance to tailor your ignition curve, pretty nice, you can set total mechanical advance and the rate! I upgraded the reluctor to a cnc unit after the vandals broke my dizzy. Can't tell any difference, except in the pocketbook!

Speaking from experience, get one made that is capable of handling the torque of the v8 and is balanced correctly. Also install safety loop if you seriously value your life. I had one let go at over 100MPH at the trans and the driveline dug into the pavement, sent the rear of my truck over 6 feet in the air by accounts of the guy I just smoked. Scared the bejeezus out of me and could have likely killed me and others.

Yeah, I think comp is too big for their britches. When I called for a cam recommendation for the TT motor, I got a guy, who kept talking to some guy next to him, and he finally gave me a couple of lobe profiles to request, etc, etc. Ok, so I give that info to Edwards Engines for them to order the cam since it's cheaper through them than if I buy it direct from comp. They call me about a week later and tell me that those lobe patterns were incorrect and some master cam technician recommended new lobe patterns and that they ordered those instead. So, I was like ok, whatever. Well, I ordered 4/7 swap, cast iron gear, custom solid roller, what I got was regular firing order, cast iron gear, custom solid roller. So, no biggie I guess, I just decided to run it like that. The springs for this lobe profile have 250lb seat pressure and some un-godly open pressure that I can't even remember right now, but like 700lb open if I remember correctly. I've never had a problem with crower or isky, but I have with crane, but at one time crane was a bigger outfit than comp. Now I think comp is bigger than crane, or at least they act like a bureaucratic giant anyway. My main complaint with crane is that they prefer wide lobe centers and I grew up circle tracking using tight lobe centers like 104 and 106 not 114. Anyway they kept recommending these screwy IMO cams for circle track engines that had wide lobe centers, tried one and it totally sucked off the corners and was a dog. Changed cams to Isky with a 104 and kicked some bootie! Amazing what a cam can do for a motor.

You are a PM junkie, so we are cutting you off! Besides, you haven't read any of those old PM's anyway. Just kidding.

I watched an old guy, means that I'm not old, do solder on a car back in the '70s. I thought then and still do that he used pure lead. He had a "stick" of lead about a half and inch square and he had a rod of lead about a 1/4 inch in diameter. IIRC he said that pure lead worked better than antimony lead like in wheel weights. He used a propane torch BTW and said that this was the real way to do body work!!!

Ok, I'll have to download that on the computer and upload it to hybridz. Give me a week or so. Memories, that was down at Roswell dragway, the first time I ever drove in a formal race, was nervous as all get out and hooked for life.

What your looking for is a 357 inch motor, cause too much is never enough, Dart block capable of going to 426 cubic inches, eagle 3.5 inch stroke crank, 6 inch carillo rods, JE 13:1 pistons, crane solid roller, comp roller lifters, comp pushrods, AFR 220 heads, roller rockers, stud girdle, Victor jr, 8 quart pan that'll fit in a z, 630 HP on the dyno altitude corrected, can be yours for $5500 plus frieght! PM me if interested.

Grumpy, do you have a z with a caddy motor that you've been hiding! Shame Shame

better to overground everything than underground, a floating ground will drive you bananas and plays hell with MSD or any cd ignition.

The 4 bolt block has 3 freeze plugs on the side, easy way to tell if it's a 4 bolt. I have two 4 bolt 400's, here the 4 bolts go for $600. Like JNJ, I turn em up to 6500 to 7000, never had a problem. In dirt track we run cast cranks, I won't go for stock rods, although I have in my early days, upgrade to a set of 350 rods, clearance them for the cam, and buy corresponding KB hyper pistons, add ARP bolts and you'll be pretty good. For low buck the Dart platinum series heads work well and in a z it's hard to overcam a 400. Isky makes a great hydraulic, 236 duration and .510 lift on a 108 lobe center, works really well with dart heads, victor jr, headers, 750 holley. In my 3800lb monte before I pimped it, I went 12.58 with a 9:1 compression 400 with that cam, Dart II's, 1.6:1 roller rockers, 4.11's, slicks, th400, 3500 TCI stall, and a quadrajet on pump gas! And we are at altitude! I've got video still, crazy, my first drag race days! Isky makes another that is 232 duration at .050 and .485 lift if you want alittle milder. Ditch the stock harmonic, they are prone to cracking at the keyway at high rpm's due to the counterweight cutout, find you a used fluidampr, accept no imitations! And buy a SFI rated flexplate for $65 and don't skimp there either.

Josh, yeah, I talked until I was blue in the face, the alb guys said "then buy online", what are they thinking?!! My shop has 220V single phase, runs my snap on 250 amp mig fine, I checked and it's got 100 amp breaker on that plug, so I should be fine. John, I have a friend, Glen Ezell, has an aluminum fab shop. He uses miller exclusively, he says for a reason, but they are big machines, huge actually. His argon tank won't fit in my dodge truck, he has 3 TIG machines like that all set up with different torches for different aluminum thicknesses I guess. He said he'd show me the secrets to aluminum welding, so I'll take him up on that. I've watched him for several hours, and have picked up some of the little tricks he uses to start and finish.

Grumpy is right, I used a brand x grinder to grind me a cam, worked ok, but not like the name brand cams. I like isky cams, crower and comp and run all three. Unlike grumpy, I don't like crane that much, due to similar experiences that grumpy is talking about. The important thing to remember is that people make up the company, not the other way around. So if you deal with a stooge, you'll probably get the wrong stuff.

ATP has their prices beat by 40% or more, check them out if your buying any more. That salesman told me that TA was discontinued, but he was probably trying to sell what he had on the floor since they have no discount for the lies that they tell!

Yeah, I figured around $2K or $3K, but we are always looking for a deal and from what you all are telling me and what I found using the "search" function it seems that a 200 or less machine will do all I probably want or need to do, which will be aluminum radiators, intercooler piping, possibly intercoolers, stainless exhaust pipe and stainless headers, maybe even roll cages, who knows. Ok, so where do you all get your stainless tubing for downpipes and exhaust?

Cool, I'm checking them out now. Will make a decision over the weekend and order one next week. I wanted to get the Monte going, cause I'm tired of it setting around with no engine. So, I get that done and then I'm in need of a tig welder. Called him, yeah I'll do it for $300 plus materials, Ok, when, next weekend, well, that weekend came and went and I'm tired of playing the "find the tig welding guy" game. I don't mind paying whatever they charge, just get it done, not say, I'll do it and then you can't find them anymore, don't answer the phone, etc. Screw it, I'll do it myself and have the equipment to boot. I think it comes down to integrity at some point, you either have it or you don't. So, instead of paying someone $300 or $400 to do the welding I'll spend $2K or more just to buy a tig welder and then I'll do tig welding for $300 to $400 for the folks in my area. I haven't tig welded since '95 or so, lots of years, but I can and do gas weld, mig and stick, pretty good cause my '33 hasn't fallen apart yet, so it'll take awhile. Besides, my shop needs to be "full service". I need a radiator setup too, I used to do that and now nobody does that anymore!

They make CB longs, those are the ones I use. A little more poop, still no noise.

THe trick is CB longs in your .22, super quiet, just make sure of your backstop, unless it's a stooge your trying to off. Head shots only, that goes for stooges too! Like my new word "stooge", comes from cozy z cole. Kind of catchy don't you think?

I'm thinking the precision tig 225 by lincoln, the miller syncrowave 200 you linked or the thermal arc 185 (now discontinued). So, it looks like the field got narrowed to either the lincoln or the miller. I called Albuquerque, it's freaking nuts what they want for the lincoln 225 weld pak complete $2800, I can buy it online for $1959.68 plus shipping!! The miller synchrowave runner 200 is $3150 in alb., online it's $2350.00 plus shipping. These guys must be morons in this day and age to think that people don't shop online before calling! I'm thinking precion tig 225 by lincoln, is that a good choice?

Has to weld aluminum, mandatory.

Damn, $600 for a used one! Thermal Arc, how much, I found a dealer for them in Alb. but they don't list prices!