Bluemalibu

It was wonderful to meet so many members in Grass Valley! My cheeks ached after wearing a perma-grin all weekend due to being surrounded by so many incredibly beautiful Montes!!! Thanks for the kind words, Doug... but it was sincerely a pleasure to help out were I could after all of the long hours the rest of you invested into attending the meet here in Nor-Cal. ...Here's looking forward to Penticton next year!

Droff, both should work for you. The 3-series starts with 2.73's. So, any 3.xx ratio is available for your carrier. And likewise, any 3.xx ratio is available to swap for your 3.07.

Like you, I wanted to stay at 2400-2500 (near stock) stall... as I'm pushing a 3980lb car with 640 lbs ft of torque through a 4L80E. Michael at Freakshow built a lock-up for me, and delivered it to my doorstep from Texas to California in four days. For less than $200. ​I think that it is safe to assume that their prices have probably gone up a bit over the last eighteen months with the surge in popularity after supplying quite a few of the cars on Street Outlaws without a failure.

I used a hybrid C4/C5 13" disc set up from: http://stores.ebay.com/mgchevyforddiscbrakes/ I chose this due to the divorced steel hub and rotor set up that they use... no aluminum hubs for me, thank-you, and a quick rotor swap with brake change. It bolts to stock disc spindles. The 13's will fit inside 17" wheels. It was $425, and I have been really happy with the set.

Vince, I tried to use the Blazer disc conversion, but the C-Clip eliminators for the Strange axles bumped the flange out too far. A flat caliper mount is needed for use with an eliminator. I went with the '89-92 Camaro/Firebird/Trans Am 1LE disc backing plates: because they will mount the '99 to 2012 Camaro PBR aluminum calipers which work wonderfully, and are available for $15 a set at our local parts yards... pads for these are super cheap as well, and are available at any auto supply house. Doug

Robert, my experience mirrors that of Ryan. I suspended my 6AL between the glove box and the HVAC controls on the dash... after having moved it from the inside firewall as I installed the Custom Auto Air box. A Blaster HVC coil also fits inside, connected to the billet distributor with MSD's long coil wire. This feeds through a 2" rubber grommet below the distributor in the firewall to make a sanitary under-hood.

The BBC with iron heads averages 675-685. The iron mouse motor weighs in at 575 to 590. The aluminum manifold and heads weight drop them to 570-590 (BBC); and 490-515 (SBC). Doug

Thanks so much, Bruce. Ray, I too had a CS130 with the Mark VIII, but the F150 draws nearly double the amperage. (Which coincides with the increased cooling capacity) So, I replaced the CS130 with a chrome AD244 that is pictured above. The CS130's design only produces about 20 amps at normal cruising rpms of 1400 to 1800... even though it is advertised to be rated at 60 to 120 amps. The AD244 will put out over 100 amps at 1500 rpm (Up to 240 amps at higher RPM) and will produce 60 amps at idle. Patrick and I cruised Paso Robles for an hour last night with the car idling the entire time. I kept the dual fans energized along with the 145 watt Flosser headlights, and the voltage never dropped below 14.2. At start-up, there is a very brief spike of about 85 amps... which quickly settles to about 20 amps. A soft-start DC controller would alleviate this. The Motorcraft number is AL3Z8C607A. Doug

Car crafting at its finest, Dennis!

Yes, the entire vent w/flap door is removed and replaced with the manual kick panel vent. It comes with the cable controls to open and close the flapper door. http://www.ss396.com/chevelle/IKP-1440.html

I'm with Bob... it definitely sounds like a circulation problem vs. a few timing degrees. Pull the radiator cap first to check for flow. Reduced flow would see me pulling the thermostat next; and while very rare, one can't dismiss a mis-marked reverse flow pump or loose impeller. Lastly, I'd look for a curtain of rust built up in the water jacket that impedes flow. Doug

Although the 78-88 G-body rears are 4.5 inches narrower, they are a closer design match to ours than the 73-77 rear ends. Both will require modified arms to work. Unless you find a later 8.5 from a GN or 442, I'd go a different route.

Hey, great minds think alike, Sam! I did the same as I installed this new Classic Auto Air system. These aftermarket HVACs don't have a fresh air feature, so I installed the manual kick panel vents.

It is very probable that no change will be necessary... The reason that one can't be more certain, is that the pinion yoke in the rear end can be easily changed. You might find a 1310, 1330 or 1350 yoke in either differential. And short, medium, and long shaft yokes are available in each flavor (size) as well. That being the case, should the yokes be different, you can swap in the correct one instead of making the change to the drive shaft.

Hey Brandon... Like many others here, I've gone both ways in three different Montes. ...And while the 504 I'm running now is a hoot, the 4 mpg really limits my cruise range without a carefully mapped out logistics plan. Your small block 400 with Vortec heads and an RPM manifold, being controlled by a warm hydraulic roller will be the closest to matching the performance-to-mileage-to-weight paradigm offered by the LS platform. I built up a 406 with this combination several years before the LS came on scene, and it was really a fun combo. Have you gotten the hydroboost installed in your car yet?