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Putting on Brodix Race Rite Oval port heads on my BBC and don't need the cast heads but don't know what if there is any real value to them. They are 781 castings and have 2.19 and 1.88 valves, springs for hyd roller cam, guide plates and some porting done to them. They work well and have taken my car to a low of 12.65 through the exhaust, not open headers. So any ideas on value???

Found these 2 articles that provide some testing to go along with their thoughts. http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0803_big_block_cylinder_heads/viewall.html http://www.dragzine.com/tech-stories/engine/ultimate-guide-to-budget-bbc-cylinder-heads-under-2000/ Pistons are speed pro H693CP. Engine was built in 2002 so don't think they are the same pistons as this picture. http://www.jegs.com/i/Sealed-Power/844/H693CP/10002/-1 Engine builder said it had only 9.75:1 so don't think there is a dome but haven't seem them myself. Cam is a 11-433-8 Comp Cam Hydraulic Roller. http://www.compperformancegroupstores.co...e=MARKIVCAMHRXE

Tried to find some past posts on this subject but didn't come up with any posts that went over the options available today. I am interested in Oval Port, Hydraulic Roller applications. Would prefer not to have the heat riser passage. I am concerned about some of the heads having a raised exhaust port and what problems that will cause with reconnecting the headers and exhaust, if there are any problems. Some only raise it by .25 others by .6 (Yikes?). I have tried the Pro Comp PC3021-396 but returned them as the intake ports were off by as much as 1/8 inch on the set I got and so were the ones pro comp had in stock. They didn't seem to be too concerned about it but I didn't feel like remanufacturing heads that should have been built right in the first place. I could either get the intake gasket ports to match the ones on the heads but not line up with the bolt holes or line up the holes but not the ports. GOOFY!!! I was told I just had to make the bolt holes bigger on the intake gasket. However the gasket matched the intake perfectly so moving it over to match the heads meant the intake now didn't line up with the gasket or heads. Anyway it seemed like a good deal but turned out it wasn't. I know I can make my 781 castings flow as good as the aluminum versions but would like to advantage of the lower weight and better heat dissipation if it isn't too much trouble to install or cost to get the heads that would be best for my mainly street car that visits the track a few times a year for confimation of changes I have made actually making more power. Any info/experience y'all have had would be helpful.

Well no good results from checking the hydraulic shops. They seem to give up when they find out it is automotive related and stop looking for any alternatives. I did make progress with March though and got a company name and number that produces the correctly threaded bolt and banjo fitting for this application and even make a complete braided line kit as well. I find it rather odd that it took 3 calls to get what I needed but the companies name is Gotta Show Products (602-237-4506) and the hose kit is part # 131151. If you want the individual pieces the bolt is 131362 and the banjo fitting is 131262. It is a specially built piece with the 5/8 - 18 ( or 16mm x 1.5 mm) thread size. Silly thing is March sells this kit themselves for less than Gotta Show but sent me to them instead of offering me this solution on the first call making for a happier customer and my kit would have been here by now. Goofy! It looks like this problem is solved. It will just take a couple weeks to get the kit in as the places that are close to me don't have stock on it and those that have it are 20% more but far away which makes for added shipping costs so I have to decide if $40-$50 extra is worth saving a week. At any rate, your comments and help is very much appreciated. Thanks, Kevin

Never was good at acronym's. That is the right idea but the key dimension from the face of the flare to the middle of the tubing after the 90 is 1.73 inches and I need about 1.5 to the outside of the tubing to clear the head. I am wondering if it is possible to get a much shorter 90 in tubing so I may need an IFM to IFF or AN fitting in a 90. The only problem with that though is that once it seats against the flare you have to deal with the other end no matter which way it is pointing.

Thanks for the responses. Rod........Don't know what an IFM fitting is but it is a Saginaw pump just in a fancy billet housing. Darren....Yes I know of green line but always thought of them as big hoses and such. We have one location on the south side which I can check on Monday. I have a local hydraulic shop to check as well after talking with them during the week it seems they may have something to help me out but they aren't open weekends. Mike......I looked at that kit you have but needed a stronger alternator to keep up with all the electronics I have in the car now and really liked that billet look so I splurged a bit and went for the kit I am dealing with now partly because it gets the alt and ps up in the event I decide to try and turbo my car some day. How does that hyrdo-boost work on your car. I wish I had gone with that instead of the dual 9 inch booster I have. I found in my travels today that the usual Russel or Earl's fittings exist to make the connection just not in the space I have. The adapters for the pump to an AN fitting have to be combined with an elbow rather than coming in an elbow already. The banjo fitting idea doesn't seem possible as the bolts that tighten the fitting aren't the correct 5/8 x 18 thread and aren't made with an inverted flare end even though I do think the surface on the pump is smooth enough to seal to after a closer look at the pump connection area. I will update more after Monday's travels. If all else fails I can always get a machine shop to make me an inverted flare end and then tap the opposite end for pipe thread which will allow me to then put an existing brass 90 degree flare fitting into that, but cost may be a tad out of line with my wallet.

I am installing a March Pulley Kit #21285 which moves the PS pump up in front of the D/S cylinder head. Go here and see step 8 for a picture of my issue. http://www.marchperf.com/instructions/Ch...instrctions.pdf This position doesn't leave much room to connect the power steering lines. While March supplies a barbed 90 for the return they don't supply a fitting for the pressure line and the original won't fit as there is only about 1.5 inches between the pump and head. I have called the tech line twice. The first guy didn't have any info to help other than a # for "Dan" in Arizona that has a fitting for this system but Dan doesn't return calls. The second guy at March said to use a banjo fitting, like for a fuel line, but I can't find any fittings that connect to a 3/8 inverted flare and they also need a machined surface to seal up to and surrounding area of the fitting on the back of the pump is far from a machined surface and likely won't seal. I have searched for a 3/8 inverted flare 90 that is tighter than 1.5 inches but haven't found anything yet so I need some input from y'all as I have been messing with this for 2 weeks now and can't use it if I can't connect it.

OK, I have decided what I am going to do. Thanks for all the info and ideas. I have just ordered a 1 1/8" Master Cylinder and Chrome 9 inch Dual Diaphragm Brake Booster. Below is the webpage for the Master Cylinder. It is a spiffy all in one unit that will allow me to attain the exact split for braking force my Monte needs and have 1 less piece to plumb in to the setup. http://www.classicperform.com/NewProducts/MCPV-1/MCPV-1.htm They don't have a pic for the booster but you can find an 8 inch pic with the standard M/C on their site. SSBC will be providing the front and rear kits I will use. The front kit (A123-21) below gives me a 12" rotor instead of the 11" one with the kit (A123-1A) I was originally planning on plus a 4 x 43 mm piston caliper for more even and added clamping force over the 2 x 43mm piston caliper with the 11" kit. http://www.ssbrakes.com/products/detail/5870/?make=Chevrolet&model=Chevelle&year=1970 The rear kit (A125-26) has a parking brake all in the same caliper. http://www.ssbrakes.com/products/detail/3250/?make=Chevrolet&model=Chevelle&year=1970 The front kit does require the addition of a specific front spindle and hub assembly from a company called American Touring Specialties. The "AFX" spindle (webpage below) saves some weight but more importantly it saves space allowing the use of the 12" rotors inside of the 15" Rally wheels that I really wanted to keep on the car and avoid springing for new 17" wheels and tires. Normally 12" rotors require 16" wheels and 13" rotors need 17" wheels. http://store.nexternal.com/shared/StoreF...ount2=776969552 I plan to get some 60 - 0 numbers from my G Tech meter prior to the swap and compare them to the numbers after to quantify the value of the effort for this. I expect there will be some unsprung weight saving with this setup as well so I plan to repost on this same topic when I get it all completed. Thanks again fellow Monte Lovers.

I think when you are running disc's all the way around that volume is better than pressure especially when you use a booster that already increases your foot pressure beyond the original booster with Disc/Drum set up. Great info though. Still have to make my decision as to which way to go. Do 17 x 9 inch wheels with 40 or 50 series rubber fit under our cars???

I checked the gap today and I can just get my fingers between the V/C and the booster so maybe 3/4 of an inch. So you can see where that smaller booster would be nice. Is that dual diaphragm booster much longer than the single?? Is it available from Master Power Brakes or Classic or is that only the smaller M/C. Why would a smaller diameter M/C be better?? If I go with a smaller M/C I will need that extra booster assist or is my thinking off on that? I got a friend here that is trying to get me to go for larger aluminum wheels now so I can get 12 or 13 inch disc's in the front now. I didn't plan on that or I wouldn't have sprung for recoating the original rally's and new BFG rubber. So now if I do that not only are the new wheels and rubber $2,000 but the 13 inch disc kit is $2,000 instead of the $ 1,300 I was planning on. Oh well there is still a couple feet of snow on the ground so I have some time before I can realistically get at the changes anyway. Keep the advice coming if you got it though.

Is that a 9" booster with short valve covers??? It doesn't look like there is much more room than mine with an 11" booster and tall valve covers. No worries about the c-clip eliminators, not using them.

Not sure what those people did with the brakes on their cars but they may not have changed the Proportioning Valve. There is something wrong if you don't stop better with Disc's. If for some reason it is the 9" booster that is a concern. The only reason I would consider changing the booster is for the size as it is tight with the BBC and tall valve covers. I am modernizing the car with what is available these days. I have increased the power and acceleration with a now fuel injected BBC and a 700r4. I have increased the handling with Global West and Edelbrock control arms and sway bars. Now it is time to improve the stopping abilities of the car and slotted discs with aluminum multi piston calipers seems like the appropriate improvement. What are the part numbers you guys used. I am looking at the A125-26 for the rear and the A123-1A for the front. Were there any fitment problems or did those parts just bolt right in with no muss of fuss??

I am planning to up grade to 4 wheel disc brakes and I am looking for advice on the options we have for our Monte's I plan to stay with the stock 15x7 rally wheels and would like to have at least a slotted disc if not slotted and drilled for both the front and rear. I want 2 piston calipers for the front but would settle for a single piston in the rear. SSBC has a kit that includes everything for the front including a new 9" booster and master cylinder but they say that booster fits only the Chevelle and not the Monte. Does that make sense to anyone?? Baer has a kit that just slides onto the existing spindle but doesn't have any other pieces like the smaller booster and M/C and they appear to be about the same price. Is Baer better or just more expensive?? Any advice on your experience and the choices you made would be appreciated.

OH YAH! Learning the hard way. Oh what fun it is.

I took it back to the place that built it and essentially got it rebuilt again. The only things reused were the case, output shaft, valve body and the pan. For some reason the sprag that normally turns one way and not the other locked both ways. This caused parts that normally don't move to move and turned springs into spaghetti, the band to dust, the drum into a fine metal shavings distribution unit and voila, one new tranny into a very used up tranny. The more problems I have getting all the things to work on this car without breaking the more I realize why it takes so long to create a new car. All those ideas are wonderfull on paper and will fit together fine but how long will it last. Testing a new car probably takes the most time to work all the bugs out.

It came and went twice over a matter of 3-7 seconds while maintaining a steady speed of 40-50 mph and has never occured before. It definitely was from the transmission.

Took the Monte on the freeway and just as I shifted into O/D the car seemed to slow down and not really go into gear. Then seemed ok then not. Put it back into D and it drove normally. Stopped to check if something was visibly wrong like fluid coming out or something else was wrong and all appeard fine. THen took off again and toggled the Lock up on and off and it seemed to work then tried O/D again and instantly started slowing down again. So put it back in Drive and proceeded to turn around and head home but not before I heard a whining sound. Then it started to do the same thing in D and the whining sound got worse. Limped to a gas station and checked the fluid level and condition. Level was up but it smelled burnt to me. Color was pretty much normal. Towed it home and have been thinking about what could be the problem ever since. Any suggestions??

Well George, I don't check in here very often and post even less but news of your passing did catch me by surprise. I never met you, had only a few contacts with you via this site but reading through all the posts in this message board I came upon a thought. While it is a shame you didn't get to show your Monte and receive all the accolades you deserve for what I gather is a well done reconstruction of a Monte it is obvious you did accomplish something more important than just your project. You had a tremendous effect on numerous people's lives through your efforts to get your car completed and it can easily be assumed that your family and personal friends close to you received an even greater dose of what made you who you were. While you gave the world a rebuilt Monte you gave the people you touched a part of you. While you may no longer be among the living you have not died until you stop being remembered. I suspect you will live a long time yet sir. May your spirit be enjoying it's journey George. Live today, plan tommorrow, remember yesterday and make it as pleasant a journey as you can.