Bluemalibu

The torque that your combo should be producing will raise a TC's stall a little Paul; and Comp themselves recommend a stock TC for the 11-242-3 cam. A 2400-2600 converter will put you well into the power range of this cam without generating the excess heat that a looser converter will produce. I would think that you'd be well served with it. I do not have any personal experience with either the Coan or TCI converters, as I was warned away from them by a few other driver's poor history with them... (including once by an employee of TCI) but, the bad rep certainly might simply be due to the fact that they sell a lot of converters, and so there will be a certain percentage that end up being junk. And those are the stories that get their dirty laundry aired. I went with Freak Show as I just didn't want to risk the chance with my built 4l80E.

There are many sources for the adapters. http://www.ebay.com/bhp/power-steering-fitting Speedwaymotors, Jegs, Summit. Do you want to keep the inverted flare lines, or convert to the cleaner AN-6 connections?

Paul, you'd be hard pressed to get better than Freak Show Performance converters without spending an additional $700 to $1,000. I was first recommended to use them from YellowBullet.com : "The converter it replaced was a holeshot 3600 B&M. With the B&M my 60's were all over the place (2.02 at worst to 1.87 at best, in one night, usualy 12.30-12.60et) when the sun went down, the swing was worse. I was pulling my hair out... With the new freakshow converter, off the trailer, it went a 1.79, and all 4 other passes were 1.79. The ET was the same: 12.389-12.399 (messing with shift points every pass) My MPH only fell off by .5, from before. I am more than happy with mine. I was worried at first (buying an ebay converter, and everyone quoting me $800-$1000 for a converter), but the guy hit the nail on the head with the stall. It was the best $320 I've spent..." They built a lockup converter with a 2400 stall for my 4L80E and had it delivered to my door in California three days later for less than $200. The Guys truly know their business and I am blown away that they can do what they do for such a low cost. Since I've had my converter, many of the guys from "Street Outlaws" have begun using Freak Show converters as well. They certainly top my RWHP by about triple. (325) 701-7830 ask for Michael https://www.facebook.com/pages/Freak-Show-Performance/347148098639532 Doug

A couple other 12.7 quick ratio boxes are available without the internal stops. (Which improves your chance of a successful search a bit...) They also came on '91 - '96 Impala SS and Caprice. I pulled mine off of a low mileage '96 9C1 Caprice. Just test for full travel of 2.5 turns, stop-to-stop. Doug

All true. Just remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch... it's all a trade off. As Sam mentioned, fuel economy takes a hit with a rat-motor. I drove 36 miles this weekend to show my car at a really great family-friendly show in Durham, CA. I burned over a half-tank of fuel on the trip with the 504. So.... yesterday I swapped in a replacement MSD billet distributor with vacuum advance, to try to gain back about 1/2 to 1 MPG.

That is going to have great lines, Scott! I need to fab up a custom top plate insert for the stock floor console, in order to nest around the QuickSilver shifter... to fill the space until then, I whittled down the base of a $15 Pick-N-Pull Grand Prix console.

Your going to have quite the impressive ride there, Omar! I used the G-Force Performance RCAE4 cross-member. It is extremely well done. http://www.amazon.com/G-Force-Performance-RCAE4-Double-Crossmember/dp/B00JLTVCS0 As for the drive-shaft, I chose to have a 3 1/2" chromoly tube cut and balanced, with billet chromoly 1350 yokes. http://www.jakesperformance.com/Slip_Yokes.html Likewise, the pinion yoke was changed over to 1350 as well. http://www.markwilliams.com/detail.aspx?ID=322 Only use the solid u-joints with your combo, not the greasable units. Doug

Larry, it was indeed put into econo-boxes like the Chevette and the Opel Kadette. But GM had a brain-fart and also mounted them up in the Riviera, Caprice, and lock-up versions into the Estate Wagon, your Bonneville and the Cadillac Fleetwood! They were quickly destroyed in those big boats, and the General paid out big bucks in lawsuits and with replacing the trans with a TH350 for all that complained. Doug

That's great, we're counting on you Patrick. And... I'm thinking that a September road trip back down to catch another Paso Robles car show might just be in order this year. We'll have to stop in to catch your famous Holy Roller service while we're there! Doug

Steve, the TH200 is basically just a 350 with all of its internals whittled down to the point that even the mildest of small blocks will break them. They came out in the early seventies to lighten up vehicles for better fuel economy. They were literally a 90 lb weakling! At the end of the seventies and mid-eighties, (in the last years that they were produced) they were given the lock-up torque converter feature to enhance the fuel savings even more, but they remained a three-speed. Rick, please run... rather than walk away from this transmission!! LOL!!! The General then added a 4th gear and also beefed some of the innards back up to create the 200-4R. The TH375 was just a Turbo 400 with a 27 spline output shaft that would mate up to the TH350 style slip yoke. Doug

Cory, I can empathize with you... it must be the curse of the red Monte's. I too missed the Western Meet due to the failure of a recently rebuilt part. After months of working out from under the giant snowball: new front and rear suspensions; rebuilding the engine; adapting a 4L80E transmission; upgraded front and rear discs; all new glass; custom 6" extended seat tracts; new rear-end; aftermarket A/C and heat; custom console, etc... I fired the engine and test-drove the car with all of these new adaptations for the first time, on the day before leaving for the meet... which was a 20-hour drive away. Needless to say, I wasn't about to use the 20-hr drive as the car's maiden voyage. So, she was loaded into the enclosed trailer, and we headed north to Penticton. Five hours into our journey, the transfer case on the Duramax puked its guts out on the highway. I was hot!! I had paid a 4-by guru $1200 MORE than a new transfer case would have cost me, to build a bullet-proof case for me. It lasted for less than 500 miles. Doug

That 3.06 first gear of the 700R4 will make you think that you doubled the horsepower of your engine. And the .70 overdrive will let you idle on the freeway. I put one in my '67 behind a stock small block while I was building up a small block 400 for it... and never did drop the 400 into the car. The 700R4 transformed the docile motor into a tire-shredder, and I still got just over 20 mpg any time that I cleared the city limits sign. With it, you have the best of both worlds. Doug

The manual master cylinder is level, which places the actuating rod at a higher mounting location on the pedal arm. The vacuum assisted brakes would be far too touchy with this amount of leverage.

In concert with Aaron, I'll be making some test cruises through the foothill's lakes and forest drives and arranging activities to make for an enjoyable, worthwhile, long weekend next year. Doug

I'd still be leaning towards the Vortec's... with everyone switching over to the LS platform, you can buy a set of rebuilt Vortecs WITH a new intake for $475 to $550. The 882's won't come close to the power that the Vortec's are capable of.

I'm of the same mind-set as Sam and Scott. I de-tuned my 'Built-for-the-strip' power train after purchasing the '72. This left me with a totally reliable, pump-gas friendly, torque monster BBC. As you recall, I replaced the 2-spd powerglide and 3600 stall converter with the 4L80E and 2400 stall trans that we spoke about. And I replaced the solid roller, high lift cam with a milder hydraulic roller version... the resulting reduced stressors on the valve train will now allow the build to run for decades. I am equally impressed with a low-maintenance LS platform as well though... A turbo 6.0 motor is figured into my next build. http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/sucp-1206-5-3l-ls-small-block-build-part-7/ The common denominator with both of these, is that they are not high-strung, "You-have-to-spin-them-to-the-stars-to-move-them" mills. (And my old big block doesn't have to be ugly... here's my answer to the gosh-awful hoses that the General had criss-crossing all over our engine bay (I'm building custom length plug-wires this evening, I just threw an old set on the engine to break in the new rear end)):

'Restor A Tag' has a pretty good reputation. They are even printing vintage reflectorized registration decals for them. http://stores.ebay.com/Restore-A-Tag Many of the states have realized the revenue to be had from the plates, and are printing them themselves. I just purchased a vintage colored personalized plate from Calif DMV this morning.

Wow... that would be great! I so appreciate the support, Aaron. ...And I'll supply the pizza. Until tomorrow then............. Doug

Just fired the new engine today, after completing the third "over thirty-hour work day", within the last ten day push to complete the '72 before tomorrow's Western Meet... and got her on the street for the first time as well, to test the new 4L80E, front and rear suspensions, and new 3.73 gears with posi re-build. I now have a silly grin, stuck permanently on my face! So, I'm now back up and at it, after a three-hour nap, to try and get the interior back into the girl before shoving off for the 20-hour drive to Canada. Wish me luck... otherwise, it may mean bringing a "still under construction" Monte to the event. Doug

I dropped the cover on the rear-end to inspect the gears in preparation for this week's 17-hour drive to Penticton. When I did, I found the unit's spider gear thrust washers in the bottom of the pumpkin. Not a reassuring find. So, since I had to open it up anyway, to replace the washers, I swapped out the 4.11 gears for a bit more highway friendly 3.73: 1 ....while apart, new posi steels, seals and bearings were installed, (even though there was less than 2,000 miles on the rear-end.) With the crush of projects on the '72 needing to be finished before Wednesday, I would rather have have waited until after the meet to address the gear swap. Unfortunately, that was not the only distressing find that I made. I found that the body and shaft of the distributor had separated, and that one of the mechanical advance pins for the springs had likewise broken. So, a new billet distributor was installed. ...And, as I had driven the '72 less than 50 miles since purchasing it and beginning its transformation, I set out to change the oil and filter before the trip... this led to the discovery that the kick-out on the high capacity oil pan that the P.O. had installed, prevented the removal of the oil filter without first removing the driver's exhaust header. Aaaargh!!! I also installed a hidden micro-switch somewhere in the car that triggers a latching relay to energize the fuse panel... without its activation, the interior wiring harness sub-assemblies are dead. With everything else going south, I'd rather not add to my Western Meet travails by having a second Monte stolen from me. Doug

That's great Ryan! Glad to have been of help.

Thanks Vaughn; and likewise! I just came into the house to check on parts availability, and saw your post. I can only hope against hope to get her put together in time. Until then... Doug

...And by all means, replace the accelerator pump. Having it fall on its nose off of an idle is a classic symptom of the butterflies opening without a shot of fuel from the Acc/P. Doug

Aaron, you seem to be really good with putting a bunch of pieces together to get something to look like a car... and that's just what I'm in need of right now. My '72 is still in about a hundred pieces! It's 4:45a.m. and I just came in from the garage and am finally calling it a night... How about I buy you a ticket to fly down here to California and you can put your skills to good use for the next five days. LOL!!! In all seriousness, the shop has just informed me that they won't be able to complete my ring and pinion swap in a single sitting, as they are up to their necks with on-going projects. Losing that second day is really going to hamper my finishing in time to make it to the border by Wednesday night. I may need to bow out of the Thursday cruise to be able to have a driving vehicle at the balance of the meet. Doug

Thanks Robert. Who did you purchase it through?