Jason72

Glad you got it sorted out!!

If I was in your shoes: follow the video I posted earlier plug vacuum port like you mentioned Get engine to operation temp set idle speed as low as possible advance distributor 2 degrees at a time until idle stops increasing readjust carb mixture and speed to maximum vacuum repeat as many times as needed Back off timing 2-4 degrees If timing makes it hard to start, put vacuum to advance can and reset timing to where it was in the previous step. Set timing curve with mechanical Advance. check rotor phasing and adjust as necessary

The first 3.5 minutes of this video are extremely important on a performance engine

The purpose of a pressure cap on a radiator is to pressurize the system. When you pressurize a liquid, you raise the boiling point of said fluid. I agree with the drilling a 1/16 hole in the thermostat. It will allow the air to pass through the thermostat as you fill the system if the thermostat did not have coolant at the underside of it, physically touching it, it will not open at its specified temperature. The steam isn’t saturated with heat like the liquid coolant is. If the temperature gauge is in the head it will definitely show hotter if air is under the thermostat. I always hook up all of the hoses, fill the engine through the thermostat opening to the top, install thermostat and then top off radiator.

My suggestion would be gather as much information about the parts you have, vehicle weight, transmission and rear gear ratio along with tire size. Call any of the cam manufacturers and ask them. That will get you the closest to what you want the first time.

What are your plans on what you will be using the car for? Street strip, hot street, grocery getter, autocross, ect?

If you roll the lips, heat them up with a heat gun to soften the paint so it doesn’t crack

Converter slip is calculated by engine rpm compared to input shaft rpm. It’s easy to compare on newer transmissions with input shaft speed sensors but in the case of a th400 the easiest would be compare engine rpm to drive shaft rpm in 3rd gear. This is typically done at wide open throttle it can only be adjusted by changing the angles of the fins inside of the torque converter

Sound isn’t great but…

My car is lowered, 17x9.5 wheels, shock tower bracing, ford 9 inch with front and rear axle tube bracing, 9 inch vent in trunk, over sized fuel tank and some other goodies. My car gets tracked at nascar tracks, drag race and auto cross. Trust me, there’s no room. I had custom made side exits before. Having the exits under the car is a huge improvement.

So far so good. I don’t really have a choice in the matter anyway…

I installed the exhaust today. (3” pypes H bomb with race pro mufflers) I was not able to use the tail pipes because of the bracing on the rear axle, the frame braces I put up in the shock/spring areas. I put some nice turn down tips on that dump right in front of the rear axle. I took my time with the rest of it and tig welded all of the joints except for the mufflers. I’m really happy with how it turned out and sounds. I’ll get a video this weekend. Thanks for all who contributed.

Measure from the floor to the frame on both sides and front to back. That will tell you if it’s suspension (probably is springs) look at the body mounts while your under there I had a front spring go bad on my car a few years ago. I had already replaced the rears but the rear of the car looked worse than the front. All about weight distribution

I saw them. Thanks

So I ordered a pypes 3” h pipe kit with the race pro mufflers. I’ll see how it sounds. If needed I’ll put resonators in the tail pipes