John Burns

First off- good luck in Hawaii! Now about the motor... I understand that you don't want to touch the bottom end, but I would be concerned that the fresh heads will seal better and pull oil through the old rings. I've had it happen more than once and it turned my ride into an oil-smoke crop duster. You have the motor out- pull it apart and hone it and re-ring it. Another thing that I've found that big blocks love is to have the block decked. This provides more compression (power) while at the same time improving the quench in the combustion chamber... this will help with detonation. This works well for the bigger big blocks at least- not sure about a 402. But ask a decent machine shop for more details. That intake looks interesting- looks like an Eddy Air Gap- Summit is trying to take over the world!

Oh that! 11.95 @ 112.9 I'm pretty happy with that considering I did zero prep. I woke up and thought- "it's nice out- track time!", shook the wife and told her I'd be back in a few hours and drove to the track. I didn't even bring any tools- fun way to start the weekend!

I would, starting from whatever the stock sizes were, increase the secondary jets the same number of sizes you increased the primaries.

I like it too- I drove the car about 100 miles yesterday- 2 passes at Cecil included. No issues with belts! It is March pulley set: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MCH-7640/ (with -08 for black p-coat). The ps pulley is not included- you have figure out what pump you have and order it separately.

March V-pulleys huh? I didn't trust the V enough to try it. Of course, now I am interested! I don't hate the flat belt, but you guys are right, they just look right with Vs. Maybe I'll give them a shot- someday! Here is what it looks like

I have the same set up- 1/2 pick up and 1/2" to the pump. You don't need the sump! Try the Holley pump before you hack up the gas tank- it is an easy swap and not too expensive. The Holley is rated at 170- the eddy at 110.

I had the stock GM big block pulleys and it just kept throwing belts. I tried different pulleys, a zillion different ways to align them... nothing. It seemed that it got much worse when I got the car making more power. And all of this is even more frustrating because my 10-second Camaro has a v-belt that is miles long and it never jumps off! The big difference is that the alternator is on the drivers side on the Camaro. I am not a fan of aftermarket stuff, but I was desperate. I got this March pulley set: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MCH-7640/ (with -08 for black p-coat). Love it- I have been beating the poo out of the Monte and it isn't even a thought any more... (and it runs a few degrees cooler too- nice side bennie.) Not that I'll go back, but I would love to know the secret to an 11-second big block with stock pulleys and belts. More than a few of you are there!

Well into the 10's! Congrats! What kind of pump do you have? I have this Holley pump in my (540) Camaro. It is well into the 10's as well @ 125+mph. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HLY-12-454-20/

C'mon- try the staggered jetting!

Did you ever fix this? I saw your other post about the fuel pressure gauge- this sounds like the what happened to my friend's fuel system. The fuel filter was clogged. You couldn't tell anything from sitting at idle revving the motor, but it was a mess to drive.

I'm wondering why you would change the bearings? How many miles are on the motor? If the motor is healthy, and it sounds like it is, I would figure out and fix your cam problem and leave the rest alone. If you end up needing to pull it apart and completely rebuild it, it won't be cheap. (Everyone's definition of a "fortune" is different! ) And at that point, find a 454 and rebuild that- costs the same and will make much more power!

Ok- no debate. And the carb was built right.

Steve- what I did was stagger side to side (no I wasn't drinking too much!). The car has never run better- runs much cooler, doesn't stink as much, pulls to 6000+ and not even a hint of pinging. It was certainly worth the 20 minutes (with a 5 minute beer break) it took to change the jets!

A carburetor is a very simple device actually. There is not much new "technology" except for some features that do not add up to a step-change in performance over the 50+ year-old Holley 4150 design.

Hey- y'all hijacked my thread! So I've put some miles and many wot beatings on the Monte since the jet change. Still runs stupid quick, (need a track date when it cools off), no more pinging... and the other BIG plus- it is running easily 10° cooler. Davey, I'd consider your idea with the jets, but it is just too perfect to mess with!

hmmm... you don't want them to touch anything really- it'll invite leaks, weird noises, and other potential maladies.

hmmm... what does NSFW mean? I walked by the Monte and Camaro in my bazillion degree garage on my way into the a/c. (It is hot, but I'll take it over the cold....)

You'll know when you fire it up- hope there is no noise of a rocker kissing the cover! Someone makes a thicker gasket- check summit. I have rollers under those valve covers too- I love that look!

Have any of you big block guys ever played with staggering the jets in your Holley? My 454 has always pinged a little bit in the upper RPMs (unless I dump a little race fuel in it). I ran across something about factory ZL-1s (in 1969) having staggered jets. I tried it- no pinging and it pulls like a freight train. It also seems to run cooler. Supposedly this is good for dual plane intakes (I have Performer RPM). My 800 doesn't have a power valve in the back, so I went up 10 sizes in the back. Check your shop manual for 69 Chevrolet. In the back under specifications section 6m, it gives the specs for stagger jetting a ZL-1 Holley 4 bbl(primary throttle side #82, choke side #78 and secondary throttle side #80 and choke side #82). Keep in mind that ZL-1 motors came with open dividers on their dual plane manifolds.

Eaton Truetrac: http://www.eaton.com/EatonCom/ProductsSe...etrac/index.htm I have this in my Camaro in a 9" (I'm sure they make one for the Chevy). Read the description- it is true: no noise, no clunking; acts like it is "open" until you need it. No clutches to wear out I'm not sure how they break- I'm trying- I beat the crap out of mine. Highway, full-throttle blasts with sticky tires... this is in 10-second, 3900lb car with a 540.

Go out the back with the pipes- the noise and dust created by turn downs suck. Not sure what kind of performance or "attitude" you are looking for... I went through a whole mess of pain with my exhaust and I am really happy with my x-pipe, 20" magna-flows and 2.5" tails from TT. Don't get hung up on the loop- you can make it fit and keep it all nice and tight. Unless you are running deep 10's, a 2.5 system will be fine. I get a big kick out of my friends telling me how quiet my rides are - especially after I scare the hell out of them with the power!

I had my dash off today and I stumbled across a slick way to make sure the screws along the front edge don't pull out. Mine have all pulled out and the dash didn't lay flat across the edge- looked pretty crappy. Anyway, I got some of these plastic drywall anchors, cut the tip off and screwed them into the dash screw holes. Installed the dash and now it sits nice and tight against the dash. (I don't have a good before shot, but it was sticking up really high all the way to the left). before after

That is exactly how it works- I put one in recently. I really didn't like how hard it was to "find" first- keep hitting the top part of the piece. (Also, I couldn't get used to pulling the lever up to "slap-shift" from 1-2.) I ended up cutting that off the top piece and welding it back on under the 1st gear ramp to make a more "severe" 1-2 shift. The best part about this piece is it makes it impossible to shift into neutral without pulling up the lever. A big drop between 1-2 makes it feel more "positive" when shifting, but it is still possible to go from 1-3. But I prefer that over going from 1,2, or 3 into neutral at WOT... which I've done, with N2O oh oh oh....

I also used a silver metallic painters pen from an arts and crafts store. One thing I found was that the pen came with a squared-off tip which wasn't easy to work with. But the tip pulls out of the pen and it is rounded on the other side- this is much easier to make clean lines with.

Update... ah ha- not the timing light! I pulled the distributor today and found the "stop bushing" had fallen out. I have an old MSD 8461 (they made them from GM cores I think) and the bushing hangs on a peg retained by a c-clip. Anyway... put the bushing back in and the timing was rock solid. Now to undo all of the little tweaks I did trying to correct this issue- of course it is raining and will be in the teens tomorrow!