72 LS5

I was just kidding about the money..... Hey, good thing the master died at the beginning of the track and not the end!!

That is a bummer! Hope you got your $25 entrance fee back!

That's a thumper, no doubt - I gotta hear that cam.....

What are the specs of the new cam? Should be a cold weekend - that air will help a lot!

We have a Modifiers Section on the board???? I've done all my lurking in the Engine and General Sections! Andy - sorry Dude, just now saw this post! Now I know what makes that 496 tick. With duration in the 250 degree range, how's them brakes? Sounds like you may need to step up a header size too. With 10.65 compression, do you need to run octane boost?

I'm playing catch-up here. Don't kill me, but where is the post with all the specs of the engine and car??? Yeah, racing in the heat is like racing at 5000ft. Figure a good 4 tenths off in perfect air!

Andy - do you keep the blue car at the shop? I think I should stop by and look/listen before doing anything. It's a 3" system?

So the Magnaflows drone? I've heard the Flowmasters drone too. What doesn't drone? Andy - I don't think I heard your 71 - its been a long time since I was up there, and your monte wasn't there that time.

Hey Andy -I'm finally using them aluminum heads!! I'm trying to decide which exhaust system. Flowmaster is over the top with the noise for me - I take the kids to school in this thing like 2 times a week. The magnaflow system is beautiful.....looking into it. Decisions decisions.

Thanks! 3 inch system may be overkill, then. Unless I bump the power to 600 one day......

Well, I can't bolt on rusty headers on a new engine so I'm probably going to take Levanti's advice and get the 2 inch Hoookers. I can't bolt new headers to a 22 year old exhaust system so I'm considering the Magnaflow. But is 2.5 inch enough or do I need 3 inch? This is basically going to be a 525 hp engine. The car has been lowered slightly, and clearance is important. What do you guys have??

I'm with Tim - the compression seems high for iron heads. Most aftermarket aluminum heads are 110cc since you can run a higher c/r with aluminum. If you swap heads later, you won't have to touch your bottom end. OR, Rather than investing in modifying your iron heads with port work and bigger valves, I suggest springing for the aftermarket heads now - it will only be a few hundred more. You will have brand new heads that flow better and save about 70 lbs off the nose of your car!

Great interview! I'm curious if it was a buckets and console car.

Congrats FGMC owners! Wish I coulda been there!

Hey Andy........pm sent

You gotta sneak a peak at that VIN and look for the W like Jared said - then you would at least know its a real 454. Either way, no SS 72s have ever been revealed my 24 year FGMC addiction. I think its time to squash his pipe dream, before others get corrupted........

Steve - just saw the video and WOW! The car sounded so good w/o the cut-outs, I didn't think it was possible to sound better - nice job!

Sandlewood interior would be the obvious choice for me! Regarding the 4-speed - 1st gear is probably worth about 60 mph with the 2.56s!

Guys - what about the Canfields that Don used to promote (not to bring up a sore subject )???? I've seen the flow numbers and they seem like a good street-strip head for the money.

Justin - there have been different posts to search about this. I did mine so long ago, I'm not sure which wire I spliced into under the dash. The original coil wire is a resister wire, and I used that for the first few years like you, but I changed it to a full 12 volt "keyed" power source years ago. You need to find a 12-volt source that is on with the key in both the Start position and Run position. Try to search this site for the specifics. This may help you get a more complete burn and less fouling. Mike

Justin - what's up? I gotta stop by the shop one day soon.... That engine really has the peanut ports and not the regular oval ports?? I am going to venture to say that the problem could be on the ignition side with weak spark. Are you running HEI? If so, remember NOT to use the hot lead wire that was for the points coil - its a resister wire and does not have the voltage you need for HEI. What about plug wires? I think MSD has the least resistance of any wire. Good luck! Mike

I'm with Steve on this one. The tips are part of the SS package and I have never seen or heard of them on a 72 Monte. I like the tips so much, it was one of the first things I did to my car!!!!

Allen - you know, besides going to the Abacoa show, I never take Ol' Blue on the highway. I think I'll keep my 400 until it breaks and but at least a 27 inch tire on it in the meantime. As for you, I wouldn't worry about any tranny until yours breaks! BTW, aren't the 4L80s like over $5k????

Stroker - I have to address what you wrote above. I think we agree that neither one of us would put a stock 700r4 or 200r4 behind anything modified. But to say 200r4 cannot be built to handle the levels of 700r4 is just not true. Here's one company that makes them to handle 800 ft/lbs: http://www.ckperformance.com/resources/GM2004RTRANSMISSIONS.html and there are others. Even GM chose the 200r4 in its 70 Chevelle resto-mod to showcase its 502 crate motor. Both trannies can be built for big block power, so then its just a matter of which gear ratios do you want and which requires less work to fit.

as for the big drop in ratios, everybody quotes this.. and it's usually the people who don't use 700r4's. I mentioned this because my daily driver is a 98 Trans Am with the 4L60E (just an electronic 700r4). If I nail it at speeds of around 30-40, it won't downshift to 1st because first is too low, and it lugs in 2nd, because its too high, until it hits the powerband. A loose converter should put a band-aid on this issue, but I never liked that slipping feeling of a loose converter. The 200r4 still has a good first gear ratio of 2.78 which is still a lot better than 2.48 for the 400. It would make my 3.31s feel like 3.73s in 1st..... The 200r4 vs 700r4 will always be a source of debate! My turbo 400 has been such a good tranny, I hate to ever give it up! In my opinion, its the toughest tranny out there.