72 LS5

I texted Steve as soon as I saw that picture in the mag. He confirmed. It's one of a kind with that hood.

That box is awesome - you must have bought a whole pallet of them! I have the 2 green ones (unbuilt) posted above and all sizes of the metal Tokyo Drift car.

Tower Hobbies is advertising this Monte as "New". It may be one of those 2 in 1 kits because the car in the pic is clearly not an SS454. Not cheap! http://www.towerhobbies.com/promos/e-mails/plastics-email-1115w2.html

Great find Joe! My 72 454 with ac came with a 4 core.

Neat! 18.6 mpg? I get like half that!

I suspect that you need to get the accelerator pump cam kit along with a large squirter. Then you can pick a pump cam with the steepest ramp just off idle. You may have to mess with the number 1 or number 2 screw positions for the cam. When installing a new cam, be sure to take any slack out of the pump arm so it barely rests on the cam (with the adjustment nut over the spring of the arm). Have a look at this pic with the cams all lined up and the difference in profiles. BUT, before that, be sure your initial timing is set properly. Many an engine has stumbled or been sluggish with not enough initial timing. I used to run about 12-14 initial and about 36 total on my 454. Vacuum advance helps off idle as well. That manifold should run well with the peanut port, as long as its made for the peanut port heads and not 0val ports? Can't imagine why there's not torque. Check firing order, vacuum leaks, and basic stuff - sometimes something gets overlooked.

That's pretty cool! So the 350 and 400 detents are the same? I imagine they would be........

The trans guy suggested cutting off the side tabs for clearance - I don't run the inspection cover anyway. Apparently its a lot more common practice than I thought, but I left them on there anyway.

Since I stubbornly refused to remove my headers to get the trans back in, I bought a tilting trans jack. You think I was able wheel this thing under the car like this? No way. Had to slide the trans and jack individually under the car, then get the trans up on the jack under the car. Twice (converter wouldn't seat). What a pita, but its in now. Waiting on 3 more qts of Amsoil before I can test it out! Can't wait.......

Doug - thanks a lot for the details! $1600 is a lot less than I suspected. The 4L80 is the only overdrive I'd consider other than a gear vender. I will definitely be looking into that now. The OD is nice, but most of my driving is bopping around town. The 3.31s are great for that. Maybe I would do more highway if I had the OD....dunno....but I have the Challenger with the 6-speed for that kind of travel. Since the 4L80 is longer, the driveshaft would need to be shortened. What about the speedo gear? Thanks Mike

Cory - a good burnout is fun for the whole family! We never outgrow it. I posted this burnout a few years ago.....started slow, but floored it about 50 yards out: Great story Doug! So hard not to take revenge for something like that, but they will get theirs...... You say you have the 4L80 - what would you say the typical conversion from a 400 would cost? soup to nuts.........

Heh - its usually pretty close only scuffling from like 60-85 or so, but in a 1/4 mile, I think I'd spank him pretty good. He's got a 454 with a 5-speed - super nice car. David and Doug - thanks for the input. I think the plan is to rebuild locally and get an aftermarket converter. My current converter is actually a locally built unit. I don't know much about Freakshow but I betcha I can dig up a bunch of stuff on the Chevelle board. Thanks! Mike

That's what I get.........just hours before I was shooting my mouth off how I haven't had the trans rebuilt since 1994 (about 60k ago). Coming back from a car show Sat night my buddy pulls next to me on I95 in his 69 Yenko Chevelle clone......we did a few 60 - 85 mph WOT passes and then second gear wouldn't hold anymore. It downshifts to 2nd and redlines every time I floor it. Anyhow, I'm probably going to pull it and have the same guys rebuild it. It would be a great time to go overdrive, but with the limited amount of highway use and my 3.31 gear, I really don't think its worth the money or added complexity. As far as converter, I like a mild converter, but also want something efficient at the top end. Coan has gotten good reviews here, but would it be worth it for me as I only want a 2500 stall speed?

I'm running the air gap rpm as well with a drop base and a 3.5 element. No issues. The 3.75 element would barely brush against my hood with no hood insulation. For my hood clearance test, I take make a loose ball of tin foil and put it on the air cleaner (play doh works too) and close the hood to the first latch, make a visual inspection, then close all the way. I love the WIX racing filters as you can get them in 1/4 inch size differences to fine tune the biggest element that will fit under your hood.

Looks like 502 rings! This thing should run strong....what trans and rear? I've got 10.6 cr and it seems fine on 93 octane, you should be good.

Great run Dave!!! Wish I was running those times! Hoping to get to the track myself in a couple weeks.

Those came out great!

Too Funny! great pic, btw!

Congrats! Looks like a blast to drive!

Sam - I hope Pypes has fixed that problem! I have the Race Pros as well (3" system) and am very happy.....so far.... Resonably quiet, no drone, sounds great.

Nice!!!!!!

I love the guy hammering the living daylights out of those knock-offs like a madman!

Very nice!!! The rpms come down so fast when you let the throttle snap back - I love that.

Nice runs Dave!!!

Looking great Dan! Love the stance of both cars. Love the steering wheel too.