680HPStroker

As far as pulleys go you can forget about stock with any large cubic inch, or big HP motor as they will always throw the alternator belt if on the passenger side. I switched to March deep V pulleys a long time ago and have never had any issues throwing belts.

What Mike said. For the money you can't beat a Vortec head. If money is not an option I say go AFR, or go home(JMHO).

It's really all about personal preference these days. IMHO gone are the days when it was difficult to tune a Holley for economy and performance. With all the custom Holley carb builders out there who have exceeded Holley's original design reliability is not an issue either. I have a six year old 1050 Dominator built by AED and it has never missed a beat once it was properly tuned and yes it's a street car. Tuning is key no matter what carb design you go with. In performance applications rarely is an out of the box carb going to be one you can just bolt on and go.

I don't know what you have for heads and a cam, but in it's last configuration I used a Holley Strip Dominator intake with a custom AED 850 carb. With my AFR 315 heads and a big hydraulic roller cam my 489 with a custom built 700R4 was a beast on the street. My dyno guy stated he had never seen/heard a big block spin up as fast as mine did. With the advent of your carb story I'm wishing I'd have stayed where I was vice where I'm at now since I'm not going racing. I'm thinking in a couple years of de-tuning and return my car to cruiser status again.

What Leo says makes sense. I've had the same issue with both stock and aftermarket axles and springs with 275/60/15 tires with wheels that have 5" of backspacing. I only rub once in a blue moon if I get real crazy in curve/corner and it's very slight so it doesn't cut the tire and I can't see it.

A series 3 Eaton carrier and a set of 3.42's and call it a day. It gives you room to grow a little down the road.

Depends on how much volume outside the car you want. I pefer stealth mode so I went with 3" Dynomax mufflers to go with my 3.5/3" Torque Tech x-pipe exhaust system. My exhaust sounds fairly tame just putting around, but when I put my foot through the floor it screams.

With the El Camino spring how much more are your shocks extended?

I agree with the Tru-Track, but if you want to still have a 12-bolt there is company out there called Tom's Axles that sells a custom Eaton carrier where they shim it and use no springs at all. It's the unit I have and I'm very happy with it. For anything over 400HP custom 33 spline forged alloy axles are a must. The 30 spline stockers are not up to the task for serious HP. Don't forget to get a forged 4340 pinion yoke(same goes for the slip yoke on the tranny). Another option is to convert to bolt in axles with weld in bearing housing ends(C-clips gone for good).

AFR, AFR, AFR. In that order. It's your money and there are lot's of opinions out there. If you go to a track the heavy hitters are either running Dart Pro One, or AFR.

carbs are tricky and I'm no expert let alone a novice, but I rely on a guy who is a carb guru to tune my 1050 AED Street Dominator. If you have 454 cubes with somewhat of a radical build, or more than 454 with a milder build you can effectively utilize a carb with over 1,000 cfm. It's all in the tune. If you are still unhappy after all your efforts find a guru who specializes in performance carbs.

For the hundredth time call your favorite cam manufacture and get the tech help you need to spec out the proper cam for your application. Make sure the person you are taliking to is at least 30 years old and has is a hot rodder/racer for a long time. There are very few off the shelf cams that are a perfect fit for a given application. If your manufacture doesn't ask you all the details about your car and it's driveline, hang up and call one who does.

Guess I ought to catch up on my reading since I haven't looked at an NHRA rule book in about five, or so years and my memory is gone.

Careful. I'm not 100% sure, but I think if you break out at 10.99, or lower you will need an eight point cage. No more roll bars for you.

Nice runs. I agree with you about your converter, but don't be afraid of 4.11 gears. That's what I run and although it's not optimal for cruising I can live with it. Actually moving up from a 3.73 to a 4.11 isn't that much of a jump. IMHO if you got your converter right, suspension dialed in, and went for a 5.56 gear with a Gear Vendors I think you might be very suprised just how low your ET will go. As far as air cleaners go if it will clear your hood K&N makes a 16" assembly that flows almost 1,100cfm, but I don't remember if you are using a 4150 style carb, or a 4500 dominator series. The 4500 is what the air cleaner assembly is made for. I found a guy on eBay who was making inserts for 16" air cleaner assemblies that allowed you to use a 14" extreme lid. You could make your own. I believe I know I have way more airflow than I'll ever use, but I believe in overkill. Mid 11's is nothing to sneeze at. Especially for a street car. Keep it coming.

Valvoline doesn't have the corner on the market for zinc/phosphorus additive in their oils synthetic, or otherwise. Both Amsoil and Royal Purple have been doing it since day one.

Yes, but do a cost comparrison between conventional oil using the additive and a synthetic oil like Amsoil, or Royal Purple with their zinc package already in the oil and see which route is more economical.

You may not like this, but doing things on the cheap almost always goes south somewhere down the road. Instead of asking all these questions just wait until you can afford to get what your cam manufacture tells you is required for your valvetrain for your camshaft. There is no substitute for peace of mind every time you turn the key to crank over your engine knowing you cut no corners. JMHO.

Your RPM at 70MPH sounds all to familiar. It's a love/hate thing for me with those numbers. One day a Gear Vendor's unit will make it all love. To much invested in the Turbo 400 to ever go back to a 4 speed overdrive.

Either Amsoil, or Royal Purple oils don't have to comply with the government regulations about zinc content allowing them to have an overall good amount of zinc additive in their oils. I use both in 10W40 and always have exellent results with heavy breathing 454/489 BB. For my engine Royal Purple seems to have the lowest amount of oil consumption.

JMHO, but I agree with David about Torque Tech. Just talk to them and they will hook you up with the correct system for your car for today and any performance goals down the road. I have one of their 3.5" X-pipe systems that necks down to 3" in front of the mufflers. I run Dynomax mufflers to be in more of a stealth mode on the street, but when I whack the throttle hard it will sound off with the best of them. My stealth worked until I had to switch to a 4" cowl hood a couple years back do to upgrades under the hood. Now the cats out of the bag.

If they are tall valve covers they will not clear your factory 11" brake booster. You can go with a smaller booster, switch to hydroboost, or buy tall marine valve covers designed for center rise exhaust manifolds. They have a slant to them that will clear your brake booster. They all come from China, but are decent quality. I'd steer clear of polished ones as as soon as you try and polish them you will work your butt off to try and get them to shine back up. I'm having a new set powder coated for that very reason. Hope that helped.

Any builder can make a claim that their tranny will hold 1,000HP(for one run) and that isn't false advertising. Art Carr from what I've heard is a reputable company, but seriously do your homework. Go to the track and see if anyone is running a 200R4 and if so how long has it held up and how many times did the owner have to have someone rebuild it. My gut tells me that more than likely at what will be your power level there will be no one drag racing with a 200R4. You might find a couple 700's, but at over 600HP they didn't last for more than a full season of continuous racing every weekend. Racers will give you the skinny on what holds up and what doesn't. Numbers on a website, or statements made during a phone call don't mean squat. Remember what Fram used to say "you can pay me now, or you can pay me later". In the end it's your money and you have to live with the results. If you are going to race I can tell you that vacumn secondary carb isn't going to cut it. I know you keep saying you are on a budget, but this isn't a race to get it race ready. When it's done it's done no matter how long it takes. As always JMHO.

with a 15" wheel 8" is as wide as you can go and you will need 5" of backspacing and a 275/60 tire will be the biggest tire you can run without any fitment issues(no modifications whatsoever). Many have tried different setups and it just didn't work with a 15" wheel. Use another diameter wheel and you have more options.

Maybe for the 4150, but there are some significant advancements in 4500 style carbs to make them much more street friendly, but I'm not going to get into a debate about carb technology here. I just know what I've seen, felt, own, and I'll leave it at that.