CrazyDavey

looks like a really fun build...one thing you might want to look at is the 2.30 valve....just be aware of where you want the motor to operate. In all the testing we did on mine we found the the 2.3 valve hurt the low lift numbers on my 305's. So if you're keeping peak power under 7000 you might look at some 2.25's....

Will what's the motor, gear and at least estimated cam spec's? A converter will react different depending on the setup it's running in. 3000 is generally not a lot to performance people but there are "tight" and "loose" converters depending on how they're built and that makes a difference on how they drive on the street.

I don't think there is a breakdown of Customs with 454's but they made 1268 in total....triple black is an awesome combo...

454 yes...4 speed no.....

they will do nothing for traction Will...

Evan I think you need to state your overall intention for the motor you want to build. Living a lot in the Chevelle world I see a lot of guys do the 454 motors and they are really a blank canvas, you can take them in many directions. As far as the Hyper pistons go I see no problem using them in your build. They are the middle of the road between cast and forged pistons. Forged are nice but the highest price and can be a bit noisy because of the clearances they run. The Hyper's will give you more strength than the factory cast but also allow you to run the tight clearances for a quieter motor. why such a low compression? Do you want to be able to run it on 87, just wondering. As far as those heads, they are nice heads but maybe a bit of an overkill unless your goal is to make max horsepower with your combo, $2200 is a big investment. A lot of guys run those 049/781 heads, with a small amount of work they can support big numbers (a friend of mine is running 9.40's with a set of worked 781's). So getting back to the beginning, what is the intention for this car/motor combo?

I always knew you were a closet one percenter....

awesome Mike..you're a atar.....I've been watching the new Overhaulin' episodes...the new show is better....

I think Mike is running 4.10's Dave

looks awesome Mike...congrats!! what was the mph?

Hi Romain, for one of my previous Monte's I did the same thing as you're looking to do. For an intake a simple dual plane will be the best choice, something like an Edelbrock Performer would be fine. For a carburetor I wouldn't go much bigger than a 600-650, I prefer a Holley but some guys like the Edelbrock series carbs. I good exhaust system will be necessary, if you put more air and fuel in you have to get it out. Some 1 5/8" headers and a clean 2 1/2" exhaust system will do the trick. You need to give the gears some serious thought, I know you don't want to hurt your high speed cruising but you don't have to. I'm guessing an L48 probably has a 12 bolt so could be 2.56 or 2.73 in there now. Going to something like a 3.08 won't hurt your cruising and will help "wake it up" a ton. I have those exact heads available and can help you with a cam and lifter package if you don't have them already, just let me know if I can help...Davey

lol...that's pretty much how it works Greg...wife to Davey...let's take it to the track and see what it will do...12.60..not bad...I'm in....the smell of rubber, the competition, nothing like it...man 11.99 would be sweet...okay done that, now 10.99 would be awesome....hmmm....gee I'm running 10.20's now, boy if I could get a 9.99....holy cow, 9.50's....hmmm the chassis cert is good to 8.50.... It can be an expensive thing but is also a blast, the racing community is for the most part a great group of people...kind of a life style, I absolutely love it. The thing is to know your car's limitations and don't try to move it past that until changes are made to improve its capabilities. Guys break a lot of things because they don't do their homework on what it takes to support the whole car. Sure sometimes things break but you have a lot of control over that. Typically guys throw a lot of power at a car and don't change the rest of the set up..that equals broken parts....knock on wood in the past three years of racing I've broken one flexplate (cheap stamped one, knocked off 2 teeth) and one ring and pinion (with my new motor), that's about 500 passes. Keep the car within its limitations and it will be fine... on your carb, my Prosystems likes the accelerator pump set as you say "on kill", zero clearance. For that hesitation you might try going up a couple of thou on the squirters....

I don't know about the lower end 350's (I think most of them come out of Mexico) but the ZZ big blocks are hand assembled by a third party vendor. Whether it's GM or private builder there is always the chance of a failure so do your homework. If you had a motor that really made 650-700 hp that's a pretty serious piece. From personal experience with a ZZ502 it took aftermarket heads, intake, ignition and a custom hyd roller to get 654 hp @ 5700.... If you want a crate motor I would lean towards GM simply because of the warranty issues. If you decide to go with something else then do some research on a reputable local builder and talk to them until you feel comfortable.. As far as your LS question, no they are not a direct drop in...there is motor mount work involved along with some other items...not difficult but not direct....

metal is better if you want to put a finish in it and will avoid any future cracking issues. I think most if not all of the metal ones sold for Monte's are really made for Chevelles. You will need to massage some of the holes to get a correct fit, if bolted directly on they can cause the fenders to "bow" slightly at the wheel well openings....

Scott before you get disappointed there is a lot more to it than just a hp number. First the rest of the car has to be up to producing a good number, you also have to consider things like the converter, trans, carburation, ignition, weight...etc...all of this needs to match up to take advantage of the hp/tq. The 2.73's kill it for sure, even going to a 3.08 would help a ton. The 2.73's are keeping the motor from getting to where it can make power. One last thing, the track elevation may be 5400 but the actual air density is much higher than that (what elevation the motor thinks it's at). Looking up yesterday's weather at that track and plugging it into a calculator shows an elevation of over 7100 feet!! Any motor will struggle in that kind of air. The only way to get around it without making the motor too radical would be a supercharger or turbo, sort of create your own atmosphere. Mid 13's is certainly doable but you're gonna have to help the motor some....

thanks guys...I appreciate it....

Alan the main reason you need the bypass is to help get air out of the system. A lot of heating problem with BBC's are really related to having air pocket in the system, they are kinda known for that. It's really important to get all the air out of the system that you can, take your time with that and revisit it several times after start up...you won't believe how much air gets in there...One tip Dave Meziere told me is to jack the left side of the car up when you're putting in the coolant/water, it will help purge the air...since it's a mechanical pump leave the belt off while you're filling it so you can spin the pump by hand with the fan while you're filling it to move the water through the system and push air out....