Archie

Does he have a receipt he can show you? Definitely call the trans shop. I have a th400 done up real good w/ultra bell, reverse manual shift pattern, all heavy duty parts, good hard shifts also a deep heavy cast aluminum pan that cost me just under $1600.00. If you get conformation that trans is fresh than I think it is a good deal.

It depends on what your goals are with the car. If you just want a cruiser/show car, than the 396 would be fine. If it's a street/strip car and you want some good power than I would definitely go with a 454. The reason being is that there is many 454 combos you could copy without doing any guessing on what you'll have. Either way BBC's are cool!

Looks good.

Would really like to see a pic of them installed. I'm a big fan of your car.

That is a nice looking machine!

Very nice! Is that a fabricated CAI, or was it bought like that?

Thanks, that looks great!

I have no timeline to rush me, other than I really want to have a car to drive this summer sometime. I like to do things right the first time. I have no interest in having a show car, but I do want it to be nice and clean.

Obviously this didn't happen in a month, been dealing with all kinds of fun that life throws at you and honestly I lost the itch. 2 of my distraction are good ones as my daughters are now 3 and 5, and they like to come into the garage with me. I have recently got the itch back and have been getting back into it. Modified my trans mount, measured the driveshaft length that I will need and started into getting the wiring all sorted out. Also just picked up the Ground Up disc brake conversion kit for the front as mine was all drums. Just need to keep the momentum, lol.

Wow man! I just read through all of this, well done and way to put your head down and just push through all the bad luck. I know you got your ignition issues fixed, just thought I would add something. I went through something similar when I had my 75 Vega where it kept breaking up at the top end ~7000 rpm in 2nd gear and I was pulling my hair out trying to figure it out. Even talked to the MSD guys as it was a 7AL2 that I had, and eventually it was a promod guy that figured it out for me. He suggested I tighten up my plug gap to no more than 0.025 gap, which was opposite to what the MSD guy was telling me. After trying a bunch of things I changed the plugs and closed the gap to what he said and the car never ran better. Anyways this was a great thread, good luck this year you are do for some good runs.

My thoughts are with you and your wife.

Hey, I wonder if the camaro has enough motor? Nice pics.

I may have to go to Norwalk. Not to far from me.

Sounds like a good day at the track.

I think SSwolf was one of the first to do the Monte swap. I really want the car to be a good cruiser so I can drive it alot.

The LQ4 is the 6.0L, that came in the trucks. Mine is out of a 2004 2500HD series. It's an iron block with aluminum heads. I bought all my stuff through www.hiltonmotorsports.com . I could've pieced it together a bit cheaper but Bob Hilton has been great for letting me pick his brain when I need to. The wiring harness was done by Howell. It looks great, soon I will see if it works. It's taking a bit of time with me doing it by myself, but that's why we love this hobby anyway, haha.

I am quite excited myself. Kind of the best of both worlds, with the vintage look and a little modern technology. A little info: 2004 LQ4 6.0L (32,000Km) 4L60E (rebuilt w/ shift kit, 2300 stall) truck intake stand alone harness and ECM 3.42 gear Covan's dash w/ autometer gauges I am going to keep the column shifter and bench seat.

Just a couple of pics. Hopefully I will be done in a month or so.

AFR 305's with the CNC chamber option is what will be going on my motor. If you want a cheaper head, it sounds like the Patriot head might not be too bad. You can research them on team chevelle as well. The Patriot has a big runner (320) for cruising though.

How big is the dome on the pistons? You will need a bigger cam to go with those heads. I agree with Sam that Chris Straub would be the guy to call for a cam. Actually save yourself some research and call Chris and tell him what you have and what your plans are and he will help you out. There is no need for you to reinvent the wheel, these guys have put many combo's together.

I am ordering a whole 12 bolt from Moser. They seem to be reasonably priced too.

My vega was all race. Only weighed about 2300lbs. Racing is an addiction. The Monte will still be pretty quick, hoping for high 11's.

1975 Vega, 355 in front of a powerglide. It launched hard with a 1.32 60'. The best it ran was 10.01 @ 132. I wanted to get it into the nines but decided to sell it because my first kid was on the way. The Monte will be a street car so we can cruise.

Sometimes I wonder why I sold that car. But now I have a Monte!

Just thought we could use a good burnout shot, lol. Sorry it's cold and snowy, I'm just dreaming out loud.