zmanabba

With what your goals are, the stock valve sizes will be fine. But if you find a set with the larger ones installed don't be afraid to pick them up if they are a decent price. Your desire for 10 to 1 compression is a good one. Big blocks love compression. Just make sure that you don't go too mild with the cam or you will be prone to detonation, I have a Lunati 10110703 in mine and it works very well. If you can get an Edelbrock RPM or similar from another manufacturer, 750 CFM carb, 1 7/8 headers ( I have Heddman can't think of part # ) and a electronic ignition with a good curve. You will make your horsepower goals with no problem. You are right about there being almost too much information. You are in a good position with a running vehicle so take your time and beware of the "more is better" trap during your search. Particularly the stroker crank lol. I struggle with that one myself. David

Migster69 that is some good data that you posted. I also agree that the larger valves are a major mod. I probably shouldn't have mentioned them as it does muddy the waters. To the OP if you can find a set of 781 or 049 heads with stock valves in good shape do not be afraid of running them as is. There are guys on TEAMCHEVELLE running 11's with these. In my case the heads needed to be rebuilt and the machine shop was able to do the upgrade for a few dollars more. It is also a way to save heads that the valve seats have worn out. I hope that my advise helped more than confused things. David

Vortecpro does some amazing things. But those 236 castings are not left as cast. I have a set of stock 236's on the 454 in my 1977 k10. For what the are the are perfect for my truck. But if you are starting with a performance build the best factory as cast heads are the 781 or 049. Like I have on my 1970 Monte. I did have the machine install 2.19 intake valves and 1.88 exhaust valves. The short test drive I was able to do before I put it up for the winter I was able to feel a difference via the "butt dyno" over the stock valve sizes. But I intend to test it fully at the strip later this year. FWIW David

Very nice. My only advice is to drive it as much as you can before you start any projects that would down it for awhile. It is very easy to forget that these are really cars and not garage/yard art. Mission creep is an insidious enemy. LOL. David

That was a very nice car. But it's not the only one. Very easy to get discouraged when you came so close. My advise is to take a breather for a few days and get back in to the search. You also might use the time to list anything that might not be deal breakers. Is there anything that could be added later as long as the car you end up with has good bones. I'm not talking about a full on project car but something that can be driven while you add the goodies. A last final thought. Things could change with the owner of this car. Seeing a much lower price in black and white couldn't have felt good. As long as you parted on reasonably good terms he might call you with a new offer or not. My only advise on that is to not call him. Again I hope that you find your dream car but it might be a marathon. David

That looks like a really nice car. I agree that the price is a bit high. The only thing that I would add to the already excellent advise given is you might want to factor in repair/replacement of the dash if you are going to remove the glove box mounted CD player. I can pretty much guarantee that there is a big hole cut in the glove box to mount that and the dash is all one piece. Unfortunately I have personal experience with this and it is on my list of things to replace. David

Something that I might add to the already excellent advise is that the term " investment " should probably be a relative term. Very few times will you get out of a car what you put in to it. But if you start with a desirable car then you might not lose much or break even when/if it comes time to sell. I try to have the attitude to just enjoy the experience of working on and owning a classic car. I will let my kids worry about selling after I am gone lol. Having said all of that I am happy that there is one more person out to preserve a First Gen Monte. I wish that they all could be saved but that is not realistic. I am not trying to be a wet blanket but I don't think any of us are here expecting to retire from the fruits of our hobby. Good luck on your search. I hope you find a original big block for pocket change. David

The shift kits from B&M are designed to be used with a high stall converter and will feel softer when paired up this way. I remember when I was younger and couldn't afford anything other than a stock converter how the whole car would shake when it did the 1-2 shift. I loved it. My girlfriend not so much lol. Reminiscing aside I too have a feeling the transmission is on its way out. Reverse takes the highest amount of pressure to engage so if you feel that it is slipping in reverse that could be a sign. If you do end up rebuilding it make sure you swap in the shift kit and you will have a transmission that will out last the car. From what I remember filing the separator plate is to make sure it seals correctly and there is no leaks between the fluid channels. In this case I don't think it is the problem. David

Glad you guys are on top of things lol. I was thinking that the cable was just laying on top of the manifold. David

The only type I have seen is a bracket off of the rear of the carburetor that mounts to the same studs that hold down said fuel mixer. The cable goes through this and has ears that expand out and lock in place. If this isn't what you have a picture would be helpful.

Glad to hear it was something simple. I have done the same thing in my Firebird. I drove all of the way to work wondering why the car was so down on power. When I got to work I went to apply the parking brake-but it was already fully applied oops lol. That was years ago and there were no long term ill effects. David

I have Heddman headers on my big block. I think 1 7/8 don't remember the part number sorry. But they fit with no problems and didn't have to relocate brake valve. I have an early 1970 that was originally a small block.

Hmm I have run the TCI and it was a good plate. No experience with the SCAT but probably good also since their engine parts are good. Well there might be a chance that you will have to take the shimming to the next level and shim the outer and inner bolts different. It won't take much thickness to make a difference. But will be a PIA. If you have a source for precision thickness washers I would use them other wise cut down starter shims. When you mentioned that the starter needed to move out a little further then I would start with a thin shim on the inner bolt in addition to what you already have on there. Hopefully you are able to do this with the transmission off so that it is easy to see how the gears are meshing. It is still possible to check any way but it makes it a lot easier. Good news on the starter gear. Hope this all helps. I am going on what I have experienced in the past. Maybe some one will chime in who has a different easier fix. David

Well I will try to help but it might not be good news. First question do you have the correct style starter bolts? The ones with the knurled shank. What brand flex plate do you have? I had some experience with some cheap after market ones years ago that were slightly egg shaped and caused a pattern like. You would check the clearance on a low point and would check good. But when you would try to start it when the flex plate was on a high point the starter would self clearance like you see in your pic. I finally found my stash of oem used ones and put one on and solved problem. I have also had good luck using a SFI rated one from JEGS or Summit. Double check your starter gear it probably needs replacement. It has been my experience that you need to start with new starter gear and flex plate when there is wear problem other wise you have the worn part wearing on the brand new. I suspect that your flex plate is the problem and that the new starter had tighter manufacturing tolerances than your old one. But I can't say for sure. Good luck David

I had to do something similar when I installed a Quicksilver in my 67 Firebird. Make sure the cable doesn't rest on the cross member. For some reason it will cause a horrible resonance. David

I am glad some one else chimed in. I was going to guess core support from my experience with F-bodies but it would have been only a guess. David

Skip White has a good rep but in my opinion the electronics cannot be that durable at that price. Of course at that price you could by a spare and keep that and the tools you need to swap it out in the car. Just hope it's not on a rainy/windy night. JMHO David

I have a David (DUI) that is on it's third engine and has about 140k on it. I did have to replace the module at around 80k. If I didn't have to make firewall mods for the room of the large cap on my 67 Firebird I would have them build a Pontiac version for me. Great people to work with. David

That is a good deal. In the end I feel you will be happy you went this way. Even if the driveshaft shop would have been cheaper you would have had a steeper driveshaft angle (not sure how much). My personal feeling is there is a reason that GM went with the short shaft in the mid-size and smaller cars and long shaft in the larger vehicles. You know if GM could have went with one transmission length and saved money, they would do it. David

Unfortunately you have two choices at this point. 1. Is to shorten the drive shaft. I am not sure the balancing weight would buy you enough and you would have to rebalance the shaft anyway once it's removed. 2. Swap tail shafts and output shafts. This involves complete disassembly of both transmissions and assembly of the one used. FWIW I would do number 2 because I am anal that way but once the meds kick in I should be ok lol. Sorry but this will cost you more money no matter what the choice. One other thing you might check is if you have to relocate the cross member no more money involved but something more that will need to be done. Good luck, David

Daryl sounds like you have a plan. If you are going to re-use your stock converter you will probably be within the budget. I would suggest spending a little more while you are at it and get a quality (key word here) higher stall converter. You will still have the fun but will be able to use the lockout feature for fuel mileage on the highway. I was wondering what you have planned for your speedo hookup? Shiftworks has a conversion tail shaft housing for about 600.00. That and a torque converter have been the hold up for me do my swap. I like the idea of the controller being able to control the shift points as opposed to the governor set up on a turbo 400. In my case I already have a good turbo 400 and I am leaning towards a GV overdrive instead. David

Daryl, sorry no one has answered you. I know that a few guys are running them but the names escape me. I have two of them in my possession that were given to me but I will be holding off for the time being on running them due to the cost. If you don't already know about him check out jakesperformance.com he is very well respected over at team chevelle and has even designed some of his own parts. David

x2 on the Lunati I have the 10110702 in a 454 that is in a 1977 4x4 swb that is very fun with a slight lope. In a 402 it would sound really nice. But if everything else is stock I agree that the 10110701 would be better. There are a lot of guys running the 10110703 in 402's but they have all of the usual mods. David

In my case I bought the largest cooler available from Summit I think (it's been about 7 years) and bypassed the radiator. I was running the small block 400 and a turbo 350 with a 2000 stall converter. I still have the transmission with a 2800 stall converter behind a 454 and no problems to date. By doing this with the 400 an unintended benefit was to have a detonation probable disappear. I have heard that in cold weather areas some like to run the radiator cooler in series to pre heat the trans fluid. But I live in the northwest with no problems. David

Yes put it back in. The lower hose is the suction side the spring is to keep it from collapsing. David