zmanabba

X2 on shift kit. I had one in mine with the stock converter and it would rattle your teeth when shifting (impressed my friends but got old). I put a 2400-2800 stall converter and it softened it right up. But it still gets rubber on the full throttle shifts. I feel they are designed to be used together. David

Good score!!!

Also unless it is a Performer RPM for a Q-jet you will need an adapter.The Performer has bolt patterns for both the spread-bore and square bore-the Rpm is square bore only. But for your combo I would go the Performer anyway. I ran one for years when I had the 400 small block in my 70 and it was a great intake. But the stock cast iron isn't a bad intake either for a mild combo. I went with the Performer on mine because I was switching from a 2-barrel and I got a great deal on a used Performer. On the plus side I think it looks better than the stock cast and definatly lighter. You might not notice a performance improvement but definatly easier on the back when you lift it off the block lol.

Well I might not be an expert but I have set up a couple of rear ends and the pattern looks great. I would agree with you on the tooth chip that it was probably flushed out when the cover was changed.If you are happy with the 2.73 gears (I have the same) then don't fix it if it isn't broke lol. David

I agree with all that has been said. Like Davey I also think that if you aren't changing anything else then I would just stay with stock. But if you plan on future mods then I would jump on Andy's offer. I would but I already have one. David

that is a great foundation for a mild or a little bit more engine. My advice is to go with parts for a 300-325 horse engine-those heads will easily support it. You are just starting out. That much will be enough to get you in trouble if you try hard enough-trust me been there lol. David

I would guess street dominator also. If I remember it was when the style was to have a single-plane manifold with small runners to get back the low end touque that single planes traditionaly loose. It would fit with the carburator also it is Holley's attempt to get in on the q-jet market and that combo was very popular in the late 70's earlier 80's. There are much better combo's these days. Are you wanting to replace it? If it were me I wouldn't put a lot of money in to it. Holley did/does make a vacum secondary model. It might be worth it if you can find a used one cheap. I don't thing Holley sells a lot of them. There is probably a reason. I ran the same exact one on my 1972 in 1979 and was much happier with the q-jet. The mecanical secondaries bogged badly if I nailed it too quick. David

I have a b&m 2000 stall in mine that I like a lot. I have heard that their quality has gone down in past years but mine has been great for me. If you post your cam specs there will probably be a lot of people that could give a more accurate choice. Some peoples mild cam can be pro-street for another lol. David

If it helps I vote in dash for the tach. I have one car , my 67 firebird, with the tach on the column and if I could find an in dash unit that I like I would change it. I don't know if mine would be considered retro since I did it that way in 1978 and just left it lol. I am gathering parts right now for the 70 Monte to do the in dash conversion. David

Ouch and yes you are right it is new axle time. I have never heard of a sleeve but there is a special bearing that is used. Basicly what it does is ride on a different section of the axle. But if you are planning any performance usage then do the safest thing and replace the axles. Summit and Jegs both have private brands that are supposed to be stronger than stock. Good luck David

I can tell you what my experience has been with 2.73's. A couple of years ago I ran a 14.50 at I think 97 mph with this combination: 454 3310 converted to an 830 with a proform throttle body, 049 heads with flat top pistons ( maybe 8 to 1 ), Isky mega 286 cam, DUI HEI distributer, B&M 2000 torque converter, turbo 350 trans with shift kit, afformentioned 2.73 gears with posi and 275\60 15 radial t/a's. The combination needs more compression and more torque converter and of course more gear. I just treated it like a powerglide going to the first two gears in the run. I would try the gears out just for fun you will definatly be able to beat my time. David

Not only did you get in the 10's you are well in to the 10's. wow

I remember when I got my 72 it was one of the first things I did to it. I did it for the sound but I found out if I drove normaly-well as normal as 17 year old can lol-I picked up about a mile to a gallon. I wasn't able to afford a chrome air cleaner so I do remember painting the underside of the lid so it would match the rest of the housing and hopefully not look so redneck....it didn't work lol. David

Canuck, My 1970 that originaly came with the 400 2 barrel has a 12 bolt. I think the only ones that came with the 10 bolt were the 350 2 barrel. David

2.73's would be the lowest you can go with that carrier. Not sure how much difference they would be. The lowest you would want to go with a lot of highway driving would be mid 3 series i.e. 3.42. You would also need to change the carrier-which would be a great time to upgrade to a posi. David

Well I just looked at the collage and I saw that the cars top was supposed to be white and original. So it is probably not the one I knew. Which is a good thing. But I still feel bad for this car lol. David

I clicked on the ebay link and noticed the car was originaly from Anchorage, as am I. There is a slight chance I know this car. It is a long shot but there are not usualy too many cars shipped in to Alaska, it costs more to ship anything in since Alaska doesn't export much. Just a lot of fish and ummm oh yeah OIL lol. So space coming in is more expensive than space going out. If it is the car I know then it is definatly not an SS. But it is originaly a big block car. What would be ironic is that was one of the cars that got me wanting a Monte, the first being PHR's "Econo-Performer". When I first saw it, it had a hot for the time 396 (about 425 horsepower) turbo 400 with a 3500 stall torque converter and 4.88 gears in the 12 bolt posi. This was in 1979 and we were all blown away.That car inspired about 8 other similar builds. Mine being one but only a lowly 350 lol. It was triple green with the body being the dark green. The last time I saw the car someone had put a Whipple supercharger on it and painted it black this was in 1981. The car was a local celebrity and everytime it changed hands it brought a premium price because it was "that car". So if it is the same car (I know it's slim) then it would eplain the attitude of the seller. That's what happens when a big fish from a small pond is dropped in to Lake Superior lol. Sorry if I bored you all with my suppositions but it brought back a slew of memories. David

I had one on my 70 exactly like what Rod posted. Same type rattle but everything looked good. Took it off and the spot welds that held the flapper valve to the shaft had broken. David

Ian, I would go for the air bags that go inside the springs. I have those and they work great. Puts the weight on the spring mount where it's designed for it rather than the shock mount. Besides air shocks are so 70's lol (yes I had them back in the day). David

Just to add a bit to the others excellent advice. Usually it's not so much that the bolts are coming loose --it's that the gaskets are compressing as they go through a few hot/cold cycles. That is why you check them after running the car for a few miles. If the gaskets you bought don't work ( they should ) try a set of Percy's. They are pricey but re-usable ( yours are probably re-usable also ). David

The Moser unit is a great piece. Why aren't you going to rebuild your stock unit? That is the reason the Eaton design you have is desired over the Auburn. Both work well but the Auburn's cannot be rebuilt. BTW if your posi is a 3 series ( I couldn't find your combo)and you are going to upgrade to the Moser, shoot me a PM. I am interested. Good luck on your choice. David

Spent all weekend chasing down why my tailights/dashlights are out. Did all of the obvious. Headlight switch, grounds ect. Did find a broken wire on my circut board. Used this as an excuse to order a in-dash tach upgrade that includes new circut board. Not totaly sure this is it but I am buttuning it up before I drive it off of a cliff. I know I am the only one who has ever felt this way lol. David

one possibilty is that the converter nose is a tight fit in to the crankshaft and it takes a bit to seat it fully. Since you have had the same problem with two different converters I suspect there might be a burr or dirt/corrosion build up. If you decide to take it back out ( not fun but best option ) I would check the crankshaft and maybe test fit the converter nose. Probably wouldn't hurt to put a slight ammount of grease ( too much and it will sling all over the bellhousing ) to facilitate reassembly. David

Well I will say that if you have an intact tunnel do not cut it. It is a Monte only item and you will be able to sell it easily. Having said that I had a tunnel that was broken on mine that was probably from a prior owner not replacing the drivers side motor mount in time and the engine moved far enough that the fan broke a chunk out of it. I have an intact tunnel and the correct big block shroud but the shroud needs to be trimmed so that the tunnel will fit inside. So when I first put the big block in mine I cut the broken tunnel to fit so I could get the car on the road. Of course the was about 4 years ago and I am on my 2nd 454. The new shroud and tunnel are still hanging on the wall lol. David

With that 2.64 gear I still wouldn't go any higher than the 3.73. Those two gears combine to a 9.85 to 1. As far as racing the magic number seems to be 10 to 1. So that set up would be perfect. I don't have the formula at hand to see what you would top out at for speed-not sure if that is important. But as far as street with that torquey set up you have you will be able to smoke the tires as long as you want in 1st. 3.42 gears puts you at 9 to 1 so you would probably have the same "problem" with 1st with a little more top end. As far as 12 vs 10 bolt the factory would put a 12 bolt behind a 4speed/454 combo-the bean counters wouldn't let the engineers put a more expensive unit back there unless there was a reason. If it were me I would drive the car with the 10 bolt (driving is the most important lol) but not put any money into it. Except for brakes-safety first and they will change over to the 12 bolt. Enjoy the car and save up in the mean time for the 12 bolt. The only thing that might be needed to change is the u-joint and possible shorten the drive shaft. I got lucky when I upgraded my 67 Firebird and had to do neither. My 70 Monte already had a 12 bolt so I got lucky there also. You could beef up your 10 bolt to take the punishment but the cost would be within hundreds of dollars of what you would spend for a Moser or a Strange unit and would be even stronger than a factory unit. Or you could wait and shop for used parts-the only thing I haven't seen for sale used over the years is the 3 series posi unit. Good hunting lol David