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I can also add TCI to the list. I wouldn't do the Autozone set up if it is the old style that uses the o-ring. Buy a tube that uses the new style cone seal. It is more money but well worth it.David

Well James maybe I can muddy the waters a bit lol. Would probably need a little more info about your combo. What is the first gear in your trans for starters? The lower the first gear in the trans the higher gear in the rear end you will be able to get away with. Also are you goung to be doing a lot of highway driving? 4000 rpm at 60mph can stress some people out. what is the rest of your engine combo. What rpm is the hp and torque peaks? Two ways that I personaly lean for a 454/4speed combo are a 12 bolt rear with a mid 3 series gear for the street. 12 bolt for the weight of the car and the torque the axles will be receiving The mild gear for the torque of the engine. For example if you have a 2.88 first gear in the trans and 3.42 in the rear that would give you a first gear launch of 9.85 to 1. A M22 with a 2.20 first gear and a 4.10 rear would give you 9.02 to 1. And you could drive yours on the on the highway. Something to think about. P.s. I favor the 3.31 but they are only found used. I have been told you will fell no difference with the 3.42 gears. Well I stirred up enough lol David

Scott, Pretty sure it was the 68190. I couldn't find my paperwork but they are 1 3/4 tubes and uncoated. I got them 4 years ago so memory is a bit hazy. David

Usualy a stock torque converter stalls at about 1300 rpm. David

If you do end up changing cams ( springs too ) take a look at the Voodoo line. The guys at Team Chevelle like the 60203. You might even go the 60204. I have a 60202 ( thanks CHIEF MK ) and am very impressed but would probably be too stock sounding for you. I am going for the sleeper vibe and wanted a wide lobe center (112 degrees). David

X2 I have a set of Hedmans on my 454. They fit great with no grinding or having to relocate anything. I wouldn't recomend using the gaskets that come with them however. I did have some exhaust leaks until I spent the money on Percy's Gaskets. Spendy but a quality product and re-usable. Another David lol

Let me start out by saying I am no expert. But I have played one on message boards LOL. Sam is right. Just use the RWHP as a baseline for tuning. I have read posts on independant people dynoing Mark's (VORTECPRO) engines on their engine dynos and have verified his numbers. But a chassis dyno is a different story--I have heard then refered to as reality checks lol. But they are a great tool for tuning and will give you some hard numbers to verify any tuning changes. David

No shame in making sure. I had to bring in a drive shaft to get it lengthened. It was off of my 76 gmc that I had lifted 6 inches. As I was telling the guy behind the counter how long it needed to be-he looked at me and said "you know it's backwards right?". I had been running it that way for 3 years!!! I think I lied to him and said the truck came that way. When I came back to pick up the lenghtened shaft he had put the trans yoke on the right end for me. Did I mention I used to be ASE certified? David

I have even seen in some cases where you shim only one side. Something I would do also is use the wire guage as a starting point. Then start adding or removing shims and see if it quiets down. If you need more shims I seem to remember the "help" section at Schuck's stocks them. If you do go get new starter bolts you might want to pick up some. At least you don't have to drop the starter all of the way out to change shims. But I hear what you are saying-there are definatly better ways to spend your time. But think of it this way-If you spend the time now you won't grit your teeth everytime you go to drive the Monte. BTW I agree with Mike57 once you find a starter that sounds good keep it and re-build. David

I can understand where you are coming from but in my experience I have never had a transmission take out a torque converter. But I have seen torque converters take out transmissions almost every time. If I remember the fluid flow correctly the transmission fluid will go through the filter before it goes to the cooling lines. But the trans fluid coming from the torque converter goes in to the trans directly. So any metal shavings go in to the trans and tear up the clutch seals. I may be wrong on that but I am tired and too lazy to drag out my old text books lol. The beauty of the turbo 400 is that they were built (some would say overbuilt) right the first time and will handle a large amount of power with a few simple mods. There were also millions made for many years so supply/demand kicks in also. The torque converter that came with it would probably handle the power fine but would be a dog due to the 1300 rpm (aproximatly) stall speed. What the torque converter manufacters used to do was take a core like your 6 cylinder or a vega converter slice it open and modify it to handle the increased power and weld it back up. But with the lack of cores due to attrition they are probably needing to make their own (just a theory I could be wrong). So there is definatly a lot of labor/materials/r&d tied up in a quality torque converter. I know the price sucks but unless you change your combination radically or are chasing another .10 or more in your 1/4 mile time. You should only have to pay the price once. I am running a B&M Holeshot that I bought in 1988. David

I seem to remember your builder is Mark (VORTECPRO). He is known for being able to use stuff that other people might pass up-he made his rep on his head work with iron oval ports. If he is willing to stand behind it give it a go. Buuuttttt-personaly I have seen the devastation that a blown torque converter can do. A friend of mine back in the day ran a vega 4 cylinder converter that probably ballooned on him if my memory is right(pretty sure but this was in 1980 lol). He was lucky that the shards from the stator took out the turbo 350 quickly so that he didn't have problems with the thrust surface of his crankshaft. I agree with what everyone else has said above (especialy me lol)the best way would be a converter from one of the aformentioned companies. I would be interested on how long it would last (the 6 cylinder converter). Of course it's always easier to gamble with someone elses money lol. David

If you're dead-set against retaining your stock stuff that will be fine. But if all you're worried about is the stock bracket you just need to make a spacer that is the width of the exhaust manifold. You can make one from 3/8 inside diameter steel pipe and cut it to length. Then you use a stock exhaust manifold bolt on that one hole. I got mine from Lowe's. I think it was about 3 dollars. David

Oh and the stronger the engine (along with other factors) the higher the stall speed.

I would call the the torque converter manufacturers direct and get their recomendations. Be ready for a slew of questions i.e. gear ratio, car usage ect. I have B&M in mine but it is the old style. I have heard that quality has fallen and there is more slippage than some others. Coan, TCI I have heard good things. Hughes not so good. But I have never personaly used any of them. The adage, you get what you pay for, applies. Good luck David

I would offer him 100.00 to see what he says. But if it really has never been run that's a pretty good price. If I remember the 79's had the idle mixture screws sealed off. The screws were behind the knockouts so if you have the carb off it should be easy enough to fix. Flip it over and you see the setup. Yes it should be a great carb. David

I hate to give too much away about my poor habits---but to help you out. One quart low will not usualy cause the oil light to come on....3 will...oops. So you might want to start checking other things out. The cheapest would be to replace the sending unit. The next I would do is to cut open your oil filter next oil change. Don't use a hacksaw. That would put shavings in your filter. I use tin-snips. Messy but I can't afford one of those filter cutters that Jegs and Summit sells. Chances are you are fine but it would be good to have peace of mind. Unfortunatly I have treated small blocks worse and they have always forgiven me. David

It's like a shift light when it goes on keep your right foot planted all of the way down and count to 300 then let up. Then you can go to the vendor of your choice and start picking out parts for your new, faster engine. So it's a win/win lol. Seriously it's triggered by low pressure usualy caused from the oil pump sucking air from an empty pan. The sensor itself causes the light to go on by grounding the circut. So it's possible that the wire might be touching and grounding it's not the normal cause. P.s. My firebird will do it with a full oil pan after an extended session of doing doughnuts.....or so I theorize lol. David

Good choice on going with Mark. When he first started there were a lot of skeptics. But he has excellent customer service and his engines do what he claims. So he now has an excellent reputation. There will only be two problems with your choice: the long waiting list and having to change rear tires frequently.......

Who have you tried? I have an auto but I always look to see if 4 speed will also work in case I win the lottery. Seems to me Heddman works try part number 68196 to start. Summit or Jegs are both good suppliers. I use both. David

I wouldn't get too worked up about it. While that rear end has a lot of good stuff. It is still weaker than the stock 10 bolt and a lot waeker than a 12 bolt. I guess it depends on what you are using the car for but my thought is why spend money on essentialy a down grade. The s10 rear end will have a 7.5 or a 7.65 ring gear. The smallest 10 bolt in the Monte would be a 8.2. so there is a big difference. Good luck with whatever you decide, David

Wayne, If you decide to get rid of those 2.56's let me know. I might be interested. David

Andy I went to Motive's web site and couldn't get any prices. Do you have a ballpark price. I have never used their stuff before how is the quality? Thanks, David

If it is in fact an original factory HEI and not a knock off (quality can vary). Then what you need to be carefull of is too much total timing. Most small blocks, except vortec heads, seem to like around 36-38 degrees total timing. This is with vacumn advance unplugged. If you don't have access to a dial back timing light then a timing tape for your balancer is a good alternative. So to answer your question (finaly lol). A good inital setting is 16-18 degrees. But if your distributer advances more than 20-22 degrees then you will have too much total. If you wish there are distributer recurve kits that can be installed (moroso is one manufacturer that comes to mind) that come with weights, springs and a limiter bushing. But check first to see what your set up is before you start switching out parts. Who knows you may get lucky. David

I have a big block in my 70 and I put in a set of Hedman's with 1 3/4 tubes (I think part #68190). I didn't need to move or unbolt anything to install. But I did find that I had exhaust leaks at the head. I will be installing a set of Percy's gaskets to take care of that--oh and checking the flatness of the flanges a little closer this time lol. David

Another thing you might want to check is what type of gas cap you have now. If you plugged all of the vents then the tank has to have air come in to the tank to replace the fuel that is used. So if you have an unvented gas cap there is no way for air to get in. With fuel prices going the way they are this would be a good time to upgrade to a locking one anyway lol. David