ThirdMC Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 My car doesn't seem to have the power I would expect from it, especially at lower rpms. It won't powerbrake or even spin the tires. The former owner did all the mods to it, or rather, 'his guy that is a mechanic' did. To give a rundown on what I have: 71 with 350/350 and 2.73 gears (No posi) L65 350 motor with all stock bottom end. (Crank, rods & pistons) Edelbrock: 1406 600 cfm carb. 7101 Performer RPM Manifold 60899 64 cc Performer Heads 1721 RPM Fuel Pump Victor Water Pump 2201 RPM Hyd. Roller Cam with Crane Roller Lifters Jegs 1.5 Aluminum Roller Rockers Hedman 1 5/8 tube headers Full MSD Ignition (6 AL Box, distributor & Blaster 2 coil) 6000 RPM Module in it. Billet Specialties V-Trac system. Aftermarket Aluminum Radiator with Electric Fan Full 2" exhaust with flowmasters Stock wheels with 245/60/15 BFG's Transmisssion supposedly has a shift improver kit and Jegs 60400 12" torque convertor (2300-2700 Stall) Now, I'm certainly no expert but, it seems a motor with all this should be a little stronger. Any suggestions on what may be wrong or what I may need to do to perk it up a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyDavey Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Dave the first thing would be the gears. When you start adding cam the power moves up in the rpm range and kills the lowend so you need more gear to compensate. That combo should be fairly responsive, Edelbrock kits are pretty conservative. I don't know how you use the car but if it's just around town a 3:42 or even a 3:73 would really wake it up. If you still like to cruise it on the freeways then something like a 3:36 would still help. Do you know what kind of timing you have? Sounds like it also may not have enough advance/total..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThirdMC Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 Car is used around town. Rear gears are in my plans once I figure out for sure which rearend I have. (I have a post under the Driveline section about that now) I'll also get the timing checked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte70car Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Im thinking the same thing as the crazy one with the timing. I have a friend with a 71 Monte and a jasper motor stock 350 trans and a 2.73 gear set and we can power hop the rear end like crazy. I would say the timing needs to be bump up a few degrees and you will see a difference in the power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 57 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Seems like lots of cam for a 2.73 gear and not much stall in the converter. Here is a link to your cam specs Cam card I would put some gear to it and I think you will have a fun ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThirdMC Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 Yeah, I thought so too. My pinion nut is 1 1/8 so, guess I have the 8.2. Not planning on taking it to the track or building a monster motor so I'll see what I can do with what I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbolt Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Yea, that does seem like a lot of cam for the motor. My motor is very similiar minus the cam and roller set up. I used a Crane energizer series and bored the block .060 and ditched the dish tops for a set of flat tops (I have no idea what brand, bought them at the machine shop that did the block bore). Mine seems to take its time getting to about 40mph then takes off like it was shot out of a cannon. Oh, I also went with the Carter 625 cfm. (My goal was no Edelbrock parts when I built it) I'll bet new gears will turn it into a fun car to drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThirdMC Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 OK, Rearend Guru's...with the 8.2 rearend what do I need to do and what parts will I need to change from the 2.73's to something in the 3.36 - 3.42 range? If you have links, part #'s etc., that would be a great help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThirdMC Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 TTT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrunkMatt Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 I'd say also have a hard look at your carb... I have a similar setup as you and lost a ton of power when I switched to an Edelbrock 1406 I went from a Q-Jet to an Edelbrock... and I no longer have the "off the line" power. Before I switched, my Q-Jet had me lighting up the tires everywhere... the edelbrock is just starved. The Q-Jet has those nice Massive Secondaries that dump TONS of fuel / air. IMHO - the Edelbrock 600 Performer Series are just too conservative. Great on the highway... not for the stoplights. You can, however put some money into the Edelbrock and get it there -- it just needs new needles, a bigger pump-shot, and lots of tuning... Honestly - better off buying a re-furbed Q-Jet --- I'll be putting mine back on once it is rebuilt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72 LS5 Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 My first Monte had you same issue - long duration cam on a 350 with no low end torque. Timing is mentioned - did you get the initial and total timing specs? Make sure your total is 36-38 degrees and all in by 2500 rpms. I like to run vacuum advance too - makes the part throttle more responsive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThirdMC Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 Edelbrock is there because it was on the car when I bought it. Given a choice, I'd probably have gone with a Holley. As for timing, don't have vacuum advance, my model of MSD doesn't have that as an option. Initial timing was set at 10 BTDC and the springs and bushing in the MSD wouldn't let it advance more than about 32 total. I advanced it to about 16 and it was a little better on the bottom end but was stumbling between 65-70 mph. Backed it off to 14 for now and I'm going to try and change the springs and bushings in the dist. this weekend. It seems the advance is coming in too slow. Should get the tach installed today so I can double check it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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