72MC

Awesome Steve. You'll find yourself opening those things alot, enjoying the sound, while your out cruising around. I know I do. - Dave

Friday night would be fine with me. - Dave

That is very sharp, nice work. Thanks for the info. Think I'll have two to send off, El Camino and the Monte. - Dave

Looks sweet David. Gotta love those HP style carbs. - Dave

Capri, I think any of the first three would be fine with me. I picked fri just because I think more people will be at the meet by then. - Dave

David, what is the part number you purchased? Want to keep it in my info bank. Thanks - Dave

And the best way to adhere it to the hood is not to weld it but to use an aircraft epoxy produced by 3M. Good enough for planes it should be good enough for vehicles. - Dave

I have encountered a stubborn plug like that. I used a 12 point socket and impact gun to get it off. - Dave

Yes Summit carries it. Part# FEL-QS-30061-T. - Dave

Tim, I busted your chops about this once before. That is bull. I have a Moroso pan and a felpro one piece and after two years still no leak. Your Moroso contact must have been some kid reading from a tech sheet. - Dave

I have the Felpro one piece oil pan gaskets on a couple engines and have had no issues / leaks. I am very happy with these gaskets. In my experience with these, I do feel that there is a technique to putting them on. First, no rtv is to be used at all. Second, because the valley portion of these gaskets are thicker than the valley inserts in a 4 piece system, it is best to draw the pan to the block by tightening the 4 corner bolts evenly. Then insert and tighten the side rail bolts. After that, since the bolt holes have metal inserts, I forget what I torque them too but it is alot more than what is called for with the 4 piece setups. I have used these gaskets with 7 qt kick out pans from Moroso and Summit with no issues. All my trans pans are thick cast aluminum and I like the paper/fiber type gasket. I coat them up with this red spray style gasket adhesive and have had no leak issues for years. Hope this helps - Dave

David, you could always patch and tube it. If you run tubes though, make sure the tire isn't spinning around the rim at low pressures. I think you already know the results of that situation, thus the reason for rim studs. - Dave

I used the kit that requires the removal of the old roller and then to install the new roller, one must drill, tap the hole, and screw in the new post and roller. Worked like a charm. Did this for the el camino and will soon do it to the Monte. - Dave

Well Greg, I am not going to argue with anybody about this but I will make some comments that you and I have discussed. Originally Posted By: Reds72WMonte Originally Posted By: gooneybird Haha what the hell have I started? Anyway, I'm going to look into this 454 that I spoke of being for sale but I'll see. I'm going to have to compare the price between the upgrades on my 355 and the install of a completely new engine. Thanks for all the advice though, guys! but now what are we going to debate????? Let the debating continue :-). Ultimately a well built big block is the way to go. However, the key phrase is "well built". How many times do we see people throw a big block in their ride, thinking they are unbeatable, only to find they just got smoked by a "streetable" small block. It doesn't take a beast of a small block to wip a plain jane big block. If you have not seen this scenerio, well, open your eyes, no offense intended. As far as small block reliablility at high revolutions, please, did someone really go there. It's a chevy small block, they are the best blocks every made. If your running a small block 6000-9000 rpms constantly (like nascar), well I don't think many engines will have a "LONG LIFE" relatively speaking. Those nascar engines are built to run 501 miles in a 500 mile race. That is not a good comparsion. Thats like saying the nitro fueled big blocks of NHRA are not any good because they have to rebuild them after every race. But, if I build a "built" small block to be a streetable machine and a "rat slayer" :-) , there is no reason I can't have longevity and higher rpms when I need them. Lastly, alot of times it comes down to preference and other tangibles. I personally would love to have a built big block some day. Right now I have three small blocks that are mildly to somewhat radically built. All my spare and new parts are for small blocks and that is just what I do. Same reason that I only deal with 12 bolt rear ends. I perfer to keep things consistant. Also, to offer an opinion about the original question. I think the best power added in the LONG RUN is a ProCharger. It is my opinion based on my research. - Dave

David, I thought you decided to go full roller, you just needed to decide to either go solid roller or hyd. roller. Roller lifters are the way to go. - Dave

David, are you guys still going to try and push the .680 lift numbers on the cam? Not seeing anything new from what we discussed. I think you could push those rods to 6"inch. Other than that, I am sure you will be happy. What did your builder say about an ultralite crank? Or, did you forget to ask, :-). - Dave p.s. - will try and talk to you tomorrow. I was working on the El Camino when you called earlier.

I hear ya Dave. I am already foaming at the mouth about an intercooled ProCharger but the cost will hold me back for who knows how long. - Dave

I have some insider info for you guys buuuutttttt,.....it will cost ya some coin, :-). I think David will make all of us small block guys proud!! - Dave

The way I went is probably the cheapest way if all new parts are used. I bought a new stock tank from Summit ($180) and a moroso sump kit for ($60). I had a welder do the install and test the tank for a mere $60. Throw in the AN fittings and Earl's black braided hose and I believe I spent a total off around $400 total. I used the stock sending unit for the gas gauge purpose. I also used the old outlet portion of the sending unit as the return line from the fuel regulator. If your stock sending unit has a return line, it is probably not big enough to use as a return line as it is only a 5/16" line. That is why I used the output line of the sending unit as it is 3/8". Keep in mind ,I am running a small block with all 3/8" lines. If this is going into a big block and you are running 1/2" line, your return line should be the same size or bigger. - Dave

I run Hoosier Quick Time Pro's at 27 x 11.50 x 15. The rims are 15x8 with 5" bs. Once these are burned up, I will be going to aleast a 28" tall tire, maybe 29". - Dave

Nice looking monte. What a way to ruin a good day, switch mix up. - Dave

The spacer is a great deal!!! The way I was taught to build rear ends eliminated the crush sleeve all together as its purpose is to make sure that the bearings are not over tightened causing too much preload. I went back to using the pinion spacer as a overkill measure. The torque required to crush a crush sleeve is redonk - u - lus. - Dave

Bob, if you want somemore supplies, Randy's ring and pinion have always done good for me. I have two boxes of supplies to build 12 bolts. One other thing, I have started using Richmond's Pinion Spacer instead of the crush sleeve. Very nice piece that helps eliminate the crush sleeve headache. Summit carries this as well as some other shim sizes. I believe the shims are listed under RaTech. Hope your build is successful. - Dave