kc8oye

I've now got my car converted totally to MSD. The only remaining part of the original HEI system, is the pickup coil in the bottom of the distributor, and I aim to replace that with a crank trigger soon :> I no longer use the HEI's coil-in-cap. I ordered up an MSD coil cover that provides a spark plug tower for an external coil, and deleted the internal one. and I'm using the MSD 6AL (with rev limiter) and an MSD Blaster-2 coil :> Finding somewhere to mount an MSD Blaster-2 coil with the Large-cap hei distributor proved intereting.. in the end, I mounted it right next to the MSD box and i have a rather long coil wire. spark plug wires are Acell STreetStock 8mm wires.

Sign seen in famous speed shop: "Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?"

yeow!!! 5200 rpm stall????? wow. heh. i dont' have a trans temp.. need to get one.. i'm gonna check with my trans shop first.. make sure he won't have problem with me taking the pan off :> this trans cost me $1200. I'm in no hurry to mess up the warranty!

i run a 2500 stall behind a 355 and that's PLENTY IMHO for the street.

Wha!? monte's got powerglides? as a 'base option' !? That doesn't make sense.. since the monte's were supposed to be luxury cars. But anything is possible I guess.

I use a tube & fin "Hayden" cooler.. off my local parts store shelf for $30. it's not as fancy as those stacked plate coolers, but I believe it's enough for what I'm doing. (2500 rpm stall) i also have it wired in-series with my factory cooler for good measure... t his turned out to be wise. .my old cooler sprung a leak at the drag strip.. i simply removed the extra one from the circuit and left the stock one plumbed in :> mine too is mounted to the front of the rad. best place for them. eventually, it will be infront of the AC condensor core once I put one back in :>

There is no such thing as a 'non turbo' 350 I would definately stay away from those trans shops!!! yes, the TH350 is the base-model trans, but it's a TOUGH little bugger, especially if it's built right. There is no harm in using the 400. but it's just unnecessary for what you are trying to do. my TH350 I rebuilt in shop class when I was in highschool.. it sat on a shelf in the shed for 6 years w/o oil.. I put it in the car, filled it with fluid.. and it worked!! only mods it really had were and adjustable vacuum modulator and a spring replaced with a piece of broom handle :> and it would squak the tires going into 2nd no problem even with my sub-300hp pos :>

ok.. what do you mean by 'non turbo' ??? All 3 spd automatics for a 1st gen monte are "turbo" (short for Turbo Hydramtic, the company that built the transmissions before GM bought 'em out) I'm gonna guess that you want your stock trans, the TH350 rebuilt. The Th400 would fit fine, other then you will need a different driveshaft. The yokes are different, and the lengths are different. Leo Could hook you up with a new one. but even for a 383, I think the TH400 is overkill, that's a Lot of extra weight and wasted h.p for a car that doesn't need it. 400's have a very high 'parasitic loss' (it takes a lot of h.p just to turn the transmission, before the power ever makes it to the rear wheels) compared to the Th350.. the 350 is also lighter.. and unless you plan on making more then 700 hp, a properly built TH350 will live behind that 383 JUUUUST fine.

Installing an MSD box requires the removal of the stock HEI module. This itself wasn't a big deal. But since I didn't want to wait two days to order the MSD harness to do this job, I made my own. Using a spare HEI module/coil harness and a couple of homemade jumper wires. Here is the result of that: however, I was worried about those wires being able to move around and make contact with the rotor spinning just above them, so I took the module.. and my micrometers.. made a few measurements, and transferred those dimensions into AutoCad.. I had autocad print the drawing on a piece of card stock which I cut out and made a template with. I traced the template onto some scrap plastic I had, and I made a 'cover' for those wires that secures the same way the module did.. this is the cover: and this is what the cover looks like installed: maybe i'm biased.. but I thought this solution was kinda slick :> since it cost me about $0.35 for the one special 'narrow' blad connector to fit the pickup coil connector, and everything else I had here.. just a couple hours total worth of work... on second thoughts, I will include the full image... you can see here, i cut the two wires that run from the module to the coil connector. (The third is the ground for the coil) by re-using the stock hei connectors, I didn't have to run 3 new wires, AND the connectors are securely retained in the cap by the factory locking tabs :> the ends of the wires that used to go to the module are spliced and extended back over to the MSD box, and it's Magnetic inputs. (the red and blue wires to southwest of the dist. the splices are hiding behind that brake booster hose) the two wires that are still connected to the connector for the coil, they are wired directly to the COIL wires from the MSD box. (The orange and black wires in the bottom right corner)

That's wierd you have that problem with a v8. (I assume the T/A package is a v8) if it's the v6, I'm not surprised. my 4.3L v6 powered astro did the same thing. Quote: A loose converter should put a band-aid on this issue, but I never liked that slipping feeling of a loose converter. [/quote[ I run a 2500 rpm stall converter, and the only time I notice the stall is when I'm at real low rpm in 2nd gear.. it feels like it's slipping until I get up around 2200 or so. (I manually shift alot because my trans valving isn't right yet) if I nail it from 40mph, my trans won't even drop to 2nd. but with the kind of torque I make, I don't really mind unless I *REALLY* need to get moving. at light throttle my trans will shift into o.d at 30mph and my engine will pull the car along just fine. the 700r4 has a lockup torque converter, when that is correctly operational. the stall of the converter is just about unnoticeable. I run 2250 rpm @ 70mph locked up in forth and it cruises beautifuly like that. I choose not to use the lockup feature on the side-streets much because I do it with a manual toggle switch. honestly, I think if the 2nd gear ratio were lowered a bit to more closely match that 3.06 1st gear, the 700 would be truly spectacular... also, if you run a 700r4 with lower rear gears.. like 2.73.. 3.06 1st gear isn't that short. I manualy downshift into 1st all the time with mine, spin to 6k, shove it back into 2nd and i'm gone.. but i usually just smoke the tires in 1st so I don't mind not using 1st all that much ~ i run 3.55's. btw.. with your 4l60e. that's also GM's programming, you CAN go down into 1st and use it.. but for 'driveability' reasons they don't let it. Someone at GM decided that it's not what people want in their cars *shrug*

rock on allan my ultimate goals are 450-500 hp.. so I should be just under the line for a 700r4 to live :> and if it doesn't.. I think I might go back to my TH350 and a GV

you can with the 700r4 too.. i dont think they are the 400 holes tho.. I THINK they're the ones used for the 4spd stick cars. I use an early impala crossmember because I don't bother with the rubber insulators. and my 700r4 bolted right in. only change I made was shortening the driveshaft 6".. since I started with a TH350, my driveshaft yoke was already correct. as for the big drop in ratios, everybody quotes this.. and it's usually the people who don't use 700r4's. I picked the 700r4 specificly because of it's extra low 1st gear.. our cars verge on 4000 lbs with driver and fuel etc.. (mine was weighed 4,020 with me in it) the extra kick that 1st gear offers is awesome on the street. and even with 3.55 gears it's not a problem. I don't even notice a drop when it hits 2nd. except when my 1-2 shift breaks upper trailing arms

pssst... it's 200-4R... and 700R4.. why they're different i don't know but you might get some odd looks from people if you talk to a trans shop about a "200-r4" :>

i solved the losening of bolts problem. I used those aluminum gaskets (at the heads) that look like layered tinfoil.. they compress.. so they hold the bolts nice and tight. and they don't leak.. and if for some reason the do leak, they don't burn the gasket away, you just retighten and on your way. otherwise you use STage-8 locking fasenters

YEAH!? WELL!??? Check out this Tire-yankin launch!!!!

i figure I'm making close to 350hp with my setup.. so your 400 guess is pretty close. you should be able to run mid-high 13's if you can hook up best I've done so far is 14.8 with smoking the tires thru 1st gear.

you obviously never saw Daryl Smith's monte :> 900hp 454 fullly tubbed (pro street) burnin 130 octane av. gas. he had it setup to activate his 300shot of nitrous as soon as he let go of the trans brake.... that 4000lb monte had NO problem pullin the front tires WELL off the ground :>

stickshift.. nice i'm using a similar setup in my smallblock i have a split pattern cam tho.. 214/224° @ .050 .442/.465 lift. I have slightly ported (port matched exhaust side) stock '72 heads. i'm using SpeedPro flat-top forged pistons for 9.3:1 compression. I'm using a 700r4 with 3.55/posi (factory 10bolt) and i have far more power then I have traction thru 1st gear lol (there is no such thing as too much power) so right now I'm figureing on about 350hp.. I bet you are a bit more with that bigger cam and better heads. What intake are you running? and how do you like that Double-Pumper? I'm using a holley 600 vac. secondary. if you are concerend about gas prices, a turbo would be the way to go.. they don't hit you in the gas tank unless you bury your foot into it.

SUUUUURE bob. .that's all I was doing to.. I was just crusing when I blew a rod bearing.. I was just cruising when I smoked my trans... I was JUST crusing when I dropped a valve.. LOL!! j/k actully, I was just cruising when all my major failures happened.. i dont' ever seem to break anythign when i'm beating on it ~

the Passenger Side collectors should sit further back from the driver's side collector by a little bit.. just an inch or two I think. because the passenger side cylinder bank is offset to the rear of the engine so the cylinders/pistons can clear each other.

take it back and tell them to fix it ~

many times... it's somting so annoying simple that causes all the headaches.

how the HECK did you break a 400!?!?!?! ~

leo.. your rear tires seem to be on fire...

i gave up trying to figure that out mark.. my monte is the same way.. I have it set for 18° initial.. not sure what mechanical is.b ut I run the vac advance too.