dbreese

I'm a s/b guy but have nothing against a b/b. A 500 hp b/b is very attainable without going with expensive parts. A plus is that the b/b will make big torque down low and you won't need to wind it up to reach peak hp and it makes it very streetable. A guy, who goes by Vortecpro, the Team Chevelle site has a great rep for making big hp/torque engines with cast iron factory headed/ factory block b/b at a very reasonable price. Most run on pump gas. http://www.vortecproperformance.com To make 600 hp out of a s/b is more expensive and usually requires a good set of aluminum heads, aftermarket block,crank, rods, piston, solid roller cam, and a good intake/carb combo. I came close to the mark at 575 hp/520 ft lbs of tq on pump premium out of 414 ci on the engine dyno. I really have enjoyed the engine and really the only maintainace is checking the valve lash every so often. This mill survived one of the hottest Hot Rod Drag Weeks ever in 2013 without a hiccup. Wish I could have said the same about my ignition system. Just some food for thought. David

I don't recall your engine combo and how much HP you are making but exhaust gasses have cooled quite a bit by the time they exit the mufflers so i doubt you would see a decrease in performance by going to a 2.5 tails. David

Yep, Vortec's for the win!! David

IIRC they did do a Baldwin Motion Monte, or was I dreaming? LOL I think they yenko stripes would look good. Your car, ya do what you appeals to you. David

Gulf Green is peerty! Of course I'm a little biased. David

Hey Ryan, I was able to R&R my engine by just removing the shroud and radiator. What I did was removed the right side tire and supported the lower control arm with jackstand. I was able to slide the engine lift in with the legs straddling the jackstand. I didn't even remove the hood. Now if you are pulling the transmission/engine together you will probable need to remove the hood. Going from the side may save you a teardown of the front clip. Just a suggestion. Car is looking good!!! David

Hey Vince, I still have the old school setup but with a aluminum 2 core radiator, Hayden 2747 fan clutch, Stewart Stage II aluminum water pump, Autozone 15356 160 degree t-stat that is drilled, factory seven blade fan and shroud. Radiator is filled with deionized water and a bottle of Redline Water Wetter. No A/C. During Drag Week 2013, the part of the country we were in was experiencing a terrible heatwave. Daily temps were in the high 90's and hit 100+ on a couple of days. My temps stayed between 175-180 while cruising at 65 mph and even in heavy traffic. At night they would drop down to 170 or just below. Nothing against e-fan setups but this cooling system has worked great for me and my engine combo. Also I haven't slung a belt at the track yet. David

i like it. The Monte looks wicked with a lot of attention to detail! Great work!! David

Wow, what a story!!!! I guess it was nice to have some closure, I see where you posted that you had bought your first Monte after returning from Vietnam. On behalf of a grateful nation, thank you for your service and welcome home Sir! David

Good gosh Doug I hate you hear you had such a nice Monte stolen. I'm guessing the knuckleheads that took it knew what they were looking for. Rare cars for sure. BTW Love the colors on your two very sharp rides. Beautiful!!! David

Yep……. I have never seen anything negative about Freakshow converters. David

I say ya got your money's worth out of the transmission! LOL Beating on it for 20 years that sucker was built stout. Seriously though, hate to hear about it breaking. Hopefully no hard parts are broken. There are some great converter companies but I have great results with Coan and their customer service. With the power you are making a good converter would be a great addition to your powertrain. Coan can build you a great converter that would be a plus for performance and still be very efficient for cruising. I deal with Craig but any of the guys there will not steer you wrong. David

Three inch should be fine. That is what I have. I have a Vic Jr with a 1" spacer along with a 1/2" spacer between the carb neck and the air cleaner assembly. The IIRC the air cleaner base has a 2" drop. The air cleaner nut does rub the hood insulation but other than that it works. David

I know that Hooker Comps will hang a little lower on the drivers side. Hedmans are not quite as bad. My Schoenfelds are even but you must weld come sort of collector flange, be it a ball connector or standard 3 bolt. David

http://www.jegs.com/i/PYPES/958/MVR16/10002/-1?CAWELAID=1710851718&CAGPSPN=pla&catargetid=230006180000848331&cadevice=c&gclid=CjwKEAjw25SoBRCMn7Gc97Knj0ISJAC7vaMrfwQ4rfLSRFRc2UT9EEgaL7RMLo5bemwSzC5i_P8o6xoCjSLw_wcB Little smaller than what you have width wise. I have these on my s/b. Good muffler, nice idle/cruise sound but will bark hard at WOT. David

Hey Scott, Glad to see ya back and posting!!! The vids are great. Don't be a stranger Sir. David

Same body dimensions as a 4150. No choke horn either. Make sure if you are going to run a PCV and non- ported or ported vacuum controlled parts to tell them so they can build it into baseplate. David

Great carburetor and Patrick's customer service is awesome. I ran 780 mechanical on previous engine (385) and have a 950 on my current mill. Fill out the info sheet email it in and he will put together a great carburetor. While no carburetor is perfect out of the box his are darn close. He will help you fine tune it, if needed, either over the phone or via email. Give him a shot. David

http://www.novaresource.org/speedo.htm If ya change tire size (dia) or make a gear change out back here is a good info that will get ya real close if not dead on with recalibrating your speedometer. David

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hed-68290/overview/year/1972/make/chevrolet/model/monte-carlo Had these on an older engine. They fit well but IIRC you will need to fab up a spacer and have a longer bolt for the P/S bracket mount. Plug clearance was good and no issues with the a/c compressor. Just noticed that they come with the ball socket collector flanges. No more leaky collector gaskets!!! You can purchase the ceramic coated for about 300.00 more. David

Very cool project! Bet it will look great completed. David

Ya ain't missing much. I was watching the live feed yesterday and the weather was not good. To cold and the track and cars aren't hooking. Today doesn't look much better as temps will be in the low to mid 40's . Sat looks better and they should be able to get down the track. Small tire big HP cars is a bad combination in these conditions. Have a good trip and take care, David

Griff, Get in touch with Crazy Dave as he is a dealer for Quick Performance 9" and can set you up with a bolt in ready to go with the gears of your choice. If you want to go 12 bolt Jim Mitcke http://www.jdrace.com is a moser dealer. He can build you a setup from a moser housing and I think he has factory 12 bolt cores to build from. He is great to deal with and has very competitive pricing as does Dave. I think he can also do Ford 9" with Moser housings. Jim built me a Moser 12 bolt with bolt in axles back in 2010. It has a tru-trak chunk and after many miles and beatings at the track it has been bullet proof Either way you can't go wrong with either of these guys BTW are you going to try and make it down for the Lights Out Race at South Georgia Motorsports Track Fri-Sun? Me and a buddy of mine will be there Sat. Some of the the quickest drag radial cars in the country will be there. David

You will like the Tru-Trac. it is a good unit. David

Down a couple of red bull energy drinks and a expresso and you can get it in with one hand while eating a burger Joking aside do you have a transmission adaptor for a floor jack? You might be able to position the chunk and lift it up and finesse onto the mounting studs. David