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I guess I should update this. Never got email notifications saying this had replies. I found the problem to be a spark plug wire arcing once it heated up. It's the #6 cylinder right on the boot. The car is more or less parked for the winter until the weather gets nice and I want to start spending money on it again. Trying to save up for spring break!
I am doing the tuning with the help of the EBL Flash ECM/software.
Car has been running good without any major problems. Took it to the strip a few weeks ago, found out the stock clutch definitely cant handle that. Was able to drive it home just fine and drive it around till Monday when I installed a new flywheel and Spec Stage 3+ clutch kit. Currently breaking in for 500 miles. Going to take forever. Have the 36lbs injectors installed as well. Have been for a good while now. Not sure if I mentioned that before.
I even installed air conditioning last month for the hot summer months here in Southern IL. That led to me needing to install a better fan then the single stock fan I had. Just got a Taurus fan mounted up tonight. Wasn't very warm today so couldnt put it through a true test but it definitely did just fine at keeping it cool sitting idling with the AC on. Never got over 190.
did you make it back to the track? I'm curious about the flat tappet xif 280 in a 406. wondering if the hp gain for the roller one is worth the hassle and money if retro fit stuff
did you make it back to the track? I'm curious about the flat tappet xif 280 in a 406. wondering if the hp gain for the roller one is worth the hassle and money if retro fit stuff
No, I really haven't. The car has been sitting for the better part of a year or two slowly getting stuff upgraded. I installed a TKO 600 last winter and am currently fighting issues with Y-Pipe fitment problems with the Lakewood Bellhousing. Also found out the posi is shot in the original 9 bolt. Waiting on funds to purchase either a 10 bolt or just bite the bullet and get a stouter rear end.
Current list of things to do to be back on the road are:
Get y-pipe tweaked to fit.
Different rear end with working posi.
Shorten driveshaft few inches. (old one is way too far in the trans)
New Wideband Sensor (old one is shot)
A few other smaller ins and outs.
I would like to get a new EBL Flash ECM too. I'm swapping the current one back and forth between my truck since I installed the old stock TPI from this car into it after doing the FIRST Intake swap.
Life and lack of funds have been messing with me. But I have decided to start working on it again now that the weather is getting nicer out. My dad is also getting a car lift so that will really help with things. I plan on waiting till that's installed to start working on the y-pipe.
Nice to hear about your progress, I was considering the FFI intake early on in my 383 project!
I hear that about the lack of funds. This sh*t ain't cheap and sometimes these parts need tweaking. How far is the y-pipe off? Good luck!
I hate this kinda post. It detracts from the OP's intent on starting the thread. Maybe I just should've said, 'subscribed'. Sorry Dbag
Sorry, was not directed at you at all, there was a serious spammer on here early this am when I checked out the site. (post was removed) Had posted on about every new post. Something with a link for vaping..
Nice to hear about your progress, I was considering the FFI intake early on in my 383 project!
I hear that about the lack of funds. This sh*t ain't cheap and sometimes these parts need tweaking. How far is the y-pipe off? Good luck!
The y-pipe isn't off terribly too bad. It's installed now, just leaking at the flanges. It is just barely hitting the lip of the bellhousing where the two pieces of the lakewood housing bolt together. A lot wider around the parameter then the stock bellhousing is. Can't wait to get the lift. Will make so many projects a lot easier.
Sorry, was not directed at you at all, there was a serious spammer on here early this am when I checked out the site. (post was removed) Had posted on about every new post. Something with a link for vaping..
Oh my bad, sorry man...
Originally Posted by dabomb6608
Got a short video of it running. I don't think this video even does this thing justice of how loud it is.
Definitely close to mine! Hearing that thing rev so quick confirms I have a lot of work to do on my tune. Mine just doesn't raise in rpms so quickly like that. Can't wait to get the last few things done to start driving/tuning it again. Need to hit the jackpot or something!
Springs I went with are comp spring # 981-16. Not sure what installed specs are. Had a shop install them on my heads. I want to say I had it wrote down somewhere but that was years ago. That sounds like they will work, might want to send that guy a pm and see what he thinks.
Been a long time since I have updated this. I still have the car. Actually have had it on the road several times the past two weeks or so. After it sat more or less since late 2015 the paint has gone completely downhill. Was a first time paint job with single stage. More coats would've definitely helped it. Next paint job will be better and probably Base/Clear.
I've added a actual cold air intake to help with heat soak issues. Need to seal it off so it draws strictly from the fender. I am currently messing more with the tune. See this thread for details on that.....Link
When I first started back on it I started from scratch on a tune. I had terrible surging and finally after reducing the SA and fixing the AFPR it is all but gone. I am currently waiting on a piston stop I ordered to come in so I can confirm my TDC marks on the balancer. Once that is done I need to build the box around the air filter to seal it off from under-hood temps. I would like to get started on the body work this fall and hope to spray it this spring. I keep pretty busy between work and my side jobs so that might get pushed back some.
I've been working here and there on the car this spring/summer whenever I get free time (rarely it seems). I have been working on the tuning side of things primarily lately which I have been tracking in this thread.
With that has brought some other upgrades/changes. I currently have a new Griffin radiator on the way to help keep everything cool while running the AC on these hot humid days. I also fab'd up a box to help seal the cold air intake filter from engine compartment heat. I think it turned out pretty good for having limited fab tools (only a 4" angle grinder) at my place.
My laptop battery was dead so I wasn't able to datalog any to see any differences. But I would imagine it helped some. I was seeing 140+* IAT in stop and go traffic with my sensor in the rubber intake just before the throttle body with ambient temps in the 80s.
I am excited to get the new radiator installed so I can put it to the test with AC running and heavy traffic driving.
Otherwise the car needs to be repainted in a very bad way. Its all go and no show right now. I've just been too busy with my side gig I started this summer to start on that. I did a few rounds of sanding early last fall but that is as far as I got. I also need/want to look into getting some LCA relocation brackets and a adjustable tubular torque arm. I get a vibration at highway speeds and I am confident it is due to driveline angles being off after the TKO 600 swap and it being lowered. That will be a fun $500ish dollar expense.
Radiator install is just about finished up. I need to hook up lower coolant hose, put the drain plug in, rivet the Taurus fan in place with the brackets I made, remount air filter, and hook up upper coolant hose.
To get the radiator to fit properly required some cutting in the lower core support. Plus some wacks with a sledge to the lip going up the sides. With some test fitting and time it finally set in place and I am even able to reuse the factory upper radiator mount. The rubber stops were cut at the condenser on the bottom side. I used weather stripping along the bottom to keep it from having metal to metal down there. Will do the same on the top side.
I marked where I cut above. That lip needed removed for the passenger side tank to fit lower into the core support. Without doing that the radiator cap hit the hood and was sitting uneven with the passenger side up higher then drivers side.
I didn't take any other photos unfortunately. I will get some finished photos once it is complete. In other news, I purchased a used UMI Torque Arm setup from one of the facebook groups. Got it for $250 shipped. It is the adjustable cross member mounted setup. That should be here Saturday and I am looking forward to that install to resolve my drive line angles being off and some vibrations I get. Didn't expect to be doing that upgrade so soon but I couldn't pass up on that price. Practically half off a new one!
The radiator has been finished up a few weeks now and I drive the car occasionally. It does cool better. But with the AC on I still get temps climbing past 200-220*. My thermostat is a 180* and my fan is commanded to come on at 185* and shut down at 179*. Keep in mind I am running a Taurus fan setup and this is all city driving for testing for now. At this point I am going to try a few things before looking into other fan/shroud options. I started looking at fans/shrouds though and am interested in the Dodge Intrepid setup. Dual speed/dual fan with a shroud. Seems like a nice setup and has been done in the past.
Today at lunch I was going to drive the car back to work (I try not to start it early in the mornings due to noise) and it cranked over, fired, stumbled trying to stay running and then died. Tried a couple more times with same results and also noted the fuel pump didn't seem to be priming. I just had the ECM sent off to RBob to get the prime trigger fixed this spring but I doubt its anything with the ECM because before I could crank it until oil pressure activated the oil pressure/fuel pump switch. Will be taking a look at it tonight...
Good dual fan with shroud should handle it if stock sized rad. E85 fuel would help too. As long as its not too lean or low on timing it should stay cool.
my 555 bbc runs at 175 deg with dual ls1 fan on a 31x19 griffin rad in 75-80 deg air so far. More testing is necessary and being a camaro with open grille probably helps too.
the ls1 fans with factory style 3 relay wiring will run dual speed too
I think a combination of having the hot AC condenser in front of the radiator along with it being a Trans Am with closed front end is hindering the Taurus fan ability to pull air. I do have the center air dam installed. BUT it has been trimmed shorter due to scraping on most every bump in the road. I also have been strictly testing with speeds below 40mph where the air dam is least needed/functional. I was planning to order up a new OEM full air dam setup to try before looking into any fan changes.
Considering your setup results and countless others on here I SHOULD be able to cool this motor just fine with my cooling system and fan setup.
My Taurus Fan decided to call it quits. Took the Volvo 2 Speed Relay and my main power relay with it. I am working on finishing up a Mark VIII fan install. A bit larger then the Taurus Fan and supposedly quite a bit more CFM. I have new relays as well and will be upgrading my wiring for it. I am under the impression my fan was slowly getting weaker and weaker this whole time and finally gave out. I also put a new air dam under the car, the old one had been trimmed down a bit too much. Going down the highway the temps don't even budge now. Will do plenty of testing once the fan install is finished up. Having to rework my top radiator mount a bit as the fan shroud sits about 3/4" higher then the radiator itself.I haven't grabbed any photos yet. I will try to get some before and after final install.
One thing I am wanting to change on this is my high speed activation of the fan. It is activated by grounding the high speed side of the 2-Speed relay. I would like to have it activated whenever the AC is on as well as have manual control via a toggle switch. From my understanding of the AC system, the pressure sensors are all 12V hot correct? 12V goes from the HVAC controls to the pressure cycling switch then through the high pressure switch and finally to the compressor clutch. Without adding another relay I don't believe I can get a AC activated ground signal from anywhere right?
Figured out how to go about wiring up my high speed circuit of the fan.
With some help in the EBL Thread, I was pointed in the direction of a relay called a "time delay relay". After further research I found Hella makes an adjustable time delayed unit that is similar to your typical Bosch relays. Part number for the Time Delay - "ON" unit is 996152151. It was a bit pricey ($57 shipped) but will work perfectly for what I am wanting to achieve.
Here is how my wiring will look. The grounded trigger wire from the ECM will be activating the main power relay, low speed circuit of the volvo relay, and the time delay relay all at the same time when fan is commanded. The low speed circuit will energize instantly. Then, depending on how long I set the time delay to, the high speed circuit will energize X seconds/minutes later. This will allow the fan to get up to low speed RPM before high speed is activated to reduce both stress and amperage spike of activating high speed.
I will initially try a time delay of a few minutes. My idea there is if outside temps are cooler or I am not running the AC the low speed might be enough to drop coolant temps to my cutoff temperature. So by giving the low speed a few minutes to attempt to reach that cut off before high speed is activated I will reduce high speed usage. But if the coolant temps hold steady or continue to rise the high speed will automatically activate.
I have my mock-up of the fan finished. I had to trim the depth of the fan shroud about half an inch for clearance between my water pump pulley. Then for the upper support I ended up using a piece of aluminum I originally made to replace my factory upper radiator support when installing the new radiator. All it needed was holes drilled for the mounting bolts and some rivet holes to secure the fan shroud to the support. I need to do some tweaking to my cold air intake but I believe everything should work out now.
The time delay relay is supposed to get delivered tomorrow. I will have everything wired up and ready to install by then so I just need to drop the relay in place. I will be sure to get some pictures as well.
Not sure if I said it in the EBL thread, but I would recommend testing your low speed setup to make sure it can pull enough air across the condenser. Don't want your compressor to seize up because of not enough airflow. You could add another relay to kick on the high when the compressor kicks on, but we're going for simplicity here.
Another idea that may help is to seal the openings on the side of the condenser and radiator so that ALL of the air that is pulled through the radiator must also go through the condenser. This greatly improved my A/C performance. There are huge openings on the side that allow a ton of air to bypass the condenser. Same with the top of the condenser. I used some black pipe insulation, available at any home improvement store.
With me using this time delay relay the fan will switch to high speed a few minutes after the fan is commanded to turn on. If AC is running the fan is commanded to come on regardless of what the coolant temp is doing. So it will always activate high speed after the elapsed delay time. Even if coolant temps drop below the fan cut off temp. The thermostat should keep it right around my On/Off temps anyways.
I will look into my gaps around the condenser. I know with the new Griffin 2 core it was a tight fit between the two. I've got some sticky back 1" foam I can stick in place if needed.
Just to update on my fan control wiring. I finished the install and got the Hella Adjustable Time Delayed Relay setup to activate high speed ~2 mins after the fan is commanded by the ECM to turn on. Seems to be working well so far with low speed spooling up and seamlessly changing over to high speed without any crazy voltage drops or me even noticing for that matter.
Made a 115 mile round trip drive a two weekends ago and it did surprisingly well for that being its longest drive in years. Biggest issue was after arriving home I popped the hood to look over everything with the car still running. Made sure fan was blowing at high speed and not 15 seconds after opening the hood the car stumbled and died. Got in and cycled the key to prime fuel pump and noted that it sounded different. Started right up for a few seconds and then died again. Checked fuel pressure at fuel pump prime and it was struggling to climb to full pressure. Pretty sure the fuel pump either got over heated or the system was vapor locking. I had it happen frequently in the past when I had my external fuel pump setup.
Still needing to get the cross member mounted adjustable torque arm installed as well so I can set my transmission to rear end angles. I currently have a vibration anything above 70mph that doesn't change with clutch in or engine off.
Beyond that I need to look into the HVAC fan and airflow out of the vents. High speed just doesn't seem to have the ooomph to cool the cabin even though vent temps are decently cool. I also noticed when set to "MAX" and travelling down the interstate at 75mph I would get exhaust fume smells. But on Normal setting it wouldn't smell. I was under the assumption "MAX" was recirculating cabin air. Going to look into that some more.
I drove around in some 90* weather yesterday with the AC on. Stopping at a few stores. Temps never climbed over 200* (Per factory gauge not CTS readings). I think I might end up lowing the high speed delay to 30-60 seconds to help with frequent start/stops like that when running errands.
With October coming to a end the car being parked until spring. As mentioned previously I run my states extended use antique plates (much cheaper registration) that require the car to more or less be "parked" from October 31st to April 1st. Mechanic trips and special events like car shows and parades are allowed during that time. I don't drive the car during winter anyways so not a issue to me.
Between last month and today I had drove the car a lot and made a good deal of progress with the tune. The car is very driveable and enjoyable to cruise in. With the new fan setup my coolant temps are rock solid at my commanded speeds. I have been working on my WOT fueling as well getting it closer and closer to the 12.8 targets with good success. The car pulls like a train from 2,000 up to my current shift point of around 5,000 (more on that below). Rolling punch at 2500rpm in 2nd gear will break lose the tires with ease. 1st gear is a joke in terms of traction and takes a lot of throttle control. Until I get a upgraded rear end I won't be getting any kind of decent rear tires under the car to help with traction. The 9 bolt wouldn't take well to that I don't believe.
This winter I plan to upgrade my valve springs as well as get the new cross member and adjustable torque arm installed. Looking back through notes and what was used in the build, along with finding a few other posts mentioning these same springs I believe I am running into either coil bind or severe valve float at 5,000 rpm. Working to verify install height to crunch numbers and see where I stand. It is something I should have paid more attention to during the build but live and learn. Looking back even through this post I was warned that they were potentially the wrong springs. Given it was 6 years ago I can't remember why I didn't listen or if I might of just missed that post. Unfortunate but not the end of the world.
Last edited by dabomb6608; 10-30-2019 at 03:36 PM.
I have the 280XFI Cam. With the right springs that cam will peak out at 6450rpms like it did in my 388ci
I feel like this setup should pull past 5000 rpm without a problem. I am hoping the cam wasn't damaged any. Looking at datalogs with WOT pulls I can watch my kPA start to drop a bit as soon as I pass 4800 or so rpms. I would think the FIRST intake would have a bit more rpm to it before running out of air so it has to be something else causing it.
I feel like this setup should pull past 5000 rpm without a problem. I am hoping the cam wasn't damaged any. Looking at datalogs with WOT pulls I can watch my kPA start to drop a bit as soon as I pass 4800 or so rpms. I would think the FIRST intake would have a bit more rpm to it before running out of air so it has to be something else causing it.
TLDR: Looks like I need to decide on a new cam/spring setup!
Welp, 4 years later I've built my dream home/1st home and finally have a garage. With my side business slowing down for the season (jetski repair business) I decided I needed to grab either my Trans Am or my K10 Jimmy that have been sitting going to waste at my fathers for a winter project. The Trans Am was the lucky draw....
Surprisingly the TA started with a little gogojuice. Few days later I figured I would attempt the 15min drive home with it down the back roads. It spit and sputtered the first mile then seemingly was "okay" or at least drove no worse than it normally did. The fuel is old so that wasn't helping matters. By time I got home I had a hard pull to the left when braking, likely a froze/sticking caliper up front. But regardless it made the trek home.
My goals are get this thing to a point of being more of a "driver". I built this car between the ages of 18-23 and am now 30, I guess getting older has changed what I want out of it. So that being said lets get to where I am at now on it...
I studied all my old posts to refresh my memory, and I knew I would feel a lot safer if I tore the engine down enough to verify the cam wasn't damaged from having the wrong springs installed. First I checked compression with all pumping within a few psi of each other in the 140-145 range doing a cold dry check. I pulled it apart and found 4 lifters with the pushrod cup retainers gone and the cups raised up. I also could visibly see that 6 intake lifters were not raising near as much as the others...so I can confidently say that there is a very good chance a lot of my issues I have had with getting this setup to make any sort of progress with tuning were all caused by these issues. No telling how long it has been like this either...they aren't completely wiped so it allowed it to still "run" just not well due to far reduced lift on those 6 intake valves. I'm honestly shocked at the level of power it did make all along. Enough to never make me think it had that severe of issues...
So now the question is do I go with a XFI 280 again or go a different route. At the same time do I upgrade to retrofit roller cam/lifter setup this go around...that is a significant jump in cost though.
This car is really beat down and looking rough these days. I plan to do bodywork and paint once the motor is back together. Having a garage for the first time in over 6 years is definitely nice and should allow me to make decent progress this winter.
I've been reading nonstop trying to determine my cam selection. Talked to Comp briefly as well to get their thoughts. With the goal of having a better street mannered setup they suggested bumping down one size on the XFI series to the XFI268 https://www.compcams.com/xfi-224-231...all-block.html
I really can't make up my mind which cam to go with. I like the idea of truly seeing what the XFI280 is capable of on my setup. But I also don't want to constantly be fighting the tune again either. I do think the XFI268 will still be a solid cam choice and not run out of air before the FFI intake does.
More updates...finding more issues as I dig deeper. Motor is now pulled and will be tore down for what is looking like new pistons & fresh bearings at minimum.
Short story is back in 2012 me being a19yo inexperienced kid with only enough knowledge to get me in trouble had a issue with some flat tops causing detonation damage to the pistons. I quickly rebuilt it and believe I purchased pistons for 5.7 rods while running 5.565 rods without realizing or knowing the consequences or a bit of both. Never thought twice about the pistons being low in the holes at the time of install. Fast forward 11 years to me pulling the heads this go-around and I took note of this problem. I confirmed TDC tonight with a dial indicator and checked deck clearance with a mic. Measured about 0.15...well if you do the math on accidentally using a 5.7 rod piston compression height with 5.565 rods you come up with a calculated deck clearance (assuming nominal 9.025 deck) of 0.152. ...so looks like I have been rocking a terrible quench and painfully low compression ratio this whole time.
I am going to tear down the motor to look bearings/crank/rods over and install correct pistons for this application. Most likely target about a 10:1 compression ratio. Looking at my numbers a 12cc dish piston with 0.041 gasket puts it at 10.15. Leaves me room to play with gasket thickness once hard measurements are available after the short block is back together
Damn....thing's going to blow your mind when you have a good cam and decent compression in the thing! Looking forward to reading more about this car's progress!
I 100% agree, I can't believe this motor even ran the way it did given all these issues. I came up with the same 8:1 compression on all of my estimates last night. I am beyond excited to really see what this was supposed to be capable of this whole time. I am thinking of even going with the xfi 280 cam again and not stepping down a size.
So tonight I tore into the block. Measured and confirmed the rods are a 5.565 rod and the pistons have a roughly 1.433 compression height that matches the KB dished 5.7 rod piston spec. I have realized it is cheaper at this stage just to go with new 5.7 rods to match these pistons. Then I will have the rotating assembly balanced at a local shop. The pistons aren't damaged and I might as well get some kind of reliability upgrade out of this whole ordeal.
Not really sure what kind to go with. I think at this stage anything would be better than the factory rods I was more than willing to reuse to begin with. Summit has their brand of forged I-Beam good for "advertised 750hp". I was also eyeing the Eagle SIR I-Beams or the Scat Pro Stock I-Beams. Going to do some reading up on all of them to make a decision. This will be staying a NA engine with little if any strip time. Just a fun weekend driver. Revs shouldn't ever have a reason to see over 6500 as I doubt the heads flow enough for a 406ci to breath that high. Would probably shift it in the 5500-6000 range depending on how it pulls up there.
Here are some photos from tonight.
First up is the caliper set to 1.561in which is the spec for this piston on a 5.565in rod. Way off center.
Next up is the caliper set to 1.433in which is the spec for this piston on a 5.7in rod. Dead center.
Pulled the came and it was pretty evident comparing lobes. Pretty crazy to see the difference in ramp and overall lift between them.
Will be delivering the rotating assembly and block to the machine shop Friday to get balanced and zero decked. Then begins the shortblock build up. Need to make final decision on cam selection and start getting that stuff ordered as well.
I highly recommend putting a roller cam back in. Failure percentage for flat tappets these days is just way too high.
Strictly due to the extra cost of converting to roller cam, I am willing to take the risk on the flat tappet. I know why this one failed, and it wasn't because of a lack of oil additives or bad break in. It was the springs I originally installed coil binding. If I hadn't of needed to get new rods I was considering doing the swap but it just isn't in the cards...
Using the wrong pistons has put the ring ridge a lot lower in the bore than it should. It shouldn’t be a big deal if the pistons came out without much effort - regardless, I’m sure the machine shop will be able to address it one way or the other.
Hopefully the wear is minimal and you won’t need to buy new pistons. If the machine shop says there’s going to be too much clearance for those hyperucraptic pistons, keep in mind you may be able to use a 4032 piston (more piston to block clearance required) or a 2618 alloy piston (even more clearance than the 4032 required) without having to do an additional overbore.
Back in the day, I didn’t think twice about running a hydraulic flat-tappet – installed and broke in 25 to 30 for folks with one failure because of a bad batch of lifters (that were recalled from the distributors but not warranted). Now, I know too many people that broke in the cam correctly and still wiped a lobe. I personally haven’t run or even installed a hydraulic flat-tappet in over 20 years – and that was because I had one left over from my old speed shop just lying around. I started running solid rollers in my junk, even when driven daily, since the late 80s.
If you’re going to run a hydraulic flat-tappet, while I have no personal experience with them, I would go with one of the direct lube or hi-lube variety like the Crower Cam Saver Hi-Lube lifters with the snap ring retainer. They’re only a few bucks more than a standard lifter set and probably worth it. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cro-66000rx3-16
As far as cam, with the FIRST, your cubes, the smallish heads flowing no more than they do, and with the increased/corrected compression, I think going back with the 280 XFI 236/241-113 wouldn’t be a bad choice. It should pull about 2” more vacuum over what it was pulling before, in the 16.5” range at idle (adding timing at idle). However, something in the 230/236-113 range would only cost you 5-6 HP up top but add about 10 lb/ft everywhere under peak TQ. It would also add 1.5” vacuum – mostly all good, but I wouldn’t go any smaller than that though.
With the correct compression, you’ll probably get close to a 30HP increase and a good bit better throttle response over what you had. For another 25 HP or so, look at replacing the 3” exhaust and going with a 4” system.
The pistons did come out pretty easily. Took some light taps with hammer handle to push them out. It was mainly a carbon coating at the top of the bores that got mostly removed when the pistons came out. I then easily cleaned them up with very little visual evidence of a ring ridge. I would be surprised if this motor has 5000 miles on it since originally installing those new pistons.
I got looking at those lifters. On one of the Q&A answers Summit responds to the question saying they are rapid leak down lifters. I don't know a whole lot about those but will do more reading. Comp had recommended their DLC coated lifters when I spoke to them on the phone. Supposedly they are coated to help with lobe wiping but who knows how well that really helps.
I ran at about 55-60kpa at a 900-950rpm idle with roughly 30 deg of timing. I wouldn't be surprised if my idle spark needs to come down from there with the new setup. It always felt like I was having to do things slightly out of the ordinary to get it to run half decent. I'm fairly convinced in keeping with the 280 XFI at this stage. In the flat tappets the next size down is a 224/231-113. Which I would imagine will lose even more HP up top with less benefit down low aside from better idle vacuum and some torque. Plus I think it is a pride thing of trying to see what my build was truly capable.
I ran at about 55-60kpa at a 900-950rpm idle with roughly 30 deg of timing....It always felt like I was having to do things slightly out of the ordinary to get it to run half decent.
This is awesome and made me laugh; back in '03? ish? I bought a pretty nice '86 from a good friend who couldn't get it to pass emissions in MA. He'd done a "built" motor for it with the following (this'll likely sound familiar to you!);
350
TFS twisted wedge heads
"410hp" Performer RPM "kit"; 800 carb, 234/244 cam and RPM intake (sounds good so far, right?)
Dished pistons yielding a 7.8:1 compression raio
Edelbrock TES "headers", into...
Stock, dual cat Y pipe and cats
Single, wrong application flowmaster muff that was too small.
Anyway, when I got it, it ran like poo, had no power, didn't idle well. I didn't know about the compression, initially. I fixed the exhaust and then started messing w/the timing curve....at my elevation, with that cam and compression, I found that the engine liked static timing at whatever total ended up being. That was a new one, to me. "slightly out of the ordinary"....as you put it! It trapped about 105....clearly compression and real headers would have made a huge difference. And clearly, it was an f'd up combo! Your quoted sentence above made me chuckle, recalling messing around w/that car.
Yep I’d rather go with a slow bleed down lifter myself. Didn’t see that. I have no experience with any of them, but anything they have on the market to help prevent lobe wear would be good insurance. Assuming it actually works.
You could go with another brand cam or a 12-000-05 custom Comp cam, but it probably wouldn’t be worth the extra $50 over the XFI 280. Plus I understand why you would want to go back with the same cam
With only 5.000 miles on it, wear should be minimal as well as any ridge that might have formed. Hopefully you’ll be good to go with the current pistons.
Yep, it really is wild how well it ran given the issues. Beyond excited to see how it does once back together.
Have you had a chance to dyno this yet, or have any power estimates? Been planning a very similar build, but hoping to do mine with larger heads, cnp ignition, and a turbo or two. Wondering where i could be at in terms of power.
Have you had a chance to dyno this yet, or have any power estimates? Been planning a very similar build, but hoping to do mine with larger heads, cnp ignition, and a turbo or two. Wondering where i could be at in terms of power.
My setup was never on a dyno, I doubt it wouldve been an accurate representation anyways given the build issues I had. I'd like to think my setup is capable of in the 400s crank hp & tq, likely won't ever find out exact numbers. I don't plan on putting it on a dyno as of now.
12-16-2013, 08:41 PM
there was a serious spammer on here early this am when I checked out the site. (post was removed) Had posted on about every new post. Something with a link for vaping.. 
Your quoted sentence above made me chuckle, recalling messing around w/that car. 