I'm also going back to the RPM manifold and E85 while I'm at it.

Looks like a high quality unit - if you can tell anything by looks. Also got the Blaster coil, so now I've got to rig up a coil-to-distributor wire, something I haven't used in awhile.

The part that gets me the most is MSD says not to use synthetic oil while "breaking in" the drive gear. I've only got a few hours on this oil change. Oh, well, cheaper than a new distributor, or tearing the engine down.

Now the next challenge is finding time to get it all done. This weekend is my son's HS graduation and accompanying activities, then I'm out of town on business from Tuesday to Friday, with the next race that very Friday. Push comes to shove, I'll just share the Camaro with my son.

 

This is on the bel air eh? Why going to RPM manifold from the strip dominator? Have you tried the RPM with that 282S cam? I figured the dominator would be best suited? Or is that an E85 related thing? Keeping the intake charge a bit warmer or something?

I didn't know you stopped using E85 on it?

 

I realized too late I forgot to say this was the 396.

Here's the history over the winter:
1 - Co-worker cleaning out his garage, for $65 sold me the Strip Dominator oval port he took off his 454 inboard.
2 - While doing the winter work, including replacing the intake, discovered the gas additive I had been using last season, primarily for the upper cylinder lube properties, was not compatible with E85 - left a sticky residue all through the intake track.
3 - Switched back to 91 octane pump gas while I figured #2 out, found out the residue desolved readily in gasoline.
4 - Installed MSD Digital 6 box for the 2-step feature.
5 - Timing is all over the place at max advance, and for whatever reason, jumps 10 degrees when I let off the throttle - with the vacuum advance disconnected. I had noticed some timing scatter before but lived with it, didn't see anything wrong with the distributor when I had it out for the intake replacement.
6 - All of this slowed me down about 3 tenths, including a tenth in 60' - whether that was from the 2-step, the Dominator, gasoline, the timing, or the combo, I don't know.
7 - ET is also all over the place, I don't have a clue what to dial. Winning 3 rounds last weekend was more luck of the draw than anything - better light, other guy couldn't run the number, etc.; but I lost the 4th round with a better light when the car slowed down even though the air got better and I added time to the dial-in. Also at last week's races, a fellow racer told me he is more consistent after he went from a single plane to an RPM on his mild build. The timing scatter can't be helping me. Gasoline temp sensitivities are legendary.

So, I'm replacing the ZZ3 HEI with the purpose-built Pro Billet, going back to the RPM (which I ran both with the General Kenetics 270 for a short time in 2005, and all of 2006 with the current Comp XS282S), and now that I'm confident the intake track is clean, back to E85 (and won't be using the additive!).

 

If you dont mind me asking. What jets are you running in your carb for the E85?

 

I was running 90 primary, 96 secondary, with the standard air bleeds for the center mains front & rear, 4 smaller (if memory serves) for the outer idle, and 37 squirters.

The primary/secondary spread was small because the metering block power valve circuit is calibrated for gasoline, so it's slightly rich for cruise. Didn't seem to cause problems, though, since about the only street driving I do is to/from the track. For a regular street driver, you'd want a metering block with modified power valve circuit for E85.

 

Thanks for the info

 

Well, I think I found out what was going on with the HEI. The advance mechanism has more movement than the weights impart, so at max advance, it was rattling the weights, rather than being hard up against a stop. It looks like it needs a bushing on the trigger half to butt up against the shaft half in order to prevent that.

But, rather than mess with it now, I'll just put in the Pro Billet, which has a very positive feeling stop to it. Easier to tailor the advance as well.

 

Got it back together enough to give it one "Ba-raaap!" to know I've got the distributor in right and close enough to get the timing set after I get a can of E85 into the tank. Besides, it was getting too late to run it up to 3500 RPMs to set the timing. . .

Should have it up and running Friday after I get back from the business trip I'm leaving for Tuesday.