this is my setup and i was wondering what i can do to make it better.... 355 balanced 4 relief flattops, dart 215cc iron eagles, edlebrock supervictor holley 850 dp 9.75:1 compression, harland sharp 1.6 ratio rockers comp cam extreme energy 284 cam .541, .544 total lift installed straight up. hedman full length headers true dual 3" flowmaster one chamber mufflers msd 6al ignition.

my previous converter was a 3000 with a th350, the car ran 12.90's which is quit pathetic,the best 60 ft time i could get was a 1.95.

what size converter should i go with now, streetability is not a concern.. possibly a 4000 or 4500, i know the motor could deffinetely use more compression, i have a virgin 400 block laying around what do you think it would run with a 11.5or 12.0:1 406 with the existing top end?


any ideas would be greatly appreciated, sorry about the huge run-on sentence and the number of questions..

Thanks,
Greg

 

My thinking is that everything is built around the cam - induction, exhaust, heads, compression, bottom-end capability, etc.

That extends to the torque converter stall speed. If that is really what you're asking, call Comp tell them what your combo is, they'll recommend a converter.

Most successful racers I know go another 500 RPMs over the cam manufacturer's recommendations. But, that may be influenced somewhat by the altitude here.

 

yes i guess my questions are ..

1.) what size converter do you think i should go with.
2.) what can i do to make the combination faster in the 1/4.. other than like nitrous.


Later,
Greg

 

I am curious what kind of gears you are running in the car. I am hoping no less than 3.73's. A 3000 converter should honestly be fine, a 3500 would be as big as I would go with the XE284. I have two friends who ran that cam in a 327 and a 383 and both ran 3000 converters with no problems. I would invest in some thin head gaskets and possibly shave the heads 4cc. With those big intake runners, a single plane and that cam I think it would help out a lot if you were up around 10.25:1 or 10.5:1, even 11:1 if you dont plan on street driving it too often. Just keep detonation in mind if you do bump the compression .

 

the car has 4.10 gears, i dont really ever drive it on the street.

i have been conteplating putting a 406 together to replace the 355 shortblock with 12:1 compression, i previously have a 3000 converter. and the car didnt want to leave for beans but i think the huge top end was killing all torque... i just want the car to run good times, not concerned with streetability.


later,
Greg

 

Go 11:1 and maybe a 3500 stall. Just keep in mind you will probably need to run a bit of race gas. I really think running more compression will really wake that motor up. You are running a big set of heads (215cc intake runners), a big intake and a pretty big cam for only having 9.75:1 on a 350.

A 406 would be cool, but hey this motor is together, and shim gaskets and angle milling are relatively cheap compared to the cost of swapping motors. I say go 11:1 and possibly a 3500 stall and see what happens.

 

To give you an idea why I am so confident that your motor can run faster with a little more compression, I have two friends with your cam in different motors:

66 Nova, 327ci, 10.25:1, Performer RPM Heads (170cc intake runners), XE284 cam, 3000 converter, 3.73's, ET Drag slicks:
12.6@107 in the quarter

93 s10, 383, 11:1, Performer RPM heads with lots of headwork, XE284 cam, 3000 converter, 4.11's, ET Drag slicks: 11.9@114 in the quarter.

Both of my friends were running the 3000 Hughes pro street converter when they ran these times.

 

i tried the steel shims head gaskets, didnt help much, i didnt really wanna angle mill the 64cc chamber heads, because i was thinking i might use them on something else


later,
Greg

 

Sounds like 400 time then. Are you going to have the motor ready this season?

 

i might possibly put the 406 motor together this year. i felt the 3000 stall converter was holding back the setup, along with compression, the car would trap 110 or 111, but no 60 ft or 1/8 times worth a crap..

later,
Greg

 

Those are some huge heads for no more cam/compression that your running. A higher stall will help your 60 foot no doubt as your set-up is definately designed for upper rpm breathing. I'd be willing to beat a 12 pack of frosty ones that smaller heads-runners-would make the set-up work together better with what you have and possibly 2.5" exhaust. Call me crazy but I'm smaller than you and running as hard. Since you already have the sweet heads and good exhaust/parts, I'd personally build the 406 and never look back, the bigger cubes will like the better flowing heads, and a higher stall plus compression would'nt hurt either. Good luck. There is literally no substitute for cubic inches-especially dollar for dollar!

 

Even if you go to a 383 or 400 your compression isn't going to change much. That is why I would angle mill the heads you have down to 11:1 or better especially since you have the cam straight up. Spot face the head bolts and cut the intake side to match, and let 'er rip. If you put those heads on a bigger engine you can always back the cam off a couple of degrees if you're really worried about compression. That'll help you make a little more power too.

I've got my XE280 installed a couple of degrees advanced with 10.5 compression(would be more, but the vortecs have the stupid lip), 1.5 rockers, running everyday on 92 pump gas. I took quite a bit of time off just by port matching and milling the head.