i went to the track last wednesday, and it was dissapointing to say the least....

my combo is a '72 350 bored .060 over,lunati bracket master cam 292adv.dur., rpm air gap, demon carb,edelbrock 1 5/8 headers, 305 HO heads, MSD 6AL, 700R4 with complete rebuild/shift kit/vette servo etc, and holeshot 2400, with a 7.5" with 3.42s and a mini-spool, 26x9.516 hoosier quick time pros, comp.engineering rear drag shocks.


first off,
i got a .598 reaction time,
this was the result:
60' 2.162
330 6.105
1/8 9.275
mph 78.30
1000 12.071
1/4 14.402
mph 96.52

this was after a burnout, stalling it as high as i could (only about 2000 rpm, I didnt try flashing it) and no spinning at all, the car bogged down and took forever to get going.

next i did a small burnout, and got a .594 r/t
my car was at almost 220degrees at the line...
ran 2.130 60', and a 14.58 @95.17

and third i did no burnout, spun a little bit, (which felt much faster out of the hole) shifted into second at 6000rpms and broke the passenger side axle and lost it out of the rear end at about 55-60 mph


so now im putting in another stock rear end in untill i can afford a moser 12 bolt or 9 inch,
im going to swap in 4.10 gears for now. and eventually go witha 3500 or 4000 converter and possibly a victor Jr.


how much will the 4.10s and flashing the converter get me down to? i haaaaaave to get into the 13's any help will be much appreciated

 

Start saving up for some better heads. With all the changes you've done and plan to do, those tiny heads are holding you back. The engine needs to breath.

 

what would you reccomend for a "cheaper" head?

are the sportsman II's good for whta i am ruunning, sopme people have reccommended vortecs but id rather not buy another intake manifold just to use those heads...

thanks in advance,
Keith

 

That combo is soo close to what I used to run it scared me to read it LOL!!!

Regardless of what people tell you, that cam loves a 3500 stall, that combo loves big carbs (I started small and 6 carbs later with a 950HP on top was running it's best) and running your 26" tires stay with a 3.73 gear set and get a Vic jr intake with 1" 4 hole spacer.

Follow that advise and you'll be mid 13's NO problem. electric water pump and manual steering I promise 13.00's and high 12's on good air days, my best back then was a 12.74 at 3440lbs. All I had was a set of 305 heads with 2.02/1.60 valves and 9.3:1 compression. I used to run a performer intake, swoitched to a performer rpm, then finally to the vic jr (lost pushrod before I could goto track for time slip) but the vic jr did'nt give up anything down low and motor then pulled cleanly to 6600 before I let off, motor still was pulling hard though-with both dual planes I was all out of steam by 5500.

 

Price out a set of SPortsman II's then go to your machine shop and get a quote on prepping the 305 heads.

Minor port and bowl work
2.02/1.60 valves
Larger spring pockets for bigger springs
Screw in studs. Bigger springs will eventually pull out the pressed in studs.
Proper springs for that cam. Stock springs are probably way to weak.

Although the 305 heads will work, they're not as good as a set of good aftermarket heads. By the time you spend all the money prepping the factory heads to give some performance, aftermarket heads will probably still out perform them for less money.

Don't be disappointed with performance with just a bunch of bolt on stuff. My old 383 had a really good cam, intake and carb but barely got into the 13's. After the first season I installed some heavily modified camel back heads, a TH350 tranny and 3800 stall converter. That was it and I picked up 2 full seconds. First pass of the season gave me a 12.09 run. The heads and converter really helped the camshaft and that was with 3.27 gears and a 26" tall tire. The camshaft was a solid lifter cam with about .550 lift. I can't remember the duration.

Want to go faster without spending a lot of money? Get rid of any extra weight from the car. Even for a street car, there's a lot of weight that can be removed.

 

thanks for the head and stall advice.
as for the weight and parasitic loss,
the car is totally stripped inside and under the hood-(just two seats and a console, NOTHING else inside, and under the hood the heater/AC crap is gone air pump, ac condenser, windshield wiper motor/resiovoir, etc.)

and i would like to get an elec. water pump and i already removeed the power steering pump.

 

P.S.- about the heads, i definately dont want to spend money on my 305 heads, i wanna buy something with a 2.02/1.60 valve or that flows equivalant.

im looking to spend under a 1,000 for assembled heads,
would i be better off with sportsman II's, bowties, or those new dart heads, i think there teh new iron eagle with the really small comb. chamber???

also shoudl ibuy them assembled or bare and then buy springs,studs,and valves? because Pace performance has what i think are pretty good prices on bare heads....

thanks again
Keith

 

Pro-Topline has heads that are making goobs of power for a nice budget price, Dart Iron eagles are another good iron head-and if the new ones are supposed to flow 10% more than it should be better yet. Your gonna be in that spot money/budget wise if you opt for some good iron stock, figure roughly $800 for a good set of heads- shipped add another $30 or so. When you start talking that kind of coin that extra $400 for a really nice set of aluminum heads really is not out of the ball park...it's a tough call, but when spending that kind of money I know what I'd do, but that's me.

Most experienced guys and all shops will tell you to buy bare cast heads and assemble them yourself(or have shop do them) there have been issues with every manufactuer pre-built getting a few heads here and there that dont seal or have some other minor mass production issues. That's also your call, there are gonna be alot more guys having good luck running preassembled than bad luck. Just be sure to get the springs the right strength for your application so your not ruining cam shafts or floating valves.

With that peanut cam keep the runner size small, 200cc or smaller. You can make alot of power with 200 cc heads, but you should really being thinking ahead of what you may like to do later down the road so you dont have to buy yet another set of heads in a few years should your itch for more power grow-better to buy the big pants and grow into them later.

Kind of bland advise, but think seriously before dropping serious coin. Be sure to try and match all your parts so you get the best bang for your dollar also-this is why the big picture needs to be planned before you purchase anything-ask me I know from when I first got started-6 carbs, 3 intakes, 4 tranney's, 4 convertors, 3 different gear ratios's looking to make the combo run better/faster/ and more consistant. I took all that hind sight and applied it into this new combo and hit it right out of the gate-ONE TIME!!

 

okay, i have three semi-big purchases to make...
and i could use advice on which should come first..

i need gears, converter, and heads.
i wanna buy gears first, but what shoudl come after that?,

and
i was ready to order 4.10s, but would you reccommend 3.73s over them?
(26 inch tall tire, but also soon to be victor jr. 6500ish rpm)

 

Definately opt for a vic jr intake, if you dont want to buy new, keep checking e-bay/swap meets/ask dirt packing buddies and you can usually find them for about $50. This will help a bunch with spacer I recommended.

First off, are you planning on running this cam for a few years? If so opt for a 3000 stall MINIMUM-3500 is ideal for this cam.

gear wise if your running 26" tires, stick with 3.73's, it will optimize cam's power down the 1/4mi. and you will trap just as cams ideal powerband is exiting. Not to mention will make street driving alot better too.

Heads, if your running stock now any aftermarket will give you alot more power regardless so long as you dont get too big on runner size. 180cc runners would be ideal with that cam, but if you plan to grow into a bigger cam/motor 200cc would be the minimum I'd recommend unless your next motor is gonna really special-then you'll need bigger of course.

And that's the order I'd personally buy the parts since the convertor/gears can be swapped out in a single day and they will make what you have seem like a totally different beast under the hood and probably tide you over for quite awhile. Heads cost considerably more and you have alot to think about before dropping that kind of money since you dont want to buy heads twice if not needed-unless you have a big budget

This is my 3rd year on the Proform electric water pump and it's given no signs of letting up, that's 2 full years of racing and thousands of street miles and it's given no signs of petering out yet. best $130 you can spend for the added hp gain. I also had better cooling using a restrictor plate instead of a thermostat. I used the middle size 3/4" hole. If you still want to use a thermostat, be sure to drill 4- 1/8" holes around the bse to allow coolant to by-pass so it's not so hard on the pump, or restrictor plate during the summer and thermostat in the winter.

 

thanks so much for the information, ill take alll the advise youre willing to share