i've been a member here for a while, begining of last summer when i got a 5.0 firebird. but never got on here really. anyway to the point, i acuired a camaro about a 2 1/2 months ago. it has a 403 olds bored .030 over not sure if doamed or flat top pistons, stock heads, cam is something like 526/526(biggest one that can go in there with stock heads), stock manifolds to flowmaster mufflers, edl performer intake, holley 750 double pumper carb., th350 built trans, quicksilver hurst slap stick shifter, and true posi 3:73 rear end the rear he said had some kind of locker on it so it cherps when going around corners... ? sorry not much of a gear head. srry long winded, question is i bought a rpm intake and a set of long tube headers, know the headers are going to be hard to get on there but hey ........ ya only need wheel wells for driving through mud lol lol . as it is now it ran 12.5 in the 1/4 and smoked a brand new cobra as it did it . so with these new parts what do you think it will run? i was told the rpm intake is going to be a big step up from performer. and i gotta think headers will help a lot as well. i'm also considering getting a trans that is a little more streetable, trans shop said they could make one perform better then the trans i have now and be able to go over 65mph without whining out the way mine does. thanks for any input.

oh the pic was taken about a week ago, it's going in for a new black paint job feb. 1st

 

that's a HUGE hood. I'd seriously step down on that unless you're running in the 8s. How can you safely drive that on the street? Can you even see to the right? I'm sure the intake will help a lot with HP/TQ, I wouldn't cut out much of the wheelwells up front since that is what holds the front suspension together with the strut tower, if you cut too much and that bends, you will crash.

 

i agree. way too much hood. lol
im really wondering what kind of pistons are in there since the stock ones are ~8.0-8.5:1 dished pistons....
anyways, intake and headers should help some, maybe knock another .3-.4 off the timeslip. did you run 12.5's on street tires?

 

lol lol oh ya the hood i am getting rid of i'm just going to get a stock hood and put a forward facing carb. bonnet on there. the paint guy is going to cut the whole in the hood for me and make it look nice. the hood came with the car. the 12.5 was with slicks. but even with the slicks on there(not heating them up) it can still break it loose and kick it sideways. not bragging just love the low end in this motor. it's nuts for get up and go. and about those pistons. mondellos said probably not flat tops if i'm getting those kinda numbers. he said compression for this motor is pretty lame and if doamed pistons are probably in there. i do plan on putting on the edl heads but not till next summer at 1600$ the paint job is kinda taking up the rest of my budget for this year

 

A performer RPM is a great upgrade considering your cam. It's not matched well to your performer manifold at all. With the cam you have, you may need to port that RPM some to get some more out of it. You need to go to the junkyard or hit eBay for some "C" casting big block heads. You are dying with the smogger crap you have on there now.

You have no idea what you would get just by putting those heads on. You have a 4.35 bore and big block heads have a 4.1875. Your heads need to go bye bye and if your paint job is expensive, then you need to hit the wrecking yard. You can take your valve springs for your high lift cam and run them on your big block heads. Make sure you port your new RPM intake to match!

 

wow good info, thank you very much. i am going to print that out and take it to the machine shop "ross machine" has done engine work for me and they do great work on heads. what about my pistons thoa? could my pistons interfere with the heads if they are doamed? and how would the compression be affected with the big block heads? thanks

 

Believe it or not, those "C" casting heads are nearly the same chamber volume as your 403 heads, maybe a little less. Your pistons won't have problems.

If you need to open them up a little bit to match the compression, that's even better. You can polish the combustion chambers and keep checking them until they are the same cc's.

 

ok made a call this morning and got a set of "c" heads so if i tell the machine shop what i got going on they should know how to clear for the pistons if they are doamed right? and if there flat then i just need the intake and heads port matched... yes? and this will give me like 900hp correct.....? ok not the last one lol lol so with these heads, intake and headers do you think i'd toch 11's? if so i can die a happy man well i'm 30 and i cant grow a beard .... barely a mustash so not sure if qualify as a man .... but i'll be a happy man/boy lol lol

 

I can't tell you what you will run, only that it will be faster!

You don't need to do anything to your heads to clear your pistons. If your 403 heads are clearing, you're okay. Just make sure you get a good 3 angle or 5 angle valve job and then you must port match your intake and heads to the 1969 455 intake gaskets. Make sure you put the high lift valve springs in your "C" heads!

good luck!

 

thanks for the tips. i cant wait to get this all put on.

 

Just in case you didn't know, most Olds engines use a metal valley pan for the intake gaskets. You'll have to ditch that and run aftermarket 455 intake gaskets to make your combo work. The 455 valley pan is too wide and the 350 pans don't have large enough areas for the ports.

Mondello knows what you need, call them!

 

thanks for the tip. i'll have to call them up.

 

PAW sells trans dapt gaskets for under 10 bucks. TDP-4259 and they include end seals.

 

stupid question, but what is the trans dapt? thanks

 

trans dapt is a brand of gaskets i believe.

 

trans dapt is a brand.

 

oh ok, sorry i just try and sound like i know what i'm talking about i'll let mondellos or fcr know when i get ready to do this. probably wont be till the end of febuary. this paint job is taking a nice size chunk out of my wallet. thanks again for all the tips..... gosh i hope i at least break into the 11's

 

quick question. when i put the 455 heads on would'nt that open my cam options as well? if so how crazy could i get with the cam? i know the cam i have now is the biggest i can go with the stock 403 heads. any suggestions?

thanks

 

Your cam is fine with the rpm intake and those heads. You will need something on the order of 800 cfm and some big headers to get everything from it.

I think your cam was too big before; you are about to realize it's full potential now...

Make sure you post pictures and time slips...

 

what about springs? should i use the same ones or get new. i should get all the parts on around the end of month(feb) i will post some pics. thanks for the advice.

 

If you didn't have the current springs in your 403 heads, get new ones. It's cheap insurance against a grenade under your hood.

Some guys use ford small block springs but I think you're better off talking to Comp or Crane or even Mondello and asking them for something specific. Even the tech line guys at Summit and Jeg's can get you the right stuff. Just do it.