I was rather content with the power my new engine makes, but now I'm starting to get used to it . I raced my friends '97 Cobra and beat him, but not by much. So, what do you people recommend me doing?

1. New Cam. The one I chose (listed below) I picked when I was still planning to use fuel injection. I would perfer a more aggressive cam like an XE274. This is the cheapest mod I can do and only took me 2 hours last time (my first one ground a lobe). Would I notice much of a difference?

2. Transmission. I have my heart set on a 6-speed but my wallet doesn't agree. I have my OLD 700R4 with stock stall converter. I know that has to be changed, but I don't feel like pulling the tranny just to change the TC. Besides, I'm looking to help the top end right now.

3. Exhaust. I have the crappy edelbrock headers from my old 305 on now. Would a good set of headers such as the Hookers w/ the 3" Y pipe help alot? The exhaust is hooker cat-back, I don't plan on changing that.

4. Cowl Hood. This would let me put a bigger air cleaner on (I can only squeeze a 1" now ) and possibly a carb spacer. Of course this would look cool too and get some cold air into the motor. I'm looking at the Glastek 2".

Those are my choices. Please give me some suggestions, this is the first performance motor I have built, so I can use all the help I can get!.

Cam: XE262H-14
218 / 224 @ 50
262 / 270 Adv
114* lobe seperation (did this for fuelie)
.464/.470 lift

355 4-bolt main
Forged Crank and Rods
Flat-Top KB Claimer Pistons (9.6 calculated CR)
Vortec Heads (w/ better springs and modded for high lift)
Mallory HEI Distributor
MSD 6A ignition box
Holley 700 DP
Edelbrock Performer intake
Edelbrock TES crappy headers (listed for 305)
3.73 Rear w/ SLP takeoff posi
Home Made Subframe connectors

 

what sort of $ u have to work with?

I would suggest a rear end...a bigger cam without the proper set-up will only kill your power.

the headers will probably help alot and probably fit your budget as well...

:/edit - i just read your sig, u have the 3.73 rear end now? If so, do the tranny stall, then worry about purchasing a bigger cam.

 

Yes, the exhaust will help, along with the cam, and a bigger air cleaner and carb spacer will give you some more power. I would say go ahead and do all of those mods. A new TC would help you a good amount but if you really don't want to then you don't have to, but with that cam it is probably a pretty good idea to put in a new TC.

 

So you think that the hooker headers would be a significant improvement over the edelbrock TES headers?
I don't have much of a budget right now, I'm thinking of my next purchase being in January, and probably be under $500. I'm leaning toward the hood right now. If I do the stall I will have the tranny rebuilt at the same time (or if I find a 6-speed reasonable go for that!)

 

well your probably asking the wrong person cause you are reading a reply from a edelbrock hater..

but in all honesty, probably not a really big notice in performance, sound, it should sound better...

what sort of tranny do you have? turbo350, 700?

I priced my 700r4, a good rebuild by a pro is around 900-1000 bucks...

you could probably get away with install a shift kit (trans of course) and adding a vette servo without having to take it to a mechanic. that with a stall and your 3.73 rear end, with addititon of a bigger cam, now your talking about a big notice in power.

however if u want to replace clutch packs and so forth as in a nice rebuild, thats get hard...

a good manual with patience and some special tools u could do that yourself and save yourself $ as well... a full rebuild kit (by pro built) is around 540 bucks i think last i looked.

 

It's the stock 700R4 with a shiftkit. That's where I really need to start working on now I guess. Well, maybe I'll start with the hood and go with a 6-speed in the summer when I save a few bucks. Then I'll ananlyze that and see what I need to do next. Thanks for the help everyone.

One other thing, what cam do u recommend once I have a manual gearbox? I thought the XE262 would be big enough for me, but I'm thinking an XE272 with a smaller lobe seperation of 110 or 112. The 262 has a really smooth idle and 17" vacuum at idle. The motor pulls hard from 2500-6000, so the power band is pretty wide. I wouldn't mind moving the power band up a little bit once I have the right tranny in it.

 

yes of course of course... only way to get the power from a big cam is to have

- a manual so u can keep the rpms high by downshifting - more gears

- a nice geared rear end for launches

- a stall...

- nice exhaust flow

After i change my cam with a summit flat tappet (do u have a roller set-up? i dont know anything about comp cams cept that they are expensive) my car runs so much better, and the sound is amasing.. buddy of mine uses the summit brand cam too, same results...

I suggest them if u have a hydraulic cam...and with a 6-speed/built 700-r4 with stall, do not be shy of the bigger cams at all...

my cam specs is stock cause i have a stock 700 stall, stock 3.08 posi, and from the bigger cam that "was" in it, this smaller one makes my baby $hit n get.

 

No, it's flat tappet. I was thinking about a summit cam, I had put one in my old MonteCarlo and had good results. I just checked the prices and for under $80 I can get the cam and lifters. I might go w/ that after I get my tranny straight.
Thanks.

 

An XE274 cam and Performer RPM manifold is a proven 400+hp with the vortecs. Just thought I'd throw out that idea...

 

Really? Dang, that would do the trick. I have no idea how much power I have now, but I doubt it's near 400. I'd guess 350, but who knows..

 

i would get the summit cam, like u said 80 bucks gets u cam n a fresh set of lifters, and its not like it isn't designed for performance.. good results everytime i used them and my bro worked at a machine shop building sbc's amongst other blocks but he recommended it...

i would never buy a different cam brand (unless i have a roller set-up but that will never happen)

good luck

 

I probably will go w/ the summit cam, I have had several before. This is the second Comp cam I have and that's only because the first one wiped a lobe.
How does this cam sound?

Sum-1105
Specifications:
* Advertised duration: 282 intake/292 exhaust
* Duration at .050 in. cam lift: 224 intake/234 exhaust
* Gross valve lift: .465 in. intake/.488 in. exhaust
* Lobe separation: 114 degrees
* RPM range: 2,200 to 5,700

It has about the same lift as my Comp but the duration is a bit longer. Still has a 114* lobe seperation which would keep my vacuum up, although that is not my goal (I wouldn't mind a little lump to my idle).

 

That would be a good cam, somewhat similar to the 274 (IIRC) in duration numbers except maybe a tad longer. Should work well with the other parts.