I say that I'm half disappointed. By that I mean that on the street it's very responsive and has very impressive acceleration. That was my objective, a street car (not necessarily Woodward Ave. in Detroit, MI).

I must say that there is a world of difference in the L69 that I replaced. BTW, it's a tire burning b***h with 245/60 14 tires and 2.73 open. That along with the Dynomax will get a lot more attention than I need.

The other half is the one time that I took it to the strip for Test & Tune. This was just a couple of weeks ago when it was just barely broken-in. I'm embarrased to even mention my best run of 13.9 and 99 MPH.

Had the car and myself weighed at a local scrap yard at 3,520#. By formula that equates to about 265 RW Hp or 310 at the crank.

My DD2000 says it should be more like 380 at the crank, more specifically 382@5,000 and 433Tq@3,500. I was hoping for 400+ HP but sometimes bucks get in the way.

Considering the lousy tire/rear end combo, performance may be a rather moot point. I know that I have to do something about that.

What bothers me more is the credibility that many racers/tuners put into the MPH number and that's the disappointing part.

See my SIG - any opinions. Please don't hold back - it only hurts for awhile and feels good when you quit.

I was running at 12/33* timing but recently bumped it up to 15/36* to get a little more vacumm (now a big 12").

Thanks,
Bruce



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87 Camaro with 700R4 and 2.73(3.23 posi in the driveway), 383cid, 4-bolt #010, Int. Balanced Eagle crank assembly, 4340 crank and H-Bean 6.0 rods with SRP flat tops.
DART IE 200/72cc heads (10:1 C/R) with Harland Sharp 1.5 full roller rockers and Guide Plates
Comp Cams XE274H (230/236 .487/.490 110LSA 1,800-6,000 RPM).
Edelbrock RPM manifold with Holley 750 (Vac/Electric).
MSD Pro-Billet (Vac) with 6AL box and Blaster2 coil.
Hooker SC LT headers, 3" pipe to Dynomax muffler and 2 1/2" dual outlets.
My best guess (Dyno 2000) is about 400HP and 430TQ??

 

DD2000 can only assume the results. There are many factors it has no control over that may be limiting you.

Spark curve - Instead of guessing on the timing, have the distributor recurved to match the engine.

Jetting - First of all ditch the VS carb for a double pumper. If you feel you need to have a VS carb then you'll have to learn how to fine tune it. Play with the jets. Go up 2 jet sizes in the primarys until mph drops then go back to the last size used before.

How old are the valve springs in those dart heads and are they enough for the cam?

The 700R4 tranny and 2.73 gears really hurt you. The spread between the 1-2 shift is too great. You need to over rev first gear so that when you shift to second you're at the bottom of the power curve not below it. The low first gear helps with the 2.73 highway gears but the 2.73 gears hurt 1/4 mile performance. It creates very low torque multiplication. 3.73 gears and about a 2500 stall converter will help wake it up.

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Follow my racing progress on Stephen's racing page
and check out the race car

87 IROC-Z SuperPro ET Bracket Race Car
461 naturally aspirated Big Block (times are for the current engine)

Best ET on a time slip: 11.447 altitude corrected to 10.99
Best MPH on a time slip: 119.42 altitude corrected to 124.86
Altitude corrected rear wheel HP: 493
Best 60 foot: 1.586

Racing at 3500 feet elevation with a typical race day over 5000 feet density altitude!
Member of the Calgary Drag Racing Association

87 IROC bracket car, 91 454SS daily driver, 95 Homebuilt Harley

 

Ya Stephen, I agree that DD2 has it's limitations and fixing my rear gear and traction problem is a given. I waisted the early part of the track just trying to get out of my own way.

All the parts in my engine are new except for the front end pump and P/S.

The Dart springs are (supposedly) 110#@1.700" whereas the Comp Cams recommendation is 105#@1.700".

This is my first engine build and I thought I had it right with the Vac on both carb and distributor. Anyway I've already enrolled in Carb 101.

What really got my attention the most was with regard to timing:

1. Don't guess on the timing! Since the moment I decided on this project I had the fear of detonation writen all over me and yes I am guilty of guessing.

2. Have the distributor recurved to match the engine! From the literature I know how my distributor is set-up i.e. 21* mechanical advance all in by about 4,000 (guessing again seems like it should be all in by 3,500 max).

Now my point, how do I go about having my distributor re-curved to my engine? How do I know what my engine wants?

Points well taken, Thanks.