Bought an 85 trans am for a drag only car.. will be trailered to and from. I need to know what I can get rid of. As of Now I've just removed weight things such as interior and a/c components. Its a carb'd 305. I also need help with all these vac lines and which ones are necessary and not. Thanks guys,

Kirt

If it's not required for speed or track safety, take it out.

there are no requirement... "run what u brung" they are technically test and tune, I just need to know what I can get rid of from the engine bay. Any emissions stuff? all those vac lines? What is the bare minimum needed for the car to run correctly down the track...

Secondly, A friend of mine has a 350 TPI motor with high comp pistons and intake mani and carb and port and polish and such, with a built 700r-4 tranny that he wants 1000 for the whole running car with everything in it.(rolled) How much work would I be looking at to swap it over, and what could i get back by selling my running carb'd 305 and 700r-4


Thanks,

Kirt

carb, distributor, alternator, water pump, alternator, ignition box (MSD or similar), radiator. Thats the big stuff. That's all I have under my hood and I can drive it every day if I want. I pulled out all of the factory wiring, power steering, emissions and anything related to the a/c and heater. Only wiring under the hood is for the gauges, alternator, fan, MSD and starter. It all runs inside the fender out of sight.

Thanks Dialed_In. I knew The basics that i needed. Its the things like the different vac hoses for the car and such that I didnt know about. This is my first carb'd car. I've worked on tpi 350's before and tbi cars (chrysler conquest) and mpfi (300zx) Im just trying to figure out how to get it a little less uncluttered. Which vac hoses are needed for the carb to work correctly? And then the accerssories use vac to right? I know the brake booster does, but I dont need assisted breaks for the strip so thats not a concern. Where abouts are you located in md. Im right over in gettysburg, Pa. A local helper would be great. Not to mention cheap drags here at the local airport... everything from civics to 9 second all out drag cars and bikes. Thanks,

Kirt

Only vacuum lines I have are for the brake booster which I also have "T'd " off to go to the PCV valve. No cruise control, EGR or heat so no need for any vacuum references. You should keep the power brakes, without them it'll be hard to slow that thing down. Not to mention burnouts and driving around the staging lanes.

I'm right outside of Baltimore.

So should i just rip everything out and plug the vac lines except to the booster? And what do I do with all the vac ports on the stock carb? Thanks man, and do you have any messenger service that I could talk to you on. AIM, MSN, YAHOO? Thanks,

AIM- cypres83

Yahoo- cypres_83


Kirt

The majority of the vacuum lines you see all over the engine are related to emissions. Once you rip all that stuff off the car, you won't need all that extra stuff. Vacuum sources such as off the carb can be plugged with simple rubber caps.

My engine doesn't have any vacuum stuff on it. Manual brakes don't need a vacuum source and my ignition is locked out to full advance so I don't need a vacuum advance distributor which is only for part throttle street operation anyway.

My engine isn't as simple and clean as Dialed_In's but it's basically the same idea. The only electrics is the basic minimum that the engine needs for gauges, ignition and the electric motors for water pump, fan etc.

I'd stay away from a factory TPI engine for a drag car. The intake is very limited to good performance. Same for the 700R4. It's a good street tranny but the gear ratios are not suited for the drag strip and the OD will never be used. You did say the car was going to be trailered so just get a good TH350 tranny. It's an easy swap into a car that already has a 700R4.

ok, I got all the weight out... everything... dash, seats, carpet, all under the hood stuff... everything. Now I have another problem.. I covered the carb, and dizzy. and then sprayed the bay with engine cleaner, then rinsed it.. now when i start it, I have to have the gas all the way down to the floor just to keep it running, and sometimes it still dies. Any ideas? Second, What do I want to do next as far as bumping down the times. Exhaust is already gone from the Y back, and I got a edelbrock filter set up and some different plugs wires and plugs and such. I know cam's make a huge difference and so do gears. But how high a gear ratio do I want to run. 4.10's? 4.56's? and any suggestions on cams? Thanks and sorry for the longs posts and questions


Kirt

Sounds like you have a vacuum leak somewhere.

As for making power, there are many ways. Depends on your budget.

BTW, put the dash back in and also an exhuast. Nothing worse than a gutted 15 sec car

What kind of vacuum leak would prohibit the car from running after washing the engine bay? it ran before I washed it. I know there are many ways to make power, and I am going to look into nitrous, drag only car means I can run 116octane all the time, I just have to do some more research and see how much I can run on the lg4 with that gas. I just firgured a different rear was a cheap way to make a substantial difference, along with a cam. Basically, this car is a toy. I dont care if its slow, but its staying gutted and the exhuast is staying off lol... toys need to be loud. Im looking into picking up a 400 to start building also. The 305 is just what cam in the car, so I Figured I would do something with it for now.

Thanks,

Kirt

Don't run the 116, way too much octane that you can't take advantage of. It will be a waste of money and you will make just as much or more power with pump junk.

I know not to run race gas if you dont need it. it doesnt burn completely and usually lowers engine performance because of it. I meant run it if I was using some type of forced induction, which I do plan on using nitrous. Any suggestions on size. most people seem to be using the 5151?? from N.O.S.? Is there any particular cam I should be looking into if I know I will be using forced induction?

Here is what I would do if I were you:

A.) Research......lots of it

B.) forged 350, carb it and throw a big shot on it

C.) TH-350 or powerglide.....

D.) 12 bolt rear end

E.) some big meats

F.) Subframe connectors...torque arm

G.) Take everything else out.

In no certain order but #1

ok guys.. took the car to the track finally.. traction was the biggest issue... ran ok except for one small problem that ill get to. Anyway, I was surprised, it ran beside (my front bumper at the back of his door with a 14.7 integra gsr. Spining through most of first...

Now with the bad. Oil is coming out of the breather, I was thinking pcv valve but I tried another one, and running it open and with no valve at all in the cover. I'd assume too much pressure, but the stock gauge is showing very low pressure (below 20) I havent got to look at it anymore since today's races but was wondering where I should start to look.

Going to look at a posi with 3.73's in it in the next couple of days, so that should help with the traction issue. and only a couple more track days left so the 305 is making way for a 400 or 388 or a forged 350 with a shot of juice.

Thanks,


Kirt

Lots of oil coming out the crankcase breather means you're building a lot of crankcase pressure.

This usually means you have a lot of blowby ie: very worn or damaged rings.

Not much you can do as a patch fix. Install breather filters in the rocker covers and wrap athletic wrist bands around them to trap the oil.

The PCV valve just sucks the oil/moisture/etc back into the engine. The engine doesn't burn oil and water very well so from a performance standpoint, it's not something you want to do.

You could install a header evac system. It will help pull the excess pressure out into the header collector but also may show up as a lot of smoke while going down the track.

Personally, it sounds like your engine needs a rebuild. Since it's track only, posi and gears would be nice but invest in some slicks first. That's your biggest increase in traction. Without good traction from some slicks, everything else you do won't make a big improvement.

I didnt even think of blow by as being a possible problem.. hummm... sucks though, cause the only way to check that would be to rip it apart.. and once it comes out its not going back in. 350's are to cheap to do that. Any more idea's??? and im getting the white smoke now... breather to header to SANTA...

Thanks,


Kirt

Do a compression test and a cylinder leakdown test first.

White smoke is coolant. Sounds like you have a bad head gasket now.

Bought a compression tester today, should be able to get to it in the next couple of days. How do I do a leakdown test? Im aware that white smoke means coolant is burning.. but its not coming out of the exhaust, Its from oil coming out of the breather and going onto the exhaust manifold, and then coming from that whole area accordingly. haha. Once this season is done (2 more saturdays left) the 305 is coming out and will be replaced with one of the earlier mentioned engines. The 305 will then be used for a mock up engine to be put into my daily driver (benz) which will be getting a 350 in time (sleeper) It has good power so I dont think a headgasket is to blame. It was just idling in the driveway when the oil spat out. I just assumed it was pcv and I replaced it. Everything seemed fine after that. Then on track day it started again. So i pulled the pcv and here I am, haha.

Thanks guys,

Kirt

You need a leakdown tester and an air compressor. Regulated air pressure is put into the cylinder and the amount of leakage is measured. If 100 psi regulated air is put in and leakage produces 90 psi then there's a 10% leak.

Using a leakdown tester and also pinpoint a source of the leak. Listen to the tailpipe or through the intake to hear if there's a bad valve. Listening through the dipstick or oil fill can hear bad rings etc. Bubbles in the rad is a cracked block/head or a bad head gasket.