Nice!

Good to see you get to the bottom of it. I use standard volume pumps on everything. More hp and less strain on parts.

How old or how many miles are on the opti? As many as I seen fail, that wouldn't surprise me. And they generally won't set off any codes when they go bad.

I got a question. Few of you say that you did not remove the tranny. On a manual tranny, how did you get the spline back in with the tranny + C-beam on place?[/quote]

Just get everything aligned, and push it in to the trans. Make sure it in goes evenly. If you rotate the engine while pushing it in, sometimes that can help. It is easier with two people usually, but I have done most of the engine installs I have done by myself. Sometimes they go right in, other times you end up fighting them.

I never pull the trans out to pull the engine. Just loosen the two C beam bolts at the rear of the trans. Seperate the trans from the bellhousing, and use a floor jack under the trans to jack it up as high as you can. You want to be careful not to over do it. But you can't go too far, the bellhousing will hit the tunnel. Undo the hood prop, and you can get the hood to open farther. Then you can use something like a broom handle to keep the hood open. Then you can pull the engine out the side. I also pull the plastic cover on the wiper motor off, they can get easily broken pulling the engine. But with a ZF6, you have to seperate it between the trans and bellhousing, not the engine and bellhousing. And keep the floorjack under the trans to support the trans when the engine is out. And make sure the front of the trans is as high as it can go during the R&R, that will give you a good angle getting the engine in and out. Then you can remove the bellhousing and clutch when the engine is out.

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Glad to hear you got it all sorted out!

Hey Josh, I don't know if you have updated the results here, but if you haven't, you should. Your car flies with the new AFR 195's on it!

A intake valve hanging open would be the most common cause as mentioned. On flat tappet engines, if it pops back thru the tb at full throttle, the cam is going flat. And if the engine is extemely cold and the A/F ratio is was lean, they can pop back thru the carb or tb when cold. And also ignition problems as mentioned

Congrats Josh!

Your in good hands having Mick doing your tuning.

Nice job Josh!

And you probably miss the bad DA and bad track prep of RMR here in Utah. Plus our season ends in the end of Sept. This year we had the best racing conditions of the year the first 3 weeks of Oct... and our track is closed... NICE!!!

Hey Beach, my experiance with big cube sbc's most mail orded tuners have problems getting the tuning nailed. They don't see that many of them. But I think you have a good shot working with Mick getting the tuning dialed in.

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I agree, that is the thing I least want to do is put a full cage in the car. You nailed it Beach. I have a 5 point right now with a side bar. and it's not that bad. But a full cage will make it harder to get in and out, along with everything else. I just really don't want to do everything required to my car. And right now I have a removeable drivers side bar, so that is real easy to live with.

That would be the problem running at a lower elevation track. My car is legal to 10.00. It would suck to drive hundreds of miles, make one pass and get booted. And I really don't want to do everything required to run 9's.

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Hey Josh, I think you nailed that one on the head. With bad track prep and bad DA, it's hard to find a slower track!

I ran a new best mph, but just missed a new best ET. With ET you need track prep,traction, and good DA. I ran the last three races this year at Rocky Mountain Raceway in Salt Lake City. The rear tires are 5 years old so I felt like they might have held me back a little. I didn't put new rear tires on because it will sit until April after this race. So I figured I would use these tires up and put new rubber on next spring. The last test and tune it was so windy we could only run to half tack. My car usually runs 1.51-1.54/60's. On test and tune I had 1.47-1.49/60's... but we could only race to half track.Because of the wind. I ran 6.7X at 107.15 mph at half track. That is a best half track mph, and about the best 60fts the car runs. Then on the last street legal it ran a 10.37 and best 138.12mph. The 10.37 only had a 1.54/60. The DA was 6000ft and the track was getting so cold traction was a problem it was down to 52 degrees. With a 1.47/60 that run would have gone in the 10.20's. That is my goal. The last ET night was just the opposite. 8000ft+DA and 93 degrees. Too hot to hook, and the heat killed power. Our season is over the end of Sept. DA and track prep are issues that are out of our hands.

I pulled the engine this spring for a freshen up and new clutch, and found some power on the dyno after it was back together.

I think I am starting to see the potential of the AFR 235's and ported Mamo Ram (miniram). This car used to always run 135mph with the LE ported AFR 220's and Jeb ported miniram. Running 138 with the new AFR235's really is a big gain, especially when you are already going that fast. And for what it's worth, the old LE ported 220's had HPC coated valves, chambers and exhaust ports. The AFR 235's are off the shelf.

My best up here (7000ft DA) was a 10.36@135.86 with a 1.52/60

So overall, I ran a best MPH 138.12, best half track over 107, and saw the car run best 60 ft's. For a best ET and MPH, I need all the planets to align. The car needs to run good, my driving good, Good DA, and good track prep. I will also put some new tires on next spring. So overall, the season did end on a high note, a best mph and best half track mph, and I can see with good track prep it will 60ft in the 1.4's up here.

Edit: the AFR 220's that were on the car were the old AFR 220 comp port casting ported by LE, not the current Eliminator head.

Jim

The first step is to get it to run. I might fly up and tune it once it does run.

I have 11" of vacuum with a 252/260SR and the brakes work great. But it is a 450ci engine.

[quote]
Josh wrote:

If necessary, you can unbolt the slave and hold it in such a manner as to make the steel inlet tube the highest point. That way, as you pump fluid in the bleeder valve, all the air goes up and out the line.
quote]



I agree, you have to turn the thing upside down to get all the air out of it. Why didn't GM put the bleeder on the top?

Hey Pete, was this a motor for your own car, or was this a customer car. Sounds like it should turn out nice. And some AFR's won't hurt either!

You will easily be in the 11's when you get it sorted out in good air.

Looks awesome Mike. Nice job!

Looking good

The engine looks awesome Greg. And you will be fine with 24lb injectors.

My machine shop said they have a new owner. The new owner is Paul Lee?. I think that was his name. He is a T/F racer and set up Strasberg Machine as a W/D for them. All this just happened in the last few days. I will know more soon. But they should still be in business... as far as I know... for what it's worth!

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Wow... that is really dissapointing to hear. I thought the Gladiator D44 was better than that, especially for the price.

I would talk to Mick (Mseven) and see what he can do for you.

It's been done before, but I have never done one. And a 4L80E will need a stand alone computer to make it work, unless you have aftermaket ecu that can make it work. You would have to fab C beam bracket, and or some sort of crossmember, if the C beam bracket wasn't strong enough. But the c beam would need to attach to it. I am sure you can find guys that have done it out there.

One thing you do have going for you is a automatic is much easier on parts than a manual. So if you left the line easy, and I have seen guys pull timing for X amount of feet, and didn't spray nos right away, and had the strongest D44 you could build it might last for a while.

But I really think once you get to mid to low 10's and quicker, you are going to start to have problems. I have seen a few guys that stick with the IRS, and after so many runs, they go thru and inspect and rebuild everything after so many runs. The faster you go, the more you have to work on it. And the less parts last.

I think everyone here has given some real good advise. If you go solid roller, you could go with a Comp 248/254, and I would run a 112 lobe sep with nos. The motor you are talking about was similar to one of the 421's I did. It made 502 rwhp and 481 rwtq N/A. 11.0 compression, ran fine on pump gas.would pull to 6500 rpm. With a 200 shot it made 720 rwhp and 790 rwtq. I really wouldn't spray more than a 250 shot myself. There is alot more room for problems if you want any sort of engine longevity. And a D44 won't have a prayer of living with a big motor and any nos. I broke everything behind the trans (ZF6) and ended up with a 9". And personally I don't think a 4L60 would live long either. I have never had good luck with any engine I have done that had a 4L60. I would go T400 or a 4L80, but both of those will take some obvious fabrication.

anesthes wrote:
[/quote]

On Corvetteforum you have like 5% tech, 95% wax. On TGO we have more like 50% tech, and 50% 16 year olds who get banned daily. can't win.

-- Joe[/quote]

That's some funny stuff!

I agree!

I dynoed a car a few years back, 383 super ram motor, AFR 190 219 cam. We ran it as is, and pulled the serpentine belt off. It picked up 20 rwhp and 20 rwtq on a dynojet,with the belt off. And this guy would pull his belt off before he raced for every last bit he could get at the track. So running with less accessories has to be worth something. Every little bit helps.

I just heard about this less expensive block, but after learning more about it, I think I will stick to what I know that works. A Dart or Bowtie block. It sounds like it's a Chinese knock off of a dart block. I was under the assumption this block came from Australia, but it sounds like it's chinese.

You do get what you pay for!

I was at my machine shop today, Strasburg Machine. They run a top fuel car, do several Alcohol and pro mod engines. They are a hard core race engine machine shop. I was talking to Lindsey, the tuner and manager of the shop. Procomp out of Australia now is making SBC's that are a clone of a Dart block. It has billet steel 4 bolt main caps, and will handle a 4.200" bore. So you could go 450+ ci with it. I saw it, and it looks pretty beefy! it has a high nickel content, and the metal content of a high dollar race block. Oh... it's called Procomp out of Australia. Strasburg machine is a W/D for them. Their number is 801-785-2753. It will take a 4.200" bore, and you can go past 450ci with it. It is in the $13XX plus shipping range.

They have done several high hp engines using these blocks, and they have worked perfect.

Actually, it looks better than my bowtie block!

They also make a Ford version that can go to 460 based off a 351 windsor.

I'm not making a dime off any of this, just trying to put the word out there are some new options out there. The more options the better!

Jim

...

Personally, I would cut my loses with Alvin, and start fresh with Mick (mseven). Before I bought a FAST system and started doing my own tuning with a FAST system, I tried 5 different tuners, and I think Mick is at the top of the list.

I have delt with both Brian and Alvin of PCM for less. My personal experince is when dealing with Brian, the OBD2 stuff and newer, it is nailed pretty damn close, and good customer relations. When dealing with Alvin, the customer service and tuning has been less than stellar. And it is hard to get a hold of him, and many phone calls or emails aren't returned.

I have a friend that's a local bracket racer. 406 about 500-550hp 2 bolt block. The same EXACT thing happened to him. He makes alot of passes each year, and hearing the horror stories of 4 bolt blocks having issues, he stayed with a 2 bolt block. The amazing thing was it didn't hurt any of his rotating ass'y. I guess he got lucky... sort of!

I would talk to Mick (mseven). The guy is very sharp and knows his stuff. He is also very reasonable. I am pretty sure he is on this forum. He is also on the "other" forum.

I agree!!! You have to be real careful if and where you use chinese parts on a quality high performance engine. My rule of thumb is the less the better!

The best decision is none!

I comes down to the basic... you get what you pay for!

Looks good Pete

Hi Pete, 409's aren't that bad to build. It will take a low fill on the block,and some good stroker rods. You could have your rod journals turned down to 2.00" and use a small journal rod vs a standard large journal rod(2.100") to make it easier. There is 2 ways to do the piston height and rod length combo. You can use a 6.0" length rod with a 1.00" compression height piston. Or you can use a 1.150" compression height piston and a 5.85" rod.The block doesn't need that much more work than clearancing it for a 396 (3.875" stroke). And a .900 base circle cam will work. Just check clearance on everything close during assembly. And you will have to clearance the oil pan gasket. And I use a Canton,or other brand stroker oil pan. I haven't tried a stock pan on a 4.0 stroke, but the Canton pan makes it easy. I think a 4" stroke SBC with a super ram, some AFR 195's, you would have some serious torque, and still make some decent hp.

Hi Pete, If you are going to use your existing 350 block, you could put a 4.00" stroke in it and make a 408.2 (409). I have done several, and with a super ram and some AFR 195's it would be a torque monster.

Dupe. I guess I double clicked.

Hey Dan, That's a fast car. We all know that D36 was on borrowed time. Congrats on the new best.

Beach nailed it! This isn't a sealevel deal. This is up here in the stratoshpere!!! Uncorrected numbers!

I have heard that going to sequential fuel injection vs batch fire helps bigtime on a LTX/Miniram type engines! I know Dan @ White Racing, and he has checked exhaust temp with batchfire vs sequential at idle, and with batchfire there are differences between cylinders. With sequential all the cylinders were real close to the same. And 94 on up LTX motors from GM have sequential fuel injection on them.

Hi Joe, I have a friend here locally that is a bracket racer. He had some W.P sportsman heads that were ported. It is a 74 Nova 406 sbc 12.0 compression, 252/260 solid roller,Edelbrock Victor and a 850 carb. He was running 12.20@109 in our crappy DA (6000-9000ft). He swapped for some race ready AFR 210's on it (not the comp 210's) and now he runs 11.50's @116, just from a head swap.

After porting the W.P heads, the port volume was about the same.

Get some AFR's, and you won't be disappointed!

Good work Josh! The AFR's should get you some nice numbers at the track.

Well guys, I went to the track Friday night. I shouldn't have even gone. They said earlier in the week the temp would be upper 80's. Well it was 98 degrees. Normally over 90 degrees I stay home. And the DA was 8020ft. It was so hot nobody could hook very good. My 60ft's are usually 1.47-1.52. Last night it was 1.62-1.69. So all I could muster was 10.40's. The first run was so slick, I ran a 11.13. I blew the tires off the car about the whole run. And I haven't raced since Sept of last year, So I felt a little rusty. But even as bad as things were I still ran 2 mph faster than ever at half track 107.47 vs 105.xx. And did run 135.91, my best mph in horrible conditions. And usually to run 10.40's I have to have a 1.52 60ft. Now I did it with a 1.68 60 ft. And I was running a rich A/F 11.1-11.4 on NOS. So I need to make some tweaks, and make some more passes when it cools down. And where I am at to shave 2 tenths off probably takes 50-60hp. So even if I end up .2 faster, that is still a big gain for swapping heads. And with a 6 speed car, it's really up to the driver to make a good et. Launch rpm, shift points, shifting, ect. I said in the beginning, I would be happy to cut .2-.3 off my times. And I am pretty certain that will happen.

We will see what happens when it cools down. Once every several years(blue moon) we see DA UNDER 6000 ft... like 5600 ft. Those are rare true mineshaft conditions for us. But even 6500-7000 ft air is good. So I will let it cool down a bit and try it again. And hopefully get some better air that the car will actually hook. It usually hooks pretty good with the 4 link in it.
Thanks Guys, Jim