LoneStarV

1971 SB Auto. 75k miles all original. Ive been doing some reading and searches on engine mods and here is what i've come up with so far.

Keep my Quadrajet and have the Lars treatment done to it. His price is very reasonable. I was surprised he was opposed to Pertronix or any elec ignition and only uses points for his distributor rebuilds.

Edelbrock Performer 2101 Spread bore Intake.

Heads?

Cam?

Perhaps one of the Edelbrock top end kits? Saves a few bucks it seems?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-2022

I'm not going racing or looking for some monster increase in HP.

I'm trying to stay within a budget of $2000.00-ish

Any and all ideas/suggestions welcome.....hopefully this doesn't spark a holley-quadrajet fight. Lol!

Bagmup

Yep, Edlebrock top end kit is a good place to to start. I worked with a guy like Lars, many years ago when i was an apprentice mechanic. "Points and carby mate, this fuel injection and electronic ignition is garbage"

I guess Lars likes points because it's a simple on/off switch that can be repaired on the side of the road with a screwdriver. I'm all for EFi/elect ign.

LoneStarV

Points are reliable however Pertronix seems to be very popular on the forum and works well.

gcusmano74

Switched to a Pertronix kit years ago right after my brand new AC Delco point set failed. The contact that was welded to the movable arm fell off at high RPM, just as I was blowing past my buddy's Honda on a nearby highway. The engine was instantly silent, and I coasted to a stop on the side of the road, with my buddy and his Honda right behind me.
Very embarrassing.

LoneStarV

Ouch! Lol! I see a lot of reads but no suggestions on head and cam combos. I'll give Edelbrock a call and see what they say.

Mike Ward

Try asking 'which oil should I use with my new engine mods' if you really want to not get an answer. Many of us old farts are not opposed to petronix or similar, we found out decades ago that they're not an 'upgrade'.

The kit in your link won't work with a spreadbore carb to start with


.

LoneStarV

I'm open to suggestions for a head and cam combo with my quadrajet???? As for oil Mobile 1 has always worked for me......dunno if it's the best for my 42 year old engine.

scottyp99

If you're trying to save money, and you don't care about getting every last horsepower available, here is a head and cam combo that will save you some serious scratch:

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Flo-Te...lug,25118.html

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/su...make/chevrolet

http://www.northernautoparts.com/Pro...tModelId=22765

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/su...make/chevrolet

You can find Performer 2101 intakes on ebay and craigslist for, like, 50 bucks. Bada-bing! You've just spent about a thousand bucks.

The head gaskets in the link are very thin, .015", but they still have a rep for sealing well. They will up your compression about a half a point. The heads are aluminum, with 64cc chambers, which should give you around another .8 of static compression ratio. The camshaft's power range is 1600-5200, which is right about where you want to be with a street engine, (depends on your transmission and differential gear, if you could let us have that info, that would be great) and the rockers are there because the Speedway heads use large diameter valvesprings, and I don't think the stock rockers will clear them. 45 bucks is pretty cheap money to make sure. You should think about a new timing chain and gears, as long as a new cam is going in. Maybe a new stock oil pump, too. Good luck!

BTW, the obstacle you will face in upgrading the distributor will be the tach drive. You will probably be better of, financially, leaving it the way it is.

Scott

71scgc

Petronix is flimsy junk, and not really HEI. Stick with your points dist. or switch out to a real HEI made by a reputable company, like MSD, Performance distributors, etc.
Carter