WA 2 FST

As a quick recap for those who don't know what I had:

Gen VI 454 HO crate motor, GM rect. port iron heads, 211/230 hyd. roller cam, LS6 low-rise intake, 770cfm Holley carb (mech. second.), Hooker sidemounted headers, MSD ignition, coil and distributor.

Made 334rwhp @ 5400rpm, 384rwtq at ~3500rpm

Just finished getting the AFR 305 heads on, along with a Comp Cams hyd. roller camshaft (230/230, .578/.578, 110 LSA) spec'd out by AFR, Edel. Performer RPM Air-gap intake, Holley 950HP carb. Heads were angle-milled to bring CR up to ~9.5:1. This crate engine has only ~2500 miles on it, so I didn't want to rip apart a good forged rotating assembly to replace the pistons. So I had to settle with relatively low CR for now.

The Hooker sidemount headers bolted up without much hassle, except several tubes had to be dimpled _slightly_ up by where the spark plug is threaded into the head. #1, #2, and #6. The rest were fine. There was some very, very minor frame interference with one primary tube on each side...this was not a big deal and did not require major dimpling and certainly no cutting/rewelding. :)

The goal is to hit 420rwhp. Initial test drive went well. Today it is 95^F here in N. Dallas, so obviously it doesn't make as much power as it will when its cooler. I did not beat on it hard, and certainly not in 1st gear as I know it makes more power and I want to get used to it. I did hammer on it in high gear (5th...1:1 ratio) several times from 50-100mph and it definitely pulls harder than before. After about a 40 mile drive, I got on it in 2nd gear at ~2000rpm and it pulled to 5500rpm real fast (spinning the tires hard) and I just got out of it. So I haven't even been to redline yet (I anticipate that it will make peak HP ~5900-6000rpm, and I'll shift it at ~6200 or so).

Before the thing was done ~5500rpm, and it would start to nose over. Not anymore!!

Driveability is excellent. Honestly, it is the same as the old combo which was much milder. Idles ~900rpm, and seems perfectly happy in high gear at 1400rpm. No bucking/surging... nothing. Stomp on it and it takes off. No hesitation, although I can tell I lost a little bottom end TQ (under 2500). I really didn't expect the driveability to be this great, so I am pleased so far.

Granted it was only a 40 mile test drive. I will get it on the dyno within the next couple of weeks hopefully. Obviously the carb may need to be rejetted at that point.

So far, so good. All smiles. I'll get some new pics up soon. The L88 hood turned out wonderfully. Unless you knew the hood was painted just recently, and the car was painted 5 years ago, you really wouldn't notice the difference.

427Hotrod

Congratulations!! Looks like we're all getting them together finally!

That combination should be LOTS stronger than the old one. I think you're going to have fun!! I can't imagine it NOT wanting to pull to 63-6500 or so.

What did you do for mufflers in the sidepipes?

JIM

427Hotrod

Also good to see the AFRs fit without much hassle even though ports are slightly raised.

JIM


[Modified by 427Hotrod, 5:45 PM 7/23/2003]

adam

Excellent! :cheers:

Need to stop by before school begins...

WA 2 FST

Hey Jim,

I really appreciate all your help and putting up with my newbie BB questions. You and Chuck Harmon really helped me a lot. I know I ended up with a much milder cam than you would have liked to see me go with, but we'll see.

I will know a lot more about the top-end performance aspect once I get it on a dyno. I hesitate to spin the motor past 6500. The GM crate bottom-end is good, but its not "super high-$$" good. ;) Plus, the hyd. roller valvetrain is heavy, so I will probably try to stick to the 6300rpm range. Again, I just won't know til I see the graph and where it makes power.

I am running uncapped JCL baffles in the sidepipes. Only way to go, IMO.

Adam, please stop by buddy. It will be nice to finally meet you.

427Hotrod

That buddy of mine with the 10 sec 502 and a Lunati hyd roller gets up to 6700 (actually pulled 7000 on the dyno he said) with no valve float. it peaks around 6300 or so and I think he shofts at 6500. Been getting by with it for years.

I won't whine about your cam. I know you're used to those blower motors and all that off idle TQ, so we can't mess that up too bad! ;)

But you did run a tight LSA, so that's good on that cam.


How's that 950HP Holley? I really think that is one of the best carbs on the market today.

I wouldn't worry about the bottom end. It's proven well past 7000 in those dudes.

Can't wait 'till you get it on dyno and track. I can't imagine you not beating your Hp goals.

We gotta find a way to get all these big blocks together in one place!

I'm about to change my mufflers to something else and I was worried about noise and here you are running baffles in sidepipes. No wonder mine sounds like a weenie motor!


JIM

WA 2 FST

That's good to know.

Yessiree. ;)

I remember discussing this with you several times. It seems to be a good match from what I can tell so far.

Honestly, it seems incredible. I am just shocked at the low-speed driveability. Being a late-model EFI hot-rodder, this is all new to me, but the stigma out there is that too big is a really bad thing when it comes to carbs. I was nervous about this carb, but Tony @ AFR suggested it and I know Chuck runs this carb on his 427. The thing provides snappy low-end and great street manners so far (which I know has a lot to do with camming as well).

Also, very good to know!

Honestly, I will be disappointed if I don't b/c these heads were not cheap, and I didn't skimp on the other parts either.

A big ole' Texas big block party! Yee-haw!

Well, it IS loud. Louder than any car I've ever had. Just another reason I needed to make this thing faster. Cars that are loud and slow ... I laugh at them. Primarily b/c I'm used to running sleepers. This car is definitely NO sleeper, but I also do not do crazy things and street race like I used to.

Thanks again for all the encouragement!

-Wes


[Modified by WA 2 FST, 6:35 PM 7/23/2003]

Chuck Harmon

Wes,

Sounds like you really hit the perfect combination! Doesn't sound like you miss having a choke :yesnod: Are pictures, audio, or video coming soon? Sure would love to experience it!

My engine is out, heads are at the machine shop to get the valve springs seats enlarged. Should get the heads back by the end of next week. Looking forward to a similar 40 mile road trip in mine soon.

Congrats,

Chuck

SmokedTires

Wes congrats on such a positive outcome :hurray: . It's always nice when our expectations are met with a great big :D .

It must be really hard now to decide between the Z06 & the vert ;) .

69 N.O.X. RATT

Congrats, have fun with it for a while, then put a bigger cam in it. With a decent cam that motor will make 470-500 rwhp. I wish they had those heads availible when I bought mine. I already have $3000.00 into my Edelbrocks and they are not as good as those stock AFR's.

:cheers:

WA 2 FST

Hey Chuck,

I am going to take some digital pics of the car soon, and will hopefully get to the dyno within a couple of weeks as time permits. I do not have the capability to create a .wav file, so no audio from me.

Oh...and no, I don't miss the choke. I disabled the choke on the Street Avenger right after I bought the car. It wasn't operating correctly anyway, so it is long gone.

69 NOX RATT... I assume that I will have to spin more rpm to get more power out of this combo. That is really not something I want to do. I would if I was going to run a solid roller, but not with a hyd. roller cam. If I want to go faster at some point, I will just spray it. :D

WA 2 FST

Mike,

Yes, it is always nice when a plan comes together. I do not want to speak too soon, though. My HP goals may seem a bit tame for some of the hardcore hot-rodders here, but at the same time I am always a bit skeptical of what the final #s will turn out to be. Not that it _really_ matters... what's most important is the fact that I enjoy the car. That's what led me to do the mods in the first place. I've been driving it a lot since I bought it last November! The Z06 has been sitting in the garage quite often after I purchased the '69.

But it is conistently high-90s/100^F now here in N. Dallas, but nevertheless I will have to take the BB for a spin tomorrow. :lol:

Brutus

Wes...congrats with your new go fast goodies. Could you give me the email address of the guy you contacted at AFR please? The last contact I had there apparently isn't there anymore or has changed his email.
Thanks.

Corey_68

Wes congrats ont he combo, I'm sure you'll love it. :thumbs:

I'm running the same block, crank and rods as you. That bottom is stong, rest asure. :yesnod:

Can't wait so see some pics and #'s.

:cheers:

427Hotrod

Speak to Tony Mamo at AFR. Seems like a real straightforward guy.


JIM