Although all of what you wrote is true, the Crower level 3 and even the level 4 aren't that radical of cams IMO. With the level 4 being the needier one as in more static compression a bit more stall and gear and some port work needed. When running a radical cam in a street car, that car will need more gearing and more stall if not a manual trans. A big cam and highway gears with a stock stall converter might be a good thing for a 17 year old though. Upgrade later if he still doesn't have any tickets in a few months. :eek2: If you are planning on a big cam that will want to spin then I would recommend getting some connecting rods that can handle the RPM. Like a set of the eBay nascar take outs that get auctioned after one or two races that have plenty of life left in them for a street car even at much higher sbb 350 HP levels. Derek
I say give him a big gear and a high stall on the stock engine that's running now. he will feel the torque multiplication of the big gear and how it comes off the line hard even with less hp. but will also learn the every time you punch it its going to burn up his gas($$$) and might learn to be a bit conservative.
I have been watching some of those auctions...lol The list is growing: -TA aluminum heads -TA SP3 intake -Holley 750 mechanical DP We scored a set of Dougs ceramic coated headers about a month ago. (We're posted here, and on Criags list) Ditched the stock 4 blade fan, and working on the Mark VIII fan with controller now, along with the new 4 row rad.
When we bought the other drive train, it included another complete 8.5" rear end. We can go through it together, and get rid of the one wheel peel, and regear it accordingly.
You might want to change that Holley 750 DP to a Holley 650 to 680 DP, OR one of these; http://fitechefi.com/default.asp.pg-Products I like the 1,200 HP one that can handle blow through boost! :Brow: Derek
Yeah, I didn't even look at the cam specs. If I had a 17 year old that wanted to build a street car, I would just stay basic at first. Get a 4bbl intake and carburetor, a nice dual exhaust with the appropriate mufflers (flowmasters:laugh, get the timing dialed in, and throw some 3.42s out back. Even a nice 2000 stall converter, along with making sure everything else was up to snuff, brakes, suspension, etc. That would be plenty of fun, and enough to get into trouble with. Then you go from there. No reason to build a fire breather right away.
I got into plenty of trouble with my stock 4bbl 350 car with 3.73s at 17 years old. And I learned to drive in Queens going to college in my Skylark. A stock cam engine is plenty to start with and easy enough to change out down the road.
So far, got the new 4-core rad installed. Changed the thermostat housing to a 180* Installed a Lincoln MarkVIII electric fan with a Flex-a-lite temperature controller. MSD billet distributer dropped in last night. Initial timing set at 12* btdc Installed the lightest silver springs in the distributer, along with the red bushing. Which should be around 28-30* all in by 23-2500 rpm. Set the MSD 6AL-2 rev limit to 4500 for now...not gonna hook up the 2-step just yet. Pulled the number one plug last night, finding tdc, and found AC Delco 45TS plugs in it. (Which is the recommended stock plug) Read somewhere where others are running the 43's. (Which is a colder plug.) Set the gap from .045" to .050". (Thought the .045" was a bit much for the stock points set up.)
Still sittin in the garage...waiting. Gotta finish up the wiring on the 6AL2, and make up the lengths for the plug wires.
A few things. One, 12* initial + 28* = 40* full throttle timing, that's too much. What you want to do is use the blue (21*) or purple (19*) advance stop bushing, not the red. That will allow you to run 12* or more initial. Secondly, realize that with the lightest springs, some mechanical advance can be in at normal out of gear idle speeds. Always check the maximum total timing (vacuum advance disconnected) with a timing light.
Augh CRaP! We put the silver springs in because going by what I read here, all the advance should be in before 2500rpm. We will pull the distributer, and install the purple bushing to limit the amount of advance to a total of 31. There is no vacuum advance on this distributer. But changing the springs on the advance cams is easier than changing the bushing. Thanks for the heads up.
...pulled the distributer out, and installed the BLUE bushing, and swapped out one of the silver springs for a BLUE spring as well.
Well...my son got impatient waiting for me to help build the spark plug wire set, so he went ahead, and did it himself. Good on him! I am happy he got up the courage to try it himself. Only issue was that he didn't lay them out to see how much to cut off the ends, and just crimped all the ends on...so we had some realllllllly long wires. He was disappointed, and me buggin him by saying..."Just run that one around the outside of the engine bay, and plug it in"...didn't help. But I then said to him that we can redo them after the headers are installed, as the lengths may change...and it's way easier to cut them shorter, than to add length to them afterwards.:TU: Yesterday afternoon, he says: "Soooooo......it's sure nice outside..." I said as long as it's insured yet, giver....cause it's gonna be parked for awhile when the snow stays. So without a heater core, and after checking the hoses, oil, and wires one more time, he fired it up. Letting it warm up for a bit before he drove over to his Grandpa & Grammas house for Christmas dinner. We had a good day.
I guess the next couple of things to get are a new intake, and carb. The stock quadrajet idle mixture screws feel like they are going to fall out of the carb itself, and can't get rid of the off idle bog/stumble/cough/weez. Tried screwing the idle mixture screws in until it started running slower, and then backed them out, until I got the highest rpm. All after it was fully warmed up...still stumbles bad...to the point it stalls.
Try turning them in until it stumbles, then back out just a half turn or 3/4 and see how that works... Or hook up a vacuum gauge and go for max vacuum....
OK, to set the idle mixture screws try this: 1. Locate a vacuum line that gives vacuum at idle, and connect a vacuum gauge to it 2. Disconnect the vacuum advance and plug the line 3. With the engine off screw the idle mixture screws all the way in but careful to just LIGHTLY seat them. Next turn them out 2.5 full 360 degree turns. 4. Start up the car and set the idle speed till you get the spec listed on the rad cover. If you do not have a tach get one, it help huge with tuning! Shut down the car. 5. Find some large wood chunks or something else to block all 4 wheels as well as put on the e-brake. Have a helper hold the brake on for you. 6. Have a note pad and pen handy to record the results as it is easy to get mixed up with the idle mixture settings. Start the car and put it in gear, get out and record the vacuum reading that is shown on the gauge... Write it next to 2.5 turns and you will then be able to compare your readings at various settings of the idle mixture screws. Shut down the car. 7. Turn the idle mixture screws in one half turn to 2 and then start the car... let it run for about 30 seconds then put it in gear. Record the vacuum readings again on your paper beside 2 turns. By now you will have a good idea which is better for the engine 2.5 turns or 2 turns out on the idle mixture screws... If it is better at 2 then try another quarter turn at a time until the vacuum readings go down. Remember to wait 30 seconds between adjustments before recording the readings. If the readings are better at 2.5 then go back to that and add a quarter turn out until the readings drop. It is important to re-set the idle speed after each adjustment because they work together and the idle speed will rise as you get the tune up better. The reason it is very important to set the idle mixture screws is: 1. The transition from idle to part throttle is very critical! A poor idling engine is a poor running engine at part throttle. 2. Fuel mileage is changed drastically by the idle mixture settings, think abut how much time your car spends warming up, at stop lights, and coasting around.
Thanks Sean. Thats some good advise for sure. We will giver a try next set off. The new MSD distributor does NOT have vacuum advance on it at all. All ports on the carb are now plugged off. (No need for any of them.) The mixture screws wobble when you place a screw driver on them...that's what makes me think they are ready to fall out of the carb. (Probably a good place for vacuum leaks to occur.) We will try this, but would still like to get the TA SP-3 intake, and a Holley double pumper. Earlier this afternoon, it backfired through the carb once. Scared the Schit out of my son. Lol
Just so all the information is here, and up to date: -all plugs were gapped to .050" from .045" -New MSD distributor installed with the BLUE bushing, (21* of advance timing), one silver spring, and one BLUE spring for mechanical advance. -New MSD 6AL-2 ignition box -New MSD Blaster coil -New MSD 8.5mm Superconductor wire set installed. -initial timing is set to 12* btdc. -total advance should be about 33* all in by 2500rpm.
