Project SS!

[WRXtranceformed]

That backseat looks big enough to have a 3some in! Schweet!!

I'd browse forums to find those parts used. You could probably cut that price in half if you looked hard enough.

[HAULN-SS]

What stuff WOULDNT you buy used? Shocks?

[HAULN-SS]

(i dunno about a threesome, but a two-some easily...haha..I kid I kid)

[D_Eclipse9916]

New Shocks, sway bars, and springs will be far more cost-effective than control arms.

[HAULN-SS]

Man - I had a dream last night that I put a TKO 5speed in this car. That's got me thinkin...

[HAULN-SS]

Well, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised with that new carb that I put in a while back. I was finally able to get some long distance HWY mileage on the car this weekend...and averaged 22MPG...fuck yeah! The old one, best I could tell was throwing so much fuel, and flooding it so much because of the cracked fuel bowl I was getting like 14mpg highway.

Also - I dont know if anyone can help me here - but it seems like if I gun it - I am getting a rattle from somewhere that sounds like an "exhaust rattle", but I dont have any cat, or anything like that, and it sounds almost like it's coming from up high in the engine. Anyone have any idea what might be causing this? Is my motor about to explode? It still feels strong, no smoke, etc.

Also - it's good to have my car in NOVA finally =) Some guy drove by me when I took it out around the block and flashed me horns! w00t \m/

[ScottyB]

I am getting a rattle from somewhere that sounds like an "exhaust rattle", but I dont have any cat, or anything like that, and it sounds almost like it's coming from up high in the engine. Anyone have any idea what might be causing this? Is my motor about to explode? It still feels strong, no smoke, etc.

i wonder if it's pinging/detonating. do you have an A/F gauge to verify? what octane do you run and have you had problems before you installed this new carb?

if it's not your fuel trims it could be a clogged up fuel filter. hows fuel pressure?

i keep thinking a fuel problem with this because you have that new carb on there. regardless of whether or not it's bigger, your trims could be whacked out.

otherwise, just get under the thing and check your exhaust clearances. you aren't banging anything due to excessive engine movement because of bad mounts, etc etc....you could be just touching something with the exhaust and resonating when your engine torques to one side.

[HAULN-SS]

Hrmm, You know, my dad filled it up last time, I just realized, when they brought the car up here this weekend - I'll climb under and check the clearances just to make sure - but I bet you he probably put 87 in it, and I normally run 93 to keep it from nocking/detonating. If I dont see any clearance issues, I'll buy a bottle of octane boost and see if that does it, then see if it continues when I fill it up again.

And no, I dont have an A/F gauge - and I didnt have any problems with the old carb unless I put low octane gas in it...but then the only problem was detonation when i tried to shut it off - it'd start knocking and shit.

I just would have thought if the exhaust was actually touching something it wouldnt resonate like that - figured it would have just "clunked"

[Steve85]

Lookin good!

I was 2 years from my license when those cars came out and bad ass they were!

A guy down the street had a blue one and we spent many a night hot rodding around town in it.

Congrats on the dash work. It was the worst part of my resto in the vette but worth it in the end. a cracked dash is simply a major eyesore no matter good the rest of the interior looks.

[HAULN-SS]

Hey - thanks! Blue ones are the rarest color..by far!

That knocking seems to have gone away, I guess it had cheap gas in it. I put 93 in and it seems to have quited down the knocking/dinging.

I think I'm going to have to pull my guage cluster this week sometime before the show, hope I have time. Seems like when I hit bumps and such the tach is jumping around - got a loose connection in the back. That clip was a cheap POS, i bet it's not secured. -sigh- I am not looking forward to this fix

[HAULN-SS]

So..I was thinking about doing a cam swap in this car. If anyone was there who saw the pull on the dyno, it's more of a truck engine at this point than anything. I did some research and found I can do a spring swap on the heads that will allow up to .550" lift without needing to do any machine work. So I'd need new springs keepers and retainers, new lifters, new pushrods and the new cam. The question is - do you think I need new rockers as well?

Also - does anyone have a degree wheel and a dial indicator? And better yet, would anyone who's actually degreed a cam before be willing to help for a case of beer? I have seen it done before, when I put this together the first time, but i've never actually done it

[CaptainHenreh]

NTIman has all that shit, PM him.

[Jewels]

NTIman has all that shit, PM him.

And he's in Winchester, so its not too far from you.

[HAULN-SS]

Cool, thanks for the tip, I'll send him a PM. I just checked, and the springs I need won't ship until March =| so It'll probably be a bit

[Steve85]

What's the current combination? heads, cam specs, etc...

[HAULN-SS]

Vortec heads with screw in studs and guideplates, gasket matched and ported, edelbrock performer plus cam .442/.442 214* @ .050
Performer RPM intake
Edelbrock T.E.S headers that I cut the ends off of and sent straight back so I'd have true dual exhaust. I think they are 1.5" tubes
heads are supposed to be good to .475" lift or so stock. I do have dished hyperteutic pistons, but I can't remember how much dish they are. C/R was supposed to be around 9.4:1

[Steve85]

So I'd need new springs keepers and retainers, new lifters, new pushrods and the new cam. The question is - do you think I need new rockers as well?

If you already have non self aligning rockers then you should be OK. Are they 1.5 or 1.6?

You should not need new lifters unless you are changing lifter style (e.g. hyd roller to solid roller :wink: ). Of course if they have a ton of miles on them then it's a good idea. What lifter style are you using?

.550 lift woud be great, the heads stall around .500 so assuming a margin of .030 for flex and lifter preload you would be maximizing their potential. I remember reading that you had to machine the spring seats or something for this to work. What did you come across? It sounds like a good deal.

Do you have a cam in mind?

[HAULN-SS]

yeah i already had non self aligning rockers - I just wasn't sure if you had to worry about the wear on that end. They are 1.5 rockers. I am not planing on changing to roller tip lifters or anything because they are quite a bit more expensive. I am pretty sure they are just standard rockers in there now - i'm actually a little fuzzy on what I bought way back then.

As for the machining - that's the whole point I'm trying to avoid doing any more. These beehive springs from comp camps are supposed to allow for more lift, but I hear that I'll need to shim them to get the right pressure. It's 186$ for the springs, another 90 or so for the keeprs and retainers. I was thinking about the comp cams XE274 cam, which seems to net about 400hp in this setup with my intake/heads. I'd be open to more suggestions - but I really dont want to do any machining =) I already have done enough to these heads that I probably could've bought a nice set already done up for wahtever cam, haha

[Steve85]

I agree, once you start getting into machining stock heads, a set of aftermarket alum heads really becomes more cost effective.

That cam is pretty steep for the 9.4:1 in 350. Your dynamic compression could be pretty low making it feel like a pig down low. A stockish converter with a low stall will make it worse. For comparison, I ran a 230/236 hyd roller in my 408 with a manual and 3.73 gears.

The XE268 may be better for your compression, stall and vehicle weight. Lunati has a Voodoo series worth looking into.

Your best bet...call Reed or Bullet cams and get a recommendation. Be honest about usage, stall, gears, and vehicle weight. They are better at getting you a cam with more lift at a lower duration. I think it is Bullet that also has an asymmetrical exhaust lobe, basically it slows the valve down as it nears closing. It reduces stress on the valvetrain and noise.

The 274 is a BIG step. Over-camming is one of the most common mistakes...

[HAULN-SS]

Oh, thats the other thing. I really need more duration on the exhaust side with these heads. The Intake valve is quite a bit larger than the exhaust. 1.94 compared to 1.5" if I am not mistaken. Also - lunati went out of business or something apparently. Their page is down, so I couldnt find any info/recommendations there on which one.

Also - do you know much about stall? I have 3.73 gears, but I think the stock stall is like 1800rpms or something like that. I'd rather have the right cam for the engine, and worry about replacing the TC later.