hey peeps, ive got a 68 skylark i rebuilt the engine (350) a few months ago also bought a BRF 200r4 from a gn and had that completely rebuilt. i was really hoping to have a little more power to the wheels than im getting. ive got pretty much every upgrade to the engine you can get for one of these engines including 625 demon carb, ta perf intake, biggest valves i can stuff in the heads, ta perf roller rockers, msd 6al2 distributor and ignition box, headers, and the middle of the road cam from comp cams. also have a posi 3.73 rear in it. i cant even break traction from a stand still unless i power brake it!! it runs great and has decent pick up but not throw your head back kind of pick up. i was told that these motors are torque monsters and its the original block to the car so thats the main reason i kept it. any suggestions on getting more power to the ground? i was thinking of possibly going to a manual trans. the car had a tko600 in it before i bought it but it didnt come with the car. so the tunnel work is already done. any ideas would be great! also if you have a complete setup of everything i would need to convert back to manual trans lets make a deal. maybe we could even do a trade for the brf thats currently installed, only about 2k miles on it and still covered under warranty. i have a total of about 3k invested in just the trans.
That thing should scream! Are you sure you have the right torque converter? Is the TV cable set-up correctly?
Nice ride!! I'm gonna sound like a broken record here, but before you swap that trans due to a perceived lack of performance (by the way, I agree with Adam and Phil's inquiries, both very pertinent) I would suggest you reconsider your carb choice. That carb wouldn't be bad for a small block Chevy street engine, but these Buicks like a little more carb (the factory q-jet was rated at about 750 cfm, now your running a modded engine on less carb). Im willing to suspect a well built q-jet or a larger square bore carb would be beneficial.
I know where you're coming from. It sounds exactly like my previous 350 set up. It performed about the same way. My current build, 8/14, block .030, decks squared, align bored the mains, heads rebuilt and balanced the rotating assembly. Actual compression is 9:1 with cheap cast pistons. Its all stock but the cam, a mild Scott Brown cam, right down to the air cleaner. I do have a 3" exhaust with x pipe left over from my 475 BBB. Like you I have a 3.73 posi and a 2004-R(stock converter) but mine lights the tires easily now even from a roll. If you want a manual trans so you can pop the clutch and burn the tires then by all means go for it but the car will accelerate the same. Properly set ignition timing has a lot to do with the hole shot. Also, looking at your mods, they're probably giving you more HP at the expense of torque and some, the rockers and ignition, aren't giving you any real gains. The carb is likely holding you back as well. SBB's like bigger carbs. I'd say at lease a 750. Sweet ride BTW! EDIT: FYI, on my previous SBB, I was running a 750 Double Pumper, had the timing right and it still wouldn't light the tires.
The BRF has a 2.74 first gear ratio. So a M21 or M22 with a 2.20 first would have less seat of the pants feel. A TKO500 with a 3.27 would feel better. Compare each gear ratio 1st 2nd and 3rd to the BRF and make your selection. All this is based on usung the same rear gear ratio and having traction,
......Also check that you are getting WOT. With car off, two people needed. One person will step on and "floor" the gas pedal from inside the car and the other person observe from under the hood with air cleaner off if the throttle is actually getting fully opened.
heres the cam specs... thanks [TABLE="class: SpecCard, width: 760"] <tbody style="font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif;">[TR] [TD="class: RedHeading"]Specifications[/TD] [TD] [/TD] [TD="class: style21"] [/TD] [TD="class: SpecLabel Intake, align: center"]Intake[/TD] [TD="class: SpecLabel Exhaust, align: center"]Exhaust[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="class: SpecLabel"]RPM Range:[/TD] [TD="class: Spec, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBRPMRange" type="text" value="1200 to 5200" readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBRPMRange" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [TD="class: SpecLabel"]Valve Lash:[/TD] [TD="class: Spec Intake, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBValveLashIntake" type="text" value="Hyd." readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBValveLashIntake" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); text-align: center; width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [TD="class: Spec Exhaust, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBValveLashExhaust" type="text" value="Hyd." readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBValveLashExhaust" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); text-align: center; width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="class: SpecLabel"]Valve Timing:[/TD] [TD="class: Spec, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBValveTiming" type="text" value="0.006" readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBValveTiming" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [TD="class: SpecLabel"]Duration:[/TD] [TD="class: Spec Intake, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBDurationIntake" type="text" value="260" readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBDurationIntake" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); text-align: center; width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [TD="class: Spec Exhaust, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBDurationExhaust" type="text" value="260" readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBDurationExhaust" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); text-align: center; width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="class: SpecLabel"]Lobe Separation: [/TD] [TD="class: Spec, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBLobeSeparationAngle" type="text" value="110" readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBLobeSeparationAngle" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [TD="class: SpecLabel"]Duration @ .050" Lift:[/TD] [TD="class: Spec Intake, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBDuration050Intake" type="text" value="212" readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBDuration050Intake" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); text-align: center; width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [TD="class: Spec Exhaust, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBDuration050Exhaust" type="text" value="212" readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBDuration050Exhaust" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); text-align: center; width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="class: SpecLabel"]Intake Centerline:[/TD] [TD="class: Spec, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBIntakeCenterline" type="text" value="106" readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBIntakeCenterline" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [TD="class: SpecLabel"]Valve Lift:[/TD] [TD="class: Spec Intake, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBValveLiftIntake" type="text" value="0.454" readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBValveLiftIntake" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); text-align: center; width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [TD="class: Spec Exhaust, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBValveLiftExhaust" type="text" value="0.454" readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBValveLiftExhaust" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); text-align: center; width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="class: SpecLabel"] [/TD] [TD="class: Spec, align: center"] [/TD] [TD="class: SpecLabel"]Lobe Lift:[/TD] [TD="class: Spec Intake, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBLobeLiftIntake" type="text" value="0.293" readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBLobeLiftIntake" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); text-align: center; width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [TD="class: Spec Exhaust, align: center"]<input name="ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder1$CamSpecsDetails21$TBLobeLiftExhaust" type="text" value="0.293" readonly="readonly" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_CamSpecsDetails21_TBLobeLiftExhaust" class="SpecBox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); text-align: center; width: 135px; background-color: rgb(223, 223, 223);">[/TD] [/TR] </tbody>[/TABLE]
it is a newer torque converter that came with the trans when i purchased it. came off a 87 gn. it took a while to get the tv cable set but i think i got it right. shifts from first to second at 10 mph, 2nd to 3rd about 20 3rd to 4th around 40-45 pending how im driving it. also set the total timing to 36 degrees.
