Hey everybody, in the process of getting 455 up to my engine builder and I’m curious as to what y’all think. Just a stock distributor fine? And cam/carb ideas. Thanks ray
Sure, a stock distributor is fine, the important part is the ignition timing curve. Distributors are not all the same. How can you expect anyone to recommend a cam and carburetor? You have to give us some idea what you expect from the car. How will it be used? What are your priorities?
Lol sorry for lack of info. My dad has a 73 century with a 455 in it 10:1 compression with stock heads, a ta212 cam and a 750 speed demon carb, stock exhaust. He Has never ran at the strip, but thinks he’s near the mid 13s. Obviously as he’s helping me do this build I’d like to have mine be faster. Lol. Mines a 76 regal, doing a 10:1 compression build as well, cleaning up on heads, going to do long tube headers. My dads cam seems very mild, I’d like to maybe be a bit more aggressive? And I was thinking a Holley 750 for a carb but I’d like any and all input. I’m trying my best to fill you in. Lol. Thanks ray
I won’t reallly be going to the drag strip. It’s more of a fun enjoyable car that I wanna beat on here and their. But I’d like it to have plenty snot. Anything else I can fill you guys in on let me know
Gear ratio and converter stall also very helpful. I'll let the 455 gurus give you a solid answer, but I'd say that an 850 Double pumper would be a better choice for you.
A car ALWAYS feels faster on the street Then you run it down the track, assuming you can hook, and you get your time slip, look at it, and say, Damn, I thought I was faster than that. Your Dad needs to go to the track and get a baseline. It's really the only way we can get an idea of how much power he is making. Then we can see about making your car faster. The biggest mistake made by hot rodders is over camming an engine. It isn't just a matter of stuffing a cam in it and getting more power with no downsides. The higher you can rev an engine, the more HP it can potentially make, PROVIDING IT CAN BREATHE AT THAT HIGHER RPM. A higher performance cam holds the valves open longer so it can breathe at higher RPM where it can make more HP. The longer you hold the valves open, the more overlap you have (intake and exhaust valve open at the same time). This decreases engine vacuum (think power brakes), and creates a rougher idle. In addition, you may need a higher stall torque converter and/or higher numerical rear gearing. Those things can hurt fuel economy. So you see, it isn't that simple. Sounds like you want a cruiser. If your dad's engine truly has 10:1 compression (it may be less than that), the TA 212 should make for the kind of car you want. I would save up and get some aluminum heads. Then build a short block with 10.5:1 compression and zero deck. Use a cam a bit bigger than the TA212 like the TA 290-94H. Run a 3 series gear out back with a Posi, and an 800 CFM Q-jet, and your car will be faster than your Dad's.
Thanks that helps a lot, I thought maybe a cam with touch more lope then his would be okay. As far as what power his car has, I guess without being at the track won’t know. But he had the same car years ago that he did 14.4 with. And he says the one he has now is noticeably faster. So If his assumption is correct I guess he could be anywhere from the mid 13s to low 14s. Does this help at all?
The secret to power is head flow. With a good set of heads, you don't need a big cam to make good power. You can use a smaller cam that has better street manners, so you have your cake and eat it too. If you start with a good set of aluminum heads, 10.5:1 static compression and the TA290-94H cam, I bet you make an easy 500 HP. The engine will have a noticeable idle, and run on pump gas, and it will easily out run your Dad's car.
Lol I love that you keep reiterating beating dads car cause that’s exactly what it is all about lol. He’s also excited. But I’m probably not doing the aluminum heads yet, I suppose I’m tryna to budget a little bit here, just bought the car last year now dumping the money under the hood. Heads costing quite a bit extra lol. I was kinda hoping I could do everything I could a touch better/efficient then pops did. I probably sounds backwards when I should be sticking my money In the heads. But I was more less gonna see how it is once done and maybe few years down the road get some aluminum heads.
If his compression is truly 10:1, the 212 cam should make for a fun car as long as he has decent exhaust and gearing. Lot's of guys will tell you they have 10:1 compression because they used pistons rated at that. What they don't realize is that those pistons are as much as .050 in the hole at TDC, and that lowers compression. If you want a true 10:1, you need to make sure that you and the machine shop are on the same page and they build it like that. A true 10:1 compression with iron heads may have some trouble running pump gas without pinging depending on the cam used. If you want to make more power than Dad, you'll need to use a bigger cam with it's down sides (rougher idle, lower vacuum, and the need for more converter and gear), and the car may not be as much fun in true street driving. That may get old pretty fast.
Yeah, he has 3:42 posi. And his block was decked, and was 10:1. Stock torque converter and stock t350 with shift kit. Says it pings once in awhile but not always. His is a blast to drive. I was thinking if I did a very similar build. Maybe better pistons, cleaning of heads, headers, slightly bigger cam, better build on tranny, torque converter, was thinking this would create at least a bit more power. Without doing aluminum heads what more will help lol
Maybe, maybe not. Just how are you going to test your theoryif neither of you guys go to the track. Street racing can be dangerous and have dire consequences. I don't recommend it.
