I weighed my 73 LeSabre today and 300hp should be enough to get into the 13s

So you are going to convert your car to a stick?

 

You have to be pretty good with a stick to power shift it at the track. It is also much harder to launch a stick car and get a good 60' time. Both of those things are going to work against your plans for 13's. That's assuming you have the HP to do it.

 

No. If you had the ported 350 aluminum heads with a nice cam, then I would say yes. It would not have a smooth idle. A smaller engine needs more cam. More cam means lopey idle.

Have you ever made a pass at the track? Most times, things do not go as planned and Murphy's Law applies. The track will reveal all the weak links in your combination. It takes persistence and tuning to get where you want to be. When it comes to E.T., the 60' time is very important. The efficiency of a manual transmission will not make up for traction problems and shifting difficulties. Like Sean said, forced induction or a 455 will get you to your goal easiest.

 

Gary, they aren't so bad, and they are cool. They are much harder to make a pass with. They also break more parts. Talk to anyone who races a manual transmission at the track and they will tell you. Much easier to launch an automatic. Very difficult to outshift an automatic as well, but some guys are really good at it. If you are not, you will lose LOTS of E.T.

I would make a pass with your car just the way it is and see how you do. That will give you an idea about what you are endeavoring to do.

Yes, the idle will have to be lopey unless your heads flow great. That can happen with the aluminum heads I think, but not with stock unported heads.

 

I'm sure you could. Remember I told you the 1st 60' is very important to E.T.? With a stick, you have to get the RPM exactly right with sticky tires. Too high and you spin, too low, and you bog. Either way, there goes your E.T.

 

Depends on what you call smooth :laugh:

I got about 14 mpg on the highway. Here are a couple YouTube videos of my car idling. One at 750, and one at 650 RPM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E92UNVpCM-o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZTQ8U-DA_M

 

Its a disadvantage. Automatics don't miss shifts. :grin:

 

You need to rev it up and drop the clutch. Like I said, too high and you spin, too low and you bog. Either way, the 60' is bad, and there goes your E.T. Running 13's with a 350 is possible, but it is not easy. To run 13's, you'll need a trap speed in the higher 90's. That's why I think you should get the car down the track now to see where you are now and how far you need to go.

 

I was having fuel delivery issues then, and didn't know it. I ended up using a Holley red electric pump near the tank to push fuel. The TA mechanical pump couldn't keep up with the demand.