I removed the 430 in my 68 Sportwagon to swap the cam & fix all the oil leaks. While the longblock was out I enlarged the suciton galley (is possible with assembled motor, just calls for lots of duct tape, cardboard, and a shop vac). I put in a TA212 (4* advanced), dual 3" with an x-pipe, and a performer. What a difference. And this being my first wagon, boy do they take off well. From a roll, the back just sort of squats & grabs. Now for a few cosmetics before the Al head 455 gets assembled. Lets see more wagon write ups!!
Did you replace the rope seals with the lipped seals?,Sounds great i cant wait till i get the 430 done for my wagon! :TU: :3gears:
The rear rope seal had about a 2" section just missing. I used a rubber seal. I just need to fix one of the valve cover gaskets. Get that 430 rolling DoubleD. Interesting motor comparison. The TA212 in the stock-headed 430 feels much better than it did in my low comprression (1972) 455. I had the same headers & intake on both motors. Fastest430, I am hoping for some high 13's off the bat. Thanx guys.
Im gonna say .... I think the exhaust is what made the biggest difference you are feeling. When I first put a 455 .030 over Stage1-headed motor in BigRed (TA118 cam) I was a bit disappointed. It only went from a 15.8 to a 14.7 - but I was still huffin' through the stock exhaust manifolds and dual 2 1/8" pipes. Swapped in a set of Jet-Hot coated headers and mandrel bent 2.5" and gained another 9/10ths .... JUST FROM THE EXHAUST !!!!! that brought it down to 13.8. With carb work and a rear change from the open 2.93 to a 10-bolt Posi with 3.42's I eventually got it down to 13.15 in that config. With your wagon blowing through only one pipe, Im sure thats what made a big part of the difference.
Cool inof 69GS400s. The car had manifolds & 2.25 duals. But it had a stock cam with one flat lobe. It is cool you went from a 14.7 to a 13.1 w/o going in the motor. Thanx.
My 4500 lb sporty went from 14.0 W head ported STOCK455 3.42 out back to 13.2 after a TA112 cam swap and 3.08's in the rearend. I know thats two changes but I wanted to take it on long trips and pick up some more MPG The BBB really responds to cam changes
Rad Don, is the wagon still cruisin? I am dropping it back off at the exhaust shop today. I have turndowns before the axle. No matter what I do with the windows, exhaust gets inside.
Yes,still hot roding it, However, It is in storage for the cold months. Since I Antiqued it last year I don't get tickets for Expired Pa. Inspections & registration. :af: When I drive it home in the spring. I have turndowns too with an X system :grin: "love it"and yes some fumes get in. I think they all do that to some degree For Me when cruzn the Interstate If all of the windows are shut You don't get any fumes inside :Smarty:
In Pa. You need to send proof of originality of a vehicle (older than 25 years ) in this case, to be approved for a permanent,one time fee,for all tags. This voids the annual state inspection & emission test. hence, Pa. ANTIQUE historic vehicle.
There were some young guys, obviously Chevy oriented, standing near my shop when John took off in the Wagon the other day. He nailed it on a roll and of course lots of tire spin and the RPM went up like a shot. This one young kid looks at the other and says, (I have to clean this up), "was that that frigg'n wagon?" I says, "yup", one kid says, "holy s__t that sounded bad, (meaning good of course). And the other kid says, "ya, and that's a wagon." It's always nice to see the younger set, take notice.
Hello. It is a 68, I bought it off of Gransportsedan. It came with a 430/400. It runs good, has great oil pressure & runs very cool. Right now it has a Chevy 8.2 open with 3.42's (temporary). I have some stg 1 Al heads, an early Wildcat (needs to be worked over), some used TRW low dish forged pistons about, and a TA113 (used but good) and a big old (unused) Crane cam. All waiting for me to get going on one of the 455's in my garage. Not sure what cam to use for the 455, might breakdown & buy a new one matched for my car/heads/comp./etc. Or just flip a coin & run one of them. Now that the 430 is in and running good enought to keep me happy, I got to do a little body/paint stuff. I also have a SP400 out of a 67 GS and a 3000/1100 PAE converter, but the trans needs a rebuild. I'll be posting as I go. Thanx fastest430, keep in touch.
Excuse me for jumping in this with a topic change. It seems that I am not the only one with exhuast gases creeping in to the interior. I have tried to figure out where and how its getting in with little luck. I did manage to slow it down by getting the rear window to go all the way up. The down fall to this, unless the interior is pressurized with either the vent air flow or the heater I will smell something. Simply put all up ,all down, and don't even drop the rear window on a hot day. I am considering changing the exhuast tips to straight out and longer but its such a good fit now that I am hesitant. Any Idea's Thanks Bret
Did you consider a leak under the hood into the engine bay and then through the firewall to the interior? The firewall may be missing some of the rubber seals or they no longer fit so well.
Yes, with turndowns it got inside bad. I had tail pipes put in that exit right behind the rear tire, as did you. Much better, I can't totally comment yet because I still have an ungrommetted hole in the firewall and a valve cover leak on the headers. So let me speak then. But with the turndowns, it gave me nausea driving it for a short while. Weird, a sedan with turndowns is no worries.