hey guys its been quite a while since my last post. been busy with work, new baby, and just had shoulder surgery. myself and a friend just got back from the HOTROD DRAGWEEK kickoff in cordova IL. what a great time, lots of stupid fast cars (2 in the 7's). i guess thats what it took to get me more motivated to kick my project into gear. i have an 86 G-Body with an early 70's 455, stock 200(3 speed) tranny, single exhaust and 2.14 gears. would like some tips on where to start first to get the most bang for my buck(still on short term disability from shoulder). any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. if you have any questions about the rest of the setup please let me know.(Goal is to get into the 11's)
Sounds like you are on a limited budget like most of us - I would start shopping for a trans & rear end to handle the torque you plan on throwing at it.
thanks for the info lilbowtie. any other help would be nice. any body have do's or dont's? just want to do it right the first time. Twin turbo maybe? after everything else.
My approach is differant, Build a 525 HP pump gas engine,after it's in..you can replace what breaks in the order of whats weak.
not a bad idea. not sure whats going to break first, probably the tranny. it is already doing some goofy stuff.
Well... Aside from having the engine ready to run,I would start with a healthy trans. Switch Pitch is a really fun transmition because you get the best of both worlds.However an AOD like the 2004R can get you some good fuel mileage.Last but not least theTH350 is tried and true...good bang for the buck.
engine already in and running. runs well, just want more performance and not sure if i will get the improvements i want from cam intake etc or if i would get better performance from some lower gears. this motor has TONS of torque so not sure if the gears would help that much or not.
Definitely upgrade the trans, as the 200 was never intended to handle any real power. TH350 or 400 would be better suited, a 200r4 can be beefed up to handle the load, but can run some dollars to do though. Do that, either a switch pitch or a 26-2800 stall speed converter, and last a 3.42 posi rear out of a turbo car and you will feel a world of difference.
You don't need a crazy cam, say 230'ish intake duration, give or take a few degrees. Ported or alum. heads help a LOT. Headers and single plane intake round it out, along with free flowing exhaust. Run a big carb. You will need some gears (mid to upper 3 series) and a higher stall convertor (3000 or so, depending on cam) as part of the equation. Since you'll be replacing the trans and rear anyway, you'll have that part of the formula taken care of anyway. Finally, you'll need drag radials or slicks to get into the 11's. Another way to go not following the above might be N2O.
thanks for all the advice guys. definitely gonna swap out trans, probably a 400 since i know where a couple are for about $50. not too sure on what rear to run, thinking maybe a 9 inch dont know if a 10 bolt can handle that much torque especially with some traction.
i didnt realize they were that strong. ill have to start looking around for one. i know where a wrecked monte ss is sitting have to go check it out
8.5s are mostly under gn/turboregal and 442/hurstolds you wont find it under a monte from the factory but a monte ss has 3.73 rears if you find one for cheap you can get a set of gears from a s-10,astro van,camaro/firebird most have mid 3 series gears 350 trans is a direct swap and you will need as that 200 will blow up fairly quick behind a decent big block
yes thats right but you can get gears out of any 7.5/7.6 car/truck as i mentioned and the same posi units will work can get cheap 7.5 /7.6 stuff on ebay too
