Check out the deal I got, This guy bought a 63 impala that had a new motor and trans that the previous owner had rebuilt but never fired, he ended up selling both of them to me for 1k. Here are the specs on the stuff I got

2 bolt 454 block bored .030 over
steel GM crank
I need help identifying the rods, they look stock & aren't polished
TRW L2349 forged pistons, 11.18:1 comp with 109cc heads
balanced
It has mis matching heads one 3964291 and one 3919840 both rebuilt. They are closed chamber rectangular port 107&109cc heads
not sure on the cam specs yet since i havent removed it but its a hyd flat
fairbanks 3500 stall converter
rebuilt th400 trans that I don't know anything about


this stuff is going into a 67 camaro. It has a 3.55 10 bolt now, but I'm most likely going to go with a 4.10 12 bolt. It has 275/60/15 wheels

I'm going to go through the motor to double check all the torque specs first of all, and now I gotta figure out how I want to build it.

I want an absolutely nasty street car, I want the rough idle, I want to break the tires loose at 45mph, just all out badass.

My first problem is that I want to run 93 octane without detonation running full timing so I'm looking into larger chamber cc heads. A 119cc head will get me at 10:1comp. I plan on running most likely a solid flat tappet cam that will be custom ground by a great local guy, I will get the hooker 2" comp series headers, and I have a NOS cheater system that i'll be setting up for a 150shot most likely.

So my main questions are whats the best moderately priced head I can run capable of getting me into mid/low 10's naturally aspirated while running 93 octane?


how can I identify which rods I have?


How much are the heads I have worth?


Is it possible to open up the trans and be able to tell whats been done to it since I know nothing about auto's?


How much can the th400 handle?

for 93 pump gas you'll need aluminum heads to prevent detonation, and if ya gonna spray it you won't need a cam with alot of overlap (read tight centerline ie. 110 or less centerline) cause it'll create nitrous problems. Buy AFR heads or Brodix or Canfields. Best to go to a track and talk to guys with cars running like you want before you build it or you'll be building again in about a year because no research.

Naturally aspirated low 10's truly is a pretty big deal. A flat tappet can get you there......a roller would be nicer.

Either way.....Id seriously consider the brodix race rites or AFR's 305 cc heads with the CNC chamber job(CNC chambers reguardless of the brand).

For a flat tappet....Id really look into something like 260/266(or 268) at .050 on a 112 with hopefully at least .660/.660 lift or better if possible. The 4.11's, a vic junior, a good 1000cfm carb and DEFINITELY more converter for all motor passes running mid 10's or quicker.

You are more in the territory of a 4500ish stall speed converter. If the nitrous is a regular thing...you can tighten it up a hair and then let the bigger hit from the nitrous flash it back out a little to where it needs to be. This should fit your definition of absolutely nasty and I dont see any reason why it cant sink well into the 10's. Dont get too brave with the juice and pump gas. Mix some good fuel in there during the preliminary process when you are still figuring the thing out.

If done right the TH 400 will handle a ton.

Naturally aspirated low 10's truly is a pretty big deal. A flat tappet can get you there......a roller would be nicer.

Either way.....Id seriously consider the brodix race rites or AFR's 305 cc heads with the CNC chamber job(CNC chambers reguardless of the brand).

For a flat tappet....Id really look into something like 260/266(or 268) at .050 on a 112 with hopefully at least .660/.660 lift or better if possible. The 4.11's, a vic junior, a good 1000cfm carb and DEFINITELY more converter for all motor passes running mid 10's or quicker.

You are more in the territory of a 4500ish stall speed converter. If the nitrous is a regular thing...you can tighten it up a hair and then let the bigger hit from the nitrous flash it back out a little to where it needs to be. This should fit your definition of absolutely nasty and I dont see any reason why it cant sink well into the 10's. Dont get too brave with the juice and pump gas. Mix some good fuel in there during the preliminary process when you are still figuring the thing out.

If done right the TH 400 will handle a ton.
alright sounds like low 10's are going to be a little difficult. How about just hitting 10's?

I'd go with oval port heads to get the low end torque. Your cam choice better be well suited to your pistons or you will have issues. Static compression(dome height) doesn't matter, timing events of the cam do. With the wrong choices you could have a 10:1 engine where the valves hit the pistons. Do your homework. Is your block 0 decked?

I'll add you don't want to use 4.10 gears with a big block. The big block has the plenty of torque down low. You will be cooking tires plenty with the 3.55 gears. The 4.10 gears and a th400 would just make it rap out too much and burn more gas when crusing.

To tame it down a bit.....use a performer rpm intake, still one of the heads I mention before(Id really like the brodix 270 ovals here for still great power with just a little less port for some additional semblence of street manners), a 950 HP holley(tamer than it looks on paper based on the way its rated, but still real potent)......1 7/8 headers and this camshaft http://www.holley.com/402A7LUN.asp

Its one of Harolds grinds(Harold Brookshire). This 288/296 camshafts has been one of his most popular big block chevy solid flat tappets forever basically. He has worked with many cam companies and this is one of those grinds that goes with him everywhere....getting refined a bit along the way.

Just a quick edit....the first cam I mention in the first post I say Id like a 260/266 at .050 with at least .660/.660 lift. My bad...I sorta lost track of the fact that we were talking about flat tappets. Thats what Id look for in a roller. You will have a hard time finding a flat tappet with lift more than .630 with a duration spec like those. You can find a roller lobe with more than .700 gross on a 260 at .050 lobe......but not many solid flats better than .630 lift on a 260 degree lobe. So yeah just in case you looked I didnt want you to think I was crazy reccomending something that your probably not gonna find hehe.

Back on track.....I still vote for a GOOD converter that stays tight enough for driving...but flashes 4000 or better(preferably around 4100-4300 or so). The fairbanks stuff was nice for its time.....but nowadays Id be looking into a good replacement. There is a LOT of ET to be found with the right converter. So call up companies like Coan, Edge, and ATI(for example). All of these guys can make top notch stuff. Id base your decision on which company gives you the warmest most fuzzy feeling if you know what Im sayin! All are capable....but if two rub you the wrong way when your tryin to deal with them.....go with the third company.

Even though Im estimating around a 4000+ stall speed unit....after you finalize the build call these companies and let them select the proper converter. They will do the best job at that.

Lastly....if you intend nitrous regularly, and if you plan to make the shot bigger than 150.....I might still use the 2 inch header and have that cam custom ground on a 112LSA instead of a 110. For a 150 shot or less, and especially if it wont be used all the time I wouldnt make those changes. It will ET nicer with the 110 LSA and the 1 7/8 header.

Look on the sides of the rods........not the thin side but the wide side. Is there a dot or a 'dimple' present?

if not I would suggest investing in aftermarket rods, especially if you are going ot spray it. If there is a dot or dimple, what size rod bolts are in them? You need the bigger 7/16 rod bolts.... The 11.8 compression ratio with NOS will make a big BOOM unless you use a timing retarder.

I am building a 489 and I went with the Brodix Race Rite Ovals 270cc runners and a Thumpr Cam (mildest) as well as a 770Cfm Holly Street Avenger, if you are going to drive it on the street much, don't put too big a set of heads, cam or carb on it. It will be much funner to drive that way. Plus you wont need a 4k stall converter (not very fun to drive on the street after awhile).

A bunch of good questions.

First, heads. Unless you change pistons, the CR will drop with most aftermarket alum heads. They all tend to have 119cc chambers unless you order them milled to 114 or so.
Next, closed chamber pistons might interfere with the heads....
I believe the pistons you have fall into this ballpark. You will need to check this carefully.

Stock rods and crank aren't as bad as folks would have you beleive. The rods do not need 7/16 bolts...they just weaken the rod. Add good ARP 3/8 bolts and be happy. But limit the rpm to 6800......

I'll vote for the AFR 305cc heads with the CNC chamber option. Others can say what they will about Canfields and Race Rites, but I have yet to see anyone running them acheive the same results as the AFR's. Do a check here and over at Chevelles.com and see for yourself.

Flat tappet cams are ok, but flat scary these days with poor lifters and bad oil. A solid roller is the only way to fly. Forget hyd rollers unless you want to limit rpm to 6000.

Back to the heads, race rites are identical whether square or oval....same head....same flow...diff port shape. Iron GM ovals...forget it unless you know an excellent head porter...and they still won't equal even the race rites.

4.10's are perfect for what you want as long as you run a 28" tire. Trust me, 3.55's or 3.73's will slow the car.

In fact, even with nitrous, 4.10's will be fine to get to low 10's.......as long as you don't mind near 6800 at the stripe....maybe 3.73's would be a better all around choice.

Trans, unless you know what you are looking for, no, you won't be able to tell. The most important upgrade to a TH400 is a 34 element 2nd gear sprag.

Have fun...

Ron


Check out the deal I got, This guy bought a 63 impala that had a new motor and trans that the previous owner had rebuilt but never fired, he ended up selling both of them to me for 1k. Here are the specs on the stuff I got

2 bolt 454 block bored .030 over
steel GM crank
I need help identifying the rods, they look stock & aren't polished
TRW L2349 forged pistons, 11.18:1 comp with 109cc heads
balanced
It has mis matching heads one 3964291 and one 3919840 both rebuilt. They are closed chamber rectangular port 107&109cc heads
not sure on the cam specs yet since i havent removed it but its a hyd flat
fairbanks 3500 stall converter
rebuilt th400 trans that I don't know anything about


this stuff is going into a 67 camaro. It has a 3.55 10 bolt now, but I'm most likely going to go with a 4.10 12 bolt. It has 275/60/15 wheels

I'm going to go through the motor to double check all the torque specs first of all, and now I gotta figure out how I want to build it.

I want an absolutely nasty street car, I want the rough idle, I want to break the tires loose at 45mph, just all out badass.

My first problem is that I want to run 93 octane without detonation running full timing so I'm looking into larger chamber cc heads. A 119cc head will get me at 10:1comp. I plan on running most likely a solid flat tappet cam that will be custom ground by a great local guy, I will get the hooker 2" comp series headers, and I have a NOS cheater system that i'll be setting up for a 150shot most likely.

So my main questions are whats the best moderately priced head I can run capable of getting me into mid/low 10's naturally aspirated while running 93 octane?


how can I identify which rods I have?


How much are the heads I have worth?


Is it possible to open up the trans and be able to tell whats been done to it since I know nothing about auto's?


How much can the th400 handle?

I agree with the solid roller. It just makes sense.

Just to give you a bench mark as best as I can;

I didn't build my motor and I don't know what cam is in it. I have had it for some years now and will eventually rebuild it but for now, I'm going for all its worth.

Its a 454 out to 468.
It has a solid roller cam that is pretty wild. (Wish I knew the specs but I don't)
Edelbrock Victor 454-O manifold
MSD pro billet distributor with no ignition box, just a coil.
Obviously, oval port heads that are iron. Once again, I don't know their specs as far as how big the chambers and valves are. I suspect they are modified.
Holley 850 cfm.
T400 that is built very well by a guy that is renowned in my area. 3500 Hughes stall that actually flashes to 4600. :mad:
4:88 gears, have me crossing the traps at 7000-7100 rpm.

This is all motor, 4 bolt main, single carbed car. I have to run race gas or airplane fuel due to detonation that I think is because of higher compression. Once again, I can't be sure and can only estimate.
This car is aproximately 400-450 hp and I do 11.65's with it. With a tranny adjustment and some taller snubbers, I'm certain I can get 11.40's.

Based on that, if I were you I'd run water or methanol injection to help prevent detonation if you are going with NOS and running 93 octane. Snow Performance has some affordable setups.

This is just food for your thought as you build.
All motor 454 with no NOS gives me 11.65's and with an adjustment that will give me a full wind up in first gear, 11.40's or 11.50's are right there.

Good luck.

For a flat tappet....Id really look into something like 260/266(or 268) at .050 on a 112 with hopefully at least .660/.660 lift or better if possible. The 4.11's, a vic junior, a good 1000cfm carb and DEFINITELY more converter for all motor passes running mid 10's or quicker. that would be what i would look for thats a great cam. I have something similair in my car and it sounds nasty when you drop it in gear it pauses between idle.

As for heads YOU WANT AFR they flow better than any head straight out of the box infact the recommend you dont polish it in case you hurt something. You will want to keep your compression relatively around 11.5 with a cam like that. I am running 11.2 when i get my new heads but because my cam is a little smaller than the one suggested it allows me to be on pump gas. The more duration of the game the less affective Compresion that will be lost.

With a cam like that you will also want around 4K stall and you will want to look into crane gold roller rockers with guideplates that AFR will include on the heads and AFR has a good set of roller rockers that they can assemble on you head with springs for like 60 bucks. The springs come on the head already. You will also want titanium retainers as they are a third of the weight of chromemoloy and will cause yoru engine to want to rev fast and create more stability for high rpm the same reason you will want a girlde which afr can include for like 160.

If you are worried about detonation you could get your vavles thermeally coated but it wont really matter because of the overlap of the cam will actually keep your valves cool uneless you sit at a stop light for a while The number one thing to look for is get coated headers and anything else to reduce engine bay temperature such as a vented hood because it will reduce the temperature of the intake air charge. Every i believe 5 degrees is worth a point of octane it might be 7 degrees. Also make sure your quench is good because the quench will cause the air to be more turbulent when it comes in because of the small gap between the heads and the piston and it will cause the air/fuel charge to mix more throughly than it already is from the AFR heads.

As for the rods if its gm it should be stamped somewhere on the side of the rod if you believe they are stock upgrade them. I wouldnt be suprised if you did the stuff to the car and you were making over 700hp and for that you definetly do not want stock rods.

For a flat tappet....Id really look into something like 260/266(or 268) at .050 on a 112 with hopefully at least .660/.660 lift or better if possible. The 4.11's, a vic junior, a good 1000cfm carb and DEFINITELY more converter for all motor passes running mid 10's or quicker. that would be what i would look for thats a great cam. I have something similair in my car and it sounds nasty when you drop it in gear it pauses between idle.

As for heads YOU WANT AFR they flow better than any head straight out of the box infact the recommend you dont polish it in case you hurt something. You will want to keep your compression relatively around 11.5 with a cam like that. I am running 11.2 when i get my new heads but because my cam is a little smaller than the one suggested it allows me to be on pump gas. The more duration of the game the less affective Compresion that will be lost.

With a cam like that you will also want around 4K stall and you will want to look into crane gold roller rockers with guideplates that AFR will include on the heads and AFR has a good set of roller rockers that they can assemble on you head with springs for like 60 bucks. The springs come on the head already. You will also want titanium retainers as they are a third of the weight of chromemoloy and will cause yoru engine to want to rev fast and create more stability for high rpm the same reason you will want a girlde which afr can include for like 160.

If you are worried about detonation you could get your vavles thermeally coated but it wont really matter because of the overlap of the cam will actually keep your valves cool uneless you sit at a stop light for a while The number one thing to look for is get coated headers and anything else to reduce engine bay temperature such as a vented hood because it will reduce the temperature of the intake air charge. Every i believe 5 degrees is worth a point of octane it might be 7 degrees. Also make sure your quench is good because the quench will cause the air to be more turbulent when it comes in because of the small gap between the heads and the piston and it will cause the air/fuel charge to mix more throughly than it already is from the AFR heads.

As for the rods if its gm it should be stamped somewhere on the side of the rod if you believe they are stock upgrade them. I wouldnt be suprised if you did the stuff to the car and you were making over 700hp and for that you definetly do not want stock rods.
that is some GOOD info!