I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF BUILDING A NEW 355 FOR MY 68. IT WILL HAVE KEITH BLACK HYPEREUTECTICS PISTONS 10 TO 1'S WITH 882 CHEV. HEADS(STREET PORTED) WITH 2.02/1.60 VALVES ,GIVING ME ABOUT 9.6 TO 1 C.R., SCAT RODS, WEIAND STEALTH INTAKE...ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ON CARB., CAM, AND SIZE HEADERS(1 5/8 OR 1 3/4")? I ALSO HAVE ABOUT 3" CLEARANCE TO THE COWL INDUCTION HOOD. SHOULD I SPACE THE CARB HIGHER AND SEAL THE BREATHER OFF SO IT GETS ONLY OUTSIDE AIR? THE CAR HAS A TURBO 350 AND 3:73 GEARS. I WANT TO BE ABLE TO RUN LOW 13'S IF POSSIBLE! ANY IDEA HOW MUCH A 68 CONVERTIBLE WEIGHS? ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH, I'M GETTING TIRED OF TYPING!

P.S. I WANT A STREETABLE SETUP. I COULD HANDLE A SEMI-ROUGH IDLE, BUT I DON'T WANT IT TO RATTLE MY TEETH OUT. THIS IS GOING TO BE AN EVERYDAY DRIVER. JD

Suggest Edelbrock RPM cam and matching intake. Fairly radical stuff but still streetable. Probably a 750 Holley carb with the bigger headers. Looking for mid range to high rpm performance. Might check out www.edelbrock.com and www.holley.com for some good info. Good luck. tom

on the weight issue, a stock 68 convertible
with a v8:curb weight:3385/ shipping weight:
3215
good luck

try a weiand team g manifold I just bought an 84 z with an engine similiar to yours- trw flat tops, aluminum heads (trick flow), solid lifters, and a moderately lumpy cam (but tolerably idle smooth). Let me tell you the thing rocks with that manifold,...I don't really get the drivability thing people talk about I cruise in fifth at like 35 or 40 but the thing barks em in third hitting 75 so what can you say? I love it it works for me so far!

If it were me, I'd run a Comp 292 Magnum Cam with Comp 1.52 Magnum Rockers. Some form of a #3310 Holley Carb. At the very least a 14x3" Element. 1 5/8" Headers and a free flowing true dual exhaust in the 2 1/2" size.
2,500 Stall speed, 3.73 gears, 28" Tires OR
3,000 Stall speed, 3.73 gears, 26" Tires. An air pan would be nice, but, at the least insulate the carb/intake from engine heat. Or you could do it the easy way as stated and run the Edelbrock RPM Package. Which I'd stall @ 3,000 (somewhat) and with those gears, get a decent sticky tire. But, hey I'm just runnin' ideas. My idea of streetable and your idea of streetable could be two different things.......

Urgh! When I bought my '69, it had a 355 with a Mag292. Way too radical an Idle and the vacuum was non-existant! My car is an auto with a mild converter, so I opted to pull the 292 in favor of a Comp Cams 268H. Still has the lumpy sound..but now I have a livable idle (at much lower RPM's) and enought vac. to operate my PB's and Hide-away lights.

Steve

Ran a vac. reserve can. I was happy runnin' a 292 Magnum in a 71 R/S. But, that was MY choice for a daily driven car. I also ran a 3,000 stall, 4.10 gears. Didn't mind stopping at every gas station either. To each his own I guess.

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Hop
On
Nothing
Dumb
Ass!

Try the Edelbrock Performer (not RPM) stuff. It's a good intake with hood clearance, 600 CFM carb, and a healthy but reasonable cam. Good combo and lot's of power for the street.

Last 350 I built I ran a comp cams mag 280 with a b/m 11"holeshot converter, highrise dual plane intake with holley 750 vac secondaries..ran awsome, no vacuum problem with power brakes, and no problem driving it every day with 3:73 gears. I liked this combo so much I built a second engine the same way and its sittin in the garage waiting to be put to use! This is a truly streetable combo (oh yeah 9:1 compression needed for this cam)

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66/70 chevelle ss396's
69/71 camaros

the 292 is too radical.. i have it in my 454 that's tricked out.. it idles like crap.... real rough.. sounds impressive but i wish i went with the 280 comp cams.. my last 350 was done like yours.. heads.. hooker headers.. the performer intake is awsome with the 280 cam.. and the 650 holley vac secondary card... nice lopey idle.. and quick... very streetable... with a 2800 rpm stall.. i have the 3600 stall in my big block.. it's not a daily driver... higher is not always better and you'll need a tranny cooler for the big ones.. not to mention a deep wallet for gas... 3:55 to 3:73 gear would be pretty good for the street...