well.. the car is at the paint shop now.. it wasn't original when I got it so ive done some upgrading.. its got new suspension, tires, steering box, carpet, seats, shifter, duel exhaust.... ive got about 3000 bucks to spend on the motor... the motor looks good... but an runs great but [censored]... its not very fast... it needs HP bad....from what I can tell its a stock 350 with just the stuff I did to it.. HEI dizzy, edelbrock intake and carb, plugs an wires......ive got a few weeks to think about it.... where would you spend it???
What heads are on the engine? Do you know where it is from(year, etc.)? Your signature indicates a '67 which means the stock 326 is gone?
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top 1968 400 Convertible, verdoro green, black top 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver)
Okay, more info like transmission and rear gears would be helpful also.
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top 1968 400 Convertible, verdoro green, black top 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver)
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top 1968 400 Convertible, verdoro green, black top 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver)
I'd say the best bang for your $3000 is a 400 shortblock, with your heads. A 350 can be built to make power. But it's just easier and cheaper to do it with more cubes.
Here's one for $2400 + shipping. Get him to build it with 5140 RPM forged rods, add a decent cam and your heads, and see if that's enuff spunk for you.
Here's the post I would heed the most and it will keep you well under your budget:
"I changed out the 7H1 heads on a 72 LeMans I had, with some 1970, small valve, #16 heads. No port work, just a good valve job, and new guides. Took off the Performer intake with a Holley vacuum secondary carb, and installed an older factory Q-jet intake and carb. That engine ran a lot better than it did before. Actually impressed me for a 350. It still had a completely stock bottom end with stock cam."
You might consider a bit more cam to really improve things and if you went that direction a better matched torque converter. All this would keep you closer to 2K(800 for heads, 500 for carb and intake, 300 for cam and other items, 250 for torque converter).
While I can't disagree with the recommendation of Len Williams, I do think it would put pressure on your budget, take extra time, and bring up other issues for you(posi rearend, better gearing, etc.)
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top 1968 400 Convertible, verdoro green, black top 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver)
ohhhhh im drooling over that 455 long block for a little over 4k..... will my stock tranny and rear end hold up..
The short answer is NO.
A TH350 needs a 36 element int sprag/drum/race assembly, and a good build by somebody familiar with HP TH350 builds. If there is not a good tranny guy in your area, you can buy a good TH350 online. But they ain't cheap.
Most guys just switch over to a TH400 with a 34 elemnet int sprag. It takes a different crossmember and a larger slip yoke.
An 8.2 rear end will work OK, until you put sticky tires on it. We broke one on the track, and oiled down a good portion of it. They really frowned on that. We switched to 12 bolts and never had any more rear end problems.
An 8.5 rear will work also. They are almost as strong as a 12 bolt. My '74 Vent has one. It runs 7.30's in the 1/8 mile. An 8.5 out of a GM X-body will bolt right in to a 1st gen. If you use one from a 2nd gen, the spring perches must be moved in some. And the driveshaft will need to be shortened slightly when switching to an 8.5.
For racing, you can upgrade to 30 spline axles and carrier. The 8.5 can take quite a bit of abuse.
Hey, you can put the 455 in it, and just baby it 'til you can upgrade the trans and rear. Most guys are always upgrading something. It's just part of the fun--make 'em a little quicker and a little more heavy duty, as you can. By the way, if you decide to go with the 455, be sure to go with forged rods. Stock rods have been known to fail, well below 6000rpm in a 455.
With an Eagle crank and rods, it's only $4500 + shipping. I know a guy who just bought a motor from Len, if you'd like to talk to him about it.
I never had any problems with T-350's or the 8.2 bop rear. Had a minimum of 1000 drag strip runs with slicks and tons of street beatings in a 3500lb Lemans. Same with t-350's
I never had any problems with T-350's or the 8.2 bop rear. Had a minimum of 1000 drag strip runs with slicks and tons of street beatings in a 3500lb Lemans. Same with t-350's
Count your blessings.
I suppose those TH350's and 8.2's were absolutely stock, too. That reminds me of a guy who said he built a racing engine using a "557" block. It had over 500hp + a shot of nitrous. Made countless passes. He couldn't understand why so many other guys were breakin 'em at well below 500hp. Hey, some guys are just luckier than others, I suppose.
We never had any problems either, with 400 engines. I even raced my '69 4-speed GTO for 2 seasons, without problems. The problems started when a guy gave me a 455, out of a '70 GTO. It broke an 8.2, a built powerglide, the int sprag outer race on a TH350 I bought out of a running 11 sec Nova, the TCI heat treated outer race I replaced the broke one with, and the int sprag in a stock TH400, as well as the sprag in a full competition TCI TH400. Hey, when you hook a 455 to the track with big slicks, it can tear up some stuff, unless you are real lucky, or have some HD parts behind it.
Now if all you wanna do is smoke some hard street tires now and again, the stock stuff is fine.
Bottom line is, you can take your chances and run 'em til they break, or upgrade to begin with.
Ever see what happens when a forward drum in a T-400 explodes. Your lucky to come out of that with both feet attached to your legs. These days we use tranny blankets and shields.
ohhhhh im drooling over that 455 long block for a little over 4k..... will my stock tranny and rear end hold up..
LOL! This is how you quickly go over budget.
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top 1968 400 Convertible, verdoro green, black top 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver)
Finished building this 67 400 a few weeks ago. Brand new 5140 rods, dished icon pistons to drop the compression down to 9:1, brand new stainless valves,springs,retainers, bronze guides, Johnson hydraulic lifters and summit 2801 cam. With all machine work and parts labor it came out to $4700
Ever see what happens when a forward drum in a T-400 explodes. Your lucky to come out of that with both feet attached to your legs. These days we use tranny blankets and shields.
Actually when the sprag broke in my TCI TH400, it just lost 2nd gear. Another guy was driving the car the TCI was in. It broke on the 1st time trial. So I told him to make another pass, and hit the ratchet shifter twice, real fast, and see if it would go from 1st to 3rd. He did, it did, and he won the race. If I remember correctly, the ET only dropped a couple of tenths.
When I asked a local tranny guy about the TCI, he said they probably just used a stock 16 element int sprag. He said all you gotta do is buy a sprag for a Caddy TH400 that came behind a 500 cube engine. Back then, I think most of the big name tranny builders sold these GM sprags, repackaged, with their name on 'em. He was correct. And the caddy sprag fixed the TCI tranny. Worked perfect after that. So, from that time on, the 34 element sprag has been standard equipment in all my TH400's.
One note here, for those who may be considering a TH400. Beginning somewhere around '71 and up, the TH400 no longer had the 16 element sprags, which can be easily replaced with the 34 element sprag. Instead, they had a very weak roller clutch. The later style drums are different and will not accept the earlier type sprags. The entire drum must be replaced with an earlier style, or the drum from a 4L80E trans. Used drum assemblies are for sale on Ebay.
that's my problem.... its hard finding a shop that works and knows about old cars in my area so I do most of my own work.. I hate to just pull the motor and trans with nothing wrong.... and theres no way I could attempt a rear end.... but I need to be able to be able to get out of my own way.... maybe I will just limp thru the summer and this winter pull the motor and just do a 400 with my current set up...
any way to tell what rear end I have without taking it apart???
If it is original, it will have the upper control arm attachment loops on top. I assume they were the same housings that were used in the '67 A-bodies. These are the Pontiac 8.2" rears, sometimes referred to as the small 10-bolt.
any way to tell what rear end I have without taking it apart???
Now, if you mean what gear ratio you have, you can determine that also. If you have a posi unit, of course, it's easy. With the rear wheels off the ground, count how many times the driveshaft turns in order to turn the tires one revolution. Just over 3 turns is a 3.08 ratio, 3 1/2 turns is a 3.55 ratio. just under 4 turns is a 3.90, and so on.
If you have a one wheeler, I'd pull the cover and look at the numbers. There'll be 2 numbers, close together, on the ring gear. The smaller number is the number of teeth on the pinion gear. The larger number is the number of teeth on the ring gear. Divide the small number into the large number and you have the gear ratio. The numbers 10 41 would be a 4.10 ratio.
If it were the original rear end you are likely to be in the 2.93 or 3.08 range.
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top 1968 400 Convertible, verdoro green, black top 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver)
As he notes in one of his posts, it would get your compression up nicely.
1968 400 Coupe, verdoro green, black vinyl top 1968 400 Convertible, verdoro green, black top 1971 Trans Am, cameo white, auto 1970 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible 350-4(driver)