Slapped together '78 Camaro we took to the track, it didn't do too bad considering.
 

Well, thursday night, my uncle's friend and myself finished a head and intake manifold swap on his Camaro. The motor is a 327c.i.d. with a .232 duration cam. We swapped over a set of heads that were originally 58cc, but have been shaved down at the deck about an eighth of an inch or so (so now I'm guessing the chambers are roughly 56cc's) rebuilt with larger intake valves (1.84" IIRC). The intake manifold is acctually a Weiland from a 68/69 Camaro Z28 302c.i.d. motor, and the carb is a Holley 650cfm with vaccum secondaries (so smoothe). The tranny is a T350 with a shift kit and a 2200rpm stall converter. The differential is a 10 bolt posi with a 2.73 gearset (horrible, I know but there's a 3.73 gearset about to go in it). Now, with this setup, the car (in theory) makes plenty of low, mid, and lower top end torque (in other words, from idle to 5500rpms). We took it to Temple Academy Raceway friday for Test n' Tune night. He did a total of 3 runs (it was packed) The first was with it tuned rich as hell and street tire pressure - 16.7, but spinning through 1st and 2nd, ugh. The second was with the tires let down to about 15psi -16.2, kinda fixed the traction issue, but still, ugh. Finally, we bumped the timing up and he ran a 15.85 @ 87.5mph. That may not be fast, but its a baseline, and considering the car weighs in at about 4400lbs and had about 140lbs of crap in the trunk (tools, air tank, aluminum racing jack) and only has a 2.73 final drive, plus power steering, I'd say it did alright. The next thing happening is the 3.73 is going in and the cam may be exchanged for a slightly lopier duration (about .270-.292 duration) with a different stall, but first we'll see what it'll do with a different set of gears. Considering its only a 3 speed automatic and the cam peters out after 5500rpms, I don't see it going much over 90mph, but it'll sure get there quick and run one hell of an eighth mile. I'll update weekend after next, which is when we're taking it again, and I'll tell ya'll how it does.

I actually like lemons..

My buddies modded 440 Duster when to the track and pulled a 15.1 for his first run. After a few tweaks and launch practices, hes 12's all day :).

Good luck. What happened to your black FC?

Thanks. I had to sell it, actually. Didn't have enough money to get it back from Florida to Texas. I now have a '82 Nissan 280ZX 2seater, and I'm about to build up the top end (shave the head surface down some, run bigger valves, stiffer springs, .270intake/.280exhaust duration cam) as well as run a larger TB and tubular header & 2 3/4" exhaust and take it. Later, I'll probably be throwing a SB Chevy into it (like a 383stroker). I really miss my RX-7.

^^^ Too bad you don't have the 7 anymore but I do have a 60mm throttle body from a 240sx that will bolt right up if your interested. All you would have to do is widden the intake openning on the intakec hamber. It will be more free flowing and you'll get better throuttle response and a better soundng intake.

Ah, my other friend has a Datsun with a groovy 5.0 stuck in it with a ton of goodies. But I'm sure the 383 would rock.

FI?

FI as in "Fuel Injected"- yes, as in "Forced Induction"- no.

FI usually means fuel injection to me ;).

TPI motor? Custom EFI? Lt1?

Oh, I thought you were talking about my L28 in the Z. As far as the small blaock, nah, old school carbed man. You can do alot with a carbed SB. I'm thinking a 350 with a 383 stroker kit, 750-850cfm carb, a stout cam, and possibly nitrous bolted up to either a T350 or Richmond 5speed would make a pretty wicked ride. But like I said, this won't be for a while. I do want to build a badass L28 with the mods listed in a previous post, not to mention a forged bottom end w/ a 3.1L stroker kit and, if I can do it, a centrifugal supercharger setup. We'll see what happens.

OH!!! I also found another FC (an 89 I think) for $700 that doesn't run that I may get ahold of. Of course, I did get fired today, so maybe my little projects are a little more far fetched than I'd like for them to be, lol.

4:10's, bigger stall 3k-3300(they are still quite streetable), DR's, 750 carb. Should run a lot better.

Ah sounds like you have a plan, I hope you have the pocketbook to match ;)!

I'll snap some pics of my friends Datsun, you might like it (12's all day with no traction ;)!)

Sorry about gettin fired, man. That sucks.

Well, 4.10's with this cam would only net a top end of about 80mph, if that. The thing is, the cam is probably gonna stay because this motor is being built as a reliable torque monster (hence the short stroke, high compression, reasonable valve size, somewhat mild cam). Its not really being built for high hp, which means if the cam is changed, it'll be to something a TAD bit more radical (like in the .250 duration range), but not too much because, as mentioned, torque is this car's main goal. As far as the stall speed, I agree that a higher stall needs to be put on. And I definately agree on some better tires. The carb, however, should be alright, unless a different cam IS selected. Anyway, we're just gonna throw the 3.73's in this week and take it down to the track again next friday and we'll see what she'll do.

Also, we have a stripped '62 Chevy II Nova hardtop thats about to be the recipient of a 390hp 396 :devil: ... a car that weighs less than a gutted FC with 390hp... yeah.

Don't fear the gear, 4:10 will get you by unless you think you can trap 110mph or better. I always thought the longer stroke the better the torque for the most part.

Well, I'll keep that in mind. We're just gonna try the 3.73's first. If that doesn't work, I'll recommend Lewis to slap the 4.10's in. The only thing is that with a T350 tranny, you run outta gear quick if you don't have a cam thats good WAY up in the RPM's. This same car had a 3.73 gearset at one time in its past, (with a different top end, of course) and it topped out at 90mph. This was with the same tranny and the same cam.