Question about 72 chevelle

[Maverick123w]

Hey guys, this friday I'm goin to go look at 2 cars I wanna buy. An 87 Grand National and a 72 Chevelle. The Chevelle has a 350 in it and the dealer says it has between 250 and 275 horsepower. My question is, approx. how in the 1/4 mile would the chevelle be with that engine? thanks

[CRUZN69]

Real sloooooooow. Problably with that engine it's got a tall highway gear. The GN will kick its rear.

[72_Chevelle]

I would say probably in the 14's some where...

Is the motor all stock?

[Maverick123w]

14's would be great. I know a 87 GN can hit 13's stock but I'm driving a 16 second cavalier now so.... 14's would be awesome hehe. I'm pretty sure its all motor. I'm goin to go look at it agian tomorrow. I was hoping for 14's. My freinds pontiac GTP has 240hp 280 ft/lbs and it weighs close but is FWD and is a 14.8-15.2 second car so I was thinking somewhere around that speed.

[Maverick123w]

Actually I looked at the ad again and it said "Mild cams and headers". I have no idea what that means.. maybe someone could lcue me in.

[MrPbody]

15s. A small block in a Chevelle is a boy trying to do a man's job. If you were to pump it up a lot, it would go 12s...

On the other hand, the Chevelle has MUCH more potential for performance than the Buick, unless you were willing to put a big block in the Buick... Much is said about how quick the GNs are, but in the real world, they are neither as quick as they say (some are, most are not, as with anything else in life..), or as easy to repair and maintain as the Chevelle.

The cam is the "brain" of the engine (determines when, in crankshaft degrees, the valve event occur). A "mild cam" would be one designed for more performance, but not necessarily for racing. It would offer a reasonably smooth idle and a fairly broad power range (RPM where engine is actually MAKING power). Headers are tubular exhaust pipes, designed to replace the stock "manifolds" and improve power by improving the engine's ability to get the spent gasses out. Headers are a mandatory item for any good small block performance build. Good headers cost twice as much as cheap headers, and are well worth it. The downside to headers is they are noisy (rattle from the burn continuing in the system, and the thinner pipes echo the sound) and are not long lifed. Coating them helps life a LOT.

[Mr. Horsepower]

Well to start off if it is stock it has 2.56 gears in the 8.2 rear. The gran ny slow shift TH350 (remember this is stock)the engine has decent power for stock put not much low end. I ran a stock 70 malibu for a while and 15.4 - 15.8's is about what you are looking at. But money wise for a builder the 72 is much more senseable to build plus a 72 chevelle is build much more solid...

[Maverick123w]

Well what would be the first things to replace/add to wake this car up?

[Mr. Horsepower]

well the best thing you can do for your money is 4 things. Intake- stick with a dual plane it will help your torque out like an Edelbrock performer intake. I prefer holley carb for racing but with street driving stick with a Quadrajet or Edelbrock preferebly a 650 holley economizer this will give you best of both worlds. You also can get a mild hydraulic cam like a 454 454 in lift cam your stock springs would be fine. This cam would drop in nicely. You will have a small noticeable idle. Check out Crane Powermax cams. This will also help your torque and you wouldnt need to add a stall converter. Lastly one thing people overlook is ignition. A good ignition can make a world of difference. Find a good hei with good wires and run AC Delco 5/8 plugs like r45ts(if original 72 heads are on it.) If you have older 11/16 plugs use a r44s plug. Look at Accel distributors and hei supercoils. They are cheaper than MSD but perform well in street machines. Remember this though. When installing an hei on an original points car a resistor wire was used. You will have 2 wires in a white cloth type wire loom from the dist. to the wiring harness. One of those wires will be a hot wire one will not be. Loosen your harness and take a test light with the key in the on position and test to see which light is hot. The one that is not should be removed. A new larger wire should be soilderd into place. this way you will have full voltage to your new distributor. Many people do not do this and it is what makes a world of difference. If there is one thing you can do I suggest the HEI and the steps I have explained. One huge suggestion also is good exhaust. Check out flowtech headers in a Jegs or Summit Magazine. If you have any ?'s about what i have explained I'll be back on later... These are ideas based on an economically priced build. If you would give me an idea of your budget we could get really technical... These ideas i have given you would cost roughly 700 - 800 dollars...

[Maverick123w]

wow thanks alot for the info. I'd like to give you a price range but I'm moving to anew place on the 4th of december and I'm not 2 sure on my budget just yet. I'd like a consistent low to mid 14 second car. I really just want to beat my friends supercharged grand prix for once ... and do it in style.

[Mr. Horsepower]

Hey man hows it going? Just thought i would let you know. If you were to make these 4 swaps I am sure 14's would be obtainable. Go for it you will learn alot and also it is much fun to do this kind of work....

[hotrod_chevyz]

Get the Chevelle.The 350 can be just as competitive as the 454,on a 1/8 or 1/4 mile track.The Regal is just a Regal.I would shy sway from it,unless you want to constantly work on some buick