What would you do?

[79Bandit]

hey guys im wanting to get abour 500 horses in my trans am and still have it for a (every 2 - 3 days driver) car. my question is what is the best way to go about this and the best parts?

Heres what i have in mind.
Bore and Stroke it to a 461ci
New Cam (Not sure wich to pick help would be nice)
Performance Headers
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Please help me out thanks.

[MrPbody]

Bandit,

What are we starting with? Do you have heads and a block? Isn't that the car you were asking about the Olds engine for?

I can give you a list of parts, a list of machine work, etc. I just need to know exactly where we are, and where we're going...

Have you bought Jim's book yet? When you say "461", it's "assumed" (a dangerous proposition) you're going with a Pontiac (common size for a "stroker" or .030" over 455). If that's the case, get the book! ("How to Build Max-performance Pontiac V8s", author, Jim Hand, publisher, SA Designs)

A 500 horse 461 is a no-brainer. Strong street engine, among the best out there. Once you've studied up on the common stuff, repost and we'll talk about cams, compression and intakes. As new stuff is arriving nearly every week, the book is already "behind" in some areas, and it isn't 2 years old yet... I DID get a note from Jim (Hand) a couple weeks ago. It (the book) has gone into the 3rd printing! The publisher is amazed. They thought they MIGHT sell the first 5,000 in a couple of years. The first printing was sold before it left the docks. The 2nd was sold out in November, just 14 months after introduction. It has become the best selling book SA Designs has ever published. And they thought the Poncho was dead.....(:-

Jim


Jim

[79Bandit]

i have the book and have already read it very good learnt a lot what we have to start with is a pontiac 400 it runs and is in the car now (i also have a 455 block but thats for something else) on the 400 now i have a edlebrock intake manifold, a very nice cam(do not know exzact as it was already in there) an edlebrock 4 barrel carb i wanna say 750 sorry for some reason i cant think right now and thats it basically...so lets just say we have a stock 400 to work with what should we do? i want this car to haul ass from first to third..my budget would be $5000 but i mean it could be even more just thats all i have now any info would be appreciated as i am farly new with old cars.

[MrPbody]

IMO, the most effective way to use that 400 would be to install the Eagle "stroker" kit, making it a 461 (at .030" over, .060" over makes it a 467). Depends on which heads you have, too. Small chamber heads are not well-suited for this, as compression is at or near 12:1.

Good port work, valve train and strong bottom end pieces are the key to any build such as this. Which Edelbrock intake do you have? That E-carb makes a GREAT doorstop, but isn't much good as a "performance" carb... We've had ourselves, and heard from MANY, lots of tuning issues. No subtstitue for the "real deal" (Holley).

What exactly do you want from this engine? Defining your goals makes the parts selection and need for machine work much more clear.

Jim

[79Bandit]

Originally Posted by MrPbody

IMO, the most effective way to use that 400 would be to install the Eagle "stroker" kit, making it a 461 (at .030" over, .060" over makes it a 467). Depends on which heads you have, too. Small chamber heads are not well-suited for this, as compression is at or near 12:1.

Good port work, valve train and strong bottom end pieces are the key to any build such as this. Which Edelbrock intake do you have? That E-carb makes a GREAT doorstop, but isn't much good as a "performance" carb... We've had ourselves, and heard from MANY, lots of tuning issues. No subtstitue for the "real deal" (Holley).

What exactly do you want from this engine? Defining your goals makes the parts selection and need for machine work much more clear.

Jim

Will it still run good on pump gas at that kind of compression?

[MrPbody]

Bandit,

No. 9.5:1 is considered the practical limit for iron heads and 93 octane. A pair of 6X heads, properly "done" are very popular in these applications. relatively cheap for the cores, too (about$150 for a pair). You need at least 92 CCs in the chamber. The muscle car era Pontiacs all had 72 CC chambers (nominal). The "smogger" heads form the mid-late '70s are the hot lick for the large cube engines. That's where the 6Xs come in. 5Cs are also a very good casting.

Jim