My motor will be done this week. I can't wait

I intend to use this as a daily driver and will never race it and it must pass emmissions (hence the shorties). For a street car with stock torque converter and bullet proofed A4 what do you think?

Edelbrock LT1 Performer Heads (with ARP head bolts)
Edelbrock LT1 Performer Air Gap Intake (still on backorder)
Edelbrock 52mm Throttle body
Edelbrock Ceramic Shorty Headers (must pass NJ emissions) with Stage 8 header bolts
Crane Cam 272/286, Lift .479/.518
Trick Flow Chromemoly Push Rods (+ .100)
Comp Cams 1.6 Roller Rockers & lifters
Bored .030 over with Sealed Power pistons
Balanced & Blueprinted
Reconditioned stock crank
Bilstein shocks all around
MSD OptiSPark
Taylor wires

I have completely rebuilt the front end with all new bushings (Moog rubber for ride comfort) and Energy Suspension poly motor mounts and trans mount. New ball joints, painted entire front suspension and engine compartment.

According to Edelbrock, I will not need a tune but I am sure it could help and will eventually get one.

What kind of HP do you think I will see? I am so stoked! I plan to bring it to the Carlisle GM Nationals show this summer.

 

if you will never race it then why all the upgrades?

sounds like a nice DD setup though

 

It had 323,000 miles on the engine and the cam wore out so I had to rebuild it anyway. I figured might as well make it better.

 

I assume those are advertised durations? I would ditch the stage 8s and get either ARPs or ones with a different locking mech. Also, ditch the bosch plugs for some NGKs. BTW that looks like a 210/224 crane 227 cam. Ie. your numbers seems to be advertised durs using 1.5 ratio.

As far as your push rods, why longer? Ibelieve you should measure for correct geometry before carte blanc splapping on longr PRs.

I'm just guessing here----set me straight.JMHO

 

BTW: Don't for get to get some good springs. The crane spring recommended for that cam is good and I believe that that particular spring has been improved, so check on the new one. Of coursethe bee hives are very good, as I understand.

Also, understand that baby cam is a good rv cam well-suited for the heavier rag top. JMHO

 

Save some money and run the stock TB and the stock Intake. No need for that stuff with what you are doing.

 

Yes they are advertised numbers. The cam is the Powermax 2033 grind. The Bosch plugs are my previous setup. I need to update my signature. Edelbrock is recommending Champion plugs and not platimum.

The heads are going to be installed on the block Monday and the rod length will be checked. Edelbrock thinks I may need need the longer length so I ordered them. If they turn out to not be necessary and I'll go back to the stock length.

 

Thanks for the feedback on the cam. I am looking for good traffic light performance, not suicide top end so I think the cam is right for me. The Edelbrock heads come assembled with the springs. Crane saye they are suitable for their cam.

 

I wrestled with this quite a while. The intake is still backordered so if it does not show up soon, I may reuse the stock intake and throttle body. I wanted to put the best I could into it and keep it completely emmissions legal in NJ. I thought the intake and TB would help but I realize they won;t give as much bang for the buck as the heads and cam.

JEff

 

The Power Max is the same cam, ie., 227.

 

Bubba,

What don't you like about the Stage 8 locking mechanism? Just trying to understand the pros and cons....

Jeff

 

Actually, I am not in a position to say because I have had no experience with them. But if you think about it, having to install little locks on the bolts lends itself to the probablility that you will be dropping the damn things into the LT1 abyss never to be seen again. I use the ARP stainless 1" bolts with 12 pt heads to give me a tad more working room between as bolt and the primary.

One should check the tq on the headers on occasion anyway, especially after the first heat cycle or so.

There are some locking-type bolts out there---I'm certain others will give you some good recommendations on them.

Messing with headers bolts, spark plug replacement, etc.---any work that requires getting your hands into that motor can be a pain and one needs to consider this when considering fasteners, etc.

BTW, I have heard some bitches about the stage 8 lockers from others on the board.JMHO

 

Bubba,

Thanks for your insight. Since I am assembling the motor on the K member outside the engine compartment, it is easy to forget how much a pain it will be to service later.

Jeff

 

BTW: Most Lt1 owners consider NGK plugs to be standard choice. Going with copper plugs is cheaper and they conduct the best, however their they supposedly do not last as long as plats or irradiums. On the other hand if you don't put that many miles on them and don't mind changing them more often, then copper is fine.

When I recommend the NGKs, I am not saying that they are the very best. But one needs to at least take into consideration the experiences others have had with using different plugs---aftermarket vendors don't necessarily have as much experience as all of the actual owners and operators of these cars acting as a concerned group.....and I haven't heard many raving reviews for the Bosch 4s. JMHO

 

I agree with Bubba on the Stage 8s, they can be a pain to install when it comes to the locking clip. It took both me and my friend to get them installed on his car. One set of hands on top and the other on bottom. They do the job though.