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That's why I pulled the 499 and am putting in the 540 that only has 700 valve lift. I street drive a bit also and the radiator for the 540 will be bigger than the little one the 499 uses. Next up after I see how the 540 runs with the Indy R2 cam and 13.9 (C-16 still) it will get lower compression and a milder cam so I can run it on pump swill. Will freshen up the 499 so I can trust it (came with the KOS car, but is supposed to be fresh) and get the header dents fixed. That motor on spray sent the 3150# car down the track in low to flat 8s and 175 MPH - back in the day.

So back to the OP, you have to decide what it is you want to do. The parts will follow that decision and the compromises you make. To me, fuel is a key thing to consider but if only for the track C-16 isn't that big a hassle, just $13.50 per gallon.

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If you were to build a Big Block Wedge to go drag racing, What would you build, and how?

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Low deck alloy block, B1 originals, with a gear driven procharger. Cubic inch would depend on pound per cube weight penalty when I win the lottery.

Steve

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I've got an F1R ProCharger. Its not enough for a 572.
I've only had it for mocking up on a small block. I'll be getting rid of it and the small block cog kit.

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That F1R would probably be real happy on my 432, and it's a legal blower for the class........

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If you were to build a Big Block Wedge to go drag racing, What would you build, and how?

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Low deck alloy block, B1 originals, with a gear driven procharger. Cubic inch would depend on pound per cube weight penalty when I win the lottery.

Steve

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I've got an F1R ProCharger. Its not enough for a 572.
I've only had it for mocking up on a small block. I'll be getting rid of it and the small block cog kit.

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That F1R would probably be real happy on my 432, and it's a legal blower for the class........

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I've got it up for sale

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If 8's are your goal I'd look at boost. In the long run it will be cheaper and you'll have something you can putt around town in. Like cab said earlier, do the biggest CID you can, top it off w/ the best heads you can afford, then add about 14-16lbs of boost. If you are good at fabbing exhaust go turbo, if not look into a centrif blower unit.

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Well still kinda open ended. I went 9.04 at 150 in a 3470lb 67 Valiant with a set of originals that flowed 415-420cfm with a stock block, Ohio crank, GRP rods, Indy oil pump and Bullet roller with 286/290 on a 113lsa with life at @800", unported single 4 intake and a out of the box Holley Dominator. Was a fairly budget minded build and in a 2800lb ish car would certainly run 8's with no issues. It was a father son project when my kid was still playing HS baseball so racing time was limited. We built the engine to get an idea on what would work well with plans to upgrade some components later to better pieces and more power. Made some cam and carb changes along the way and had a good handle on where to go with it. Ended up deciding to go super class racing instead after baseball and eventually sold the car. BTW if anyone in the Lincoln, NE area knows the car I would like try and get it back.

My point being some sort of budget it required to make some decisions on what direction lead. My advice is buy the best components you can afford. Running 8's at 2800lbbs is not rocket science. 900 hp will get you in the 8's easily. Your heads can support 950 relatively easy but if you want more you will either need to spin it harder or look for better heads. 950 in a great working car at sea level will net you sub 8.50 times. In Boise maybe 8.60's. FWIW my Barracuda at 2975 went 155 in Boise at the S/ST index of 11.15

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Would you mind sharing, or PM me, some build secrets of the motor you and your kid ran in your 67 Valiant?

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Could you be more specific on your goals? There is a world of difference between 8.00s at 3,000 lbs or 8.90s at 2500 lbs. Like from 700 hp to over 1,000 hp. what do you think the car will weigh? Are you looking to run high 8s or 8.0s?

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It should weigh about 2700 then. 850s to 8.60s is vey reachable, only needing about 850 hp. I have run 8.70s with much poorer heads and 528 cubes at 3040 lbs, alcohol injected single throttle body. Figure at that performance level, it takes about 35 hp per tenth of ET reduction. Will you be satisfied with 8.50s? That could be done with a very low maintenance motor.

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Honestly I was shooting for 8.10 to 8.20 for all out. But back it off to bracket race and be consistent. But yes, and as maintenance free as possible.
Our track is at 2690 to 2720 above sea level. If that helps.

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My weather station calculator says it would take about 1040 dyno hp to run in that range at a DA of roughly 3,000 ft. That makes it a pretty serious motor build. Al Alguire is who I would go to for a decent recipe, he has done it.

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I have a KB on order.

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I have a KB on order.

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Has KB shipped your block yet? When I talked to them on July 1, it sounded like they would be finished machining your block that week. I plan to check back on Friday (7/11) for the status on mine.

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Check the latest post on-
"Keith Black Aluminum block ordering experience" Ken replied on there

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Looks like you are getting close on the block for sure. You will definitely loose quite a bit of weight on the nose for sure. All the megablocks I have weighed were 305-317lbs. My KB low deck was 127, so you will see a solid 175lb loss I would imagine. That is a TON of weight off the nose for sure.

My log book shows Firebirds elevation at 2695, a few hundred more than here in Vegas. Everytime I have run there the DA was 3200-4800' and that was at the division race which is one of your first races of the year. So you would still need a fair amount of steam to run 8.0's up there even at 2600lb. One thing some of the Midwest and East coast guys don't get is we have no barometer at these tracks. While Boise is a tad better than most as we go up in altitude the TRUE barometer is very low. This will kill power in a hurry. Boise was pretty good when I was there with the true barometer being in the low 27's. As we say here in Vegas if we see a 28.00 on the barometer it is a banner day and you will be fast, well for here anyway.

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