What to change about my car for n/a

I took off the supercharger to have less maintenance on the trans and get more use from my car on the track mostly.I am finding a real lack in performance even with my 1050 holley,Victor 440 intake.I have too big of exhaust [2.50" pri pipe]too tight of a converter[stalls at 4k on shift],3.73 gear28" tire et street I will post more info in a little bit.

This is what I have done to test after removing the blower to see how things would react.I put on the Victor 440 and an 850 holley and tested at the track and ran 13.80's first with an air filter then a scoop and then put on a 1050 and ran a 13.20ish about 106 mph shifting about 6k where I felt the power drop or felt I should shift it took a long time for the rpm to go up.I feel the exhaust is over scavenging and the vert is hurting me most.I have a street video I will post.

What???

You took away 100hp+ and you car is slower??
Shocking!!

For a street/strip car, it’s all about finding the fastest compromise you can live with.

Heavy car, tall gears, giant headers, big carb....... this isn’t sounding like a great N/A combo.

Make some pretty noticeable changes....... or live with what you have.

I guess I don’t understand the “problem” with leaving the blower on.
They’ve been used on street/strip cars for 60+ years.

I am still debating keeping the blower on under low boost5 or 6 lbs. here is a video "For a street/strip car, it’s all about finding the fastest compromise you can live with." Thjis is what I am trying to figure out what I will be happy with.

6lbs boost with a roots blower on a street/strip motor should be no problem........ and will save you thousands of $$$$ in the long run.

I agree VERY much!

I never really understood why you took it off.

Hmmmm... I see it (in my twisted perspective) as coming down to two choices:
1. Put the dayum blower back on... and, BTW, how fast was it w/ the huffer on it?

2. Convert what you have to a BradH / PRH replica Victor-headed 440 RB ... then get some 4.10s and re-stall (or replace) the converter

I'm pretty sure I know which choice is cheaper, unless you've sold off all your blower gear.

As the commercials say: "What's in YOUR wallet?"

Survey says,,,,,,

Put the huffer back on, get a chevy trans, and go cat go.

I wanted to see what it would do n/a .I have a lot of things going on with my daughter,grand kids that involve money so I am evaluating how I need to keep my car to keep using it while I commit to my family.

I can't make the change financialy to a GM for about 6k$ with what my life has going on in other ways.

Hey..... life happens.
If you’re looking to keep it N/A and go faster....... I don’t see that being all that easy on the wallet.
Of course, it’s running and driving now....... so you don’t “have to” change anything.

If you still have all the blower stuff....... you could put it back on, buy a couple of pulleys to keep the boost low...... drive the car.

I do have all the blower stuff with pulleys to run low boost.I can drive the car like it is if need be and is why I have done what I have to this date.

I'd def. throw the blower back on and just spin it slower.
To make it run NA, you'll need to have the converter restalled and change to smaller headers just to start. Possibly a cam and gear change later.

Thank you all for your input!I will put the blower back on and run it for 2yrs and see how life goes.

Without spending a bunch of $$$$...... looks like that number is 13.20@106.

The 106 is good for 12’s...... if the rest of the combo is working.

Cheaper to put the blower back on.

There is almost no cost with putting the blower back on and that makes it easier.I may need to go from pump gas to 98 octane maybe in a fuel mix.

If you can get Avgas where you are, that stuff is cheap and works great.

What’s the current CR?

I am between 9.5 and 10/1 with a 20cc dish piston and Victor heads,.060 gasket.

Well, not what my preference would be.

I’d put even thicker gaskets on it.

I have an .080 That I have used.My duration on the cam is 260/269 at .050

How big is this motor again?

Just a stock stroke 440,2.05 ch piston

Whew, ok...you have some potential. Thankfully it isn't a 500+" stroker.

Ya a stroker was too much of a commitment for me,lol

I’d put the .080’s on, and either replace the cam or get it reground.

446, zero deck, .080 gasket, 20cc dish, 72cc head........ 9.08:1
If you got the heads up to 75cc...... then it’s 8.87:1.

If the cam is shorter, then you can make more boost while turning the blower slower......which builds less heat.

Well that was on the list of options but I wouldn't know where to go with it on lift,dur.I have heavy springs in the heads[280/680#] that I wanted to swap for my old .590 lift cam springs barely used.
ps:The springs on my head are PSI DR1260ML minus the damper spring.

The lobe profile and rocker ratio has the biggest influence on how much spring you can get away with(along with how high you need to rev the motor).

For a street/strip car with a roller, there are certainly profiles available that will work and live just fine with less than 280/680.

Wrong cam for a blower, too hot for your CR.

I will never get the chance to show otherwise so ok.I had fun.

Here is the 2nd cam I put in my engine back in 2005 SFT

That roller could easily be reground to something more suitable for street/strip use a blower, that would also work with lower spring pressure.

I should give Comp a call to see what they say,recommend,cost,turn around time,spring recommendation so I can make a plan going forward.

My goal n/a was to go 11.50 with my current parts but by my results it is not going to happen and my goal has not changed and I will be getting perspective on what that is going to take with low boost on pump gas or mix and not leaving out timing adjustment.As far as cam spec I would think mid .550 lift would be very easy on things and fit ok with low boost to reach my goal.I am just putting this out thinking.

You can’t(shouldn’t try to) change the lift very much with a regrind on a roller since there is a good chance of grinding through the heat treat.

If you wanted a roller with .550 lift, you would start out with a different core.

Still, your current roller can be reground into something smaller/milder that would work fine in that application.

You could put the solid back in as well........ it’s closer to the right size....... but wouldn’t make as much power as a correctly sized roller.


Yeh...... you’re pretty far away from that, and likely not easily cured without spending some real $$.
Cam, gears, converter, and probably headers.

I like using a solid roller so I will stick with it.I have no idea how much I can regrind the cam to so thank you for your info! and help!I am looking at some roller cam,spring rates just to get an idea of what I may need like the Comp 23-703-9 .582/.588 110 that would need a spring 953-16 200# seat 496# rate and I will test my other springs I have to see if they will work to help plan.I need to have my roller lifters looked at to check their health to re-use.
ps:Here are 2 springs I have .1 is a 943 at 550# inch and the white stripe I am not sure of

I also never understood why you took the blower off. Been mostly street driving mine for over 20 years!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wDmNa4g9I

I wanted to see what it would do n/a and it was easy on the trans while cash was low.

I would go with a Comp Cams solid roller cam with 260 to 265@.050 on the intake side with 264 to 270@ .050 on the exhaust side with as much lobe lift tat you can get and have it ground on a 106 to 108 LSA and installed it between 4 to 6 degrees advanced and see if that lights your hind tires on fire or not

Your car should not hurt the trans. Dizusters turbo car runs a trans brake through a basically stock (good sprag, aluminum drum) 727. Been 9.55@142, 3750lbs. Runs on radials as well so it shocks it pretty good. No issues with the trans. Mine been 9.0@3350 without hard parts or clutch failure either.
Doug

Is one of those springs supposed to be a 943?

It’s def not the bottom one....... and unless the white paint used to be orange.......it’s not the top one either.

943’s shouldn’t be 280/680 either, unless the tester being used is just wrong.

What rocker ratio are you running and what’s the installed height?

I will keep this in mind thank you.With my current cam I get a cranking cr of 160 after 5 compression strokes so ths got me thinking with low boost and maybe 30deg timing that my cam may work for me after changing the valve springs back to the 943 that I started with with the cam.Someone gave me the heavy springs and is why they are on there.IDK I am just thinking about it.

Thanks I will have the springs tested.I may have mixed them up but the on head springs are the PSI like I posted.

The trans is what has been holding me back starting at 10.30 at 131 ET and got worse going faster with 3 transmissions and 2 builders and I am tired of paying and adjusted to what worked.What else can I say.

Just to put it all in one place...... this is my suggestion:

Get CR to 9.0 or lower, reinstall blower, regrind cam to smaller street friendly lobes, set blower drive ratio for 5-6lbs boost.

I agree And change valve springs to new cam.I agree but I just have to look at all options.TY

943’s set up at 1.920 would work fine with a suitable regrind of your current roller cam.

Thanks.I have the shims I think to help adjust things.

I talked to comp and there is no more regrind but use to cost 180 just fyi and new custom was 365$
I got a cam recommendation .570/.582 242/254 on a 110 I think it was.The spring rec was 927 179#/550 open fyi.

Why no more regrinds?

I had a couple done not that long ago.

If Comp won’t do it, I’m sure Bullet would.

It’s nice that they recommended a $450 set of springs to go along with those mild street lobes.
FWIW, I think you can do better than the cam they recommended.

Like I said previously, the cam you have can’t be reground to something that small........ but it can definitely be reground into something that would work.

This looks like it could easily turn into a “too many cooks” scenario.

The heat treat on my core was a problem and no longer use that core and I will give bullet a call.I will get my old springs tested too see what I have.I wanted a cam spec'd as a backup plan
ps:My core # is RC239M if this sound any of you have 1.

Okay...... so it’s not that they don’t regrind anymore, they just don’t want to regrind that cam.
Has it been reground before?

Frankly, the cam is about the last thing you need.
Get all the other stuff sorted out first....... then figure out what to do for a cam.

Still no regrinds and stopped 6 months ago he[Dallas] said.My cam was new I have.

Interesting.

I’d be very surprised if Bullet wouldn’t do it for you.

if you have a # would be cool but I can google it np.

Bullet cams:

662-893-5670

Thanks I will call them and see.

I got the springs tested and the taller with the white stripe will do at 240# at 2" 575 at .630 valve lift bind at .750
The sm spring only measured 80# at 1.90 so we stopped there.I will call bullet another time.

Do you have 2” installed height with your parts?

I have to check to be honest.I have the valve covers loose and will check tomorrow.The Ti retainer lets it be 2" and I have steel that is for 1.90ish in the box with the springs.

What am I missing? That is a pretty big cam, huge headers, I realize. But 106 MPH seems pretty low. If you're running open headers with no extensions you might not really have any scavenging.

It would seem like a reasonably sized cam swap and headers should put you into the 11s pretty easily. Probably even summit cheap 1 3/4 inch headers and a comp Magnum hydraulic cam. Or maybe no cam change?

What do you want to spend to go 11.50? I think you could do it for $800 or less. Or put the blower back on like everyone else said of course.

Do you still have the SFT you had before?

I can get running under low boost for 400$I have a 4.10 I can put in and a looser vert but built for boost alsoI feel it is right for now and with time wait and see.

I really want to thank you for helping me find some direction.

I am glad I got to tune my carb to pump gas so I can tune the other before putting them on the blower.There was a 3 jet size up from Sunoco 110 to pump fuel.

What do you think it will run with no intercooler and 5-6lbs boost?
Will you leave the 3.73’s in along with the current converter?

Of course, you ran that roller cam before....... so it’s not like you’d “have to” change it.

I was just thinking of this and my guide is that the first few pounds of boost are worth the most and I think it would be 40hp per pound gain.The 4.10's were in before so I have the crush sleeve and shims for it to go in so early spring .

40hp/lb seems optimistic to me.

One site puts it at:


On a 400hp 355 SBC adding a small blower with 6lbs boost was worth about 100hp on the dyno.

Theoretically.......All else remaining unchanged....... if you add 125hp to what you have now, assuming you’re in the 4000lb range...... it should add about 11mph to that 106 you ran last time out.

I assume you ran that combo with similar boost to what we’re talking about here at some point previously??
What did it run like that before?
Did that happen with your current heads?

You can't judge my hp by my current et because of all the wrong in it now with the vert,headers,gearing.I mran low boost back in 2002 with iron heads,.560 cam and went mid 11's or less .

Which is why I said:


That’s saying........ you change nothing but add the blower and have it set up for 5-6lbs boost.
Same everything else(gears, converter, headers, cam) that you went 106 with.

It doesn’t really matter what I think will happen.
It’s gonna do what it’s gonna do.

I am sure like any car guy I will improve things over time but I will be out there at least I got your point on nothing changed..

I think I can run 11.90 with 6# and just putting the blower on.

That’s well within what I said with it picking up 11mph.
My prediction was you would go from 106 to 117 with 6lbs boost.

117 could go mid-11’s without anything too fancy.

Yes

Sounds like you should be good to go then.

Slap that blower right back on there.

Aftermarket block I see.

Still a 3.75 stroke?

Yes and yes

what brand is that distributor collar ?

IDK sorry! it was in the extra parts bucket of an engine shop

I tried to put my endoscope for android in the spark plug hole,intake port but I can't get to the video or pics it took.I am just learning to use it as long as I am working on the engine.

thanks anyway for the response.
is it by chance, aluminum ?

yes

I looked at my 829 lifters and they feel smooth but shoud I put them in a vise w/aluminum jaw and a dial gage?How much play is ok? roller video
update,all of my lifters checked good at .001 play.

Whoa, whats up with this build?

440ci.
Victor Heads
Victor 440 intake manifold
260/269* @ .050 / .650" ish lift solid-roller camshaft
2.5" headers
Open Exhaust
1050 dominator

..13.2's @ 106?

Something is seriously wrong here, you could & should easily have a 120+ MPH build. Going from a 3.73 to 4.10 gear is worth maybe .2-.3 tenths at best and not worth the cost. What brand converter?

You have the foundation for a mid-11 second build in a HEAVY car without boost, you should be making near or over 600 HP on pump gas with a few changes [smaller primary tube headers & 250* / .600" solid-roller camshaft]. Sort out what's wrong with the power N/A before you stick the blower back on it.

I agree on the power it should put out and I am working on figuring it out.I have a PTC 9.5 that stalled at 5k with boost.I have the lash .005 tighter testing it and I have in the past at spec lash as you said smoked the tire at will.
ps I was going to set the lask back but ran out of weather to do it.

I just read your engine build post - your heads flow 350 cfm! This should be a nightmare to control even N/A. Something is SERIOUSLY wrong!

I would not consider putting the blower back on until you figure this out. Those 2.5" headers need to go - I would look into a 2" primary tube header myself.

check out this video at 1:50 or 1:30 and you can see it ran better.

I should check my HS rockers the same way.I am very happy I can run my lifters still

I found an old dyno test with low boost RWHP but with iron heads 280 cfm and .550 sft cam to go from for low boost now and 340cfm heads and .630 cam
ps I am confirming the time slip with low boost yet

Car 1654 on the slip.I think I ran 10.94 with 8lbs.
ps I found some slips that I ran 10.80+ 124