Okay, I went to the track two weeks ago. The best ET i clicked off was 10.55. The best MPH was 67. Not on the same run though. I don't have the "bests" from that week, I misplaced the timeslips. I do have one of the runs that was more typical for that they though. That was my first time out on the track, and my car's first time at the track with the 350. (bests with 305 was 10.65@65). I had severe traction problems (lead foot) and trouble shifting the tranny. And it wasnt much better leaving it in D.

Timeslip from last week. (bone stock holley 600cfm vac sec with stiffest spring, all runs that day.)

60'- 2.4xx
330'-7.020
1/8- 10.682
mph- 66.37

(BTW, I lost to my bro's stock 01 Malibu with a flowmaster on that run 10.662)

Timeslips from today.

First Run

(stock vac sec spring, stiffest)

60'- 2.408
330'-6.761
1/8- 10.358
mph-69.27

Second Run

(non-colored sec spring,)

60'- 2.423
330- 6.802
1/8- 10.414
mph-69.08

Third Run

(same spring, switched to ported vacuum advance)

60'- 2.422
330-6.817
1/8-10.445
mph 68.77

Fourth Run

(same spring, manifold vac advance, left tranny in D, ran in the "fast lane".)

60'- 2.483
330-6.906
1/8-10.637
mph-65.24

**Final Run** BEST

about 1.5hrs after fourth run. Engine at same water temp as other runs, same oil pressure. About the same time of day as the run i posted from 2weeks ago.

Change to brown spring (stiffer than plain, softer than stock black). Still manifold vacuum advance.

60'- 2.162
330-6.590
1/8-10.176
mph-69.5

On all the runs except the one i said i lefted in D, i was shifting gears by ear. I don't have my tach hooked up yet. The tranny is bone stock except for bigger pan.

I didnt touch the timing curve other than switching between vacuum sources. This is my curve upto 1800rpm:

700-16
800-17
1000- 20
1200- 22
1400- 28
1600- 30
1800- 30
2000- 30-31 (my hand was shakey, first time under the hood with the engine at 2000rpm)

I have no idea how much my vac advance adds.

Combo

355
Cheap but good rebuild bottom end.
882's-stock
252/260 206/212 .425/.440 112LSA 108ICL
8.3:1 CR
Hooker Comps (very dented collector bottoms)
Dual 2.5 pipes, no crossover.
Flowmasters (unknown specs)
2.5 Tails to rear bumper
GM Aluminum Q-jet manifold
Holley 600cfm 4160 vac sec
1in thick open carb adapter.
KN airfilter (14x3)
GM HEI (099 module)
Accel Coil/8.8wires
Stock springs/weights
Mobil 1 10w30
(water temp=190, oil press=30idle, 40+ running)

Stock TH350/2.73open

Full steel body, full enterior minus sound system, half the AC equipment, plastic inner fenders, disc brakes.

14x7 Rallys up front. wrapped in 245/60/14s (36psi, 1psi above spec)

Corvette 15 Rallys back, 275/60/15 (35psi, spec)

1/4 tank of gas or so. Spare front tire in trunk.

Not too bad. My 66 ran 15.05 at 95 mph at Pomona, don't remember the 1/8 numbers. But that about 9.60-9.65 in the 1/8. This was with the same short block with SR Torquer heads, 1.6 rockers, exh manifolds, 2.25" pipes, street radials, and a 204/214 cam. I think there is more in your combo.

I had a clone of Pat Kelleys engine in a '70 Nova. The only difference was, I had pocket ported (by me) "993" '76 CC heads. I used a Q-jet and a Performer RPM intake, and the same cam / rockers as Pat. My car had 1 5/8 Cyclone headers, a TH350 w/ stock converter, and 3.08 rear. The short block was a stock 150k mile engine out of a Caprice. Car ran a best of 14.19 @ 98 mph.

Yeah Pat, I've been shooting to catch up with your driver. But your driver still has better heads/1.6rockers and the 3.36 gears. I'm hoping to get a job (waiting on background check) and my first plan is to get my rear end set up with an Eaton posi and either 3.36s or 3.55s. "big gear head" on the transmission forum says it's a bad idea to keep doing burn outs with an open rear end.

I was also thinking of ditching the mufflers for some hooker aerochambers (just for a different sound and hopefully better flow) and having some new collectors welded on the headers (the previous owner of my car welded my colleters to the head pipes so i have to cut them off to get rid of the exhaust leak).

Slowpoke,

Thanks for the great detail in your post and you even included the combo. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Seems like a nice running set-up.

Rod

one thing i see that you experimented with was the vacuum advance. don't waste your time worrying about it anymore, under WOT it has no effect on performance whatsoever, it is strictly for MPG and drivability. on those Vac Sec springs the brown one is actually stiffer than stock which is uncolored, if you want to go to a lighter spring you need to go to the purple one, which is the next lightest to stock, i believe. my 71 chevelle was really similar to your combo back when i was in high school. with 2.56 gears and a good ole q-jet carb it ran 10.60's my first time out too. just by messing with the timing and adding a set of headers i got it down to 9.80's @ 72-73mph, and it would still get 18mpg driving to school and work. graemlins/thumbsup.gif
i think you are well on your way to "dragrace fever"! :D

Yeah, oddly enough i always though the stock spring would be plain also, but that was not the occasion. I don't know if my carb was ordered that way or if somebody messed up at the assembly line or whatever, but my stock spring was definately black. In fact, After the first run i popped off the quick-change cap with my purple spring ready to go, but i took off the stocker and saw black, felt the difference and i knew for sure purple wasnt the next steip down (didn't have the spec sheet with me) so i just compressed the spring between my fingers and guess that plain and brown were gonna be the next step down. I installed plain, but ended up getting the best run with brown.

I'm going to play with ignition timing next time I'm out there. I'll start off by going to less intial, then more, then trying different springs and/or weights (may take a few trips to the track to find the right combo) and then i'll play with the carb settings again.

You're right, the bug bit me already. But before i can go back i have to change a few things. I need to revise my fuel line (have too much rubber) and make myself a neutral safety switch (anyone in Cali have a aftermarket shifter and still have a functional NSS and wants to teach me how to make it work? Thanks.).

Thanks all, all of you help me juice my combo for all it's got so far. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

What shifter do you have. I got a B&M NSS from Kragen for $20. Pretty expensive for what it is but it fit perfectly in my B&M shifter. The mounting bracket is the key.

I have a Hurst Dual/Gate 2. The shifter itlesf has a push-button type switch mounted inside. It's like a lot of the push button switches they sell at kragen and stuff but it's already mounted inside the shifter. I know how the pus button switch works, but I need to find a safe way to wire it. When i first got my car the ignition switch on the column didn't work, so my previous owner had a push-button hooked up in-line with the starter and i would have to turn the key open and push the button to start the car. I then wired the Hurst push button in line with the other switch and it seemed to be working fine til one day it caught on fire and took lots of my dash wiring with it. I found a nice wiring diagram online thanks to John Muha, but I have no idea where to buy relays (i need a 30amp relay) and i don't like messing with wiring unless i have someone looking over my shoulder. If i find the relay i can make it work.

http://www.novaresource.org/images/solenoid03.gif

Mr. Muha said to put my switch in line 86. Seems simple enough, just need the relay now. Any Ideas?

Thanks Pat, and everybody.

I didn't use a relay. I think if you use the proper gauge wire you shouldn't have any problems. If I remember right, I used 14 gauge. To bypass the relay in the diagram, the wire hooked to 86 goes straight to the "S" terminal.

Ditch that GM intake and get an Edelbrock Performer. Not only is the Edelbrock a much better intake, but you won't have to use that power-wasting Holley-to-QJet adapter. That plus carb and ignition tuning will get you into the mid-9's in the 1/8 and mid-15's in the 1/4.

I'm thinking you can get a new Performer for $125, and probably find a used one for $50.

Georgia69 (Name?)

That's on my to-do list. I have access to a Performer. It's bolted onto my bro's 307 Nova. I'm going to try to go as fast as i can by playing with shift points and then do the manifold swap and tune some more. Eventually I'll try an RPM on it, just because I'll have to buy it for my future 383 project and just to kill the curiousity.

Just need to stop being lazy and mount my tach, lol.