Could use a little advice !!

[bignbad60]

Hey guys, Could use alittle help here. I'm building a 60 Impala . so far have narrowed rear 1 3/4 per side to fit 10" American 'D' under the skins. 370 posi and will be installing fourth arm. up front are 2" dropped spindals with disc brakes and new heavy duty springs all the way around also found some old gabriel hi-jackers to give the ride the stance I desire. So if I haven't offended all the purists yet, I could use some advice on the motor. I have picked up a 348 standard bore motor that has been disassembled and looks clean. plans include forged pistons , roller cam , angus roller rockers, thinking about 10.5 compression, will be topped of with a tripower set up,backed by a 4 speed trans.
?'s include
What would you suggest for a cam profile?
Are there any piston choices besides the Ross available?
How much should the heads be massaged? size of valves?
Does anyone make a geardrive for the w block?

My goal : A 13 second grocery getter, that will be dependable on pump gas!!!, and strong enough to play at local strip when the urge hits..

 

[walkerheaders]

sounds like a great plan. i dont know if there is a mild roller cam avail? i would use a healthy sounding hydraulic. the real reason i replied..............

DO NOT USE AIR SHOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! use air bags inside the springs or use air springs or tougher rear coils but................DO NOT USE AIR SHOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the shock mounts were never designed to handle the weight of the car. THEY WILL BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

carry on with the project and show us some pics as you make progress.

 

[bignbad60]

Thanks for the heads up!! Sounds like I'll be heading to plan B. Is there the possibility of reinforcing the shock mount. I don't plan on having rear up more than an inch or so?

 

[models916]

Pete Jackson gear drive

Pete Jackson makes a gear drive for the W family. If you are going with forged pistons, you should consider a 409 crank and BBC 6.135 rods. Cheap reliable HP.

 

[jim_ss409]

Aubrey, one of the regulars on this site has a line of pistons for 348s and 409s. He's also got a line of cams that are made for him by Comp. I think that something in the range of 210 to 220deg. @ .050 would be in the ballpark but if it were me I'd give him a call and see what he would recomend. He builds plenty of these engines and knows what works. Here's a link. Go to "our products for 348/409 cars" http://www.bruneauperformance.ca/intro.html

 

[Impalaguru]

Hey BignBad,
Did your hi-jackers happen to come with the original window decal???
Ross

 

[Firepower354]

I'd up the cubes with a 396 crank, and .060 over. The pistons cost the same and are readily available, the crank cores are dirt cheap, and a decent shop should be able to prep the crank reasonably enough. The only replacement for displacement is MORE, along with efficency. Torque rules, and 15% more stroke can mean the difference between "ooh" and "AAAH!" 412.67cid, but don't round it up to 413

Drop the compression to 10:1 or a touch less, with Aubreys 218/224 cam(maybe 224/228 with the stroker). He'll know best. Too much compression, especially with a short cam can make you dial out timing to avoid knock. 3-4 degrees less than ideal total can kill 30+ lb/ft of midrange. Some mild portwork with stock sized back-cut 2.06 valves and a 3 angle should suffice.

Make it run cool, use a strong properly timed ignition, sort the carbs carefully.

Do you really want to listen to a gear-drive during EVERY cruising moment? At least my quick-change shuts up at fairground speeds.

Air bags, with their much larger area and lower pressure have less rate rise and will ride worlds better than air shocks even if they wouldn't end up ripping their mounts.

 

[CDNpontiac409guy]

Sorry for being "scarce" here lately, guys... thank you for the referrals .
I've been working ( their mechanic went out on his own, so I'm trying to help out for a while ) at Lee Brothers Automotive in Red Dear for the past two weeks... will be there for another two weeks... Monday - Thursdays. If you'd like to get hold of me, it would be great to hear from you !... On Monday, Tuesday and Wednsday evenings, I'm avalable at 403 347 2711 + room 209 ( no, not 409... no 4th floor ).

 

[bignbad60]

Hey guys , Thanks for all the info, I will give Aubrey a call as soon as I sort through a few Ideas. One step forward ,two back kinda thing... IMPALA GURU< to answer your question, My hyjackers did not come with the decals, nor can I find them on the web or at any recent swap meets, not even ebay!

One last ?, What affect does stroking these 'w' blocks have on their torque and do the top ends allow them to wind high enough to benefit from the stroking.