[Fat Cat]

I had a bit of tragedy with my last motor and am trying to put together a new one with two goals in mind; horsepower AND reliability with pump gas. The car, my 66 Catalina, will be primarily street driven.

I am starting with a '73 400 block that will be getting the stroker treatment. What kinds of things can I do with the shortblock and rotating assembly to help with longevity? Are coated bearings worth the money? Are the teflon coated pistons worth it? Other options?

I will be re-using my KRE D-port 85cc heads that flow 310cfm. How far will these heads take me before more flow is needed? Given the volume, what's a safe compression to run? All the sources I've checked with say these heads are safe as high as 11:1 comp, however my builder is very leary of going over 10:1. By going with a flat top piston with 5.5 valve reliefs, I'm sitting right around 10.4 - 10.5:1. Otherwise I'm looking at spending a couple hundred more at custom pistons with a 10cc dish to obtain 10:1..... But remember I want reliability too, so am I better off going the safer route???

Lastly, what's my best option for a cam? I'm 99% sure that I'll go with a roller, and am currently leaning towards a hydraulic. The last cam I had was a solid 244/244 @.050 with .605 lift on 1.65 rockers and a 110LSA. This only netted 10" vac while in gear. Would like to get the vacuum up a little closer to 13 or 14. Was thinking about going with a split pattern cam on a wider LSA. Something like a 242/248 with close to the same lift on a 112LSA...?

Sorry for rambling on, I realize it decreases the interest to read through all of this, but I want to have some input and different angles to look at, so thanks in advance for any advice!

-Steve

[GREATGTO]

It sounds like you're right on track, you shouldnt have any problem making 550-600 with the heads . Id go with a 4.25 stroker kit with a good hyd roller cam. You can make the hp you desire without going high compression so thats just going to come down to what you prefer. A friend of mine did a build like this with 290 cfm heads and it ran an 11.85@117 in the 1/4 with a 240 rear gear in a heavy 78 trans am.His compression is 9.8 .

[stobin]

My combination is almost exactly what you described. I run a hydraulic roller with 600 lift and 242/248 duration on a 110 LC, backed by a TKO/600 and 3.73 gears. Heads are Edelbrock's ported by SD Performance to 310 cfm. Compression is 10.4. I run 89 or 91 octane, and have never had a detonation issue. I find it to be very streetable, although I might have chosen a 112 LC if I did it over again. I pull 13-14" of vacuum at idle. I would not choose to drive it everyday, but it is by no means unstreetable, especially with the 5th gear OD. I think your on the right path. Also remember a larger amount of duration will tend to help with reducing the potential for detonation. I am sure your car is heavy like mine (4000 lbs.) so just use a good gear ratio. I have 3.73 gears which is more than I really need, but it does make for a fun ride. I did not dyno my set uo either so I cant quote numbers. I would imagine it is somewhere in the 530-560 HP range.

[lemans411]

you should be right where you are trying to get with those parts. i had a 463 with 11-1 compression and a set of wenzler heads ported to flow 300 cfm . and a 600 lift roller cam . made 600 hp. ran an 11.53 in my all steel full interior 67 lemans.

[Fat Cat]

Thanks guys for the input. I have no doubt in my mind that this combo will make gobs of power, way more than I'll probably be capable of putting to the ground Only other thing I'm curious to know is if there's anything else I can do to help it stay reliable for the long term. Granted I only put about 3k miles on in a summer, I still want it to be turn key and run for a long time.

Stobin, you're right about my car being heavy like yours. I think it even tips the scale closer to 4100 - 4200lbs. Our combos are nearly identical, only real difference is that I'm running a TH400 with 3.70 rear gear. If it works out, I plan on doing a GV OD unit to knock those highway RPM's down a touch. What motor are you running then, is it a 400 stroker? Are you using flat top pistons?

Rob, sounds like you've got one heck of a ride. I see you're in MN, are you involved in the local events or club? Where do you do your machine work through?

[stobin]

Sorry, I should have shared that. I have a 466 motor, built from the original 455 in the Grand Am. I had BRP build me a set of light weight custom forged flat tops. Do to my busy schedule last year, I decided it was better to have the engine built for me instead of doing it myself. Ace at Pacific Performance Racing did all the work. I am running his Tomahawk 4340 forged ultra light I-beam rods. I also lightened the flywheel to about 25 lbs. So nothing exotic, just a nice reliable combination of parts. Keep the TH400 and run the GV unit. I made the mistake of running a 2004R once and regretted it. Not reliable. If you are looking for good source for parts, Ace is a good guy to talk to. Thanks.

[Fat Cat]

Yeah, I talked to ACE the other day about pistons. They have a set of Probe/SRS flat tops that would work for me and have contemplated picking up. Just can't decide whether to go flat tops with 10.5:1 or dished for 10:1.... Maybe it's really not that big of a deal and I am thinking way too much into it???

[lemans411]

Originally Posted by Fat Cat

Rob, sounds like you've got one heck of a ride. I see you're in MN, are you involved in the local events or club? Where do you do your machine work through?

had my last engine done at competition engines and dynoed at r and r perf. current engine is an all pontiac 535 built for blowthru. in the process of mini tubbing my car right now.

didnt i talk to you a while back about a carb for your car?

i'm part of twolaneracing.com

[paint guy]

Fatcat:you asked about local machine work.there is a guy in bloomington that builds pontiac race motors and also built my400(However,just a shade over stock as I requested)He came highly recommended to me and was a really good guy to work with.If your'e interested,P.M. me and I'll give you his #.Hope to see your car at north St. Paul (or maybe cup and cone)this summer.P.S.Now's the time to talk to him,once racing season starts,the guy is swamped.

[Fat Cat]

Originally Posted by lemans411

had my last engine done at competition engines and dynoed at r and r perf. current engine is an all pontiac 535 built for blowthru. in the process of mini tubbing my car right now.

didnt i talk to you a while back about a carb for your car?

It's very possible..... I can't recall exactly.

[Fat Cat]

Originally Posted by paint guy

Fatcat:you asked about local machine work.there is a guy in bloomington that builds pontiac race motors and also built my400(However,just a shade over stock as I requested)He came highly recommended to me and was a really good guy to work with.If your'e interested,P.M. me and I'll give you his #.Hope to see your car at north St. Paul (or maybe cup and cone)this summer.P.S.Now's the time to talk to him,once racing season starts,the guy is swamped.

If you're talking about Ken at Total Engine, that is who I've been working with. He has been pretty good so far. We are in disagreance over a couple things which is why I'm looking for some additional input about my new build up. Thanks!

[paint guy]

Originally Posted by Fat Cat

If you're talking about Ken at Total Engine, that is who I've been working with. He has been great so far. I'm simply looking for some additional input about my new build up. Thanks!

No,I'm talking about Gordy at Hard Seat Service.

[Fat Cat]

Well, I'd kind of hate jumping around now that I've had Ken do a few things for me already. But, it might be worth a phone call....