[carcrazy]

Well after 6 months of searching I finally got my 1962, 389, 11B block.....so now the fun begins! This will be going in a 4 speed, 62 GP that currently has 3.42 gears. .Goals, reliable street driver with a couple trips to the strip annually and want the car to run in under 13 seconds in the quarter. Car needs to look stock.
All internals to be new and forged. I am locked into the 177 heads and at this time because I want everything to "look" original. I will also be using the 1962 tri-power I have that was rebuilt and works very well. The car will not get headers but will be using the long branch manifolds.
So a few questions I am thinking an .060 overbore if sonic testing says it can support it....it is currently a standard bore block ..... 1) what is the largest stroke that is reasonable and safe for these engines? 2) what would a max effort look like on the 177 X/O heads look like? Is it possible to get 230 or 240 out of it? Given that the heads will likely be the limiting factor to making good power what about a cam that could work best for this type of application? Life would be easier to go another way but I tend to take the path less traveled. Thanks in advance for any insight.

[steve25]

How much does the GP tip the scales at?

230 cfm@28"out of the 177 castings, no way without welding and converting over to push rod oiling .

To keep the look of a 389 which you need you would be served well to use a later 77 casting and apply some intelligent porting to those heads.

And furthermore I don't know if the runners in that year 3-2bbl Intake will carry 230 cfm, or even 215 for that matter!

[Jay S]

I would not over bore it anymore than you need too. Gain as much cubes as you can with more stroke, with in reason anyway. Probably a 4.21 or 4.25” crank would be my preference. But it needs at least a 4”.

Drag racing the best ET’s come from being quick in the first half of the track, it isn’t that difficult to get into the 12s with a mild 400 HP engine with tons of torque, and a well dialed in drivetrain.

[Stuart]

Do you have a set of the 425A cast iron manifolds that were originally used on big cars back then, or the later style reproductions? They're kind of hard to find these days.

A quick tip - about the only way to install them is to put them in the empty engine compartment first (use some wire or something to hold them in place against the inner fenders), then install the engine, and finally bolt them up to the heads. The engine won't go in with them installed, and trying to insert them in after the engine is in place is an exercise in frustration.

[carcrazy]

Originally Posted by Stuart

Do you have a set of the 425A cast iron manifolds that were originally used on big cars back then, or the later style reproductions? They're kind of hard to find these days.

A quick tip - about the only way to install them is to put them in the empty engine compartment first (use some wire or something to hold them in place against the inner fenders), then install the engine, and finally bolt them up to the heads. The engine won't go in with them installed, and trying to insert them in after the engine is in place is an exercise in frustration.

I have the original 425A cast iron manifolds...appreciate the tip.

[carcrazy]

Originally Posted by steve25

How much does the GP tip the scales at?

230 cfm@28"out of the 177 castings, no way without welding and converting over to push rod oiling .

To keep the look of a 389 which you need you would be served well to use a later 77 casting and apply some intelligent porting to those heads.

And furthermore I don't know if the runners in that year 3-2bbl Intake will carry 230 cfm, or even 215 for that matter!

I suspect the GP will tip the scales near 4000 with me in it. Can the intake be modified for more flow?

[Tim Corcoran]

You might consider using the 66 tri-power manifold and carbs as that will help you reach your goal. From the outside I am not sure how different it would look from your 62 setup. In fact I don't even know if the 66 manifold would work on your 77 heads.

[Jay S]

The carbs on top the 62 intake I think will be more limiting than the intake runners. Can modify the intake for more flow, won’t help though if the carbs aren’t large enough.

[steve25]

Unfortunately only the 63 and up casting heads will allow the far better 65 and 66 tripower’s to be used, so this is another reason to consider running a 77 casting head.
The motor will still look like a 389 with the 77 head and grinding the casting number off will complete the deception.

It takes a 600 cfm carb capacity to make around 400 Hp, so even if each 2 bbl carb of a Tripower set up only flows 200 cfm at a 1.5 Hg four bbl rating you got Feeding a 400 Hp motor covered.

[b-man]

A 1964 Tri-Power intake might be the ticket with it being the first high rise Tri-Power intake that’s directly compatible with your 1962 heads.

[tom s]

You don’t have to plug anything to use push rod oiling.Just use screw-in studs.Head water patterns are 55-60,61-64 and 65 up.He wants to keep his 62 heads.If me I would look forward r a62-63 alu 421SD intake and a 750 AFB over the tripower.Tom

[61-63]

Call Jim Robertson in Abilene, Tx. he may be able to get the flow you want out of your 177 heads. He's not cheap or fast but he knows how to make heads flow. He ported a pair of 127 sd heads for me.

x2 on Tom's comment re a 412 SD dual quad setup over trips. I've done a number of them for people and several have told me over the years that they could get rubber out of third gear with the dual quads where trips only allowed it in second gear. Just saying.

[carcrazy]

Originally Posted by 61-63

Call Jim Robertson in Abilene, Tx. he may be able to get the flow you want out of your 177 heads. He's not cheap or fast but he knows how to make heads flow. He ported a pair of 127 sd heads for me.

x2 on Tom's comment re a 412 SD dual quad setup over trips. I've done a number of them for people and several have told me over the years that they could get rubber out of third gear with the dual quads where trips only allowed it in second gear. Just saying.

Thanks for the recommendation. I know he has a great reputation.

[tom s]

I was suggesting the single 4 alu NASCAR 62-63 intake.Tom

[tom s]

I would always take 2 4bbls over 3 2bbls any day!The OP is interested in kind of keeping it stock looking under the hood.The 2-4s would be hard to disguise.The alu 4 bbl if painted would look more stock and the 750 would out perform the trips IMO.Tom

[61-63]

Originally Posted by tom s

I would always take 2 4bbls over 3 2bbls any day!The OP is interested in kind of keeping it stock looking under the hood.The 2-4s would be hard to disguise.The alu 4 bbl if painted would look more stock and the 750 would out perform the trips IMO.Tom

Oops, m bad. x2 on the nascar intake and 750cfm carb it would outperform trips and be a more reliable easily tuned configuration.

[carcrazy]

Originally Posted by Jay S

I would not over bore it anymore than you need too. Gain as much cubes as you can with more stroke, with in reason anyway. Probably a 4.21 or 4.25” crank would be my preference. But it needs at least a 4”.

Drag racing the best ET’s come from being quick in the first half of the track, it isn’t that difficult to get into the 12s with a mild 400 HP engine with tons of torque, and a well dialed in drivetrain.

Was thinking a 4.25 crank from Molnar. Looks like it will take right at 400 hp at the crank to get it into the upper 12s (assuming suspension is set up well). My last 62 425A Catalina......many, many years ago ran mid to upper 13's with no internal mods, a 3.90 gear, headers and slicks. My previous 62 GP 425A car ran 14.40. Current car with a very mild 400 and 3.42 feels like upper 14's or so.

[carcrazy]

Originally Posted by steve25

Unfortunately only the 63 and up casting heads will allow the far better 65 and 66 tripower’s to be used, so this is another reason to consider running a 77 casting head.
The motor will still look like a 389 with the 77 head and grinding the casting number off will complete the deception.

It takes a 600 cfm carb capacity to make around 400 Hp, so even if each 2 bbl carb of a Tripower set up only flows 200 cfm at a 1.5 Hg four bbl rating you got Feeding a 400 Hp motor covered.

Steve,
What would be involved in converting the 177 heads to pushrod oiling....and is it worth it? I have several other sets of heads that are better but wouldn't allow the use of the current tripower setup. Would 210 be achievable on the 177 heads. Seems like that would be about the minimum I'd need to meet the horsepower goal.

[steve25]

Yes, 210 cfm could be had safely by porting work done like I posted a few weeks ago even while keeping the stock way of oiling thru the rocker studs .

It’s going for the 215 number like I got that to me might have been pushing the port wall thickness a tad much.

[tom s]

If screw in studs are used NOTHING has to be done but change the rockers to 65 version rockers!!Tom