[KSZR]

I've owned this cars since 1992(high school). 42,000 miles, bench seat, column shifter, a/c, PS, PB. Solid car.

Originally I added rebuilt #16 heads to the 350, log manifolds, crush bent dual exhaust. Along with cast iron intake, a Q jet and dual snorkel, HO racing carb and Distributor kits and HO-01 cam. Shift kit in the t350 with a 12 bolt 3.55 post. 15" Honeycomb wheels., added front disk brakes 15 years ago.

I spent many evenings working on it.

The 350 wasn't enough and seemed tired. So in 1995 I pulled a 400 out of a 72 full size parts car we have. Rebuilt .030 with a Warrior kit and 068 cam. With the 16 heads and other stuff above. Runs great, fun to drive.

Recently added a rebuilt 200 4R I've had stashed away for 20 years. Nice upgrade.

Never been to the drag strip but bought a Dragy recently and was disappointed at my best so far of 14.6 at 95 mph. Any my wife's Mach E runs around 13.8 so upgrade time.....

At least I can beat my dad's 6.2 LS pickup.

I'm new here and have asked some questions on other threads about improving the exhaust. So I've got a 2.5" mandrel bent Pypes system ordered from Summit. And bought maybe the last pair in the country of D port ram air manifolds from The Parts Place this week.

Kent

[rohrt]

Kent,

14.6 seem on par for the build and not too bad of a ET. Nothing wrong with that. Sounds like you have a nice setup. Other then the RA manifolds you might want to look at 1.6 rockers and what are using for a stall converter? I don't think I would push much beyond this with a 200r4 being the weak link in the system.

[KSZR]

Originally Posted by rohrt

Kent,

14.6 seem on par for the build and not too bad of a ET. Nothing wrong with that. Sounds like you have a nice setup. Other then the RA manifolds you might want to look at 1.6 rockers and what are using for a stall converter? I don't think I would push much beyond this with a 200r4 being the weak link in the system.

Thanks! 2004R has the stock stall. Was rebuilt over at Fort Dodge Transmission, and had a shift kit added. Working to get the governor WOT shift point correct. At about 4100 rpm now. Probably should have beefed it up... Was surprised my crossmember was rotten at the ends even thought the car isn't rusty.

The rockers sound like a good idea. All of my info from HO Racing and Jim Hand says I would have enough clearance for the pushrods without grinding. Yet I read on here I may not?

What brand 1.6 rockers do you like?

[KSZR]

Originally Posted by rohrt

Kent,

14.6 seem on par for the build and not too bad of a ET. Nothing wrong with that. Sounds like you have a nice setup. Other then the RA manifolds you might want to look at 1.6 rockers and what are using for a stall converter? I don't think I would push much beyond this with a 200r4 being the weak link in the system.

Got to run the car with the RA manifolds and Pypes 2.5" system briefly before the bad roads a while back.(Posted this a different thread too)

Picked up .3 in the 1/4 and 1-2mph in a no so great test. My 0-60 improved a lot. Bottom end is stronger for sure, spins more.

Maybe the 068 is running out of breath up top? 1.65 rockers or cam swap....

60ft times still 2.3-2.4 on the BFGs.

Front cover is weeping antifreeze so need to get at that.

[SD455DJ]

Kent, 1.65 rocker arms will require you to enlarge the pushrod passages in the heads since the fulcrum distance is moved towards the stud (closer). I would go with a cam swap myself (2802 or equivalent). Get the Hy-Lyft Johnson lifters that Paul Kippen carries, I believe. You can still use your 1.50 rockers with that cam, but you'll also need to install stronger 7/16" studs and poly-locks to adjust the lash. You would need to do the same thing with the 1.65 rocker arms.

Glad to hear new RA manifolds and Pypes exhaust are working for you.

Dennis

[KSZR]

Originally Posted by SD455DJ

Kent, 1.65 rocker arms will require you to enlarge the pushrod passages in the heads since the fulcrum distance is moved towards the stud (closer). I would go with a cam swap myself (2802 or equivalent). Get the Hy-Lyft Johnson lifters that Paul Kippen carries, I believe. You can still use your 1.50 rockers with that cam, but you'll also need to install stronger 7/16" studs and poly-locks to adjust the lash. You would need to do the same thing with the 1.65 rocker arms.

Glad to hear new RA manifolds and Pypes exhaust are working for you.

Dennis

Has that cam changed? Summit has it as 298/303. The pontiacpower cam list online says 282/292. Both at 224/234.

[SD455DJ]

I'm sure they are the same cam. That core is sold by almost every cam dealer, but the Summit version is the least cost...usually. You'll see that the seat numbers vary a bit from supplier to supplier to make it look unique, like a special grind.

I forgot to mention that going to the 2802 cam, or any aftermarket cam with greater than .450" lift, you'll need new valve springs to accommodate the higher lift (120# seat pressure/280# open is plenty).

Dennis

[KSZR]

Originally Posted by SD455DJ

Kent, 1.65 rocker arms will require you to enlarge the pushrod passages in the heads since the fulcrum distance is moved towards the stud (closer). I would go with a cam swap myself (2802 or equivalent). Get the Hy-Lyft Johnson lifters that Paul Kippen carries, I believe. You can still use your 1.50 rockers with that cam, but you'll also need to install stronger 7/16" studs and poly-locks to adjust the lash. You would need to do the same thing with the 1.65 rocker arms.

Glad to hear new RA manifolds and Pypes exhaust are working for you.

Dennis

Do you like the R or just the standard Johnson Hy-Lyft?

[SD455DJ]

Kent, we typically just buy the standard 'S' lifters and 'zero' lash/adjust them (1/4 turn past no movement up/down in the pushrod cold) with polylocks or crimp nuts. The 'R' is the quicker bleed down lifter ala' Rhoades, so noisy.

Dennis

[Matt Meaney]

look down the ports on those manifolds. awhile ago, a friend of mine sent some back because at least one, maybe more were very narrow / small.

[KSZR]

Originally Posted by Matt Meaney

look down the ports on those manifolds. awhile ago, a friend of mine sent some back because at least one, maybe more were very narrow / small.

They look pretty good.

[SD455DJ]

Kent, Let's see more pictures of your beautiful '72 Lemans...inside and under the hood. I'll be watching this thread for sure!

Dennis

[KSZR]

Original interior, car was gold with a white vinyl top when I bought it in the early 90s.

Had a GT-37 that needed an interior and engine. Was going to put them together but figured out this car was too good, so sold the GT-37(I know). And this became my project.

It lives on a gravel road, so hard to keep it perfect.

[Shiny]

Car has a good owner.. it's sharp! That front bumper looks like my member ID and would definitely distract me if it drove by.

Good luck on your quest.

[KSZR]

Originally Posted by Shiny

Car has a good owner.. it's sharp! That front bumper looks like my member ID and would definitely distract me if it drove by.

Good luck on your quest.

Thank you!

Unsure if I want to recover the bench seat or redo a pair of buckets I have. Being 6'7' I've got the year one seat brackets for more leg room.

[Shiny]

I apologize for getting off topic but before you decide, see if you can even buy "correct" covers for the seat. I could not for my 70 vinyl bench. Not sure about your 72 but in 70 the upholstery was different for GTO and Tempest/LeMans which added complexity.

And worth nothing... but I like your front bench.

[KSZR]

Originally Posted by Shiny

I apologize for getting off topic but before you decide, see if you can even buy "correct" covers for the seat. I could not for my 70 vinyl bench. Not sure about your 72 but in 70 the upholstery was different for GTO and Tempest/LeMans which added complexity.

And worth nothing... but I like your front bench.

Ok thanks, good to know. Sounds like a lot of that stuff is taking a while to get.

I really like the 1970 front end like yours.

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by KSZR

Thank you!

Unsure if I want to recover the bench seat or redo a pair of buckets I have. Being 6'7' I've got the year one seat brackets for more leg room.

Kent, That's a tough call, but the bench seat is a little lighter than a pair of buckets...if that is of any importance! I re-upholstered the bench seat in my '70 Lemans 4-door (actually redid the whole interior) and went with a fabric/vinyl combination, so it wasn't as sticky on hot humid days ('70 Lemans' have all-vinyl seats). The fabric inserts is '63 Lemans material that an upholstery shop had extra of and gave me a good price for it to get rid of it. It was an expensive venture for sure, but turned out really nice.

The '70 green Tempest actually has an all-vinyl repro green '70 Chevelle seat upholstery done by the previous owner, but no one has ever questioned/noticed/recognized it until I pointed it out. I would imagine there is a parchment/white Chevelle reproduction set that would be the least out of pocket cost, and no one would be the wiser, except for you.

Your seat pleat pattern would be fairly easy for most good upholsterers to mimic and use your old covers as patterns.

Dennis

[KSZR]

Originally Posted by SD455DJ

Kent, That's a tough call, but the bench seat is a little lighter than a pair of buckets...if that is of any importance! I re-upholstered the bench seat in my '70 Lemans 4-door (actually redid the whole interior) and went with a fabric/vinyl combination, so it wasn't as sticky on hot humid days ('70 Lemans' have all-vinyl seats). The fabric inserts is '63 Lemans material that an upholstery shop had extra of and gave me a good price for it to get rid of it. It was an expensive venture for sure, but turned out really nice.

The '70 green Tempest actually has an all-vinyl repro green '70 Chevelle seat upholstery done by the previous owner, but no one has ever questioned/noticed/recognized it until I pointed it out. I would imagine there is a parchment/white Chevelle reproduction set that would be the least out of pocket cost, and no one would be the wiser, except for you.

Your seat pleat pattern would be fairly easy for most good upholsterers to mimic and use your old covers as patterns.

Dennis

Dennis, I really like that green interior! Our local interior guy quit a couple years ago so need to find another shop. Unless I decide to tackle the buckets myself.

Legendary not showing a cover for a bench. 72 was just called white it looks like. Will look at the Chevy covers.

How would you compare the engines between your 2 cars?

[Shiny]

LOL... I also ended up with Chevelle covers to try and match my 70 vinyl. I kept my original back seat covers and Ben (rambow here on PY) was familiar enough to point me to 68 Chevelle as a reasonable match. I had him add buttons to assist the impersonation when he installed my front covers.

I don't know about Kent, but my resources and common sense limit what I will spend on my low-value car... which put custom upholstery out of reach. Dennis's custom covers are beautiful for sure.

Hopefully Kent will achieve his performance goals easily and find some stock covers that he likes.

Thanks for the posts and replies. Always nice to see other LeMans and Tempest cars.

Attached pics are my original rear seat and Ben's results for my front.

Mike