Re: ecu???

by novaderrik Tue Jul 28, 2009 5:58 pm

have you actually verified what engine you actually have yet?
skip the screw in studs in the stock heads- to install them, you'll have to take the heads off and have a machine shop install them.
but if the heads are going to come off, then you might has well get a valve job done and replace the valve springs. once you factor in all that expense, then it would be almost cheaper (or at least not too much more $$$) to just go with either vortec or some aftermarket heads than going thru the stock heads and putting them back on.
i'd also skip the roller rockers for now, and do some learning on basic engine tuning before you go throwing a boat load of $$$ at the car and just wind up frustrated because it isn't as fast as you think it should be.
the gears are a good start and will be a good foundation for any future mods- but make sure you get the proper speedo gears in the trans so that you know how fast you are going and can keep track of mileage and what not.

by moneypit73 Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:13 pm

true story!!

by BlackChevelleSS Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:47 pm

3.55 gears are good, but keep your tires 28" or taller to keep the RPMs down a bit on the street. Im running 3.31s and a 27" tire and can cruise at 70 just fine.

A posi would be good as well but are expensive, you could try and find a gov-loc out of a late model chevy 10 bolt but its not if your going to break it, its when? To go cheap would be a mini-spool, but then you run the risk of breaking an axle and the chirping tires while turning.

by The Dude Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:47 pm

BlackChevelleSS wrote:3.55 gears are good, but keep your tires 28" or taller to keep the RPMs down a bit on the street. Im running 3.31s and a 27" tire and can cruise at 70 just fine.

A posi would be good as well but are expensive, you could try and find a gov-loc out of a late model chevy 10 bolt but its not if your going to break it, its when? To go cheap would be a mini-spool, but then you run the risk of breaking an axle and the chirping tires while turning.

You're forgetting he has a small block instead of a BB like you have. I'm not sure about your BB chebby, but an Olds BB doesn't need nearly the gears that a small block Chevy does. Of course I guess Olds is the king of torque, lol.

Mallymal, disregard anything you hear about a gov-loc. They are pure junk. If I get around to it, I'll show you the results of a gov-loc rear after a few miles. KA-BOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mini spools aren't really street able, but it has been done. Might as well lincoln lock it in that case though. Don't some G-body 442s have 8.5 rears with 3.73 gears & limited slip? Double check me on that one, but I know I heard it somewhere.

by moneypit73 Tue Jul 28, 2009 11:13 pm

yeppers. 84 to 87 cutty 442 HURST and 86 87 grand nationals have 8.5s. rear end is too short, but guts will work. have to check axle spline count. also, those rear ends are a PREMIUM. 500.00 TO 800.00. drum to drum. OUCH!!

by novaderrik Tue Jul 28, 2009 11:19 pm

the best place to find a posi for an 8.5 is in late 70's Trans Ams and Z/28's. many of them have 3.42 gears, too.

by BlackChevelleSS Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:15 am

also old caprice cop cars

by MallyMal S-3 Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:56 am

so back to the headers just for a moment, uhh while on the phone i asked for the brand and pn but he said he couldnt find either stamped on the headers but has seen them in catalogs. he also was able to look em up on jegs just my how they are constructed. how do you guys think of this???

by novaderrik Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:48 pm

if you are talking about the headers you asked about in the last page, those are called "Afterburners". i don't know how well they work compared to regular old 4 into 1 long tube headers, but i've seen them on cars.
generally, tho, full length long tube headers make better all around power and torque than headers with shorter tubes.
i might have missed it- but does your car already have headers on it? i find it hard to believe that someone would put a 4 barrel intake on a car and not put headers on it.

by MallyMal S-3 Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:57 pm

yea no lol pretty sure i dont have headers. the intake and carb were already on the car when i purchased it.

by The Dude Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:51 pm

Guess I didn't pay attention to the pipes earlier. Kudos to Novaderrick for spotting that. With that said, if they are Flowtech Afterburners, I haven't ever ran them. I recommend looking them over, especially on the welds. The theory is that the Afterburner headers will produce more low end torque while maintaining top end power. Hopefully someone with experience with these can comment.

My suggestion: Go there with $75, but offer him $50 since he doesn't have any part numbers to help prove what they go to. $75 isn't really a bad deal for a used set of headers in decent condition since those Afterburners run around $200, but you never know if he'll take less unless you ask.

by moneypit73 Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:53 pm

novaderrik wrote:the best place to find a posi for an 8.5 is in late 70's Trans Ams and Z/28's. many of them have 3.42 gears, too.

that where i got mine from. had to change housings due to the fact i had a p.b.o. 8.2 rear end. got a 76 malibu rear end an put my guts in. 3.42 posi!!!!

by MallyMal S-3 Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:00 pm

ok sounds liek a good plan. they're brand new never mounted. they dont fit his model of car though or something so they've been just sittinf for a long time.

by novaderrik Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:55 pm

Rago wrote:Guess I didn't pay attention to the pipes earlier. Kudos to Novaderrick for spotting that. With that said, if they are Flowmaster Afterburners, I haven't ever ran them. I recommend looking them over, especially on the welds. The theory is that the Afterburner headers will produce more low end torque while maintaining top end power. Hopefully someone with experience with these can comment.

My suggestion: Go there with $75, but offer him $50 since he doesn't have any part numbers to help prove what they go to. $75 isn't really a bad deal for a used set of headers in decent condition since those Afterburners run around $200, but you never know if he'll take less unless you ask.

they are "Flowtech", not "Flowmaster".

by MallyMal S-3 Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:04 pm

i did some research and i was told to check for holes on the welds but other than that everyone loved em

by The Dude Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:02 am

novaderrik wrote:
Rago wrote:Guess I didn't pay attention to the pipes earlier. Kudos to Novaderrick for spotting that. With that said, if they are Flowtech Afterburners, I haven't ever ran them. I recommend looking them over, especially on the welds. The theory is that the Afterburner headers will produce more low end torque while maintaining top end power. Hopefully someone with experience with these can comment.

My suggestion: Go there with $75, but offer him $50 since he doesn't have any part numbers to help prove what they go to. $75 isn't really a bad deal for a used set of headers in decent condition since those Afterburners run around $200, but you never know if he'll take less unless you ask.

they are "Flowtech", not "Flowmaster".

DeeeDeeDeee........ Jeez I'm really sorry about that one. My head has been going a million directions today. I think that's like the 6th or 7th thing I've screwed up today. I'm going to bed, maybe tomorrow will be better.

by jonny o Thu Jul 30, 2009 1:04 am

I would still be running my cheapie flowtech tri-y's if they would have fit my new angle-plug heads. For a bargain, they really held up great.

For your combo, they will be perfect and should slide right in... None of the horror stories you hear about headers came true when I snuck those babies in.

The paint WILL burn off the first time you fire the motor, and they will rust after that. It's a given with headers. If you have the time and patience, sand them down real good, clean up the dust and shoot them with some good header paint. Take the time to do many light coats, and try to spray some inside the primaries at the turns right off the flange (where they build the most heat. If you want to take it a step further, and don't drive it in a lot of wet conditions, wrap them and coat over the wrap. Mine lasted for 5 years before I swapped heads, and I pulled the wrap off just for giggles, and the paint was still on there.

Unless someone is going to give you a free set of pipes, those are probably the best bang for your buck.

In the interest of full disclosure, you do understand that these will most likely not exit tin the same spot as your current exhaust, and it's going to take some work to re-route the front portion of your pipes... right? It's an easy muffler shop job, but it is money if you don't have the tools.

by novaderrik Thu Jul 30, 2009 1:31 am

no need to buy expensive high heat header paint- Wal Mart sells bbq paint for a couple of bucks a can. it's also at the usual places liek Home Depot or your local hardware store.
just sand all the paint off, clean it good with some brake cleaner, and put a few light coats of the bbq paint on. as soon as the paint flashes over so you can handle them without smearing the paint, get them on the car and get it started to "cook" the paint.

by MallyMal S-3 Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:13 am

so i should get them installed then take it to the muffler shop right after or is it something that can be done over the next couple days?

by 74Malibu383 Thu Jul 30, 2009 2:15 pm

Have you ever driven/heard a car with open headers? As soon as you start it up in your garage, you'll know how long you can drive it that way. Just don't rev it up by a cop....

by moneypit73 Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:08 pm

open headders is AWSOME!!. I put mine on and drove around a little. was a blast. do be careful as to how far you have to drive to the muffler shop. cops do frown on such fun!!!

by MallyMal S-3 Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:38 pm

lol im kind of excited What a Face

by The Dude Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:43 pm

74Malibu383 wrote:Have you ever driven/heard a car with open headers? As soon as you start it up in your garage, you'll know how long you can drive it that way. Just don't rev it up by a cop....

Dang skippy! It's the most beautiful sound I've heard, but you don't get the full effect unless you got high compression & a nice cam with 106 deg. lobe separation & at least 240 deg. duration @.050! Then take that bad boy down the highway at about 65-70 mph. You'll have a high pitched ring in your ears & your chest will be pounding, but it feels great!

I think with low compression & stock cam, you should be OK as long as you coast through town, try to stick to back roads if possible.

DISCLAIMER: I am an asshole. My first ticket was for exhibition of acceleration & eluding the police while driving on non-DOT approved tires (all I did was slap on a set of slicks & put the car sideways on main street, it just took a couple blocks to see the red & blue lights, lol). I have had numerous speeding & noise pollution tickets & I get a kick out of watching a cop trying to yell over a loud motor. I also enjoy rolling into the local drive through & having the order taker ask me to shut my car off because it's too loud. If none of this sounds comical to you, don't follow my advice on driving.

by MallyMal S-3 Thu Jul 30, 2009 5:01 pm

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA my smile grew wider and wider like the grinch as i read that last post. rago that sounds amazing. i cant wait, even if its short lived. my friend drives a vw golf and it kicks my A$$. its pretty loud but he always complains or makes jokes about how my Guna roars and grumbles no matter what i do. HA just wait till he heres this....cant wait

by badbiscayne66 Thu Jul 30, 2009 7:06 pm

I HAD A 67 CHEVELLE WITH A 427 BIG CAM HEADERS AND 4 SPEED AND 488 GEARS... I ONLY HAD GLASSPACS ON THE HEADERS AND THEY WERE WORN OUT.........WHEN I CRUISED THE LOCAL DQ THEY HAD A BIG WINDOW SO YOU COULD WATCH EM MAKE PIZZA......THEY WOULD PUT THERE HANDS ON THE GLASS TO KEEP IT FROM VIBRATING SO BAD HAHAHAHA.......GOOD TIMES OR AS SPRINGSTEEN SAYS GLORY DAYS

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