Some of those costs were most likely not immediately needed at the time the engine went together and you started the tune process. If the wheels are included, I see just under $1000 that wasn't needed immediately.

You mentioned in an earlier thread that you took the car to a drag strip. What were the ET's and trap speeds? Just looking at the mods, you I would think the car would be easily running in the low 12's with trap speeds somewhere around 100 to 105. A stock '85 when it was new was capable of mid 14's with 91-92 MPH on the back end. And that was with the stock 3.07 gears that came with the 4+3.

As far as cams, there are a number of good flat-tappet cams that will help build power and work with the other components you already have. You should go talk with some cam companies to see what they would recommend based on what you want out of the car. You will need to give them some specifics on what you want to see and what you intend to use the car for. Component selections will be different for track use compared to drag racing.

It might even be a good idea to simply turn the car over to a good shop that can do custom tunes and work everything out on a chassis dyno. Your prior threads seem to indicate you were trying too many things at once. It just may be worth it to let a real pro figure it out.

 

I was going to take it to the track but I wasn't able to because the tune wasn't ready.

Also the wheels were needed because there was no traction with the old tires. I had to change the rims too because the originals were 245s, the new ones are 315s with Nitto drag radials.

 

It's one reason I pointed out that you probably have too much timing. It's been posted several times that AFR heads are so efficient that they only "need" about 30-31 degrees of advance. You can still "run it" with 35 degrees but it seems there's a good chance the KS is pulling timing. AND....that often puts you LOWER than you would be with the correct timing.

Though it wasn't night/day, I could tell mine picked up when I dropped timing where I'm conveying. Initially, I started mine at the stock tables...which is 36-deg advance. 31-32 is much better. I'm pretty sure Rick tuned his 89 MR (with Jim's guidance) at 30.

If you've read this forum much...you'll know who Rick and Jim are! LOL

 

damn...

Well... stupid question... are you still running a stock clutch?

Oh, and get this damned thing dyno'd... right now, you are pissing in the wind, dude.

 

Yes still running a stock clutch. And I would like to but I first need to get my AFRs to 12.8:1 at WOT and play around with timing at the track.

I don't have much faith in it.

I don't know about you guys, but a C5 Corvette runs low 13s stock, and this car feels like a C5 Corvette. I don't know how typical hopped up Miniram engines feel in comparison to the C5 but I'm not having much faith in it at this point.

 

I'm also running Rebuilt Bosch III 24 lb injectors from FIC at 60 PSI fuel pressure, with some cheap $42 fuel pump I purchased at the local parts store.

Not cutting out at high RPMs either, if that means anything. I was under the assumption that they could only support like 350 horsepower. I either don't have 350 horsepower, or I have some kind of magical fuel pump.

 

x3 on getting it professionally tuned think thats your issue not the parts so much. That can take many many many hrs to really sort it out. Being rich will slow you down as will lean. You can go after a specific AF range to get you close but imo from there give the car what it wants/where it runs best they are all a little different

Gregg may have something there with the header/port thing youd have to look at it. 2.5 in duals a +

Car should run a solid 12 in bad air without an issue or low 13s if youre fudging the launch. Which really isnt so bad,still respectable for a mild cammed 350. Theres too many people out there claiming their buddy went 11s with astock this or that with a cam blah blah so dont compare yourself to that.

 

I'm using 24# injectors on my 396. If the engine is not leaning out at WOT, injectors and fuel pump are not the problem.

 

Take it to the track and baseline it. My car has long tubes and duals on stock heads w/1.6 RRs and is DRIVER limited at the track.

 

Parts I made red wont make you any faster, So you have 4K in your go-fast parts, and there are some parts I would have choosen differently. Remember what you started with, if you put 4k in to l98 with small cam and stock CR, it wont go to moon with that.

 

They are supporting mods. Without them the car does not run properly and does not hook properly.

Also, its not stock compression ratio. Stock compression ratio is 9:1.

 

I think what he is saying is that some of the parts are not specifically necessary when it comes to the cost of the initial engine build and even the initial start-up and getting it running. For example, paint is not an absolute, neither is the tach, the plug wire socks, or even the heated O2 sensor. And tires and wheels have nothing to do with "not running properly" in terms of the engine. Tires will simply be a maintenance thing over the life of the car.

Unless the OEM distributor was worn or shot, the DUI distributor, the MSD box and even the MSD plug wires could have been a later upgrade.

I usually consider replacement parts as secondary costs; were the broken valve springs due to a defect or did they break because of improper installation or excessive RPM that may have caused them to fail?

A new radiator may have been a help or maybe not. Same with a w/p. Stock stuff works fine initially. We remember you did have some cooling issues, but you should have been able to get the engine running and properly tuned without the replacement pieces.

Also, why the 60 psi on fuel pressure? Seems pretty high....

I still say head to a test and tune day at a strip. If the car runs to where you can drive it around town, then a few runs now will help as a baseline. Waiting on a tune doesn't really do a lot as if you don't have a baseline, you really won't know what a tune has done. Same thing with some dyno time.

Doing some baseline runs also helps you to know how to launch your car, not a C5 or any other car. The C4 and C5 will feel differently. My C5 will run high 11's and it feels entirely different than my C4 in terms of how it launches. Spring rates are way different, shock stiffness is different, and tranny gear ratios are way different.

 

Like so many have said, you need objective performance numbers (either a dyno or a drag strip).

I would like to suggest another objective source. Try getting a G-Tech, Vericom, etc type of accelerometer for testing. It is pretty cheap and you can make real observations on the performance. They can do 0-60', 1/4 mile, 0-speed, etc. even lateral G's. I have had one for a long time and it has been a great aid to sorting my cars out. Do a baseline, then change your setup, launch technique, or whatever and do another test. It will give you some objective numbers for comparison.

About 25 years ago one of the magazines was using one for the performance tests on 0-60 and 1/4 mile and said they were pretty close. On mine it has typically been within a tenth on a 1/4 mile run, so close enough for me to evaluate changes.

Good luck.

 

One of those G-techs has been on my list "to buy list" since they came out. You hear/read stuff about them not being precise or w/e, but it'd be good for more of comparing mods to see if you gained I've always thought. Still every time I think of buying one I look at my never ending list of parts I want and end up not getting one.

 

Problem here is....

SOTP METER DON'T MEAN ****! Never has, never will.

Ya don't know WHAT you've got going on. No current hp stated....no 1/4 mile times, no ultimate goal or anything objective showing the delta between where you're at and where you think you should be. Don't know how fast your car really is. Get some objective data, then ask the question, preferably w/a "...and I'd like the be __________" <insert goal.

My stock '92 feels every bit as fast as my stock '06 did....even thought it was 1 full second slower in the 1/4 mile. SOTP is worthless. Please find a different performance metric.

 

How do YOU know??

What exactly IS "fast"??

 

Fast=Money/time(sweat)

 

I see a constant, here...

 

With not much in the way of answers or at least an "OK, I'll try that before doing anything else".

 

Look,

I want to help but you keep posting silly things.....I am not trying to be a jerk, I have an 85 and I know the issues that can arise and I feel for you.

you really to have someone go over this car that knows this era of Corvettes and go through it......no offense to you, but from what I gather, you are a young guy trying to make a hot rod out of an old Corvette. Nothing wrong with that scenario, but it appears you spent $ on this car that you really don't have and keep asking questions about what is going on with your car on this forum and every time you do it is almost like a comedy show......again please don't take this the wrong way, it appears you are a nice kid, but.....you and your dad need to find a good GM technician or at least someone who knows these types of issues better than you......


I have tracked your situation since you bought the heads and did some "decking to your block" on your own. That alone was risky business based on the threads I saw.....You put h/p heads then on a deck(s) that I am not sure are "true" with uneven compression ratios across the board on a short block that had some miles on it......not exactly the best scenario....

take the car and run it down the track or get it dyno tuned and give us some real word data and let us try to help with that.......