oh and i love your 80 monte. awesome paint job.

 

sounds look a good combo. im runnin .525 flat tappet and about 11:1 with the sportsman II heads. wanted to go more aggresive but it was my daily driver. i want to go with a roller cam next. the retrofit was crazy expensive during the build and i couldnt afford it at the time. thanks but i am def not a body guy and it was my first attempt at painting a car. i used $100. gun and painted it outside the shop. it looked good from 15ft out for about 2yrs but all the salt and snow and bondo was a bad mix. ive got full quarters and doors and not waiting to go on once im on my feet.

 

damn that sucks. Did you have any trouble with the flat tappet cam setup? just wondering. im unsure which route to go. solid roller or solid tappet? how much did it cost you to retrofit the roller cam in there and did you have any problems with it?

 

i running flat tappet. the hydraulic roller cam retro fit at the time of the build would have cost an extra 650 because of the lifters. supposedly you can get roller lifters out of a roller small block motor from a junkyard and use them. i didnt want to throw junk in the car after all the money and years with it. i was also going to stroke the 400 to 427 but once again the budget dictated a different route. the extra cubes and the roller probably cost me about 60hp but its not a big deal. its got a full forged rotating assembly and were going to throw a 250 shot at it. i never wanted to run solid lifter stuff. just the maintenance and constant valve adjustment didnt seem worth it on a car that was to get me to work and back everyday and only going to drag on the street and maybe a few track outings. i think the flat tappet is the way to go. if its not your daily driver i would go a little more aggressive. the cam in my car is conservative. now that i have a daily driver ill probably get more aggressive with it. i think youve got a good combo. i think it might be a little over geared so you might have to run a taller tire, and those years are heavier then mine but other then that it should hold its own. id work on suspension cause they dont hook but then again if you hook at stall speed it should dynamite that rear in a few passes. have you decided what route to go with the rear yet?

 

im going to get a a 10 bolt 8.5 out of a gnx. it seems to be the best way. but not right now because I took the oil pan off to check the bottom end and the rod bearings are shot. So the money is going there right now. but i will figure it out. thanks for the help.

 

no prob. you didnt rebuild the motor when you did the heads and cam?

 

No i got the motor from a friend. figured it was good bc it has good oil pressure so i just swapped the heads. the cam came with the block. But now the motor is coming out again and im going to build the bottom end and have it balanced.

 

yeah when i got my monte it had the 400 in it. did headers intake carb and what not. later on got more daring and did the cam. the part store didnt have bearings in stock so i said screw it. on the maiden voyage it spun main and rod bearings. it went like hell though. once i pulled the motor out and got it apart the rings were destroyed and the crank looked like it had been walking. long story short i should have done it right the first time. you live and you learn. its a 100% faster now my pockets are alot emptier though.

 

ha so true. i just got my new 4 bolt main motor and i barely have enough money to balance and bore it. i think im going to transfer my pistons from my old motor to this one. you think thats ok? I also have to afford new seals, bearings and the regular stuff.

 

id take it to a machine shop and let them look at what youve got. do it right the first time and you wont have to do it again for a while. nothing sucks more then trying to cut corners and having it bite you in the *** later. the good thing is that pistons are reasonable priced and you dont have to run forged unless your going to spray the *** out of it constantly.