[KSZR]

Originally Posted by SD455DJ

Kent, Might as well ante-up for the 2.5" outlet RA manifolds since you are going that route along with the Pypes mandrel 'X' system. Can't go wrong there and it will support more power down the road (up to 500 hp easily). I personally would get the kit without the mufflers and purchase the 18" case DynoMax UltraFlo's or Magnaflow's separately, which are both straight-thru design, yet fairly quiet, but support lots of power. I have both and they both perform very well.

I see you have #16 heads and I'm assuming the '68 large valve variety. I would certainly follow the same recipe we did on the XV 400 engine on yours. With the large valve heads with .040" quench, lower 10's for static compression, the 2802 cam, etc., I would expect an easy 420 hp/480 lb-ft torque. With your new exhaust system and a fuel delivery system to match, you should have no problems running high 12's at 106+ mph. I'd stick with the 3.55's for a while since your first gear multiplication ratio is 9.7625 with the 200R4's 2.75 first gear...that's like having 3.90 gears with a TH400/TH350! You will have a major traction problem with this build...and lots of fun!

Dennis

Very cool! Thanks for your input. Lots to think about!

Would Rhodes lifters make sense with the 2802? Just thinking about retaining the nice Pontiac low end torque and drivability.

Kent

[SD455DJ]

I don't think you will need Rhoads with the 2802 cam and 10.0 to 1 compression in the 400. So far, we've never had any issues with the lifters that come with the Summit cam kits (supposedly Johnson Hy-Lifts), and I'm not a fan of their 'sound'.

Dennis