[TAQuest]

Anyone here name their cars? We call this one Thomas and always thank him for passing this car on to us when we start it up. RIP Thomas. Hope you are right there reading this as I type. I hope he liked that wild ride with the big cam. I know my wife and I did. I thought my wife was going to pull a wheelie in 3rd gear. She actually got pulled over for a long burn out at a light back when the timing chain was two teeth off. She's a speed demon and she drives the car more than I do. Loves the 4 speed. I built a '68 for here back in 1987 and she has been hooked on Birds since then. Brings back her youth.

[TAQuest]

Here's a picture of the car. It has functional ram air now. Bought and installed the factory style kit a few years back. Love that sound of air going through the hood.

[455GRIN]

Rear gear is fine, you just need to add a stroker 455 crank, Ram 4 cam and Q Jet. Been doing that for years on performance street cars.

[455GRIN]

or 400 cubes then the Summit 2802. Has a nice idle in a 400, should run well with 4 speed

[TAQuest]

What I like to build is a low compression 428 with nitrous. Built one for the 69 coupe I used to race. Only guy at the track with a nitrous pump(late 80's early 90's). Everybody else with nitrous had to use a bottle heater. I just pulled up to my nitrous pump and adjusted the pressure by volume.

This car, that I'm working on now, is going to cruise around town with little kids in the back some of the time. It doesn't need to be all that much high performance. Just a smooth running street car for the family to enjoy. Maybe run it in a parade or two. Trips up north to the Big Mac. It will never see a race or a track.

[TAQuest]

A good laugh is good for the soul. But trying to make fun on a tech thread makes for a lot of confusion. Some love to make fun of others. It's what they use their brain for. Be careful what you use your brain for. Build it for kindness and you will be good at that. Build it for snide remarks and you will have no friends.

[tom s]

Car needs a wide ratio gear box IMO.The factory used a 3.90 rear gear for a reason when they used the close ratio.Tom

[TAQuest]

I'm thinking about swapping in a Doug Nash 5 speed. See how that works out.

[tom s]

With the 3.27 first gear you will REALLY like it and the bigger cam would be great.Get the new one with the OD 5th.Tom

[462gto]

Autogear has other gear set available Muncie transmissions and thier phone number is 1-800-634-3001. They are very helpful.

[TAQuest]

Just finished breaking in the Edelbrock 2157 cam and lifters. The break in procedure went flawlessly.

No ticks this time. The lifters are quiet. NICE!!!

That tells me two things;

1. 1/2 to 3/4 turn lash is enough.

2. The 703 cam and lifters I bought from Lunati were a problem. Ticking isn't normal. I'm sure glad I got rid of that Lunati ticking time bomb. Ahhhhhhhhhhh what a relief it is! Goes to show that if you stick with it, use your head and ears, don't be lazy and tune a ticker, you will prevail over bad parts. Don't be afraid to do a second cam if the first one doesn't seem right. Happy days are here again. Test drive tomorrow.

["QUICK-SILVER"]

Originally Posted by TAQuest

Test drive tomorrow.

Off idle throttle response should be wicked. Compared to what you've been use to. With a posi rear end this thing could get you crossed up in a hurry.

Clay

[TAQuest]

More good news;

Jegs said that they will give me a full refund on the bad Lunati 703 cam.

All I'm out is my time, some oil, and gaskets.

[TAQuest]

Yes. Bad cam kit for unknown reasons. Total piece of garbage that would have eventually caused a whole lot of damage. Junk!

Glad I followed my own instinct and ****canned it.

[tom s]

The bigger cam was fine,your gear-trans selection is not.Tom

[Stan Weiss]

Since you have the trans out. What are you going with as far as clutch and pressure plate? My guess would be they were both new with the engine build. So are they now worn out or can they not how the torque the engine is making?

Stan

[TAQuest]

Originally Posted by Stan Weiss

Since you have the trans out. What are you going with as far as clutch and pressure plate? My guess would be they were both new with the engine build. So are they now worn out or can they not how the torque the engine is making?

Stan

Either way the answer was a new clutch. I’m going with a Mccloud 100.

[TAQuest]

Yes, the lifters that came with the Lunati cam were junk.

When I was setting the lash I noticed that the lifter plungers depressed a lot easier on the Lunati lifters than on the ones that came with the Edelbrock cam.

If the lifters would have been ok I might have kept the cam but with that clatter it had to go. Turn your nice engine into a box of rocks in no time.

[Squidward]

I used the Lunati kit lifters on the 702 cam in my Firebird. I had no issues, and they are still working fine. I used Crower cam saver lifters on the 703 cam in my Lemans. All is well.

It sucks there was a bad batch, and I am glad you got out of it without big damage to engine or wallet. I love these Voodoo cams, but they aren't the only recipe in the cookbook. I hope you get to drive the hell out of your bird now. You have some nice parts and a nice car, and your combo is scalable in case you ever decide to destroy tires and incur more whiplash! Enjoy.

[TAQuest]

Originally Posted by Squidward

I used the Lunati kit lifters on the 702 cam in my Firebird. I had no issues, and they are still working fine. I used Crower cam saver lifters on the 703 cam in my Lemans. All is well.

It sucks there was a bad batch, and I am glad you got out of it without big damage to engine or wallet. I love these Voodoo cams, but they aren't the only recipe in the cookbook. I hope you get to drive the hell out of your bird now. You have some nice parts and a nice car, and your combo is scalable in case you ever decide to destroy tires and incur more whiplash! Enjoy.

Thanks Ward! Always a pleasure to read your posts.

The first Lunati tech I talked with gave me the hint 'our cams never go bad but our lifters do'. It is what it is. Glad I didn't push it any further with 'tuning'.
From 'Christine' (almost) "You can't tune a turd"! lol