[roger1]

Originally Posted by tom s

tell you its worth it,find any leaks or issues BEFORE you get it in the car.Tom

I agree. Well very worth it. Not only was it exciting, it gave me peace of mind.

[400 4spd.]

Originally Posted by tom s

tell you its worth it,find any leaks or issues BEFORE you get it in the car.Tom

Absolutely!

[400 4spd.]

At least run it before the installation whenever possible.
We did a break in last week on a 428 SCJ going into a Mach 1. The builder (in New York) never ran it. Within 5 minutes it was breaking rocker arms. We ended up pulling and swapping out all of the rocker assembly and push rods. Also swapped Holleys and it runs great now. No dyno numbers, but it runs well enough now that we bolted it in.

[vertigto]

Originally Posted by tom s

tell you its worth it,find any leaks or issues BEFORE you get it in the car.Tom

That's pretty much the main reason for me...break it in at the engine shop to find any issues immediately, not after it's in the car. Not cheap, but worth the peace of mind like Roger and Steve said.

It's a bonus to see the numbers, just to confirm all the research done.

[vertigto]

Originally Posted by roger1

Your cam is better for you and mine better for me, I'm pretty sure. Are you going to quarter mile yours? I wont but I agree with the opinion our cars would run neck and neck and be interested to know.

I'd like to take it down the track at least once, but in all honesty doubt I will. Mainly because once wouldn't be enough and I know me...I'd keep wanting to improve my ET/mph.

After all the $$ and time put into the restomod, I want to keep it as pristine as possible. I plan on cruising it alot and won't be shy to get on it, just won't be pushing it to the limit. She will be my little 'Gold Rush'.

[roger1]

The shop wasn't able to print a graph for me so I used google sheets and created one myself from the data. Worked pretty slick.

[roger1]

Originally Posted by vertigto

I'd like to take it down the track at least once, but in all honesty doubt I will. Mainly because once wouldn't be enough and I know me...I'd keep wanting to improve my ET/mph.

After all the $$ and time put into the restomod, I want to keep it as pristine as possible. I plan on cruising it alot and won't be shy to get on it, just won't be pushing it to the limit. She will be my little 'Gold Rush'.

You and me both! I did start thinking that since I'll be using a Dakota VHX setup, I can get a 0-60 and 1/4 mile time from it. I would do that other than I really don't want to do a hard launch because it's so hard on the tires. Also, I have a rev limit setting on my Edelbrock setup and will probably set it at 5,000. I want to be conservative plus I'm using stock reconditioned rods with ARP bolts.

Btw, are you thinking you will go with a mini starter? I mocked up my new stock starter today and the clearance from the solenoid to the back side of the RARE manifold is very, very tight.

[vertigto]

I thought about a mini starter for awhile, but ended up going with a Powermaster 3655 OEM-Style High-Torque Replacement...

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/PWM-3655

If that doesn't work, I would probably opt for an IMI or RobbMC.

BTW...also picked up the RA starter solenoid shield and battery cable insulator tube (and 1g cables) for insurance.

[roger1]

I just ordered a RobbMC. I just seems like a problem waiting to happen with a stock type starter.
The wiring can be made more safe with the mini starter also.

[vertigto]

Yeah...I want to believe that the factory designed starter should work fine.

I started a thread awhile back asking about OEM vs minis (and heat soak) and the Powermaster, and was essentially told that stock should be fine and that minis are more for headers, as opposed to RA exhaust manifolds. I did opt for the hi torque version and heat shield/insulator tube to help mitigate. Wanted to try this first to keep more to stock appearance and price ($139 vs $305 with pinion support).

If it becomes a problem, I would go with RobbMC for the ability to clock/rebuild and the optional pinion support.

[grandam1979]

My buddy runs a stock starter in his pure stock car it works great and he has more compression than you I’m sure it’s a 68 400

[Formulajones]

Factory starters will work fine as long as you get a good one.

I've had the same stock starter in mine for the last 25 years and it works fine with the RA manifolds, no heat shields. I drive it daily.

I even had headers on the car for many years without an issue.

[roger1]

I didn't get the pinion support. According to their information, it shouldn't be even near necessary for my setup.

[vertigto]

Originally Posted by roger1

I didn't get the pinion support. According to their information, it shouldn't be even near necessary for my setup.

Correct. Others had mentioned it being a good idea/insurance independent of the hp/build.

[Pontiguy70]

Those are some nice numbers. How does it idle compared to stock?

Thanks

[vertigto]

Originally Posted by Pontiguy70

Those are some nice numbers. How does it idle compared to stock?

Thanks

On the engine dyno, it seemed very similar. I'll let you know how it does on the road in a couple months, when the car is done.

[Pontiguy70]

Thanks, I look forward to it.