Hey Guys

[bulkin'up73chevy]

Hey guys sorry I haven't bugged you more often, but I finally moved out of my parents place. It's pretty darn cool. But yes I need some more info for my 4x4 truck if anyone is willing to help. I have a holley 650 carb on there and an hei. I am planning on putting headers on it next. But my main question is do I want top end power or just low end cause I will be doing a little bit of towing with it? Now my second question. How do I go about doing it??? I know headers and the carb and the hei are kinda what I have already started, but what next. I have a fairly decent income for a 17 yr. old, so what can I do next. Also any of you know about building an all out street rod. Like a 1967 chevelle. I want to take it all the way.
Thanks for all the help you guys have given me and I am eternally indebted to you all.
Thanks
My name is a secret.

[apstguy]

Top end power or low end power is more of a personal question. If you are going to be towing with it, you need low end power. Get a good air filter (k&n, Volant, etc.) and get a good exhaust system. From then on it is all internal engine mods.

[swervin ervin]

Why's your name a secret? You in the witness protection program or something?

[1FaastC10]

first thing to do if you're planning on towing is throw that Holley in the trash, and put a Quadrajet on it. Holleys are great high RPM/high hp carbs, but for low RPM and low end torque, a Quadrajet is your answer. you want as much low end as you can get when you're towing. next thing you would want to do, for a rig that will be used for towing would be to swap to some lower gears and a trans cooler if you have an auto.

[bulkin'up73chevy]

Thanks guys for the info is there anyone else out there that can give me some of the internal engine mods., and maybe some stats.
And no i'm not in the witness protection program I am just a secret angent for the cia. JK. No my name is Zach

[plumbcut]

for a truck, especially a 4wd, you always want to build for torque (lower end power) and let horsepower take care of itself.. if youre looking to mod engine internals- your best bet with a smallblock is a 383.. they are very popular and tested and proven. They make tons of power and parts are pretty cheap. Start with a stout bottom end and you can even run some stock heads if you cant afford something special, and still make a lot of useable power. a healthy HEI is great. quadrajet is good too, and you should look into a well engineered, free flowing dual exhaust system.. big inches, intake, ignition, and exhaust will give you a real reliable powerful engine thats perfect for towing, offroading, driving, etc... How much money are you thinking about spending? There is always the 400 small block or if you have money coming out your ears (@17) then go with a big block.. Dont underestimate the 350 though.. well built intake and exhaust system and a relatively mild cam will do wonders for a 350... even MORE wonderful with something bigger though... transmission, axle gears, and tire size play an important role in everything too, though. its the big picture that you have to look at, and its important to build the right combination.. understand this and you will already be far far ahead of most people out there who just start throwing useless parts and money at their truck.. Ive seen a few real mildly built trucks that had the right combination of parts, just rip up the competition...

give us some more info on your truck (and PICS!) and how much money youre planning on spending and we can get into a little more detail..

pc

[aliencheyenne]

Your cam is going to have the biggest influence on your power band. I have always been partial to Comp Cams and assuming you have a 350, somewhere in the 212/218 or 218-224@.050 similar to their XE262 and XE265.
Keep the primaries small on the headers for torque, like 1 5/8"
Carbs meter fuel and air, some run rich off idle, some run lean. No such thing as a "torquey" carb. The best one is the one you have at the moment. You may have to use 3 or 4 weekends to tweak it in where you want it, but whether Q-jet, Holley, Eddie or Demon this is the same process for all of them. Qjet and Eddie offer simpler and more ease of adjustment, while Holley and Demon give you way more fine-tuning adjustments. If you are relatively new to tuning Qjet and Eddie are far more forgiving and may be the route to go. Add a 4 swirl hole 1" phenolic spacer and maximise your low end power.
One last easy power getter is using an x pipe on your exhaust system. Only downside is that the merging of the pulses tends to give it a formula 1 kind of sound.

[bulkin'up73chevy]

Right now I have straight Pipe exhaust. Headers are going on tomorrow along with an HEI distributor. I have a Holley Carb on there already. Stock manifold, Pistons, Cam, etc. It's not a lot. Motor runs strong I may have an RV cam to go in it soon.

I was also wondering if any of you know how to build a 454 for all out racing in a chevelle or a nova. I am also looking into a dropped 64 Chevy truck shortbed with a 350 beefed to about 400 hp. It's designed for racing I can get stats if any one can tell me what they all mean. I know the motor is good. And the truck.
Thanks again guys.

[1FaastC10]

first off, before you turn a single wrench, you need to figure out exactly what you want to do and then stick to it. i'm going to guess your truck has a small block in it, and you're asking how to improve its performance on the street and towing. then in the same post, you're talking about a race big block. if you dont stay on track, your buildup will turn into a big mess real quick.