Beat a true muscle car with a 455

went to a car show this weekend didnt win a trophy but on the way home something cooler happened. I tried to get a race with a 69 road runner but as we were pulling out he took off and turned right at the light sitting in the left lane disapointed i just miss a chance to run a big block mopar, a 1970 buick gs convertible pulls up 4" cowl hood with numbers on it saying 455 i was so excited the car has over 510lbs of torque and weighs 3800 so we are a good race my mav weighing 2800 with a 351c 5spd and 4.11s this was going to be fun first think i said was look for cops not seeing any it was a go. the light turned green we both came out to a 5mph role then hit it at the same time i spun through first but staying beside the buick grabbed second got a little sideways then inching away grabbed third pulled him by a fender hit forth and got him alittle more by this time his bumper was at the middle of my passenger door he let of knowing he had been beat next week i will show him the cleveland so he dont think it was a 302 that handed the buick his ass

 

Sounds about right with the huge weight difference between the two and in near stock power form. With the power to weights involved here.. both should be around low 13 second cars.

 

thanks and I was just really excited to beat a Gm big block muscle car using mostly stock ford parts hopefully once I get my new hoosiers i wont spin threw first and second and be able to put some good time slips on here thanks again for replying

 

I know exactly what you mean. Always fun to see the underdog win.

As a quick aside here.. if you really want to make that motor run with those gears?.. GET RID OF THAT FACTORY CAM. There's SOOOOOOOOOOOO(yeah.. that means a LOT) many better grinds available these days. Stick a solid flat in there and that car will be totally transformed.

 

thanks for the advice i love the cj cam cause it sounds stock but when you stomp on it, it comes to life and the specs are the same as the 428cj but I use a 1970 timing chain set since ford retarded the 72 motors at the crank by 8° that did make alot of difference so what would you suggest with forged flat tops maybe a match duration like a 512? open for any ideas I use a desk top dyno to try to see where the power band is thanks again for replying

 

What you want to do with a low compression street motor is maximize the area under the lift curve without getting carried away with excessive seat timing. Otherwise the motor will bleed off too much cylinder pressure down low and feel soggy. Which is well known to already an issue for those heads and low compression in the first place. Smaller valve sizes help somewhat, but still won't fix that either.

This cam would do just that and really wake those heads up in the mid-range. It's already ground with a 4° advance built in(set straight up) but I would even consider advancing another 2° for good measure. A high-bleed rate lifter(variable lift helps lazy ports and gives slightly better idle vacuum/response.. every little bit adds up) would also compliment that head(ei; rhoads and many other now sell them). Either way.. with a newer grind like this the motor will gain torque and still rpm better.. and also not fall over as quickly on the top end. Fairly aggressive lobes, especially the intake side, and more spring would be required as well though, in the order of about 10% more seat/open. I would also HIGHLY consider using some port stuffers(made by MPG and Price motorsports) to liven up those ports a bit an kill off the flow killing dead-zones.

And don't oversize the exhaust on that head either. You want smaller primaries and no more than a 3" collector with free flowing mufflers to help scavenge which gives you a good "yank" on the intake charge.

http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/cam-specs/Details.aspx?csid=848&sb=2

 

Modern day cam & intake designs, coupled with a much better understanding of cylinder head design would have made the Cleveland a pretty formidable street strip motor back in the 70's. Many of the aftermarket street strip cams back then killed what little low end those engines had and to make matters worse, there were not any good dual plane intakes, so many enthusiasts ended up with the Eddy Torker 351. What little low end torque you ended up with after the cam change went out the window with that intake.

I would love to build a 351C street motor today with what I have learned in 40 years.

 

Hahah Dude you crack me up

 

you'd better search for a different place on the web to brag about your skills then...

 

I know right....

 

just what part of this forum is good for bragging about taking out gm big blocks and why are u directing this message to my son 14yr old he didnt post it and what do you have against ford mavericks beating other muscle cars such as a heelcat of 455 skylark dude i know and evryone else knows you run this site but REALLY ive been polite to every one who replys and havent started any beef with anyone so why are u acting this way to us please explain yourself

 

i would like to knowwhat you know im willing to listen i was born in the seventies and i feel left out on the coolest time i hear stories of buying muscle cars for 500 dollars used of course and how clevelands like bob glidden and the four door mav of gapp and roush thanks for replying and i cant wait to get your adviceanother member is teaching me about cams im thankful for any and all advice i just hope this comment doesnt make anyone mad again not trying to cause drama just celebrating mavericks as hard as i can the same way i drive mine after all it was the FIRST Fordto win a prostock title and they deserve more credit then they are given thanks again and please send me more advice

 

you got the dyno pic thats awsome so you already know this thanks man awsome pic