heloo all and I can say that in the month that I have been a member I have read enogh to make my eyes bleed and still enjoying it...My hat is off to alot of you and your willingness to help others is very comendable!I just started tearing the top half off my bone stock 50,000 mile 74 camaro and after alot of reading I bought a set of 906 casting vortec heads(thank you DIRT) thay are at the machine shop being overhauled.I was going to get advice from them until he told me that I should dump them for a set of double humps....yuck..I know that much so I am willingly openig my very small wallet to you guys to send me in the correct direction...heres what I have as of now...bone stock bottom end and it is staying that way..the vortec heads,2 1/2 pypes system with x pipe,flowtech headers,1406 edelbrock carb,original points type distributer with the crane points eliminater kit and there hi po coil...that is it so here is what this is the motor that is staying I have no desire for 500 horses or et's.I want the most out of what i can get without any troubles or high maintinance.What i do desire is a perfctly running street car that is gonna get a pounding here and there but I can take my three year old daughter to the car show...So i need cam and lifters ,intake(do I even dare to ask opinions on pro-products he he...)and good job to how the majority of you handeld luciano)I do like the weaind price range but pp is better but which one is the questio...would air gap be worthy in this applicaton or a hinder..gears are to be determined later as to budget and also torque converter if needed.the only thing that I can say is I would love to have a little or alot of lope in the idle,I just love the sound but I wont give up a ton of drivability or power to get it..I plan on trying to give the engine a more of a the way gm should have done it look.I have no interst in chrome but evary thing must be clean and painted and looking corrct...I also dont know if the air gap is going to give me hood clearance trouble..I plan on matching all the ports and also matching valve spring for the cam is welcomed..I have a cople sets of cc sets but will have to look up specs.OK guys bring it on I am going to build this within the next few weeks and cant wait for your advice

With respect to the stock bottom end, flat top pistons will provide better compression (about 10:1 with the Vortecs). If you go with a dished piston to lower compression, a half dish is better than the stock style full dish piston.

yoyo - you should be able to run an air gap...if you really want to. I have one on my 81 (w/ a stock hood) and have a small air cleaner (10"X3"??) and it either touches or is dang close to touching the hood when it's closed. I just got in my K&N xtream filter assembly (14"X2 3/4" with a 1 1/4" drop base) so that should clear just fine.

the only reason to not do the bottom end is that it is only a low mileage motor,I am not looking to make huge amounts of power but just a respectable street car and budjet does not allow that much tear down.

hey nate any idea what the drop down would be on a factory dual intake air cleaner from a 84 h.o. z28.my buddy has one with all new plastics that I could prob get for a song and would give me the cfm and the look that I am looking for....

Nothing wrong with camel humps ,my 186s flow as good as vortecs if not better with some love

I'm also running old camel back heads, I think they are 462's I had them polished and ported back in the early 80's. They are the smaller chamber heads which bumped my compression up for more HP.

Nothing wrong with camel humps ,my 186s flow as good as vortecs if not better with some love

"with some love" being the operative words. I have never seen flow results showing stock old style performance heads being even in the same ball park witht he Vortecs. IIRC the Vortecs pounded stock humps by about 25cfm. By the time you pay someone to port and rebuilt the humps you are out more than new vortecs. If you can port yourself I guess it would make sense.

whoa boys before I start a war here,let me say that from the extensive reasearch that I did both here and elsewhere the vortec heads were more bang for the buck by far than the fuelies...not to say that they are not better than what I have but being as how I had to buy an intake anyway the vortecs were the ticket to the ponies

First get your CR up to as close to 10 to 1 as you can get it using flat-top pistons and either .015", .017" or .020" thick shim headgaskets.. Shoot for a quench number from .035" to .045" for best burn...

Heck, a 4 to 5 hour Sat. afternoon bowl-blend and dingle berry casting flash cleanup of the ports using a 1/4" B&D drill and some cheap Chinese stones will help an old set of double-humps quite well, imho!!

And all I would be out is the stones and 4 or 5 hours so it's cheap enough to me..

Bowl-blend them until the bowl is at the lower seat dia. and you should be about right and teardrop the top of the guide too.. Nothing fancy at all helps a bunch but isn't a Pro job by no stretch..

Add any one of a number of 268 to 274 old-style cams, headers and a 750 Holley on a dual plane OR even a stock Q-Jet and you will be good to go!!!!!!!!

pdq67

First get your CR up to as close to 10 to 1 as you can get it using flat-top pistons and either .015", .017" or .020" thick shim headgaskets.. Shoot for a quench number from .035" to .045" for best burn...

Heck, a 4 to 5 hour Sat. afternoon bowl-blend and dingle berry casting flash cleanup of the ports using a 1/4" B&D drill and some cheap Chinese stones will help an old set of double-humps quite well, imho!!

And all I would be out is the stones and 4 or 5 hours so it's cheap enough to me..

Bowl-blend them until the bowl is at the lower seat dia. and you should be about right and teardrop the top of the guide too.. Nothing fancy at all helps a bunch but isn't a Pro job by no stretch..

Add any one of a number of 268 to 274 old-style cams, headers and a 750 Holley on a dual plane OR even a stock Q-Jet and you will be good to go!!!!!!!!

pdq67



Werd

hey nate any idea what the drop down would be on a factory dual intake air cleaner from a 84 h.o. z28.

I haven't a clue. I'm sure someone else could chime in.



Anyone know if a factor dual intake air cleaner from an 84 h.o z28 with a air gap would clear a stock hood?



-Nate

Mwilson,

"Werd"

Why??

Old-school all the way and there have been millions of engines set up this way in the past..

Please come back and set me straight..............

pdq67

Mwilson,

"Werd"

Why??

Old-school all the way and there have been millions of engines set up this way in the past..

Please come back and set me straight..............

pdq67


I thought he was agreeing with you.:)

Hey paul Mwilson was agreeing with you. He is the one I got the 186 camel humps from.

Sorry, my bad..

I'm old so didn't pick up on the meaning of "Werd" is all..........

Thanks for the back-up..

pdq67

Welcome YOYO, its good to see another local Camaro here. Look in the New York section for local meets this coming season, we have a real good group of guys that meet up for some cruises, from orange, rockland,and dutchess counties. Give a holler if you need any other advice. Good luck with your Camaro. Btw, did you find that locally?

Sorry, my bad..

I'm old so didn't pick up on the meaning of "Werd" is all..........

Thanks for the back-up..

pdq67


Man thats the funniest thing Ive ever read! Im still falling out of the chair!!!! LOLOLOLOL makes me feel young again! And I picked that word "Werd" up on another board! Thats the best laugh in a while thanks man!

He, He!!

I ALWAY'S try ta please................

OK, bttt so what does "Werd" mean???????? I'm still in the dark... Old man and all..

pdq67

If memory serves, I believe that non-Z Camaros in ’74 had compression about 9.0 to 1. With the Vortec and a steel shim head gasket, you should be able to up that by a few tenths, more if the heads are surfaced. This should be plenty of compression for a mild street motor.

For the intake, I don’t see any real differences on a street driven motor that you will be able to notice, either in performance or drivability. I think your choice will be based on your personal preference and budget. I recently ordered a Weiand since I had read much good about it. I am also replacing an old single plane Edelbrock and the price was right. The carb is a good choice and will have good response and mileage, though at the cost of some performance. You could upgrade to a Holley 650 vacuum secondary carb in the future if you want more.

If you are looking for the sound and idle quality of an older muscle car cam, you will need something with more exhaust duration and lots of overlap. Be aware, however, that this will adversely affect engine vacuum, so power brake performance might be an issue. For the real thing, you could look at the 300 hp 327 cam from the mid 60’s Corvettes. I think Comp has one with the same specs. I’m sure that there are newer profiles that will give the same effect with better efficiency, but the old stuff still does a pretty good job. Comp also has their Thumpr line, but they are rollers and $$$. You could always check the specs and try to find a hydraulic flat tappet that has a similar profile. Calling Comp’s tech line would probably be a good bet as well. Regardless of what you choose, I would advise that you get the kit (cam, lifters, springs, pushrods, etc.) since you know that everything will work together.

If street driven, you might want (at some later time) to consider a 2000 to 2400 stall converter and a shift kit for the trans. Good luck.

thnaks warped and you are right on the compression..the heads are being shaved but r there any adverse affects to the steel headgasket?r they more prone to leak?I have looked more into the 1406 and found that I can recalibrte the mains and rods...so that is what im gonna do...I did look into that thumper and 700 dollars is way out of the price range so it is looking like the xe 268 by comp and the converter is on the list however i took the rear apart today and found a broken ring tooth so the rear just became priority over the motor but the heads will atleast be done...A posi carrier and gears are gonna take all the motor money but the motor runs great the way it is but just a little less than what I would like...although I have decided to go with 3.73 it should be alot better to drive than the 2.73 gears in it..Any advice on gears and carrier?thanks for your time.

r there any adverse affects to the steel headgasket?r they more prone to leak?.


great gaskets Ive been using them for years

OK, bttt so what does "Werd" mean???????? I'm still in the dark... Old man and all..
It's a euphemism.

Werd=word. A true statement.