Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

I have a sbc 383 on 110 gas.heads flow 200cfm exhaust, 488 gears,2 speed glide, 705 lift solid roller.1.6 off set rockers vega weighs 2300 with me in it. running 9.200 at 144.5 mph. what can i do to get into the eights , new heads , new intake [ i run a victor jr now with a 950 quick fuel

heads flow 200cfm exhaust

You do know you haven't supplied enough info for anyone to make a recommendation.

Ok, I will try again, 383 sbc, 13-1 compression.ARF heads flow 290 intake,200 exhaust. solid roller.705 lift 260 dur. victor jr intake,950 quick fuel. 1.6 off set rockers,2" custom headers,2 speed glide [1.76 1st gear] 488 full spool. 31 " 14 " wide hoosiers.skinneys on front ..ladder bar set up. double adjustable coil overs front and back. car have been scaled. 47 % weight on front and 53% on back. 50" wheelie bars. c-12 fuel crank trigger, 7-al2 box, delay box. car weighs 2160 without me in it. i plummed the car ,it is straight. i enclosed my hood scoop so it ramps air in. i have a header evac system on valve covers. push rod guides, which i just had to grind out to give more clearence and THAT helped !.
so last sunday with good air 50 degrees, track 81 degrees, at 60' above sea level, i launched at 4000rpms on the trans-brake. 60' times was 1.28, 1/8 mile was 5.82[117.33mph and 1/4 mile was 9.200 at 144.15 mph.i shift at 7500 rpms and cross traps at 7900 rpm. thats all the info i can think of. i want to get into the 8's what is the best want to do it.
i have been told better heads and a better intake will put me in the 8's. but which heads and which intake ?
just having fun here, not a real serious racer. just do it to race with my son, who is in the army now in Afkan.
and today oct 25 th is my 61st birthday, some good info would be a nice birthday present.
thanks terry

Thats a booming MPH already! What is your stall speed on the converter? With that weight of car and you are willing to turn the rpm, I would use a Dart Pro 1 227 CNC and a CNC ported Super victor intake. The Vic Jr is small. Now the thing is if you increase its breathing capacity, you may need to adjust stall speed. I like 5800-6000 stall if the heads and cam are big enough. I would increase your duration by 10 deg minimum maybe 14 deg with that light car. Its just running out of breath right now. Your lift on the cam is fine.

5500 stall, thganks for info

Strong running Vega there. Faster than Grumpy Jenkins 1972 pro stock Vega!

While not any direct help found the following very similar car to yours that you may like to check out.

"We run at Grand Bend Motorplex in Grand Bend, Ontario, Canada. It's an IHRA sanctioned track, and we run in the Modified E.T. class. The car is cuurently running a 360ci SBC and powerglide trans. It runs 9.30's at 140 mph with mid 1.2 second sixty foots. It is a full round tube chassis car with a 4-link and 4.86 geared 9-inch rear. It weighs 2360 lbs with only a fiberglass hood and hatch, and lexan in the door windows and hatch."
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2238047/1 ... rolet-vega




Thinking out loud you need one or more of the three: more power, less weight, better aerodynamics.

The weight is light already so that is probably not the right answer. You can certainly buy parts that will allow your engine to make more power. You may want to look into real time data aquisition which can help pinpoint what is needed (power curve, manifold vacuum, etc) You could experiment with improving the cars aerodynamics as less resistance will allow better performance with current power. I am thinking some kind of extended rear spoiler. May make it more stable as well as you speeds climb.
Something like the pro stock rear extensions.



Good luck and happy Bday!

i have a rear spoiler on it now, thinking of dropping front end back down. had to raise it up, because i was pulling wheelies and getting crazy and backing out and it was slamming down and hitting oil pan. now that i have that fixed, i can lower the car and make the air flow over it better. i think i will go with a super victor cnc cut intake and either 227 heads or just port my heads more [ remove the valve guide and aluminum around it.in the exhaust port] hope that will not make my valve too unstable.i have them matched with my headers, actually, i have a little lip, the port on the head is alittle smaller than the 2" pipe, i was told to do that by someone. i wanted to match them exzactly

I would go with a better manifold, or at least a big spacer on the Jr.

Old Grey wrote:I would go with a better manifold, or at least a big spacer on the Jr.

That would be my first choice also, Super Vic or Motown.

More speed means higher gear or spin it. You run a 4.88 now so a 4.56 will trap higher but? Will the rest of the combo like it?

I went from a 5.13 to a 4.56 and have yet to test it using the 400 with a 2.75 first. You will probably slow the 60' which is not wanted.

Still thinking.

hey , i would really like to know the difference when you switch those gears !. what happens to your 60' times, speed, et and RPM drop on launch, and crossing the traps, that would be great info !

More headwork and a larger intake will help a lot. Those heads are very weak flow wise. I am surprised it runs that fast. Then you can raise the shift up to 8000 and let it eat.

cnc super victor ? would that work or be too big. Man there are a million heads out there. how big runners 227 ? I do not want to buy Chinese heads. with this small 383 what flow can i get to ,before they are too big and will slow me down.
330 intake and like 230 exhaust at .700 lift. match my ports . how much richer jets are we talking.i talked to one guy who went from a victor jr. to a super victor and he slowed down a tenth.
all you guys are giving me some good info, really thankful for it.

nyesgym wrote:cnc super victor ? would that work or be too big. Man there are a million heads out there. how big runners 227 ? I do not want to buy Chinese heads. with this small 383 what flow can i get to ,before they are too big and will slow me down.
330 intake and like 230 exhaust at .700 lift. match my ports . how much richer jets are we talking.i talked to one guy who went from a victor jr. to a super victor and he slowed down a tenth.
all you guys are giving me some good info, really thankful for it.

If he slowed a tenth going to a super he has major tuning problems or a Head that is small. I can't believe the people that bolt on a new manifold and FAIL to tune to it.
I am going through this right now on a roller 302 with a JR that stumbles big time off idle. My Uncle that built the chassis and car said it was the open plenum???? I told him no flippen way. Stuck in the 60's when the open came out!! But!! He can tune a tunnel ram with 2 500 holleys no problem!
So next week I get to school him again.

IMO, A hand poted Super Vic. will be light years ahead of the CNC deal ! Don't waste your $$$$$ on that CNC intake.
I think they want $575 for the CNC verion, nothing more than very little blending in the plenum and port match. But still needs much work from there...


T-flow

i talked to one guy who went from a victor jr. to a super victor and he slowed down a tenth

That's the thing with things like this. The Snr will raise the point were peak power is made, and if the rest of the combo isn't designed for the higher revs, it may go slower - it's the, cam designed for 7500, the manifold for 8500, deal -. Also the higher rev range may need a different diff ratio to keep it at the higher HP peak.

I am also surprised it runs that fast.

Remember revs cost money, it's relative cheap running at 7500rpm, at 8500 you better be sure of the parts - no factory cast rods or pistons here -, 9500, well that's another story - and a big bank roll -.

If you port your own stuff, how about porting the Jr.