Hello,

I was checking out your site and I love it. It's a great site. I had a question for you that, even if you cannot answer it, perhaps you can point me in the right direction.

I have a 1970 Monte Carlo I want to build up for Street drags. I already have some things in mind for what I want to do, but my ultimate goal is to get a 10-second car, but nothing higher than 12.00.

I want to do this keeping the 350 c.i. engine it has in it right now. I've already thrown an Erson Cam, but so far that's all I've done. My other plans are to rebuild the Edelbrock Q jet I have for it, convert it from direct drive to an electric fan to free up more horses. I have a set of camel hump 202 heads I plan to port and polish. Hooker headers, dual Flowmaster and the best intake I can find.

I'm currently on the lookout for an M-22 Rock Crusher Manual 4-speed transmission. I'd like to get at least a 12-second car without a turbocharger, supercharger or nitrous. I'll add one of the three to get the extra seconds if necessary. I plan to run 393 gears (posi of course) and I'm going to convert the ignition system over to MSD to handle higher performance fuel.

Running hi performance fuel with the configuration I am talking about, would it be possible to pull this off with a 350 and if, if not, please give me any recommendations to what I can do to make it happen.

Thank you so much for your time.

Sparticus

Dear Mr. Monte Carlo,

Thanks for supporting DRO and thanks for your questions.

The 1970 Monte Carlo is a great car, unfortunately, it is a little on the heavy side. But, being an old Super Stock racer, I understand your plight. If my calculations are correct, you will need a minimum of 500 horsepower to propel your car to the 10-second range. This can be obtained with your 350 c.i. engine, but you will have to rub on it a little.

I suggest that you go through your short block and make sure it will handle the hp. You need aftermarket rods, forged pistons, good rings and bearings, and a balance job.

Your cylinder heads are a good choice. I recommend that you angle mill them to raise the compression. If you use flat top pistons, you'll want somewhere between 11.5:1 and 12:1.

As far as camshaft, a roller is the way to go, although I have made this kind of hp with a flat tappet cam, which is more economical. You will need something in the 600-plus lift range. You'll want roller rockers, of course.

The 4-speed transmission is a lot of fun, but can be inconsistent and hard on parts. You will probably need a little more gear and will definitely need some form of traction device to help move the weight.

You will definitely need to run race gas and the Q-jet will work fine, but it too will need a little TLC.

This sounds like a fun project. Good luck.

Scott

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