engine kinda floats around redline

[adumb]

What heads are you running? If there stock that could be the problem, along with what the other guys are saying. My 400 has edelbrock heads, the cam that i used to have had 310 degrees adv. duration and 525 lift. Oh and the supercharger. It will rev as high as i want it to but power starts to fall off around 5500 and i shift by 6000.

yes stock heads. ive been wanting new aftermarket heads for a while. budget is not allowing yet. i was looking at dart eagle irons last year. how are those edelbrocks though?

and 85, that doesn't sound too bad. i think i will be aiming for that msd.

i guess i should invest in another gov. recal kit and try to lower my redline down a bit. i am noticing that 5,400 would prob be ideal for my set up right now. although that may be a small operating range once i get my 2k stall on there.

man, isn't it amazing how no matter how much time you spend and money you invest.... a car is never done?

 

[pontiacgp]

For an ugrade, I would just buy the MSD HEI distributor you can get for (I think) $150 through Summit. By the time you buy a module, cap, rotor, advance curve kit for mechanical, an adjustable vacuum advance, and a high output coil for your old GM distributor, you could have had the MSD for cheaper. Now, this is not from personal experience just yet, but it is in my plans for the future as I need more initial timing and less total mechanical advance, and this setup was the cheapest and easiest way I found to get that and all new parts.

for a performance distributor one from a ZZ4 motor is a better deal than a chinese msd

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ZZ4-CHEV ... 0006r12550

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

MSD is made in China now? Dammit. Is there nothing left that isn't made by the pseudo-commies of the Far East? I will say though that I like the MSD because it is more adjustable with easy to change out parts. I want to be able to tailor my timing curve to my needs, something I don't think the ZZ4 distributor offers without a change of parts. Plus, isn't the ZZ4 unit just a stock GM one? If so, it would still need to be upgraded with better electronics to do what I need. I will probably still used the MSD unit, even though I am not happy about it's nation of origin.

 

[adumb]

i've been doing some reading. a stock hei should be capable up to 6k rpms. the only thing i noticed is that i should add a vacuum advance. i believe its mechanical right now. also i did look at doing the fuel pump. theres a summit brand one for under $50. i'll probably go with that. i am also mostly looking at new heads. i am looking at summit. i am seeing some good options in the $500 range. i am curious as to what i should be looking for in the intake clume and the combustion chamber volume. any help? i'm looking to run it between 2,000 - 6,000 when i do get on it.

 

[adumb]

I'm thinking about these heads.

RHS Cylinder Heads

 

[gs dewd]

would lean toward not enough fuel andwrong heads. Also what gear are you running in the rear? The mcss I just bought is running 3.73 gears with the stock 305 and it pulls good to 6k without any problems. But everything in the motor is stock so it is pretty balanced on fuel, head flow and such. If you are running a high (numericly low) rear then it may poop out because it is taking longer to reach the higher rpms.

 

[adumb]

would lean toward not enough fuel andwrong heads. Also what gear are you running in the rear? The mcss I just bought is running 3.73 gears with the stock 305 and it pulls good to 6k without any problems. But everything in the motor is stock so it is pretty balanced on fuel, head flow and such. If you are running a high (numericly low) rear then it may poop out because it is taking longer to reach the higher rpms.

i am now running a 3.42 gear in the back.

 

[adumb]

also, i was just thinking about this. when i did the gov. recal kit, we were test driving it each new spring and weight set up and we were hitting the 5,800 rpm's with no problem, that was a couple years ago. since then i have done the B&M shift kit and added 3.42 gears. would the shift kit affect my gov recal? it doesn't shift earlier, it just kinda levels off and i was watching it yesterday, seems closer to 4,900 - 5,100 rpm that it starts floating,