Well, I have been thinking about this for a while. I currently have a 1977 355 Chevy in my Cutlass, and am wondering if it would be beneficial to upgrade from my current Edelbrock Performer intake to a Performer RPM. I want to keep good hood clearance as I like my L69 Camaro dual snorkel air filter housing with a LG4 Monte Carlo lid on it, and my factory aluminum hood. I also run a Quadrajet for a number of reasons, one of which is it's low profile design. Will a Performer RPM still fit under the hood with this combo? I could also sacrifice a little low RPM torque for some top end, as it has almost too much off idle right now, and loves to roast the tires. Is it worth the money to buy a new intake for the extra benefits, or should I just stick with what I have? The engine combo is listed in my sig, but I will list it again here with the complete cam specs. 1977 350 Chevy .030 over with Badger cast flat top 4 eyebrow pistons, cast crank, cast rods, 2 bolt mains, World Products S/R Torquer Heads with 2.02/1.60 valves, Edelbrock TES headers and Y pipe (L69 305 HO model), Comp Cams Magnum roller tip 1.52:1 ratio rockers, 1979 Chevy 350 van Quadrajet with air valve modified to 750 cfm, Comp Cams XE 262H-14 hydraulic flat tappet cam: .464/.470 lift, 262/270 @.006 lift, 218/224 @ .050 lift, 114 deg. LSA, int. open @ 19 BTDC and closes @ 62 ABDC; exhaust opens @ 70 BBDC, closes @ 19 ATDC. Ignition is a GM HEI with a MSD module with a built in rev limiter, MSD plug wires and a ACCELL coil. The compression ratio is approximately 9.5:1 (according to the machine shop that put it together initially). If anyone has a good sim program to put this all in and play with the 2 manifolds, I would appreciate it. My program (Dyno 2000) only has a generic dual plane and no way to account for actual flow bench numbers with intake manifolds.
I am also considering a different oil pan with a windage tray, and am wondering if there is a good one out there that will work without machine work, or using main studs? I was told that I could not install the old factory Z-28 style setup without using main studs and that would throw off the tolerances in the line bore. Is that true? Is there another one that does not require me to touch the mains which also will fit the factory style exhaust crossover between the pan sump and front suspension crossmember? I use the car for corner burning, and would like to add some extra oil control in the corners as well as gaining some power from windage control. I do not have the ground clearance to run a deep sump pan as the car is lowered and the pan would likely smack bottom when I am driving it hard on bumpy roads, over railroad tracks, or speed bumps. Oh, and I also run the factory oil cooler setup including the adapter from a 1989 9C1 police Caprice 350 right now as well. I say this because it drops the oil filter down about 2 inches, and I like to run a C/K pickup oil filter because of it's larger capacity too.
I am also considering a different oil pan with a windage tray, and am wondering if there is a good one out there that will work without machine work, or using main studs? I was told that I could not install the old factory Z-28 style setup without using main studs and that would throw off the tolerances in the line bore. Is that true? Is there another one that does not require me to touch the mains which also will fit the factory style exhaust crossover between the pan sump and front suspension crossmember? I use the car for corner burning, and would like to add some extra oil control in the corners as well as gaining some power from windage control. I do not have the ground clearance to run a deep sump pan as the car is lowered and the pan would likely smack bottom when I am driving it hard on bumpy roads, over railroad tracks, or speed bumps. Oh, and I also run the factory oil cooler setup including the adapter from a 1989 9C1 police Caprice 350 right now as well. I say this because it drops the oil filter down about 2 inches, and I like to run a C/K pickup oil filter because of it's larger capacity too.
