SBC350 w/cam..idealish stall?

[1lowmonte]

I have an 85 Monte..I just dropped in a crate 350, stock heads, cc xe268 cam w/ lifters, edelbrock performer intake, edelbrock 600cfm carb, headers to 2.5 inch dual flowmasters dumped, TH350, and 8.5 w/3.73s out back..Now, the car runs great but when i get on it its not as snappy as I would have thought. :? I figured w the gearing in the rear I'd be able to light em up no prob but that's not the case. Im looking to change out the convertor to one w a stall to get me in the meat or at least start of the powerband im missing on take off. I have some vortec heads on deck Id be looking to add in the mix in the future to beef things up, I'm just a little strapped for cash for the head work and diff intake Id need. Ill get around to calling a couple TC spots to get their take but im looking for past/present experience on stalls w this common set up Im running. I was thinking of a 2500/2600 stall but Ive read of people running 2800. I dont want to over do it ya know..My ride is a daily driver and sees city driving once in a while ill jump on the highway.

 

[richp85elco]

i say 2400-2600 with a transmission cooler for all around performance, that cam should make good torque and power at that range.. i think a 2800 would be be slipping too much for a daily and more for track performance

 

[j17_mia]

2500 stall should be perfect for your setup

 

[DoubleV]

You're probably overcammed, depending on what your actual CR is. Also, if you didn't degree your cam then that could be your problem right there.

Now assuming you have your cam degreed properly and you have the CR to support it, then a converter can really wake it up. As long as you go with a QUALITY converter, then you can easily go 2800+ even in a daily driver, but a dyno would really help you find out what you'd need.

With that being said I think that cam is too big for a daily driving 350.

 

[1lowmonte]

Thanks for the all the input, when i first installed the engine and transmission I went ahead and installed a trans cooler ahead of time, figured it wouldnt hurt lol, but thanks for the heads up richp85elco...and DoubleV thanks for the info as well, i was origionally looking at around a 2500 stall to keep things realistic, just wanted some other peoples take on it.. I'm looking at the B&M 2400 holeshot convertor- stalling to 2300-2500 rpm. On Jegs puts me around $300 which is around what I'd like to spend, Id prob even go a little over $400. Any recommendations on TC manufacturer/brand? Im not just trying to buy the name..thanks again

 

[crotchss]

I've ran B&M's, TCI's, ACC's, Hughes, and Redneck's all with good luck. My converter of choice is the brand I run now and have had great luck and performance with it, it's a Vigilante converter from Precision Industries. But it was $775 and that is more than you want to pay and I don't blame you. If I could have found one to hold up for less I would have, but I have been extremely happy and impressed with it. I would say that a 2600 stall or so would b perfect, then slap on some vortecs and wake that baby up. She'll run a lot better and pick up probably 40hp

 

[86-blk442]

I agree with DoubleV.

I run a TCI Streetfighter on my 350 olds. It claims to be a 3000 stall but in reality it stalls higher than that behind my motor. I have a similar combo to yours with the exceptions being my cam (280H) and compression (about 10.25), other than that I run a rev/man th350, and 8.5 3.73 rear and I daily drive the car with no problems at all. With a cooler and Derale cooling pan I've never seen transmission temps over 170ish, and its not unbearable to drive 30 mph or highway speeds its pretty normal until you lay into it.

 

[Dennyboy]

2500 is pretty streetable. my buddy daily's a 3800! haha. Ive ran jegs converters in my mud trucks and other cars and have all held up really well. I just put a TCI converter in my cutlass the first one was all ready broken but the new one works well now. I had an old K10 with 44's running a sbc 350/350 with 500 ft lbs. with a 3800 stall so much fun and never had a problem with the jegs converter.