My car was originally a WA car(Poland area), so it’s cool to see folks from up there comment on my thread. I appreciate your compliments. 4 doors never get the love, but gotta say they have a certain appeal.
Well, thought I’d update y’all on the manifold situation. Turns out, the Performer I bought was indeed cracked. The guy had cleaned it up and painted it to cover the crack. I had a misfire developand checked literally everything. Thought it was the intake gasket under the manifold. When I went to torque the Performer back down, the crack showed up. I was pissed, to say the least. Who sells a broken part as good? (I know plenty of people do). So, the Tarantula is going back on for now. Gotta get a new thermostat rod made though because I cut the other one down to fit the dual plane. Oh the joys of hot rodding.
The crack is located on the front p***enger side water jacket. I had originally thought I had a head gasket leak because of the build up on plug 2 it was causing. The crack is so close to the bolt head that I thought I was getting coolant leaking from the bolt hole. Once I torqued it and saw it open up, I saw what the issue was. Honestly, having it welded would cost more than finding another one.
I had a '57 with original 265 and 3-speed. I put a early Torker and Holley on it and lost all torque at low speed. I replaced it with a 300hp 327 cast iron intake and Edelbrock 500 cfm carb. It was the right combo for the engine and ran really well around town and highway. The 300 hp 327 manifold worked well on my 265 and probably better on your 283.
I thought about going with a cat iron intake, but some of my car friends here in Phoenix advised against i . We get really hot here, especially this time of year, and my friends who have cast iron manifolds have experienced vapor lock because of it. One buddy has a '57 Chevy with a 283 and cast iron manifold(very similar setup to my motor internally) and he is having that problem right now. So, we all decided to go aluminum to make summer driving doable.
I know that you're building on a budget...I get that. But here's a thought, sell the Tarantula and use the money to buy an aluminum dual plane (even new, they aren't that expensive...but I too comb swap meets and craigslist for used cheap treasure). If you put the Turantula back on temporarily until you find another dual plane, you'll be into it for yet another set of intake gaskets. Between the money from the sold Turantula and that 3rd set of intake gaskets, you pretty much have the cost of another dual plane covered. Good luck with your project either way. https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/pts/d/tempe-sbc-intakes/6886847018.htmlhttps: https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/pts/d/chandler-edelbrock-intake-manifolds/6930437674.html
You can use block off shims and block the heat p***age under the carb on a cast iron intake. I once bought a LT1 Z28 intake that was badly cracked for $10 I took it to a place that makes aluminum storm doors and windows. A guy who worked there welded it on his lunch break for $5. I ran that intake on 283's bored 60 with 194 double humps and 30-30 cams. Used a carter AVS from a 440 Chrysler. If I jumped the throttle too quick I got a bog for just a second. I had really quiet mufflers. when it caught the intake noise it made was pretty dang loud. Had it in a 63 chevy short bed with 430 rear gears.
I am considering a similar venture for the 305 in my avatar. A while ago I ran across this article and made some notes. Not exactly a cheap option as at some point it is cheaper to just do a crate motor. Prices might be a bit dated http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/engines-drivetrain/1412-how-to-mod-a-305-with-bolt-ons-add-168-rwhp $550 Trick Flow Specialties Super 23 aluminum heads, PN TFS-30310001 $104 Summit Racing flat tappet grind, featuring 0.444/0.466-inch lift, 288/298-degree advertised duration, 112-degree lobe separation, and a basic rpm range of 1,600-5,200 kit with tappets $36 Summit Racing dual true roller timing set, PN SUM-G6600-9. $150 Summit Racing Street & Strip Stage 1 dual-plane intake, PN SUM-226012. $289 Summit Racing Street & Strip 600-cfm vacuum secondary carb, PN SUM-M08600VS. $ ? Summit Racing 110-gph (gallons per hour) high-flow mechanical fuel pump, PN SUM-250020-1. $? ProForm high-volume polished aluminum water pump, PN 67264, $? ARP Racing stainless water pump bolt set, PN 430-3201. $? Comp Cams’ ZDDP-enhanced break-in oil, PN 1590.
Ok, update time. I found a couple of aluminum intakes on CL, but they sold by the time I found them. I went by a hot rod builder on Saturday and asked if having a cat iron intake would indeed be an issue with heat soak. He told me he has never heard any hot rodder he in the Phoenix area complain about that issue, and that if u have the 1/4" felt spacer under my qjet that I should not have that problem. Since my motor of fairly mild, I'm thinking about getting a cheap cast manifold and getting it cleaned up on a hot tank. The only real upgrade to the motor was the 601 casing heads to bump compression. The cam is a mild street cam, so what do y'all think? I can get a cat iron manifold food under $50. If I can get out hot tanked for $20/$25, then it might be worth it.
First off, I apologize for being a needy *******...ha! Was talking to a friend and he mentioned that the highest compression heads demand a higher flowing intake than stock cast iron. Makes no sense to me though since many stock 305s came with cast intakes, right?
I figured as much. I couldn't understand why he thought I'd need a better flowing manifold. Just found out I may have a line on a freebie. Fingers crossed.
I believe Chevy used an aluminum intake under the Q-jets on the eighties Monte Carlo SS cars. Nothing fancy, just a copy of the cast iron manifold used on earlier cars. Should be inexpensive.
Lots of those old aluminum Qjet intakes were made. Should be easy to find . Was that 283 from a 4 door ? Sorry had to .
Ok guys, I finally got a manifol . Found this gem for $20. Got didn't know much about it ad out came of his dad's car, but it looks solid. He ground the casting number off because he was going to polish it, but then went another direction. I just have to clean some rust from the plenum and water ports, but most of the oxidation looks very minor. Going to soak in vinegar for a week and get it all clean. I'll then mount her up. Patience pays off they say.
^^^^At least it's not an "EGR" intake with all the extra **** you'd have to block off; then it still looks like ****^^^^. Also, make sure you have the smaller size of the Quadrajet's since it's going on a 283; you don't need an 800 plus CFM Quadrajet, although those carburetors tend to be "self limiting" to a degree, and you might not even notice anything different between the 2 sizes. Still have't gotten to the bottom of the "theft" of the Performer/Quadrajet I had, but I will! Be sure to use the correct gaskets for the heads you're using; 350 gaskets may not seal ideally with 283 heads with small ports. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Hey Butch. I have the 750 cfm qjet, so I should be good. I learned the lesson about the gaskets the hard way once before, so I'm definitely on that. Hopefully the vinegar works its magic and I'm good to go.
Evap-O-Rust, although more expensive than vinegar, will work a lot better and much faster. Harbor Freight carries it also. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
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