Alright, I need some info on the various types of intake mani's and headers from Nicson,Hedman, Clifford, etc-what works, what doesn't, etc. I'm also curious about headwork and if a noticeable jump in hp is achieved. I have the tech sheet on the GM 235-6 and it states the hp at 135?!? My wife's Scion has more ponies and it weighs less..I need more power, damn it
[ QUOTE ] Get some Fenton Headers and split manifold [/ QUOTE ] ???????? are there 2 sets of exhaust ports or what? idk what he meant, but if you split your own manifold, do it so 4 go to one header and 2 go to the other, youll LOVE the sound with straight pipes, or gl***packs
Sure, you only have 135 HP (If yer lucky) but look next that that and find the torque rating! I've heard good things about placing a Clifford 4 barrel intake and splitting the exhaust, but just remember, you only have 3 intake ports and 4 exhaust, and you also have a long stroke!
For headers, I'm going with Fentons on mine. Patrick's has reproductions, and originals come up on eBay pretty frequently. I have heard that some 'finessing' is necessary to get the reproductions to fit perfectly. I don't think the Clifford headers are set up for manifold heat like Fentons are, but it would be easy to fix that. There are also some tube headers you can get at Night Prowlers, but I don't really know much about those. Vintage headers besides Fentons are pretty hard to come by. As far as intakes go, most people recommend some sort of means of heating to keep the fuel atomized. The commonly available Offy and Edelbrock intakes are set up for exhaust heat. I'm pretty sure Cliffords are set up to use water heat. Vintage intakes vary. I have a McGurk triple and a Cyclone double with no heat setup. Edmunds are usually water-heated. Fenton, Thickstun, Tattersfield, Nicson and McGurk all made exhaust-heated intakes. Some intakes were made for the 216/early 235, and have smaller ports. I understand that they can usually be bored out to fit the later 235/261. As far as head work goes, porting/polishing/milling will give increases in performance, but most of what I've read indicates that the expense is not worth the gain. You're probably just as well off getting the (relatively) high-compression '848' head (last 3 digits of head casting are 848; compression ratio of 8.5:1). A good 3/4 cam (Clifford and Howard's have them, off the top of my head) will also wake up the 235. If you really want more power, you can step up and drop five grand on a Wayne head. You can supposedly squeeze 1hp per cubic inch out of a 235 with one of those.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=34203&item=2490046120&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW found this-will it work? Is the price about right?
As far as the exhaust is concerned, i bought a split factory manifold off crestliner on here. He has someone split them, 4-2..and it sounds sweet! As far as the performance gain's, i'm not sure. It's gotta be better than the single pea-shooter. I've also talked to a few guy's running modified 235's, and they said than a small 4 barrel will make nice power.. Although, even though they had run the single 4, they all changed back to minti-single set up's. Mainly for the look's department.. When i do mine, i'll do the typical go fast stuff you'd do to one..But i'm more interested in reliability and being able to keep a steady 70 mph on the highway than light to light blasting.. 'low and slow' Rat..
Low and slow is right! Is it just me, or is most of the "performance" of the 6 lost in the gears behind it? Deke
I have similair concerns about flywheel versus ground hp. I've always felt that not enough time or money goes into rod's suspension set-ups, and due to wheel hop/loss of traction/etc many horses run free (that sounded very Native American, huh?) That's why I say slam it, slam it, slam it, screw airbags(sorry I want to lose weight; compressors are like putting Mr.T rope chains on Riki Lake-flashy, yes, but heavy as hell )
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