Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

Flat top pistons in a 406 with a 64 cc chamber come out to the neighborhood of 11:1. A 75 cc chamber is around 10:1, still too much for towing. A 406 with piston having a generous dish and Vortec heads will move mountains and run on regular fuel. AFR heads are $2300.00.

You mentioned Dart 165 heads and i thought I would share some experience. With just a little pocket porting they seem to flow quite well. On a 412 inch sbc we have power over 5500 rpm. I am including a link to the original post so you can read about the suggestions. They aren't cheap, but for the mo...

You state the car to be a 1987 TPI Camaro and that would mean it has 083 TPI heads. These are a far cry from the 70s smog heads. I just sold a pair of those as cores to my machine shop for $150. They do have value. The factory valve job is terrible. They are a lightweight casting limiting how much y...

The under 6000 rpm sort of tells the story. These days it is fairly easy to buy what you need in terms of cylinder heads. There are so many options available in off the shelf stuff. You didn't specify how "odd ball" your project is. Good heads for an ancient Y block Ford can be difficult. ...

Basic stock smogger type 350 SBC, slightly bigger than stock cam, some light porting, small compression increase, already has headers. Owner insists on keeping the stock Rochester 2bbl. It's a beater farm truck...1974 C20, TH400, 3.21 gears. Owner is looking for more pulling power from idle-4000 or...

A 406 is a quantum leap above a 355. I had spun a bearing on my 406 do to a oil pressure issue. I resurrected my 355 using the heads, (034 Bowtie),Performer rpm air-gap intake, and 780 carb from the 406. Same car, gears, converter, tires etc. While thinking about making the 355 faster, I decided to ...

" I'm tempted to pick up a pair of TFS 195cc "super 23" heads" These would almost be a waste of money with a .450 lift cam. At the same rpm the 400 will need to move 14 percent more air.

For a 400 I would for sure put 1.6 rockers on it.

Could you better express and define which part of the power band you want to see an increase output at? What are the valve sizes on those 305 heads. They look small. (1.84"x1.50"). The summit CT-101 is going to add top end power 4500++rpm mostly VS your current cam. But if the heads are c...

I went back and gave a quick scan of all the pages. The only vehicle I saw was a square body pickup. That doesn't jibe with a "3165 race weight" and a "7.5 with 4.56 gears".

I don't think I would run pump gas under those conditions. AV gas might be a good solution.

In another lifetime I drag raced a 60 BelAir with a 365 hp 327 and a 4 speed. Power shifted all the gears at 7000 rpm. Absolutely a blast to drive, but I broke a lot of parts. I was told those cars, 1959-60, had a tendency to lift the rear off the ground at higher speeds. I never had mine over 140. ...

My neighbor has 2007 Corvette with a manual transmission. The engine is LS2. He gets 30 mpg at 80 mph, mileage decreases under that speed, likely because of pulling too hard in high gear.

In reference to my 69 Toronado, I sold the car to my father who eventually sold it to some guy in Europe. He later sent us a letter saying driving the autobahn in it was a life changing experience. I remember way back when all of that fastest muscle car in America mania was in all the magazines, the...

I have used several sets from Competition products with no problems.