Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

ok fair enough , does a 155-170 gove an indication of engine health either way and suitability for the street? or is it all %^$£ I think that you are wanting to use cranking compression, as the only indicator of if an engine will detonate on the street, and it is not that simple. I use calculated c...

First I am not a wiz bang engine builder who claims to have it all figured out. I have built a lot of street engines and while I agree dynamic compression is not the only factor in choosing a octane fuel for an engine it is a factor, as dynamic compression goes up octane requirement go up as well, a...

I know a lot of guys that use high temp orange silicone for header gaskets and it seems to hold up well, I would think it would work just as well for your issue.

I use Valvoline VR1 in my drag car engine, and I see the same sludge when I freshen the engine. And I have seen it in other engines I have worked on, I always assumed it was from components of the oil, and additives settling out as the car sat. I never tried to see if it stuck to a magnet, and on my...

just to ask, is this computer still capable of pulling timing out with the detonation sensors? You can advance it all you want, but the real timing engine sees is dependent on what the detonation sensors are sensing and telling the computer to retard.

I build a lot of engines like you are talking a bout. Muscle cars that guys want to look period correct but run better than they did in the 60's and 70's and almost every one of them asks for a cam with a lope at idle just for the sound of it. I have a flow bench and I port my own heads. I am sure ...

I build a lot of engines like you are talking a bout. Muscle cars that guys want to look period correct but run better than they did in the 60's and 70's and almost every one of them asks for a cam with a lope at idle just for the sound of it. I have a flow bench and I port my own heads. I am sure l...

For what it is worth I built a 512 using the same block, cam approximate same size, Ohio crankshaft rotating assembly, heads were Edelbrock victor jr. with a cross ram for my NSS drag car. It ran for many seasons in a 3200lb car it ran 10.00 @ 136mph to my memory. Don't know about the clearance with...

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...

I don't believe that ford autolite two barrels had a chromate coating. I have cleaned a lot of Edelbrock ARB style carbs in it and they come out nice and shiny. Providing corrosion has not attacked the metal. The solution does not remove corrosion only dirt and grime.

Buddy dropped off a carb for a Bronco he is restoring. So I use a cheap e-bay ultrasonic cleaner and fluid from dollar general I think it is $6 a gallon, mix it 50 50 with water warm the cleaner up and here is pictures of the results. does not clean corrosion, but does excellent on dirt and varnish....

I posted a while back after doing some dynamic compression calculations involving my LT1 that on paper seemed too high. As I said I would but would be delayed in doing so, I finally was able to do my cranking compression check but, as always seems to be the case, there were some oddities while doin...

I will give my advice from the experience of others as well as myself. Aluminum has a fatigue cycle that is much shorter than cast iron. IE the reason aluminum rods have to be changed after a certain number of runs. Most companies throw around the 300 runs as a benchmark, I have gotten away with man...

For what it is worth my opinion is you just simply have to ask yourself what technology are you comfortable with and are you willing to learn a new technology. I am 68 years old, I have been building engines since a teenager in 1972, my first was a 283 sbc that the oil pickup fell off of. I simply l...

I built several 350 and 383 SBC engines with stock iron heads with a little port work, 220 duration .520 lift hydraulic roller cams that made 400 to 425 HP, with good torque curves on pump gas, idled good and owners were impressed on how they ran. some for street rods, some for jet boats.