Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

Even 10+ years ago, at least some Holley/Weiand intake manifold castings were made in China, and possibly finished in the USA. I bought an 8150 SBC manifold that fit well, but the topside casting finish was terrible. Looked like someone had tried to clean up a fairly large area with a die grinder! A...

I got a great deal at a local parts store on a new Holley Street Avenger 770. It fired right up out the box. Idled at 1200 during warm up and down to 750 after the choke opened. I bumped the idle speed up along with the fuel pressure to 7 psi and it’s a runner now! No more bog off idle or at WOT. S...

Any further adjustment to idle air flow to get the transition slot exposure right (if needed) is done thru the PCV valve flow rate.. Where he had the timing before, yup an issue. Are you saying idle vacuum was not enough to suck his PCV valve closed? Would one from an earlier hi-po engine like a so...

Any chance your transfer slots are fully (or mostly) exposed at idle? That's always been a problem when using Edelbrock Performer carbs with big cams. Unlike a Holley, there's no way to crack open the secondaries to increase idle speed, allowing you to close the primaries enough to cover all but abo...

I have used this GM timing set on several roller cam blocks with zero issues. No, it's not a whiz-bang double roller, but it's not your father's SBC timing set either. And it's good enough for many of the high performance crate engines. https://www.gmperformancemotor.com/parts/12371043.html https://...

I was also told that Lowe’s will be going to an all Craftsman lineup, and that Craftsman is building a new facility in Ft. Worth, Texas and all their tools will be once again made in the USA. It's great to see Stanley/Black & Decker building a Craftsman hand tool plant in the USA! What a nice c...

Answers to above questions/suggestions:
• Heads are not milled, but block is decked .020”.
• Vortec heads/manifold do not use a center bolt.
• Oil leak is not from valve cover gasket.

NovaForNow – so your leak was due to the head gasket?

Thanks for all the tips. Think Ill try the air pressure/soap bubble test. That's a great idea!

BTW, heads are brand new GM Vortec 062, intake gasket is GM 89017465, head gasket is GM 14096405, .028”, composition.

Valley ends are sealed with hi-temp RTV.

I have a minor oil leak that originates from the junction of intake manifold, head, and block on the pass side front. Oil does NOT run down the front of the block, but rather on the block deck, if that makes sense. It then turns at the bottom of the head and makes a journey rearward along the block/...

As for gasket thickness, the 350 deck was cut .020" as I recall. Heads haven't been touched.

Would like to hear recommendations for intake manifold gaskets to fit GM "062" Vortec heads and Weiand 8121 Street Warrior manifold.

Do yourself a favor don't go into the future kicking and screaming about things you are in many cases so ill informed in. Take off your tunnel vision googles and walk in with your head up, your yes open and embrace crazy things like penicillin, x-rays, space rockets, computers, and EV's. I think th...

As you guys can see, I don't often post on Speed Talk, and it's mostly when I have question for the real ICE pros. However, I have comments on a few points discussed in this thread. 400 mile range in a 5800 pound pickup? Have to wonder under what ideal circumstances that will happen. And at least 10...

It's not uncommon on other forums to see threads about where cams & lifters are made. So my questions for those of you in the know are: Does Camshaft Machine Company still cast their cores in the USA? And are there other companies that do it? Which companies actually grind their own cams? (I'm a...

They are now happy as hell, and they almost never ran it, just because it idled too smoothly for their liking. Funny that so many folks judge a cam's performance by the idle. Heck, some of them probably wouldn't be happy with a 500-650 HP LS engine because it idled smoothly. Mike, you ground a Chev...