Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

I just whipped out a vortec head to see. It takes a 5/16" external pipe plug socket. I used a snap-on PPM410 and it fit fine. And yes, by all means use the hot wrench if it's stuck. And for anyone who gets stuck working with pipe plugs, the right sockets pretty much eliminates the twisting or b...

73 jet, 5.0 power valve from the factory.

If by pure stock, you're referring to a racing class, does the class require fuel be purchased at the track? And how much if any ethanol is in the mix?

I know early on (in the 80's), I was intimidated by the high prices of the Kent Moore crimpers. The dealership(s) that I worked at had a plethora of different K-M crimpers available for various terminals, but like many mechanics, I wanted my own. I tried a bunch of different pairs of name brand crim...

If you're crimping the open barrel terminals, the Aptiv/Delphi/Kent Moore 12085271's are the crimpers that you want. Accept no substitute. I learned my lesson decades ago. https://www.tti.com/content/ttiinc/en/apps/part-detail.html?partsNumber=12085271&mfgShortname=DCS&utm=ga-shop1&gad_s...

I used gold on the harness for my own car. In automotive manufacturing, the only place you (usually) see gold is on airbags. Astro M22520/1 crimper for closed barrel crimps. Something like this. https://www.ebay.com/itm/126200690671?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110018%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.COMPLI...

If the referenced "327 FI head" is assumed to be a stock 461 or 462, we know that those flow ~210 cfm @ 28" H2O.

I thought the male terminals went into the female receptacles. The sockets went into the flush male receptacles. I've never tried the other way because I nearly always had a previous sample connector at my disposal. FWIW. I like this wiring tutorial a lot, even though they focus on motorcycles. And ...

Running the fuel all the way to the front to get to the regulator before it gets sent back to the tank just adds unnecessary heat. Put the regulator right after the pump outlet, that way the only heat added to the fuel is from the pump itself. Even a stock eliminator car will pull enough g's to sta...

Or just bring it into the 20th century with a digital setup from Digi Dix. Or make your own starting with something like this.

https://www.amazon.com/Rotary-Encoder-R ... B00DS9IHHS

Accurate to 0.1 deg.

I went this route a few years ago and I doubt that I'll ever go back.

Olds "C" head off of an earlier big block, if you can find them. Otherwise an "A" head.

The small block heads don't flow as good as the big block heads. (They all bolt up to the same block, btw.)

Any theories on why lb ft/cu in has been creeping up over the decades? I have my theory that one thing, more than anything else, has raised the bar; reduced friction. From skinny rings, coatings, smaller bearing journals, the overall friction has been reduced significantly. The first time I turned o...

The Bon Ami recipe might have changed in years gone by and might not even loosely resemble the original product. I do remember the old timers in my shop commenting on and admitting to using Bon Ami to help the rings seat. And it seems the factory would let them do it, being that the alternative was ...

If the acetone or lacquer thinner didn't remove it, it's likely something silicone based. Use Prepsol or Isopropyl alcohol to remove it.

Nope. Not where we raced. 1/2 mile and bigger paved asphalt tracks. Like I said, you can’t argue with real results.

We used to see the carbon a lot on the old smog engines. We had a theory that the egr did something to contribute to the problem because when you pulled off the intake, the carbon trail started at the egr passages and carried right through to the intake ports. In any case, when efi became more commo...