Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

My former boss passed away yesterday, massive heart attack. They are trying to rule it COVID-19 as he had the antibodies from having it last month. Shameful! No, not shameful. "THEY" are the front line health workers, risking their own lives in the fight to save others. "THEY" are the real experts ...

My former boss passed away yesterday, massive heart attack. They are trying to rule it COVID-19 as he had the antibodies from having it last month. Shameful!

Paul

You can get 18 degree heads bare for under $700 Each right now at Jegs. I would do that and skip the time spent on trying to weld heads and fighting that mess. I would then invest my time in welding up my own custom intake. A good 18 degree head and a proper intake will make way better power than so...

With titanium rotors you either need to have them coated or use specific pad compounds. Being that they don’t dissipate the heat away it has a big impact on how it affects the pads.

Paul

My guess is that 95%+ race cars do not have optimized brake systems and that bolt on after market products make matters worse rather than better. I could shake your hand right now! Oh how true. As a brake testing specialist I agree that most aftermarket kits screw more up than fix. “But it has to b...

Many years ago, I had a conversation with an OME engineer who was pissed he had to add rear disc brakes just to satisfy marketing. He said, "We've tested it and on a stock FWD under racing conditions, the rear brakes are just along for the ride. The weight transfer is such, it's difficult to keep t...

I have seen conflicting info on the Gen 6 blocks. Some places say they have a machined fuel pump mounting boss and others don’t. If I were in your shoes the fuel pump thing would be an issue as well, so I get it. If they do have one then I know what I will be building when I have to do an engine for...

This is a crazy idea, so bare with me. If I were in your shoes I might look for a gen 6 454 core. The cost of the core might make getting the crank and rods for a 496 out of reach, but what you do get is everything for a hydraulic roller at a much lower cost than retrofit stuff. If you used the cran...

Cut the seats to angles I normally use and cut back the head bolt hump on the divider, that's it. They flowed 402 @.700 on the good port. I was very surprised at how good those heads looked and performed for the price, usually cheaper heads don't flow anywhere near advertised and look like crap. Th...

Or cut .1875 off the deck of your block. Better to do new pistons in my opinion.

Paul

Yep, as long as your deck height is the same as the manifold casting , and they are both rectangle port. The ones I have seen were rectangle port, I am just not sure if they did an oval port intake or not. As always, buyer must do their own homework and inspection.

Paul

Well I fired up my electric grinder a couple nights ago and was just going to try a few seconds of grinding to see how tuff porting can be without a speed control. I installed a 1/4x4" carbide in the chuck, hit the on button and just barely touched a scrap head. The damn thing grabbed the carbide, ...

Yes, the Gen VI heads will bolt onto Mark IV stuff. Also, ARP makes a rocker stud that bolts right in to convert to adjustable rockers. As to the flow and potential of the heads that I do not know. The Gen V heads were a little more of a sealing issue, but they fixed that for the Gen VI.

Paul

I have used the RPM and was very happy. I don’t have any other experience with others so I can’t compare them.

Paul

More information, this is a Dart block equipped SBC drag race engine on Methanol fuel. It also has a small radiator and leanout valve for warm-up. My goal is a way to warn the engine without wasted fuel, especially during the cooler season. I am in East Texas so our cooler season is short. During h...