Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

Having a virgin block helps. Maybe you know where it came from, or the tear down will tell you what kind of life it has led. I went to the shop and looked, and all of the blocks I have used are 509s. My builds are similar to what you propose and I beat them pretty hard. Scat rods, Hyper pistons, sto...

Hard cornering, hard acceleration, hard braking, or any combination can get the oil up on the crank. Once there, it tends to pull more up via surface tension. One G of force will put the oil at a 45 degree angle in the pan. I don't use anything in my daily driver stuff, but the effects of not adress...

This stuff can be application dependent, but windage issues can easily eat 25 hp. That doesn't mean you will have a problem.

Always make a cleanup cut on the deck before any machine work, always bore and hone with a deck plate. The holes for the head bolts are really close to the cylinder walls, distortion is a more significant issue than with a 4" bore. Head studs are a good idea for this application, be carefull to...

It's a street car, it will spin the tires no matter whose heads you use. If drag strip times are more of a consideration, then maybe you can worry about making more power. Are you sure you need longer valves? Check the geometry before you spend the money.

I did this a few years ago for the same reason, valves were sunk. The result wasn't much because of the way the guides are done from the factory. The valve seat ends up deeper than you think to form the seat. It comes out better if the guides are repaired with a K-line repair. The gain or loss can b...

The 882 has a huge casting intrusion in the exhaust port. I just can't imagine this not reducing flow. I think I remember reading it was there to somehow help emissions. Every used 882 head I have seen had at least one burned or cracked exhaust valve.

Maybe some here will differ, but it would seem to me from looking at an 882 exhaust port, almost anything would flow better.

I guess I didn't type this right, The high pressure Carter pump and Holley regulator have not been installed. My thinking was to raise pressure and take the spikes out with the regulator. Maybe the needle and seat don't mind, but its bothers me watching the pressure gauge bounce 5 pounds.

If I buy a product in this country, an American made money on it regardless of country of origin. If the parts are less expensive, it leaves more cash in my wallet to buy more. Nearly everyone wants more, it's the American way.

My engine is a 412 sbc and I am running in the low 11 sec range with a 3310-1 Holley. I am working on going faster, and this usually means more fuel. Larger solid roller cam, bigger intake, bigger carb, etc. The fuel lines appear to be 3/8", so I don't see this being a problem yet. Running pump...

How much pressure is adequate to keep the fuel bowls full under full load? The car runs fine, but a recently installed Auto Meter gauge shows 4 psi all the way down the track. The pump is a stock type sbc, and at low rpm the pressure is bouncing the needle pretty high, over 8 psi. I have been told s...

Good stuff if you use QJs on your driver. Searching for late 70's carbs, I came across a carb for a 305 with a 2.29:1 rear axle............

If your car still has the stock 20 mph bumpers you can lose well over a hundred pounds easy. My '78 Skylark is similar in many respects. The bumpers have a thin chrome cover over a massive steel and with shock absorbers attatched to them. I unbolted the steel chrome bumper skin and re-attatched them...

A 353 engine with a 72 CC head and a flat top piston .020" in the hole will be well below 10:1, probably closer to 9.