3rd gen stuff

[bubba428]

Any body have any suggestions on how to squeeze a few more tenths out of an 86 T/A. I'm trying to get a 14.5 out of it before I do any thing major. So far with a intermitent mist fire and a 2.73 LSD rear i ended up with a 15.0 @ 90mph. not the thing is I hit my 1/8 at 71mph. I need some Ideas on how I can get more pull in the top end. Also I'm still only cutting 2.1 60' constantly no mater what rpm I launch from. I know the best way to cut that Is to drop the POS 2.73s but what else could I do. keep in mind I'm trying to get it ready by friday, and I've already started some severe WR.

[Batman]

#1 get rid of the misfire. Need more info, are you using the stock TPI? What 350 did you use for the swap? What cam is in it? Anyway a good way to drop the E/T IMO would be to grab yourself a 9 bolt rear end with 3.43 gears from a GTA. It is a pretty tough rear axle with good gearing and it is an easy bolt in. Next get a set of Drag radials if you don't ahve them already. That should net you close to .5. If the car is an auto a good stall will drop you alot also. For your top end power I really need to know what engine and intake you have.

[IROCdan330]

Any body have any suggestions on how to squeeze a few more tenths out of an 86 T/A. I'm trying to get a 14.5 out of it before I do any thing major. So far with a intermitent mist fire and a 2.73 LSD rear i ended up with a 15.0 @ 90mph. not the thing is I hit my 1/8 at 71mph. I need some Ideas on how I can get more pull in the top end. Also I'm still only cutting 2.1 60' constantly no mater what rpm I launch from. I know the best way to cut that Is to drop the POS 2.73s but what else could I do. keep in mind I'm trying to get it ready by friday, and I've already started some severe WR.

welcome sir to wide wonderful world of TPI cars! Typically, there isnt as drastic a gain from 1/8-1/4 in a lot of N/A cars, generally turbo cars are the ones who really get going. Tuned ports are known for their bottom end...you need to work on hooking if you want to gain a couple tenths. Dont slam the throttle when launching and dont launch high, launch at 1100-1200. Say to yourself "hippopotamus" as you are giving it gas during the launch, at the end of the word you should be on the floor. Also, don't do some crazy burnout with street tires on it. Yes, you need heat in them, but doing a big burnout is going to make the compound a little more greasy than sticky. Tire pressure plays a big role, too.

I'm just going to assume this is a totally stock L98 car, even though its probably a truck engine with tuned port. A tune could probably help the car out but on that note EVERYTHING else has to be mechanically sound and functioning for it to be effective. Like batman said, get rid of the misfire. Thats first and foremost. I bet a new cap/rotor, plugs/wires would do that thing some good.

dont complain about the 2.73s either, I was faster with my 305 car so you still have a lot of room for improvement. If anything, more gear will make you more likely to spin without a good tire (again, batman said get some DRs but I have no room to talk as I've never raced with them). Work on fixing the car, not making it faster right now and I bet you will pick up your time. If you spend your money on go fast parts the broken **** will end up being a bottleneck so the car's potential won't be realized. good luck.

[JSPERFORMANCE]

wow Dan what the hell kind of drug have you been taking?? You have had some pretty intelligent stuff to say lately.. :rock: :rock: Be careful, if you start making too much sense you will be labeled a jerk and no one will talk to you. :lol:

[86speediroc]

put exhaust on the car open exhaust don't always help you can burn a valve if you want to run open exhause at least put a pipe on the end of each header then paint them w/ spray paint , where ever the paint stops burning off cut the rest of the pipe off this should supply optimim back pressure and help the car run better, i've seen alot of stock to mild cars loose power and et by running open headers

[WildBillyT]

Did you already do the basics when you bought it:

1.) Plugs, wires with proper plug gap
2.) Air Filter
3.) Fuel Filter

[bubba428]

put exhaust on the car open exhaust don't always help you can burn a valve if you want to run open exhause at least put a pipe on the end of each header then paint them w/ spray paint , where ever the paint stops burning off cut the rest of the pipe off this should supply optimim back pressure and help the car run better, i've seen alot of stock to mild cars loose power and et by running open headers

its got a Flowmaster catback

[deadtrend1]

welcome sir to wide wonderful world of TPI cars!

99% sure this is a carb'ed car

[bubba428]

99% sure this is a carb'ed car

yes it is.....I posted a reply from home but for some reason it didn't post

[JerzLT1]

Dan spinning isnt an issue ive watched the car launch and it doesnt have the umph with 2.73s to spin the tires. just needs more power or better

[bubba428]

Dan spinning isnt an issue ive watched the car launch and it doesnt have the umph with 2.73s to spin the tires. just needs more power or better

yea it just dead hooked hard as hell and i sill only got a 2.1 60' out of it. now sense we're aware of the fact that the car has a carb'ed engine, is there any way to force my 3rd gear to do better??? it pulls hard as hell through 2nd gear but 1st and 3rd are dead

[IROCdan330]

oh, ****...

The fact that this is a carbed 350 that youve given us no more information about its hard to say how to make the car go faster without changing much.

Need to know what kind of cam, heads, intake base, carb size, computer controlled or completely mechanical, etc...

For all we know youre running an 8:1 smogger truck engine, so in theory you should be happy with your times.

a basic tuneup still seems like it will go really far from you. like i said cap/rotor, plugs/wires, and as was mentioned a fuel filter. You may want to check the distributor itself for correct positioning.. the car is clearly lacking power if you cut a 2.1 60' and dont spin.

[Tru2Chevy]

What transmission is in it?

- Justin

[bubba428]

oh, ****...

The fact that this is a carbed 350 that youve given us no more information about its hard to say how to make the car go faster without changing much.

Need to know what kind of cam, heads, intake base, carb size, computer controlled or completely mechanical, etc...

For all we know youre running an 8:1 smogger truck engine, so in theory you should be happy with your times.

a basic tuneup still seems like it will go really far from you. like i said cap/rotor, plugs/wires, and as was mentioned a fuel filter. You may want to check the distributor itself for correct positioning.. the car is clearly lacking power if you cut a 2.1 60' and dont spin.

It just needs plugs....I swapped the manifold and but the distributor in 180* off. so they fuel fouled.. and today she ran out of gas so I have at leas 1 thats fouled from that. Its completely mechanical. it has a Holley 670 street avenger like I said before and the basic Holley dual plane. now the thing is the 2.73 Is KILLING the car. once I hit 2nd gear I'm haulin *** but 3rd and it bogs out. As far as my timing, I'm gonna double check that and see how aggressive I can set the timing/carb to squeeze the most power out.

so far your telling me what I stated I already know, it need plugs...good job I said that already. I want to know any little tricks to squeeze a tad bit more out of it before I buy any more parts.

What transmission is in it?

- Justin

700r4

[IROCdan330]

It just needs plugs....I'm a total dousche bag and swapped the manifold and but the distributor in 180* off. so they fuel fouled.. and today she ran out of gas so I have at leas 1 thats fouled from that. Its completely mechanical. it has a Holley 670 street avenger like I said before and the basic Holley dual plane. now the thing is the 2.73 Is KILLING the car. once I hit 2nd gear I'm haulin *** but 3rd and it bogs out. As far as my timing, I'm gonna double check that and see how aggressive I can set the timing/carb to squeeze the most power out.

so far your telling me what I stated I already know, it need plugs...good job I said that already. I want to know any little tricks to squeeze a tad bit more out of it before I buy any more parts.

700r4

Actually, we've said it needs more than just plugs, and you didn't state that you knew that already, all you said was "i have a misfire." A good little trick to squeeze some more power out of the car is to be 100% sure everything is operating at it's best. Maybe you would be better off bringing it to someone to see whats going on. Theres only so much people can do online without knowing anything useful about the car.

[WildBillyT]

Actually, we've said it needs more than just plugs, and you didn't state that you knew that already, all you said was "i have a misfire." A good little trick to squeeze some more power out of the car is to be 100% sure everything is operating at it's best.

I agree with Dan. You need to set a baseline to work from with all of your current parts working up to snuff. We know now that you have an ignition problem, start with that.

[bubba428]

the car ran 15.3 with every thjing perfect...i did a few things and 15.0

[WildBillyT]

the car ran 15.3 with every thjing perfect...i did a few things and 15.0

With all due respect Bubba, if you have an intermittent misfire all is not perfect.

[johnjzjz]

keep adding 5 pounds of air in the rear tires till it spins than take out 5 and pump the fronts up to 45 lbs - add 2 deg of advance timing each pass and when it pings go back one - the carb has a spring for the secondarys on the carb for when it opens - they sell a tuner pack with different weight springs the lighter the faster the 4 bbl will open - keep changing and watch your times till it slows -- with all of this you will get a couple -- jz

[bubba428]

It just needs plugs....I swapped the manifold and but the distributor in 180* off. so they fuel fouled.. and today she ran out of gas so I have at leas 1 thats fouled from that. Its completely mechanical. it has a Holley 670 street avenger like I said before and the basic Holley dual plane. now the thing is the 2.73 Is KILLING the car. once I hit 2nd gear I'm haulin *** but 3rd and it bogs out. As far as my timing, I'm gonna double check that and see how aggressive I can set the timing/carb to squeeze the most power out.

so far your telling me what I stated I already know, it need plugs...good job I said that already. I want to know any little tricks to squeeze a tad bit more out of it before I buy any more parts.

.......read that again. before the misfire it ran a 15.3 I seafoamed it and swapped in a dual plane manifold...when I did I put the distributor in 180* off, the seafoam and timing fouled some plugs. I went to atco unknowing off the issue and ran a 15.0. I just found out the hard way my battery was shot and it runs a ton better now. I guess it didn't have sufficient juice for good spark. tomorrow I'm gonna do the plugs and finish striping the interior. so we'll see what happens.

[deadtrend1]

You got the car to run with the dizzy 180 out?? and how did you foul a plug running out of gas? I never had seafoam mess up any one my plugs ...

Aside from turning the car into a canoe, and knowing that the car is running 100%, your not going to go faster unless you spend some dough.

Get a accurate meter to see how your alt is putting out btw.

[bubba428]

You got the car to run with the dizzy 180 out?? and how did you foul a plug running out of gas? I never had seafoam mess up any one my plugs ...

Aside from turning the car into a canoe, and knowing that the car is running 100%, your not going to go faster unless you spend some dough.

Get a accurate meter to see how your alt is putting out btw.

It didn't run...I had the manifold full of seafoam and It back fired through the carb 2 times so I took it off so the power valve did get blown to hell. so it flooded on seafoam and back fired until I figured out the issue. when It started it didn't run 100% cause it sat with fuel in there over night. when it did start It back fired an I had nice fire ball come out my new cat-back. so I set the timing and tuned the carb but its not right cause its just not pulling like it should.

[IROCdan330]

It didn't run...I had the manifold full of seafoam and It back fired through the carb 2 times so I took it off so the power valve did get blown to hell. so it flooded on seafoam and back fired until I figured out the issue. when It started it didn't run 100% cause it sat with fuel in there over night. when it did start It back fired an I had nice fire ball come out my new cat-back. so I set the timing and tuned the carb but its not right cause its just not pulling like it should.

it probably doesnt "pull like it should" because the heads/cam suck and/or you aren't running a whole lot of compression.

the first gear in a 700r4 can make anything seem fast which may explain why you think it pulls there...judging by your 1/8th mile trap you are on perfect pace for a 15 second car...

[transamkid]

my 2.73 10 bolt isnt killing my t/a. my tires spin nice and easy. i have a 2.5 60ft to prove it, lol. but then again i have more power than your 350.

[bubba428]

yea it just dead hooked hard as hell and i sill only got a 2.1 60' out of it. now sense we're aware of the fact that the car has a carb'ed engine, is there any way to force my 3rd gear to do better??? it pulls hard as hell through 2nd gear but 1st and 3rd are dead

it probably doesnt "pull like it should" because the heads/cam suck and/or you aren't running a whole lot of compression.

the first gear in a 700r4 can make anything seem fast which may explain why you think it pulls there...judging by your 1/8th mile trap you are on perfect pace for a 15 second car...

do you even read what I say?

[JSPERFORMANCE]

Bubba, I think what everyone is trying to tell you is to totally cover the basics and make sure the ENTIRE VEHICLE is at 100% BEFORE you make passes down the track. Once the tune up is right, the car has no leaks, nothing is loose, etc.etc. Then you can start tuning. Set the timing to a total advance of 40 degrees and make sure it is all in by 2500 rpm. Make a pass and pull plugs after each one. Read the plugs at the top end and adjust jetting accoridigly. The idea is to change one thing at a time and keep everything a constant, this way you can tackle problems as they arise and have a clue where to start.

[IROCdan330]

do you even read what I say?

i make an attempt, and i try to make the most sense out of it but as you can see I have a hard time.

[bubba428]

Bubba, I think what everyone is trying to tell you is to totally cover the basics and make sure the ENTIRE VEHICLE is at 100% BEFORE you make passes down the track. Once the tune up is right, the car has no leaks, nothing is loose, etc.etc. Then you can start tuning. Set the timing to a total advance of 40 degrees and make sure it is all in by 2500 rpm. Make a pass and pull plugs after each one. Read the plugs at the top end and adjust jetting accoridigly. The idea is to change one thing at a time and keep everything a constant, this way you can tackle problems as they arise and have a clue where to start.

I clanged the plugs and shes running so much better...now i just ned to get the carb and timing right

[SpeedMetalT/A]

I have a 87 trans am that's an LG4. Now it has an edelbrock 650 cfm carb with a mechanical vacuum advance distributor, an edelbrock performer rpm intake and dynomax shorty headers with true duals, and I run the same time. I also can't get the car to hook right away b/c I have the skinny stock wheels and tires so you should be quicker than that with a 350.

keep adding 5 pounds of air in the rear tires till it spins than take out 5 and pump the fronts up to 45 lbs - add 2 deg of advance timing each pass and when it pings go back one - the carb has a spring for the secondarys on the carb for when it opens - they sell a tuner pack with different weight springs the lighter the faster the 4 bbl will open - keep changing and watch your times till it slows -- with all of this you will get a couple -- jz

I did my timing the same way I think this is the best way to go.

[johnjzjz]

I have a 87 trans am that's an LG4. Now it has an edelbrock 650 cfm carb with a mechanical vacuum advance distributor, an edelbrock performer rpm intake and dynomax shorty headers with true duals, and I run the same time. I also can't get the car to hook right away b/c I have the skinny stock wheels and tires so you should be quicker than that with a 350.



I did my timing the same way I think this is the best way to go.


The springs in the dist can be changed to make the advance come out faster - if you have the 3 sets it came with than swaping is another way to go -- i have ended up with cars with one spring tighter that the other like a 1/2 spring if you think of it that WAY -- its doing one change at a time like JS said - that is the key to keeping track of what works and what dont each time you make a change -- jz

[bubba428]

well after tonight I got A good idea of where I stand

[84HOtransam]

my carb 305 car ran 15.0 bone stock..sounds like you have tuning issues..just do what the two guys said about making a pass and checking the plugs and re jetting accordingly....im in the middle of this right now too..also check the timing like they said and you should be better off..

[bubba428]

What rear does your car have? 3.23s or 3.42s? I went over every thing twice. the only problem now is the alt. went. so I'm not getting a decent enough spark. last time my battery was dieing and she ran like crap.

[Tru2Chevy]

What rear does your car have? 3.23s or 3.42s? I went over every thing twice. the only problem now is the alt. went. so I'm not getting a decent enough spark. last time my battery was dieing and she ran like crap.

The majority of 3rd gen v8 cars had 2.73 rears Bubba...

- Justin

[Ian]

The majority of 3rd gen v8 cars had 2.73 rears Bubba...

- Justin

but an 84 HO Trans Am with a T5 would have 3.73's :wink:

[bubba428]

but an 84 HO Trans Am with a T5 would have 3.73's :wink:

OR it might not even be a 10 bolt

[Tru2Chevy]

OR it might not even be a 10 bolt

Yes it would....9 bolts didn't come into the game until later.

- Justin

[BonzoHansen]

Yes it would....9 bolts didn't come into the game until later.

- Justin

1985

[bubba428]

wasn't paying attention to the S/N

[84HOtransam]

car had 3.73 open rear...with the 305,did the free mods from TGO on the CC carb, edelbrock headers, hooker exhaust, new clutch and no air cleaner the car went 14.3@93...blew the rear got a 9in 4.30's with a locker, some suspension work, junkyard 350, switched to mechanical dizzy and carb, went 13.40 @105... all of that has occured over the past 4 years..now im still working out some bugs with the motor and not sure what my next plan is..

gears are a huge improvment..but i can tell you that having the best rear in the world doesnt mean a thing when i cant get the engine to pull great through the rpm range..

[bubba428]

well the T-5 helped I'm sure I have a cat-back on it now. The next mod is LT headers and some decent tires...those damn 215s spin all freakin day at the line, hard as hell to hook up

[JerzLT1]

they didnt spin when i was at the track and you went 15.0....

[bubba428]

not at all....and that was also my best 60' time. BUT I launched it just right and I had a bit more left than i do now. my tires are spent and now with the 3.42s there's no way she'll hold on

[JerzLT1]

just take it to the track with what you have before you worry about anything else. i went 13.3 with a 1.97 60 on street tires with no suspension mods

[bubba428]

yea but your stock tires aren't 215s.....

[JerzLT1]

so why dont you do suspension and prep the chassis instead of doing headers? LCAs and Relocation brackets will go a long way along with a torque arm

[bubba428]

yup. idk exactly what the next move is yet

[deadtrend1]

so why dont you do suspension and prep the chassis instead of doing headers? LCAs and Relocation brackets will go a long way along with a torque arm

And if you want to save some cash right now, and know someone that can weld, box the stock lower control arms and panhard bar yourself. I did it before and its not all complicated, just need the tools to do so.

And also if your planning on keeping the car for awhile, get a set of SFC's installed.

[bubba428]

in time...Progress is picking up in other areas so the T/A is taking a back seat for a bit

[WayFast84]

hey bubba if you want a rebuilt 700r4 i have one with like 10 miles on it, I also have a shiftkit and 3000rpm stall, we can work something out like maybe $775obo for all which is a steal considering the stall was $425, trans was $900 and shift kit was around $125

Trans was rebuilt by cottman, shift kit is a transgo and its a tci t/c

[84HOtransam]

get some tires..they are number 1 bang for the buck in reguards to traction/suspension..