Chevy SB questions

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ihatemyprelude

New Member
Ok i have a El camino ( original black 84 SS choo choo 3 speed auto) I love this car to death its been my side project for over 2 years now. The body was totaly roted and the frame was gone. I dont drive the car alot but when i do this damn V8 HATES to run when its cold.. it was 70 out last night when i tryed to run it. My timing is dead on. Fireing order is right. The car runs like a champ when it gets hot, The motor is fresh i put 500 miles on the car since i did a body off. My question is.. would a block warmer help me at all? remmeber the car dosnt want to start even when its 80 out. I never had this problem before.

My friend said it was my vortec heads and what i have for internals, its a 1st gen 350. Not to badly built, 650cfm holy, Vortec intake :(. Hooker headers and stright 3inch pipes. msd 6A , MSD distrib. heads were shaved and bored to 4in ( its more but i forogt) Dule core radiator with eletric fans. Holly fule pump. only running alt and water pump off pullys, eagel crank/rods/pistons. Crane cam ( forgot the lift but its a mean cam) and stock rollers that came with heads. Motor is full roller by the way. about 320-370 Hp and tourqe has to be over 400 its a mean v8 when it runs lol.

thanks for any help sorry for long post.
 
sounds like a mean build, got any pics?

and when you say it hates to run, could you be a little more specific?


ill make a new post with some pics, i have the car covered and parked at my parents house cause my aparment is in the getto lol. But when i go to start the car it will crank for 5-10 sec then sputter or some times start but i have to rev it to death and it will stall some times when iam reving it.
 
Are you sure the electric choke is working properly?

If you are having to pump it to keep it running it sounds like your choke plate may be stuck open. Are you allowing it enough time for the choke plate to fully open before you start driving?
 
um, its a used carb and i rebuilt it... maybe the choke is bad... i hate dealing with carbs... but good idea ill check that asap. thanks
 
As a general rule when you put a kick ass cam in a motor they don't idle worth shit when warm and don't idle at all when cold. Also check your choke operation, it may be pulling off to early or not setting properly.
 
What are the specs on the cam? I didn't notice anything about that in the 1st post. What is the duration/lift/lobe separation?
 
Adv. Duration: 324º/332º
Duration @ .050'': 284º/292º
Gross Lift: .775''/.723''
Centerline: 110º
RPM Range: 4800-8200


almost sure thats my cam, if not then the lift is 20 points lower.
 
Adv. Duration: 324º/332º
Duration @ .050'': 284º/292º
Gross Lift: .775''/.723''
Centerline: 110º
>RPM Range: 4800-8200<


almost sure thats my cam, if not then the lift is 20 points lower.

That is your major malfunction. I would think your going to have to set your motor up to idle in the 1500 - 2000 rpm range to get it to not die. I am assuming you are running an automatic trans with this vehicle, what stall speed is your converter?
 
Not only is that cam huge for the street but the lift exceeds the max lift for the cylinder heads you are running. What modifications have you made to the heads?

What are your plans for using the Elky? If it is drag only then the cam is fine as long as you have the compression/converter/gears to go with that cam.

If it were my personal vehicle and it was not intended for stricktly strip use I would swap in a much smaller cam. I currently run a hydraulic roller (I assume yours is a solid lifter with that much lift) cam with only about .510 @ .050." It still is supposed to produce 390 hp and 410 ft. lbs of torque @ they flywheel. With this setup I still have a 2,000 stall converter and 3.73 gears.
 
- Not sure how to edit!

I should have said exceeds the max lift for stock vortec heads as well as the modified heads as per many many performance articles.
 
Wow, I thought my cam was huge at 595. How are your brakes with that big of a cam? Did you get a supplemental booster?
 
My friend did the heads at his shop but i know he didnt make much mods to those heads just a shave and port.. then thats the wrong cam jegs dosnt have my cam i guess. i know the lift is over 500
 
Wow, I thought my cam was huge at 595. How are your brakes with that big of a cam? Did you get a supplemental booster?

i have 4 disk brakes all the way around, and the booster is a little bigger then stock but master cost me about 20$ off summit so its ok one. My brake are fine unless i give it gas lol.
 
Adv. Duration: 324º/332º
Duration @ .050'': 284º/292º
Gross Lift: .775''/.723''
Centerline: 110º
RPM Range: 4800-8200


almost sure thats my cam, if not then the lift is 20 points lower.

Fuck me, thats a big ass cam! You sure thats right?

If its not runnin good cold, but it does when its warm, a common problem with Holleys is the power valve. Its a diaphram and spring set to open at certain vaccum levels, and allow more fuel for more power under load. If the diaphram ruptures, which a back fire will usually do, then it sticks open and makes the engine run pig rich at idle. Id try that.

If your cam is in fact that big, then Im gunna agree on the idle speed. A cam like that isnt gunna idle under like 1200 RPM.
 
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