Thread: 327 Ready to fire

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I don't like 1.6 rockers on a SBC. Any street or street/strip cam you buy will have been designed for 1.5 rockers. 1.6's will add considerably to the effort of the motor to cycle through and if there's one thing the valvetrain does not need, it is additional effort to operate. I have seen only 10 to 12 hp gain from going to 1.6's, a gain that would not be felt in the seat of your pants, one that would only be beneficial if you were in competition and needed an extra 10 hp to drive around your competitor.

I will strongly urge you to learn how to tune the motor by reading the spark plugs. You need to make a full power run, then go to neutral and chop the ignition, coasting to a stop. Any low rpm idling or chugging to another spot before pulling the plugs will mask what's going on in the motor under full power. If you idle the motor after the full power run, you will be reading what the motor is doing at idle, not at full power. Use either a drag strip or a lonely, safe stretch of road where you can coast to a stop at a place where you can pull and read the plugs.

These first 3 videos from youtube are very basic, but are a good introduction to spark plugs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-mkbQ7Ner8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siJx2yt1jaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saCDmyiBmb0
Detonation and Pre-Ignition
Reading spark plugs | Tuning Spark Plugs

You'll want to invest in a good plug loupe (10X) with built-in light, such as this Longacre unit.....
Longacre Racing 50884, Longacre Tools and Pit Accessories | Longacre Racing
so that you can see what's going on with the porcelain all the way up to the end of the porcelain in order to divide the porcelain into three parts and read it correctly.

I don't have this book, but I would highly recommend buying it for the tips on tuning that you may not find anywhere else. I would consider it an excellent value at 20 bucks....Otherwise, it could take you years to learn what this guy can teach you....
Spark plug reading

If you want to go fast with a 4-speed, bolt on a 750 double pumper carb.

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