You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. We work with the Summit Racing tech department to help you tackle your auto-related conundrums. In this week’s Mailbag, we’re building a combo that will hopefully get a big block-equipped Camaro into 12-second ETs.
Q: I’m in the process of building a street/strip 1969 Chevy Camaro. My goal is to run high 12s in the quarter, with a few restrictions. I’m going to use a Chevy 454 big block with oval port heads and 9:1 compression pistons, a stock TH-400, and 3.73 rear axle gears. What carb/intake combo, camshaft (preferably solid), headers, and torque converter should I use?
A: You should be able to get into the 12s rather easily with this combination of parts.
- Edelbrock Performer RPM Intake Manifold
- Holley 650 CFM Mechanical Secondary Carburetor or Holley 750 CFM Vacuum Secondary Carburetor
- COMP Cams Magnum Hydraulic Cam and Lifter Kit – We know you want to run a solid cam, but we don’t think you have enough compression. This cam features 224 degrees duration at 0.050 lift and 0.510 lift. It will have a somewhat-rough idle and will be very responsive.
- Hedman Headers – They feature 1.75-inch primaries and 3-inch collectors. (They will not work with power steering.)
- TCI Torque Converter – It’s an 11-inch breakaway model with a 2,400 RPM stall rating.
I would agree with all suggestions, except for perhaps the camshaft. Why would a solid lifter cam be excluded due to low compression ratio? I thought that the cam’s duration has more impact on effective compression ratio than the type of lifter. If the reader prefers a solid lifter cam (maybe for the sound, as I do), he might explore some of the custom cam grinders (Mike Jones, Bullet, etc.) who will grind a solid lifter cam to perform best with his engine’s compression ratio.
I would put a little focus on the Heads being used ? Before any cam recommendations are given, as the heads may be key to a well planned build that has the results felt at the traps