Search results

The cam, heads and exhaust on the '81 were the performance killers, not the carburetor and sensors. I'm in the 350-400 hp range with stock carb, distibutor and computer control. God bless, Sensei

And Obama is not a socialist!

While I agree that you may not see any noticeable gain in power by removing these and EGR may actually reduce pollutants by lowering combustion chamber temperatures, I have to make a couple of comments here anyway. 1. I don't know how many HP it takes to actually turn the smog pump, but the...

I got a set of ceramic coated shorty headers on Ebay for around $135 and put them on myself. The driver's side one had to be slightly "massaged" at the collector to clear the motor mount. I got a pair of Summit turbo mufflers for about $20 each. They look stock and have a mellow rumble that is...

Get rid of the stock exhaust and replace it with a good set of headers , 2 1/2" duals and free flowing mufflers. Take out the smog pump. This by itself will noticeably improve both power and fuel efficiency, and I believe it also reduces pollution. It will also clean up the engine compartment...

A manual transmission carb will not have the stud on the linkage for the kick down cable, but that can be overcome. I have a 17081218 on my car that makes between 350-400 hp, so I'm sure any of these carbs can be made to work for any application. God bless, Sensei

In the idle system, between the idle pick up tube and the idle restriction, the fuel is emulsified with air from the idle air bleed. The idle circuit has fuel going through it at all times (idle, cruise, WOT). When the metering rods are raised by the MC solenoid (for richer mixture), it also...

First, you should set the air valve with a the gage, then don't move it more than about a quarter turn. If it requires more than that, go back and adjust the mixture screws. Second, the air valve does not affect the rod position. The movement of the MC solenoid opens and closes the air valve...

It's not a big enough difference to be worth doing if your stock fan is working properly, but it's worth doing if you are replacing the thing anyway. From what I understand, the motor itself is actually the same, it is just a different fan blade design, longer with a different blade pitch. (The...

Wish I had gotten this reply sooner. I took it all out (bottle, tube, compressor), then I had to take the fan off the motor anyway because the C4 fan/ motor combination would not go in as a unit. Oh well, it's all done and working fine now. God bless, Sensei

I put all the carbs I build on my car and adjust/ test them before sending them out, so it should work as is (GM adjusted them all at the same location). That said, It would not hurt to check/ fine tune the idle air bleed and mixture screws on your car if you know how. I like that!

Gerry, the original carb I posted about building is now long gone. It was a core someone gave me and all of it's parts (choke thermostat, pulloff, TPS, M/C solenoid) were there and working properly, so I had very little overhead with it. I also rebuilt another member's core for his performance...

Here is my opinion for best HP mods in order: #1: Good free flowing exhaust system. Best bang for the buck. #2: Heads and cam. The camshaft is your engine's brain, the heads are where HP is made and there have been a lot of advances in head technology since 1981. #3: Stroke it! There is no...

Gerry, there are of course a lot of variables between the engines. From what I understand, with two engines of the same displacement, the one with more stroke will produce more power. As far as the heads, of all people, you know that the quality of the L81 head leaves a lot to be desired. With...

Okay, so I saw a thread on this subject on another forum and thought, Hmmm, C4 blower motor for better AC flow, sounds like a winner (I live in Florida where the AC needs all the help it can get). Then I go out to my car to go to work... no AC fan. Talk about timing! So I go to Autozone where a...

That's all a mater of opinion. Some people will say to put the original engine aside to preserve it and use a crate motor. In a lot of cases, it is cheaper that way, and certainly easier. Being in Italy, that may be the way to go. I have no place (or desire) to keep a V8 engine lying around. I...

Don't worry about pre-setting it. The truth is, it can be way off and you will probably not even notice it, it will work fine. God bless, Sensei

No, you don't need it. God bless, Sensei

Yes, find the problem, don't just throw parts at it. I think you were on the right track with the ignition system. Even if the MC solenoid was dead, it would not cause the problems you describe, and it sounds like it is working. Electrical problems are a bear because they are often...

What are the symptoms (how it runs) that make you call it undrivable? With the engine warm, is the solenoid pulsing? To check, take a very thin (1/16" or less) allen wrench and put the long end down the "D" vent next to the idle air bleed. It should be hopping. The dwell will not vary if the...