clean old school SBC 406 VEGA

Grumpy · Feb 26, 2016

heres a good clean example of an old school engine swap
of the type that was very popular in the early to mid 1970s, and early 1980s,
when you could buy these cars fairly cheaply in good shape,back then those chevys had a bad rust proof issue!
most have unfortunately tuned into rust buckets and were junked long ago.
If done correctly you get a 2600lb-2800 lb car that could eat most muscle cars for lunch, simply because you could install a decent engine and be 500lbs-to-1000lbs lighter in weight with a similar drive train
installing a couple frame stiffeners welding in plates and a roll cage (a narrowed ford 9" or 12 bolt or DANA 60 of course was a good idea)
I helped build several of these with and for friends, the popular combo at the time was a TH400 a 4500 rpm stall converter, a 3.73:1 rear gear and a 12.5:1 compression 377 small block with a smokey ram intake

and crane 110921 solid lifter cam,(it had a different part number back then but the same specs) brownfield heads ,TRW pistons , forged crank, crane roller rockers, (hooker made swap headers) if you could tune 11 second 1/4 mile times were easy (yeah it required a hood scoop)

http://www.swracecars.com/store/Vega--Monza-10-Point-Roll-Cage-OSCARItem_34=11-1511.aspx

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cee-3306-k/overview/make/chevrolet/model/vega

http://www.showcars-bodyparts.com/vega.html

http://www.vfnfiberglass.com/7177vega.htm

87vette81big · Feb 26, 2016

5.0 Mustang 1979-1993 Fits the Bill.
Mazada RX-7 also.

NOT A TA · Feb 26, 2016

That's a nice, clean, neat, good looking build on that Vega! My brother had a few of those fastback ones back in the 70's. His were mostly cobbled together rusty junk. The one pics above looks like a fairly recent build with the Carbon fiber look dash, Quick Fuel carb, etc.

chromebumpers · Mar 1, 2016

Imagine driving that car in high school

NOT A TA · Mar 1, 2016

chromebumpers said:
Imagine driving that car in high school

Although there were quite a few V8 Vegas running around where I grew up, they were stripped out race cars with license plates and given respect for their potential 1/4 mile capabilities. If you showed up somewhere with the one posted above you'd probably get laughed at. It doesn't have a big enough rear tire (if mid 70's compound when I was in HS) to get a good launch so it wouldn't be quick, just a tire fryer. And, people would ask "Why'd you spend all the time and money on a VEGA??? It's just gonna rust out. "

Ever see how Vegas were shipped? http://www.autoblog.com/2013/03/01/vert-a-pac-train-cars-kept-your-chevy-vegas-price-in-check/

Grumpy · Mar 1, 2016

I think were comparing apples to oranges in some respects, WHY?
well, at least in my area , when I was in high school, (and I doubt your area was much different) most of the V8 vega conversions were done by guys like me at that time that had less cash and far less experience than older guys, that built cars like the one above. guys like that now that are building rather nostalgic cars, who now have far more experience, skills and available cash then they did when they were in high school in the mid to late 70s, and even back then, most guys had a set of racing slicks used for racing, and tires with tread for use as street tires.
theres a huge difference between a fast street car and a dedicated weekend race car.
yeah, you can strip out a car's interior to reduce weight but that does not necessarily mean the car should have a crappy looking , interior.
any tire thats useful on the track, will be nearly worthless on the street, and especially in the rain or snow.
the car (vega) above is a fast street car , and could easily run in the 10 second 1/4 mile range if set up correctly , thats more than impressive.
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...eption-has-changed-over-time.8379/#post-29224

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/z28-1st-2nd-design-cams.4463/#post-11732

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/ford-boss-302-vs-chevy-dz-302.16075/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/the-cross-ram-intake.623/#post-1657

Standard 302 (30-30) cam, P/N 3849346
Casting #3849347
254 duration @ .050" (intake & exhaust)
.485" lift (with 1.5 rockers)
114 deg. lobe separation
Exhaust Max lift @ 116 deg. BTDC
Intake Max lift @ 112 deg. ATDC

First Design Off-Road cam, P/N 3927140
Casting #3927141
Intake 257 duration @ .050" (333 advertised)
Exh. 269 duration @ .050" (346 advertised)
Lift: .493" intake, .512" exhaust
Intake Max lift @ 108 deg. ATDC
Exhaust Max lift @ 116 deg. BTDC

2nd Design Off-Road cam, P/N 3965754
Casting #3965751
Intake 248 duration (324 advertised)
Exh. 267 duration (334 advertised)
Lift: .512" intake, .535" exhaust

back around 1969,we used to buy those CHEVY cams for $47 each at the Chevy parts counters,
matched lifter sets we $38 they sounded great,
but they were designed for road racing not drag racing,and we found that there were better designs for drag racing cams
but we soon found the faster cars were running a CRANE 110921,
in heavy cars with 3.90:1-4.11:1 rear gears and for lighter cars with a 4.56-4.88:1 rear gear the 110981 and 110921
(back then they were called something else, before crane changed their part numbers)

if your convinced you need a hydraulic lifter cam this crane 110711 gives reasonably good performance in a 10.5:1-to-11:1 compression 383 built to similar specs

47718927d1361720577-pictures-of-open-trailers-with-tire-racks-tire-rack1.jpg

clean old school SBC 406 VEGA

Grumpy

The Grumpy Grease Monkey mechanical engineer.

87vette81big

Guest

NOT A TA

reliable source of info

chromebumpers

solid fixture here in the forum

NOT A TA

reliable source of info

Grumpy

The Grumpy Grease Monkey mechanical engineer.