OK here is my current engine set up, in the works
289
i have:

New Sealed Power Balanced set of pistons, ~720g per
.040 over
Stock Rods, and Bolts =/
Polished Crank, meets spec....
Stock Heads, with 3 angle valve job
Speed Pro Cam CS1217R 204/214 dur @ 50 .448 .472 lift
Hydraulic Lifters
Edelbrock Performer 289
Edelbrock 1407 750cfm.
Procomp HEI Distributor, with Vacuum advance

what can i expect to get out of this?

and the pistons were labeled as a balanced set, but when i weighed them on the paint scale at work, they varied by up to 7 grams... is this feasible?

 

your stock heads will kill you. A three angle valve job is standard when you get heads redone. the only good thing about stock heads are the small combustion chambers, which will give your compression ratio a big boost, the small ports will give you good low end tq from velocity. I would do at least a mild port job on the heads even just a gasket match. Spend more time on the exhaust ports as they suffer the most of the two. I think that carb is WAY to big You dont need more then a 600cfm. As is I think I would just change the carb and run that as a street setup. You should be around 250-265 fwhp

 

ok, 600cfm then?
i thought it would only use what it could breath and the rest was there not hurting anything.... right?

 

if its that big you will never be able to lean it out enough to get it to run good. you will be dumping massive amounts of fuel into the engine, and you will end up seling the carb and buying another one, spending more money 600 sounds about right. oh and dont get a eddy

 

Well, its a long story, but given the circumstances, an Edelbrock is great

 

Honestly, I wouldnt expect much out of that combo.I had the a simliar combo in high school and thought i had a race car...................till i got a ride in a car with a really "built" engine.

But it will be or should be reliable and give some trouble free cruising.

 

mainly what i'm looking for is reliability
its my first car so i don't need a ton of power.
I guess i will have to work something out as far as a carb....
is there any kind of jetting that can lean the 1407?

what else can i do for heads without spending 1500,
gt40's are scarce in my area,
how much better are e7te's or similar?

can porting be done my self?

 

 

a 600cfm is more then enough. People ALWAYS over carb and as all ready stated you will have more trouble trying to get it to run right that it wont be worth it. Venturis are larger and so on. Edelbrocks are carbs designed for people who are scared to tune and use a holley. You can get more power from a holley anyday of the week. and they offer more capabilities. Your combo is fine with the exception of the carb, I mentioned heads b/c that will be the next bottle neck in making power. Use the stockers for now till the money builds up. Port/ clean the heads yourself. it isnt hard and will net some results. I know a guy in the 10 second area with iron heads that he ported himself. smooth the heck out of the exhaust port and gasket match it. you dont always want to smooth the intake ports b/c the "bumps" suspend fuel but cleaning some die flash and opening the port ends up will be nice. Do the same for the intake.

Bottom line smaller carb is what you will need, unless you work the combo around the carb with some afr 185's torker 2, or rpm air gap intake and a cam with alot more lift.

 

damn...