better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Fri Mar 15, 2002 3:59 pm

From: david_contreras2002_REMOVE_379624_THIS_@yahoo.com


i was arguing with my brother about which engine is better, the chevy 350 or the pont 400. What do u guys think.
he says the 350 is better,
i say hell no the pont 400 is better.


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Fri Mar 15, 2002 4:24 pm

From: Bacchus_101573_REMOVE_164824_THIS_@yahoo.com


Define "better"


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Fri Mar 15, 2002 7:18 pm

From: chevyman43055_REMOVE_150709_THIS_@yahoo.com


depends on what you want to do with the car.if
youre making it a drag only car,the poncho
would
have tons more torque,would launch harder.i
doubt
it would be very fun to drive on the street though.a
400 poncho in a monza would be extremly nose heavy
and wouldnt handle for squat.i've had
18 or so
hbodys,and without a doubt the funnest
one to drive on
the street was my '74 vega gt.
it didnt have alot
of horsepower,but it out handled just about
everything shy of a 911.why GM never put a alum head on one
is a mystery.if the ole vega was about 50 lbs
lighter in the nose it wouldve taken any corner at
speed.so if youre building a car for street/strip duty,and
you can make it fit,i'd go with the 400.keep in mind
you would have to tie the frame to keep all that
torque from twisting the body into a pretzel.but if you
want a fun car to drive in the corners,id choose a
4banger vega or monza.
tony


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Fri Mar 15, 2002 10:05 pm

From: SoloII_74_REMOVE_255978_THIS_@yahoo.com


David, I (being an old poncho owner) pretty much
agree with Tony on this one. Generally a stock Chevy v8
engine weighs about 575 lbs, whereas a Pontiac V8 weighs
in at anywhere from 15 to 75 lbs heavier, depending
on the year. The Pontiac 455 actually weighs about
the same as the 400, with much more torque than even
the 400, so if you were going to use a Pontiac
engine, the 455 would make a great combo. There are two
types of aluminum heads available, and a variety of
aftermarket parts for the old Pontiacs, but it will usually
cost more to build a Pontiac with similiar aftermarket
parts than a Small block would (law of supply & demand
takes it's effect).

Years ago, the 428 in my
'69 GP pulled that 4,000 lb car down the 1/4 at over
110 mph with a 13.90 time slip. That was while
spinnig the 78 series radial tires through 1st & part of
2nd, and with a basically stock engine (stock cast
intake, cast iron HO exhaust manifolds, & HO cam) With a
little tuning, and some slicks, the mph says the car
should run high 12's as it was.

A 455 Pontiac in
an Hbody (I have thought about one in an Astre or
Sunbird) would be an awsome dual purpose street strip
machine. With aluminum heads, intake, and some other
weight reductions, it would weigh less than the stock
305/350 used in the H bodies originally. A full cage
would probably be necessary to deal with the
torque.

Hmmm a fun thought, but for now I will keep my v8 in
my GP, and the 4 cylinders in the Vegas.

I am
picking up my trailer this Monday, and finally see the
light at the end of the tunnel in getting the Solo II
car back together. Racing in 2002!!!! (If my wife &
baby on the way will
allow!)

Later...

Kevin.


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Fri Mar 15, 2002 10:23 pm

From: pfjk36322_REMOVE_247331_THIS_@yahoo.com


David,you & your bro are comparing appples to
oranges.the tin indian is a torker,yet,how are you going to
get it to fit,other than a drag-race front mount &
the inherit problems(headers,bracket acc's,etc).the
chevy is a bolt-in.And a lot easier to set-up.then
there is the front end weight.The pont is heavier.And
the Xpense of building the 2 motors.Go w/ the 350
Chevy and save your self the headaches,just my 2
cents.
Frank


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Fri Mar 15, 2002 10:41 pm

From: pfjk36322_REMOVE_118991_THIS_@yahoo.com


For carving corners....the "big" Buick V6 is the
way to go.Or a turboed V6.The best of both
worlds.Lotta tork and a balanced platform for straight line
hauling & cutting apexes.Front end weight on the H-body
is the determining factor for what you are aiming
for.Plow into the corner and hopefully power out,or trail
braking into slicing the corner in balance & gaining
ground on the exit w/ a squat-n-squirt.Street/Strip.Road
is your choice.
Frank


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Fri Mar 15, 2002 11:11 pm

From: cliffhangeriii_REMOVE_114220_THIS_@yahoo.com


I for one have been very impressed on the performance of a stock 400 a real screamer. But every 455 I've seen is a boat anchor compared to the 400, not in terms of weight but speed.


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Fri Mar 15, 2002 11:17 pm

From: cliffhangeriii_REMOVE_821850_THIS_@yahoo.com


389 is sweet too... I new a guy that had a built 428 in a very nice 76 Grand Prix about 15 years ago. It was a 16 sec sled, but he was an idiot. He was defried from Jerry's a few years back.


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Fri Mar 15, 2002 11:39 pm

From: cliffhangeriii_REMOVE_971803_THIS_@yahoo.com


If you want to know which one is faster, A stock
400 Poncho would take the doors off a stock 350 in
most cases. Did you ever hear the song Trans Am by
Sammy Hagar? If not get it...kicks ass...It gos---My
big 6.6 is a little to heavy for a big Boss Ford or a
350 Chevy----------...

Cliff


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Sat Mar 16, 2002 12:22 am

From: Phantom402_REMOVE_304169_THIS_@yahoo.com


Ok little history,my buddy had a 75 camaro 400
sbc mild build up forged flat tops,cam dynamics cam,
ported heads,alum intake ,750 dp, muncie 4 spd/super T10
(depended on which was back together at time)and 3.73 12
bolt posi.
Ran like a stripped ass ape,flat smoked
EVERYTHING at the time it was fresh,then a year later the
engine wound up with 3 broke rods, burnt tranny and no
money.
SO grandma and grandpa gave buddy their old
bonneville 1973 455 4bbl A/C worked and all.
So we found
a wrecked t/a and snagged all parts for camaro
dropped it in with some old doug thorley headers a
"new"th400/B&M converter (2400).
With 14 degrees timming at
balancer ,a curve kit in dist. and premium in the tank,
this car flat SCREAMED!!!! it made the sbc look like a
wimp straight 6.
It cracked the windshield twice,
and the rear window bounced 4 time as it popped out
before shattering.So we added some metal to tie the
subframe to rear section together and buddy ordered a roll
bar kit from S&W and this car has ran best of a 7.10
in the 1/8th and 11.20's in 1/4 (we think the
springs float in quarter).
this engine has 208,000
miles the A/C was hooked up to the camaro A/C and it
still works great.
My buddy is getting car repainted
and we are getting ready to pull the engine and
rebuild it soon.
Later
Lee


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Sat Mar 16, 2002 12:27 am

From: beakerztoys_REMOVE_505465_THIS_@yahoo.com


Used too have a 350 pontiac in a firebird it had
lots of tourque but not much on the top end, then it
spun a bearing so it became a boat anchor, Put a
smallblock in the same car, mild 327 cam, holley and headers
and it smoked stock 454s, would have put the poncho
in its place in the last 1/8, oh well guess thats
why the same 350 is now in my sunbird. lol T.J.


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Sat Mar 16, 2002 12:39 am

From: dacse2000_REMOVE_270669_THIS_@yahoo.com


I don't want to pick a fight and I think each
motor has good points and bad points performance wise,
but I would just like to add that a rebuild kit at
Northern Auto Parts for a 350 is $149 and for a 400 Poncho
is $400+. Since my wallet decides most of my choices
on car matters, I think I will stick with sbc's.


Also, if you want to compare apples to oranges, why not
compare the performance of a stock big block Poncho to a
LS6.

The song, which I agree is a kick ass
song, goes like this: My 6.6 is a little to heavy for a
big balls Ford or a 350 Chevy.

Take it easy,
Dave...


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Sat Mar 16, 2002 1:03 am

From: dacse2000_REMOVE_527348_THIS_@yahoo.com


Lee,
Does your buddy run at ET raceway? I hope
he does, because I would like to see a 75 camaro
with a stock engine with headers run 7.10. I am no car
expert, but I go to the 1/8 mile tracks in our area all
of the time and I have never seen a stock engine
powered car that quick. Are you sure the time is not 8.1,
which in my opinion would be awful impressive for a
stock engine of any size?

Later, Dave...


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Sat Mar 16, 2002 1:13 am

From: cliffhangeriii_REMOVE_502855_THIS_@yahoo.com


Thats COOL!!! but all the ones I have seen run at
Quaker couldn't match my buddies stock 68 GTO, 12.80's
on radials, 12.60 on Hoosiers. Iron Manifolds, Quad,
Auto, 3.42 gears, although He's
running a 69 Ram
Air cam. Dont ask me what heads.
Its all factory
shit though. But you know how it is some people just
really screw things up with mismatched parts. You should
have gone to the Mopar Nats. at Quaker when they used
to have it. It was very sad, people really screw
them up...

Cliff


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better engine chevy 350/pont 400????

Postby h-bot » Sat Mar 16, 2002 1:19 am

From: cliffhangeriii_REMOVE_429904_THIS_@yahoo.com


Stock LS6's run low 14's to high 13's seen a few
400 poncho's run better stock. As for the song my
hearing must be getting worse from all the years at the
track.

Take er easy
Cliff


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