What would a bigger stall converter do for me? Let's say 2400-2800rpms.

 

on a stock motor, nothing. the closer you are to stock, the less it will do. I dont think a stall will help you. if you are losing by a tenth, the lower octane fuel, reduce the timing, back to 36-40, the rear gear will do the most for you. if you want to change cams, crower has some new grinds for clevelands.

 

I forgot about this one. Go to the site for the related articles.
http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aabyb100401.htm

Origin of the 'Higher Octane is Better' Concept
Higher octane gasoline did reduce engine knock in older engines that used carburetors to regulate the air/gas mix. The older engines could not regulate the air/fuel mix going into the engine as efficiently as a computerized fuel injector. A carburetor in need of adjustment could cause too much fuel to be mixed with the air, which meant the gasoline would not burn completely. The excess gas soaked into carbon deposits and caused a premature ignition of the gasoline from the heat of the engine cylinder. The premature ignition made a sound that came to be known as 'engine knock.' When this happened, people would change to the higher octane/slower burning gasoline to resist the premature burn, thus minimizing the knock. Upping the octane was beneficial then, but engines and gasoline formulations changed.
Since the mid-1980s engines use fuel injectors with computers to accurately control the air/fuel mix over all temperature and environment ranges. The accuracy of the fuel injectors and computers is based on using the recommended gasoline for that engine. Most cars are designed to burn regular unleaded gas with an octane rating of 87. If the vehicle needs a higher octane rating this requirement is noted in the owner’s manual and usually under the fuel gauge and by the gas tank.
Gasoline Factors That Matter
The quality of gasoline and the additive package usually affect the rate of engine wear more than the octane rating. Basically what this means is that it matters more where you buy your gas than which grade you purchase.
Regular Unleaded Gasoline
The recommended gasoline for most cars is regular 87 octane. One common misconception is that higher octane gasoline contains more cleaning additives than lower octane gas. All octane grades of all brands of gasoline contain engine cleaning detergent additives to protect against engine deposit build-up. In fact, using a gasoline with too high of an octane rating may cause damage to the emissions system.

• Gasoline and Octane Ratings - This article defines octane ratings and provides an overview of how gasoline in made.

Mid-Grade Gasoline
The octane ratings 'regular', 'mid-grade', and 'premium' are not consistent. In the United States, for example, one state may require a minimum octane rating of 92 for premium gasoline, while another may allow an octane rating of 90 to be premium. Check the octane rating on the yellow sticker on the gas pump rather than relying on descriptive labels.

• The Low-Down on High Octane Gasoline - Includes information about the inconsistency of ratings across the US.

Premium Gasoline
Certain high performance engines benefit from use of high octane fuel. For other engines, using a fuel with a higher octane rating than the vehicle requires sends unburned fuel into the emissions system and catalytic converter. This puts unecessary stress on the emissions system. For some vehicles, a rotten egg smell coming from the tailpipe signals use of too-high octane gas.

• What Octane Rating of Gasoline Should I Use? - A good general reference.

Leaded Gasoline
Many countries continue to use leaded gasoline, even though lead exposure has significant health and environmental consequences and the cost of switching to unleaded gasoline is relatively low. Although greatly improved, research indicates significant health and environmental effects from use of leaded gasoline remain even in countries that have switched to unleaded fuel.

• Leaded Gasoline: History and Current Situation - Comprehensive resource compiled by Dr. Bill Kovarik.
• Leaded Gasoline Information - More information from Kovarik.
• Leaded Gasoline Phase-Out - Abstracts for papers from research at Princeton University's Center for Energy and Environmental Studies.
• Phase-out of Leaded Gasoline - From the Sofia Initiative on Local Air Quality: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia.
• The Global Phaseout of Leaded Gasoline: A Successful Initiative - A Earth Summit Watch summary, with lots of facts and figures.

Synthetic and Reformulated Fuels
Some major cities with air pollution problems require the use of reformulated gasoline. Reformulated gasoline is an oxygenated fuel that burns cleanly but can lower fuel economy and engine performance slightly. Reformulated gasoline may cause pinging or premature burn in engines with excessive carbon deposits. Older/dirtier engines may benefit from stepping up to the next grade of gasoline.

• What Octane Rating of Gasoline Should I Use - This article includes a discussion of reformulated gasoline.
• Ethanol Frequently Asked Questions - This article offers information about oxygenated fuels.

 

"Aussie" heads have the same porting and valve sizes as the Cleveland 2V (or your 400) heads, but have the much superior 4V quench chamber instead of the open chamber 2V style. Chamber size is 10-12cc smaller than the stock 351C/M/400 chambers. Your compression with the stock pistons will be in the mid to upper 9's. Take the Aussie heads and simply clean up the intake ports, open up the exhaust ports and add 351C-4V valves to get very serious power with the rest of your mods. (www.kb-silvolite.com has a compression calculator you can use.)

 

The advice you're getting about the Aussie heads is not complete. The stock 400 has too much deck clearance to benefit from a quench combustion chamber.

They will raise compression, probably above 9.5:1, but may need more than 91 octane to prevent detonation. The other benefit is a less restrictive exhaust port than late 351M/400 heads.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 07-Sep-02 AT 11:38 PM (EST)]Thanks for the advice guys, tonight I ran pump gas(93) and I ran my 38" tires and I ran my best time ever. I also bumped my timing down some, giving me an intial advance of 19deg and a total advance of 40deg. 4.96sec, It wasn't the fastest, in fact it was 5th fastest but the competition was tough. I ran against trucks that were HIGHLY modified. Thanks again.

 

Cool glad to here it worked for you ....
And that you actully do listen to the advise given here.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 09-Sep-02 AT 07:44 PM (EST)]Yeah, I really appreciate the help. My time Sat. night was a full .5s faster than my best time this season. The 460 guys are shakin' in their boots. The fastest Ford in my division was a '78 shortbed w/460. He was .2s faster.

I gotta figure out how to make up that .2s now. I'm hopin' I'll do better with my 35s which is what I usually run. I think my 38s are the lighter tire though. I'm gonna make some test runs with each next week.