Hi Guys,



None for me, Thanks.

Learned from all the mistakes I made with DrJay, and am putting those lessons to work here.

I'll enjoy a cool one after I finish.

Regards, Norm

OK so since I had no clue what he meant by "mistakes with DrJay" I took it upon myself to find the thread about 3.8 rocker arms and read it till my eyes hazed over, now that I know we are dealing with THE Cliff Claven of the cyber-Olds universe. I both retract my statement regaurding "peole might think you are insane" and suggest you step away from the mouse and seek help immediately. Further I will not stoop to arguing with someone that obviously knows everything, its a fight that can not be won. Please people a little warning in advance, I just joined this board

Still have trouble answering simple questions? Your position must not be too solid if it can't stand up to a few questions and requests for clarification.


Exactly my point. bigdog came here for answers to his questions, and you you mislead him. Not what this board is about.


That statement, along with a link to that page, would have been an ideal answer to his vague question.


I'm not the one that brought up "Tinkers" backhalved '48 whatever. Incidently, you still haven't addressed your reasoning for bringing it into the thread.


It's you.


Statement is about as basic as one can get. I don't think you could find anyone who would dispute that.

Cheapest would be to take the sawzall and air chisel to it.

Most practical would be to change gears.


So I'm to blame for your sloppy posts? Mistakes will happen, but there is no excuse for the garbage you tried to pass off as inexperience.

I believe the timing of your "mistakes" go a long way toward proving my point. Since you did not expect me to call you on them, you did not know it would have been simpler to concede that you had no answer.


The way it works is. I ask, you answer/you ask, I answer.


Now it appears you have nothing left, except to claim you are being picked on by a cyber terrorist.


Thanks, but I don't believe I will.

Everyone: Nothing like a civilized discussion.

When bigdog posts enough information, I'll give him correct answers based on my own experience, not on what I might have read on the internet.

That's why I posted it. I also checked your 440+ posts on ROP and found nothing of any substance.


Don't know everything. Just a little knowledge gained from personal experience, and if I don't know the subject, I don't post except to ask questions.

My learning experience with DrJay taught me how to deal with someone who passes himself off as an authority/expert on a subject which he has limited or no knowledge.

In his case, cam/valve timing is an area where I have more experience than most. He had nothing but a product to sell. If he knew the basics, or asked questions, the thread would have been one page.

In your case, I have more than a little experience in tuning heavier cars. Any idea where I might be going with this?

Hi all,



Even though this is civilized, I thought I'd lighten the mood.

Andrew

Thanks, but it'll be quiet until bigdog returns with his answers. Might be quiet a looooong time.

Norm

And to think Ive missed all this in the short time I havent checked in lmao

Contacted the guys at TCI and they told me for the set up that I have a 12" sizzler. Don't know exactly what it is or what it does. Don't know how much over stock it is but we'll see right.

that is there entry level converter, its aprox 400 rpms over stock stall, that is what I was 90% sure they'd recomend

Hi bigdog, all,

Finally, something to work with. Not much, but something.

I've used many different stalls from different manufactures in more than a few cars. The following is my opinion, based on my own "hands on" experience, not what I've read on the internet.

In any plan for a performance upgrade, a rear gear change should be top priority and it should be done first.


I've had the equivalent in my '63 for some years, and it's an excellent choice for improving the "City" drivability of a family car, but with a small sacrifice in highway mileage. You'll see 10 times the gain with a gear change

Serious street racing calls for more stall, how serious are you?

From the little information you've given us, I don't think it will fit your needs. TCIs (and the other low end mfrs) advice tends to be very conservative. If an error is made in a stall selection, and the stall is too high, the customer will not be happy. If stall is too low, the entry level customer will only see an improvement, will not be aware of the error, and will think he's made the right choice.

I suggest you give us the same information you gave to TCI, and we can go from there.

If you do choose to go with the above, the same quality converter with the same stall can be purchased at your local trans shop for about 1/3 the price.

Just ask for an OEM replacement T/C for a Corvette with a TH400.

Whatever your choice, while it's being installed, you might consider adding a Transgo ( click here ) shift kit. The same Trans Shop should have it in stock.

Regards, Norm

The only information that I gave TCI was that my car was stock and the approximate weight I think was about 4,000 pounds. I informed them the tranny was stock and that the gears was stock. I asked them what they thought was best for a quicker launch and 0-30 mph range and don;t lose driveability because I will be driving it everyday

Hi bigdog, all,


No more than we already knew, and not enough to make any decisions. Since the person who had the link to TCIs questionaire, didn't know how to post it, we'll just do my version of the same.


You got a generic answer, based on incomplete data. The recommendation may or may not be best for you, but we can find out before you spend the cash. We might even find a better alternative.

Back to business:

It's all about tradeoffs. Most performance gains are accompanied by a loss in some area of mileage or comfort. The trick is to find what and how much you can live with vs how much gain you desire. With your Cutlass, as with my Coupes, you can give up some without even noticing it.

To illustrate: When you can, drive it at 40 MPH in second gear and imagine you're at 60 in third. What you see/hear/feel, will be the effects of a radical ratio change. Then, floor it. You'll feel the same acceleration you'd feel at 60 with the same gear change. You'll want less change than that, but it should help define "driveability".

More gain can be made (without affecting drivability or mileage) in this area, than most people realize.

First area to consider: Highway cruising speed and highway fuel mileage are the first places to take a noticeable hit. If you would give up a small amount of either, how much of each could you live with?

Can you raise both rear wheels and put them on safety stands? If so you'll need a helper, and a piece of chalk or other marking device. Once the car is safely up, put the trans in neutral, and the E brake off. Put a small mark on the driveshaft and 1 on each tire. Rotate both tires exactly one rev in the same direction while counting the driveshaft revs. Number of DS revs will show your rear end ratio and is a valuable piece of information.

What do you think about changing to larger or smaller tires on the rear?

Where we go from here, depends on your answers. Actually, my next questions will be based on those answers.

Regards, Norm

Hi all,


Been doing a little browsing. Quality of the TCI sizzler series, may or may not be as good as the "Vette" replacement but it is close to it's price.

This is an update, not a correction. If it was a correction, that would mean I made an error. I repeat, it's an update.

Regards, Norm

Hey bigdog,

How do you like the converter?

Did it do what you wanted?

Norm

He hasn't posted since Feb, I dunno if he's coming back