1979 firebird...
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Joined: Nov 2006
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From: worcester,ma
1979 firebird... hey everybody i got a friend who recently picked up a nice 79 bird with a 6.6 in it and well she wants to mod it a little bit its an automatic what are some good parts for these cars that she should pick up ( other than t/c&gears)
good parts? anything.....go to summit.com or yearone, edelbrock, any big name aftermarket company will have hundreds of parts for it. From modifying to restoration. First things could be exhaust, heads/cam, intake, rebuild/rejet carb.
Well the first thing I would get rid of is the Carb, Intake and the Exhaust manifolds, 79 is the peak of crappy emissions controls.
Also the heads arent the greatest, but at least have the big valves, but contrarily they have huge combustion chambers which isnt good for compression.
Also the heads arent the greatest, but at least have the big valves, but contrarily they have huge combustion chambers which isnt good for compression.
Contact Mondello. Google it. He specializes in oldsmobiles. Thats what your friend has under the hood, a 403 olds, assuming it is stock.
A cam and some heads and free flowing exhuast with better gears and it will wake right up.
Stock the 403 had 185hp
The pontiac 400 only came with a 4 speed and made 220hp.
A cam and some heads and free flowing exhuast with better gears and it will wake right up.
Stock the 403 had 185hp
The pontiac 400 only came with a 4 speed and made 220hp.
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Yeah Echo 1979 was the one year that the 400 was only available with the 4 speed and it made 220hp. You are referring to 1978 model year.
Now in 1979 you could have a 301 with a 4 speed.
With an automatic you could have got a 301 or a 403.
But if we are talking a 6.6 liter automatic then its the 403. Simply a "K" code vin car.
To answer your question, sweetness, these cars made top horsepower for the day and age. The pontiac 400 ran pretty decent despite the lowly 220hp.Those were dark days for performance cars due to high price of gas for the time, but mostly due to the emissions regulations. Technology hadn't yet found a way of producing high horsepower levels with low exhuast emissions.
Your oldsmobile 403 ran mid 16's out of the box.
Now in 1979 you could have a 301 with a 4 speed.
With an automatic you could have got a 301 or a 403.
But if we are talking a 6.6 liter automatic then its the 403. Simply a "K" code vin car.
To answer your question, sweetness, these cars made top horsepower for the day and age. The pontiac 400 ran pretty decent despite the lowly 220hp.Those were dark days for performance cars due to high price of gas for the time, but mostly due to the emissions regulations. Technology hadn't yet found a way of producing high horsepower levels with low exhuast emissions.
Your oldsmobile 403 ran mid 16's out of the box.
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Verdad Gallardo Once you slap a set of heads on that thing it will really perk it up. Thats the main detractor for those years, oh yea and the Q-junk carb.
If by some weird coincidence you have a Pontiac and not a Olds engine heres some info and advice.
If I were you I would start looking around for some 6x heads those are usually easy to find, and relatively cheap. Unless you just want to jump straight in and get some Edelbrocks. Well anyways the best guys to deal with in Pontiac Stuff is Butler Performance (www.jbp-pontiac.com/), and Kauffman Racing Equipment (www.krepower.com/)
Oh yea and one thing, I wouldnt rev a smog era 400 past 4K too often they dont like it
If by some weird coincidence you have a Pontiac and not a Olds engine heres some info and advice.
If I were you I would start looking around for some 6x heads those are usually easy to find, and relatively cheap. Unless you just want to jump straight in and get some Edelbrocks. Well anyways the best guys to deal with in Pontiac Stuff is Butler Performance (www.jbp-pontiac.com/), and Kauffman Racing Equipment (www.krepower.com/)
Oh yea and one thing, I wouldnt rev a smog era 400 past 4K too often they dont like it
Edelbrock alum. heads are the best, but over a grand for both. I would NOT say that the Q-jet is junk. Far from it. There is nothing wrong with a good q-jet, you just have to understand how it works and how to maintain/upgrade it. Get a book about q-jets at your local parts store, and pick up a set of metering rods and jets. Expeiriment with them and you'll see its nothing to throw away.
To my knowledge, if it is a true Poncho 400, it already has 6x heads. That's what my TA had on it originally before the 1st owner slapped on 389 Tri-Power heads, blasting compression to over 12:1.
I have a 78 TA, 400, 220hp (orginally), with the mods in my sig. I rev it up to 5k all the time. Going past 4k is fine, as long as the motor is in good shape. Don't go past FIVE grand, that's the magic number for old school Pontiacs.
To my knowledge, if it is a true Poncho 400, it already has 6x heads. That's what my TA had on it originally before the 1st owner slapped on 389 Tri-Power heads, blasting compression to over 12:1.
I have a 78 TA, 400, 220hp (orginally), with the mods in my sig. I rev it up to 5k all the time. Going past 4k is fine, as long as the motor is in good shape. Don't go past FIVE grand, that's the magic number for old school Pontiacs.
Kaufmann has some serious issues with regards to customer service lately. They have apparently not come through on quite a few of customers who purchased their aftermarket pontiac block. The block was not up to advertised specs.
I would stay away from them.
As far as redline a pontiac block built correctly will rev upwards of 5000 easily.
A stock block with stock cast rods is definitely rpm challenged. A block with good rods will go to 6000. There are stock forged rods. But for what they cost just buy a set of aftermarket eagle rods.
But based on the parameters of the pontiac 400 and 455 block there is no need to rev it much higher then 6000rpm.The pontiac blocks are long stroke blocks making them low end torque monsters. High rpm air flow through the heads are not neccesary as a result. Thus the horsepower and torque peaks at a lower rpm/
Call Mondello and wasting your time getting questionable info from the internet.
Good luck
I would stay away from them.
As far as redline a pontiac block built correctly will rev upwards of 5000 easily.
A stock block with stock cast rods is definitely rpm challenged. A block with good rods will go to 6000. There are stock forged rods. But for what they cost just buy a set of aftermarket eagle rods.
But based on the parameters of the pontiac 400 and 455 block there is no need to rev it much higher then 6000rpm.The pontiac blocks are long stroke blocks making them low end torque monsters. High rpm air flow through the heads are not neccesary as a result. Thus the horsepower and torque peaks at a lower rpm/
Call Mondello and wasting your time getting questionable info from the internet.
Good luck
Last edited by 30thanniv; Nov 16, 2006 at 04:50 PM.
look up "2nd generation gary" on Google,,,you will find a page called Gary Lisks 2nd gen home page,,,,TONS of great info for you there. (im jealous, but still happy) Congrats!!!!
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From: St. Clair Shores Mi.
Stock rods are good to 5700 rpm.
My T/A 400 would rev to 5500 with no problems
My buddy would take his `69 Judge up to 6000 with no problems.
There are 2 different 6X Heads 350 and 400
The late T/A motors used the 350 head for higher compression (8;1) `77 200HP & `78-`79 220HP as compared to 7.6;1 on the standard head.
The valves for both are the same 2.11 I /1.66 E these are only slightly more restrictive than a set of Dport Ram Air Heads.
With the right Cam Intake and Carb along with Headers and a good tune you can make over 400 HP on pump Gas.The same goes for the 403.
My T/A 400 would rev to 5500 with no problems
My buddy would take his `69 Judge up to 6000 with no problems.
There are 2 different 6X Heads 350 and 400
The late T/A motors used the 350 head for higher compression (8;1) `77 200HP & `78-`79 220HP as compared to 7.6;1 on the standard head.
The valves for both are the same 2.11 I /1.66 E these are only slightly more restrictive than a set of Dport Ram Air Heads.
With the right Cam Intake and Carb along with Headers and a good tune you can make over 400 HP on pump Gas.The same goes for the 403.
Thats weird about Kauffman, I havent ever had anyproblems with any of their stuff.
If you post up some pictures of the engine bay, I am sure we can tell you what it is.
If by some chance it is a pontiac I have some 7K3 heads laying around they have the big valves and a 96cc Combustion chamber, not the best heads but they are ok. I would be willing to part with them, but if you want big power I would go for them, thats why I traded up.
If you post up some pictures of the engine bay, I am sure we can tell you what it is.
If by some chance it is a pontiac I have some 7K3 heads laying around they have the big valves and a 96cc Combustion chamber, not the best heads but they are ok. I would be willing to part with them, but if you want big power I would go for them, thats why I traded up.
