Finally, the one-piece oil pan gaskets that GM designed and used on the one-piece rear main seal blocks work great. The aftermarket has tooled up and produced the same design to fit the earlier two-piece seal blocks. The Milodon gasket is made from silicone rubber and, as you state, has sleeves to prevent overtightening. We would recommend using a high-quality silicone sealer at the corners only. This is what GM does on the later engines, with great success.
Bottom-Of-Page CamQI am currently building an '81 Malibu. I've put together a 355 with flat-tops, a full Eagle forged rotating assembly, and a Comp Cams Xtreme Energy cam XE294H. It also has a set of Brodix 2.02/1.60-inch-valve aluminum heads that are angle-milled to bump the compression to 11.2:1. On the induction side I have a 650-cfm Holley double pumper, an Edelbrock Air Gap intake, and an ACCEL Billitech distributor. What kind of horsepower and tourque is this combination going to make? Also, what stall speed would you recommend? Comp calls for a 2,800- to 3,200-stall converter. I currently have a 10-bolt posi with 3.73:1 gears and plan on running 275/60R15 M/T ET Street drag radials. The rear lower control larms are getting boxed, along with a rear sway bar, air-bags, and a 10-point cage. Is a trans-brake overkill or a good idea? This car is intended for the street but will spend most of its time at the track. Sorry for all the questions, but I had a lot on my mind!Justin EssmanGrantville, KS
A couple of years ago we joked around about building a "bottom of the page" engine, looking up our application in a manufactuer's catalog and choosing the part off the bottom of the page. In other words, the biggest, baddest, most outrageous parts they had for our specific engine. Well, you've hit the bottom of the page with your Xtreme Energy camshaft. That, along with a dual-plane intake and a 650-cfm carb, isn't going to cut it.
The Xtreme Energy XE294H is a great camshaft, its specs coming in at 250/256 degrees duration at 0.050-inch lift, 0.519/0.523 inch max lift, and ground on 110 centers. This with a single-plane racing inlet manifold and a good-flowing set of heads will make around 450 hp with your compression. You said you're going to run a set of Brodix aluminum cylinder heads-a great line of products, but you didn't state which head you have. In the 23-degree stock valve-angle head they have more than 10 to choose from, from the smallest inlet port of 180cc, going all the way up to 227cc. All their current cylinder heads start at a 2.08-inch inlet valve. Your heads have 2.02-inch inlet vales. Brodix offered a street head years ago with a 2.02-inch valve and a smaller inlet port. I'm concerned that you have these heads.
If you wish to stick with your short-block combination I would recommend going with a 195-210cc Brodix HV1000. As for a carburetor, you will need at least a 750-cfm carb. It will make slightly more power with an 850, but you will give up some street manners. This package should produce around 450 hp at 6,500-plus rpm, and around 430 lb-ft of torque in the high-4,000 rpm range.
Now, converters, gears, and trans-missions. You will need a fairly loose 10-inch converter. This engine will need around a 3,800-4,200 stall speed to get into its torque curve. As for a transbrake, it matters how much money you have to spend on a converter. With transbrakes, you abuse the converter holding it at full power with the transmission locked. The converter would need to be upgraded with anti-ballooning plates, fully furnace-brazed fins, and an upgraded sprag. Standard 10-inch converters aren't that expensive; however, expect to pony up $500 more for a transbrake model. All the transbrake-equipped transmissions I'm familiar with require a manual-shift valvebody. This can be quite an inconve-nience for street driving, although you did say the car will be a mostly track car.