Guys, last spring I promised to get some 1/4 mile numbers for my Formula. The nearest track is a 2 hour drive one-way so I didn't get to the track at all this year (considering the price of gas, $1.25/L for 87 octane). My brother came through with a G-tech performance meter, supposedly accurate to within 1 hundredth of a second. I tried it out tonight after work and was shocked to get 14.45@99.7mph, identical time and faster by 6.7mph than my old Camaro!
Remember this is a 1975 350 with 5C heads that is all original GM parts inside except the cam, lifters and timing set and new gaskets! I'm running a stock TH400 and 3.42 saf-t-track on P235/60R15 Goodyear Eagles. The intake/carb and exhaust manifolds are stock 75 stuff and I run 2.25" duals with stock mufflers and tailpipes. It doesn't take much to make these old injuns run!
Steve  

That's not too shabby! what about the distributor? Have you done anything as far as modifying the timing curve/advance, etc???  

The curve was just as it came from the factory, it has 24 degrees of mechanical advance, all in by 2700rpm and 12 degrees initial timing, plus vacuum advance on a full time vacuum port. The cam is a crane energizer with 272 degrees advertised duration and 450 lift on both int and exh. with crane lifters and an edelbrock performer timing set. The cam was installed 2 degrees advanced. The converter and trans are stock other than a towing style shift improver kit installed before I got it. The shifts are firm but not harsh. There is still room for improvement as it has a hesitation off the line, won't even squeel the tires, just digs in and goes! This run was made with a full tank of fuel, the factory 301 air cleaner and lid, closed exhaust and my 280lbs in the seat, like I said there is room to improve (diet maybe?).
Steve  

Not bad at all for a 7.5:1 C.R. 350  

Oh there's always room to improve! I'm hoping I can get my Grand Am to the bottom of the 13's with the new gear and 200R4 trans.  

After work today I took the car to the local refuse transfer station and weighed it, with the tank still almost full and me in the car, it weighed in at 3925 lbs. A little subtraction leaves the car itself at 3645.
The performance of this little mill just amazes me, even with 7.5:1 cr and 87 octane gas. It never pings, is a little soft off the line but pulls like a freight train thru the gears, and will rev way past 5500rpm. I found out the hard way, that manual shifting the th400 just confuses it, it will shift 1-2 at 5000rpm at WOT if left in drive or 2nd, but if you wait until 5000 to manual shift to 2nd, the trans lags and the engine turns almost 6000 before it shifts...scary stuff when I think of 33year old bearings, rings, and springs spinning that fast! The 1-2 automatic shift has been known to break the tires loose in cool air! Just can't get over this 350!
Steve