I thought a fun way of starting this off was to see why different people chose to build up a V6 and what kind of setups they're running.
I chose to go with a V6 in Darwin partly because she originally came with a V6 and it seemed right to stick with one; partly because I planned to run a manual steering box and I wanted to save weight over the nose but mostly because I wasn't looking for that much power and I wanted to be different.
Because my little red wagon is fairly heavy (measured curb weight 3470lb) and came with a 2.73 rear gear, I decided to go with a 4.3L and build it conservatively. Thus the cam is a Comp 252H grind (206/206 [email protected]; .425/.425 lift@valves; 110 separation) and my only head work is a 3 angle valve job. The engine inhales through a 465 cfm Holley 4160 on a Edelbrock Performer 2111 intake manifold and exhales through a pair of Hooker 2143 ceramic coated headers, a 2.50 dia dual exhaust system and Flow Tech turbo mufflers. The spark is currently lighted by a Proform HEI.
I'm generally happy with Darwin's performance, but I'd like a little better mileage and low end performance, so I'm planning to swap in a milder cam, a smaller carb and a windage tray this winter. Future plans call for upgrading the ignition, replacing the 3 speed Saginaw box with a Camaro T5 and eventually upgrading the interior. I may get to fiberglass bumpers and paint one of these days.
I chose to go with a V6 in Darwin partly because she originally came with a V6 and it seemed right to stick with one; partly because I planned to run a manual steering box and I wanted to save weight over the nose but mostly because I wasn't looking for that much power and I wanted to be different.
Because my little red wagon is fairly heavy (measured curb weight 3470lb) and came with a 2.73 rear gear, I decided to go with a 4.3L and build it conservatively. Thus the cam is a Comp 252H grind (206/206 [email protected]; .425/.425 lift@valves; 110 separation) and my only head work is a 3 angle valve job. The engine inhales through a 465 cfm Holley 4160 on a Edelbrock Performer 2111 intake manifold and exhales through a pair of Hooker 2143 ceramic coated headers, a 2.50 dia dual exhaust system and Flow Tech turbo mufflers. The spark is currently lighted by a Proform HEI.
I'm generally happy with Darwin's performance, but I'd like a little better mileage and low end performance, so I'm planning to swap in a milder cam, a smaller carb and a windage tray this winter. Future plans call for upgrading the ignition, replacing the 3 speed Saginaw box with a Camaro T5 and eventually upgrading the interior. I may get to fiberglass bumpers and paint one of these days.