Thread: Redline/Shift Point

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Ok...another question guys. (I'm walking away with some info guys, I like this place).

I've got everything straightened away, including oil pressue. Now, I'm wondering just how much I should rev this one. 390 mild cam, new heads (C7AE) .060 over, non-new bearings and such, Edelbrock alum. intake, Holley 750...before the resfresh I would push 5,000 and shift, with a few trips to 5,500. Now, after the refresh, I found it hard to push past 4,500, it seemed to "run-out-of-breath" (I have a feeling the loose rockers did that...but now, with the roller rockers and everything, I'm seeing 5,000 pretty feasible (to shift), and the occaisional push it to 5,500 (in case they start catching up)...does this sound realistic/ok?

I'm not a huge idiot and go out every Saturday and pound the crap out of the pavement, I'm actually fairly calm for being 18...but I'm not above the heavy pedal

From what I know about them, FE blocks are not high revvers. 5,000 would be about tops for a mild street motor, I would guess............maybe 5,500. The valvetrain is probably the biggest factor there.

But we'll see what our engine guys say.

Don

IMHO, 5000 is about tops, much more than that and you risk the chance of floating the valves.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

IMHO, 5000 is about tops, much more than that and you risk the chance of floating the valves.

Yeah,When I was 16 my ride was a 50 chevy coupe,One night Dad let me drive his 63 Galaxie 390 interceptor, I pulled up to a bunch of my buddies and started reving her up,then she kinda sputtered and quit ?????? Called Dad who was one of the best mechanics in St.Louis and told him Man I don't know what happened just won't start,he showed up in my old chevy crawled in the Ford and cranked it over and instantley knew what happened. Let me tell ya it was a long long ride home.

"......old chevy crawled in the Ford and cranked it over and instantley knew what happened. Let me tell ya it was a long long ride home......"

Yeah, my Dad was a mechanic too, he just didn't buy..."...gee Dad I don't know how it bent 15 push rods...." (that old Olds sure did run good in second gear)

aren't most cams ground to a set rpm range. I know when I buy one thats one of the things I look for So if you know what cam you have you should be able to find where it runs best....Thats if the rest is where it should be.

Im not too worried about valve float, there's new double springs on the heads and new exhaust valves. I'm more worried about one of the rods deciding it wants some fresh air and taking a trip outside...should I be worried? I mean 2,000 rpm equals about 40 lbs of pressure, so I'm just seeking advice.

As far as the cam...no clue, it's over stock, lopes, and makes 10 inches of vacuum and likes 12 degrees of advance. No idea where it should be though. One time I took it to 5,500 it was still pulling...earlier I went to 4,300, at which my dash rattles really bad, so I'm over here fearing the dreaded ping. I was hesitant to take it further, I guess I'm not entirely sure of my skills...

I'm not really looking for rpm, I just want to know if y'all think 5,000 maybe a bit more is safe.