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Edelbrock xc-8! tips and tricks to a crossram.

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Chubbs1955, Mar 30, 2011.

  1. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

    Well my father picked up a xc-8 at a swap meet in dallas tx last year for my birthday, lately ive been learning a lot that this old technology isn't that great, but i think it looks cool as hell, and im sure that someone has had a xc-8 running pretty good at one time. right now im in the process of building my budget 350, all i need is a gasket set and re-assemble it. but as soon as that is done, and during the summer when i get a job i want to start on a new engine for my 55 chevy, im looking to build this 400 4 bolt main i picked up from a 71 caprice 4 door, it had 30 some thousand original miles and everything is standard, my plan is to swap this stock pistons out for some aftermarket just something to raise compression up a little, get a set of world sportsman II heads, and run either this cam since i have it http://www.cranecams.com/product/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=23985
    or get a custom grind solid roller, and i would really like to run that xc-8 on it, right now the intake is set up with two 550 holleys, i was wondering how good is this intake? how would it perform on this motor? I love the look and would like to use it, to make this 400 look like a nostalgic late 60's motor. Also any tips and ticks to running this intake would be very useful.
     
  2. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

    What gears are you running, what year of vette? Sounds exactly what I'm looking for, my car is going to be a 4 speed car, with 4.10's or 4.56's on a 30 inch tall hoosier quick time pro.
     
  3. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

  4. fosheezie
    Joined: Nov 11, 2010
    Posts: 72

    fosheezie
    Member
    from las vegas

    do you have a pic of that crossram
     

  5. aerorocket
    Joined: Oct 25, 2007
    Posts: 488

    aerorocket
    Member
    from N.E. P.A.


    I've got 3.73's in it now with a 27" tall tire. The car is a 64 and I plan to stick the 4.56 gears in it if I ever get around to it.
     
  6. Deuces
    Joined: Nov 3, 2009
    Posts: 23,751

    Deuces

    Yeah! What he said! ^^^
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  7. Heo
    Joined: Jan 8, 2010
    Posts: 524

    Heo
    Member

    Put a 327 crank in the 400 if you want an engine that realy
    like to rev (354 ci)short stroke big bore with god flow around
    big valves. The combination chevy missed
     
    Desoto291Hemi likes this.
  8. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

    But where would i find pistons?
     
  9. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

    O would i love to have a 64 vette!
     
  10. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    and yes that is my room lol.
     
  11. 29AVEE8
    Joined: Jun 28, 2008
    Posts: 1,384

    29AVEE8
    Member

    My only experience with an XC-8 was a friends engine that he built in the summer of '68. We had just graduated from High School and he worked at the local Chevron station. The engine was a two bolt 327 from a 63 wagon. He put a 5/8 stroker (welded/metal sprayed) with 12 and a half M/T forgings. The first set of D shaped Mondello small block heads I ever saw. At the time Chet Herbert was getting out of the small block cam biz and was going to concentrate on top fuel Chrysler cams so had a deal on the 524 lift 324 duration roller. I mean like 600 bucks for the cam and rollers and links. Yea that was a lot in '68 but still, that cam was like jewelry. He put it in a 62 Chevy II with a solid front axle and a 4:30 Olds rear.

    My recollection is that engine didn't have the torque of a Mo-Ped below 3500 revs. But once you got past 3500-3700 you couldn't get your eyelids to close. The hardest accelerating un-blown car I have ever been in. maybe it was the cam or the overall combination but it seemed like it liked a lot of revs.
     
  12. Heo
    Joined: Jan 8, 2010
    Posts: 524

    Heo
    Member

    Dont remember where i bought them but there is pistons made for
    this combination. Or was atleast 10-15 years ago
    This is a combination much used in nascar
     
  13. Shaggy
    Joined: Mar 6, 2003
    Posts: 5,207

    Shaggy
    Member
    from Sultan, WA

    The speedway motors garage sale has a couple sets to put a 265 283 or 302 crank in a 400 block....


    As for the original Q, ram tuning will tell us that a manifold like that only really likes to run a a certain high rpm, probably around 7,500, and also has a pretty good gain at about 1/2 that rpm.

    Same rules apply as to tunnel ram, only difference is the runners are divided
     
  14. Conniptor
    Joined: Feb 3, 2011
    Posts: 27

    Conniptor
    Member
    from New Jersey

    I have a crossram I ran on my Dodge for years. The main tip I would give is watch out for backfires on starting. Wire the ignition switch separately from the starter so you can get it cranking for 2 sec or so before switching on the ignition, so the engine is already spinning and pulling some vacuum before lighting it, this will help prevent the big bang.
     
  15. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

    O
    Sounds like a really cool engine, Whatever happend to it?
     
  16. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

    so they backfire alot?
     
  17. 29AVEE8
    Joined: Jun 28, 2008
    Posts: 1,384

    29AVEE8
    Member

    Sounds like a really cool engine, Whatever happend to it?[/QUOTE]

    It "done blowed up". Actually i went off to basic training a Lackland AFB but got a note from him. Think it sucked a valve and then bad things happened.
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2011
  18. DuckusCrapus
    Joined: Jun 24, 2004
    Posts: 491

    DuckusCrapus
    Member

    I ran an XC-8 on the street for years. I went through several carb changes and fouled many plugs with that intake. After finally figuring out what my combo liked it was a pretty good intake.

    The few tips I would pass on:

    Make sure your carbs are identical, not just part number but how they are tuned. You have to remember that one carb runs the opposite side 4 cylinders of the engine. Any differnce in throttle springs or linkage setup will make one side work different than the other. Back when I ran my setup you could still order linkage setups from Offenhauser. Their small block chevy cross ram intake is almost the same as an XC-8. Their linkage bolts to the XC-8 with no modifications.

    Anothe tip (which isn't too traditional) is a mutiple spark ignition box like an MSD 6A series will help when you are running a little fat. My plug fouling days greatly diminished after installing that ignition box.


    Have fun with it. I got a lot of looks on my '55 when people saw it on there. I still have my setup rotting on a shelf in my shop. Don't think I could ever part with it.


    DuckusCrapus
     
  19. RustyNCA
    Joined: Feb 18, 2009
    Posts: 410

    RustyNCA
    Member

    Wouldn't an X-8 run alot like an X-1 intake? I haven't had any issues with backfires on the X-1 I am running.

    It's interesting learning to listen to the left side of the exhaust to tinker with the right side carbs. Way different than the tri-power I had.
     
  20. DuckusCrapus
    Joined: Jun 24, 2004
    Posts: 491

    DuckusCrapus
    Member

    I forgot to mention....when I had mine I called and talked with Edelbrock about some history on the intake. The guy there told me that the XC-8 was the last intake that Edelbrock Sr. worked with.

    Don't know if that is true, but kinda neat if it is.


    DuckusCrapus
     
  21. GassersGarage
    Joined: Jul 1, 2007
    Posts: 4,727

    GassersGarage
    Member

    Don't know if it applies, but years ago, Hot Rod mag did a shoot-out with different manifolds. The one thing they noticed about the crossram was a reversion problem. At idle, the could see a mist above each carb. My buddy tried a crossram on a bbc. He even built anti-reversion dams to help with tuning. He eventually went with dual quads until he gets his Hilbourne injectors up and running.
     
  22. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

    What was your set up? motor wise?
     
  23. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

    Dual quads as in a tunnel ram set up?
     
  24. DuckusCrapus
    Joined: Jun 24, 2004
    Posts: 491

    DuckusCrapus
    Member


    SBC 350, Edelbrock Perfromer RPM camshaft, open chamber heads with 2.02's, and some crappy low compression pistons. My compression ratio was ballpark 8.5:1. Headers with 2.5" exhaust, and a TH350 with a 2700 stall.


    DuckusCrapus
     
  25. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

    So it might run pretty decent on my 350? Stock flat tops, close chamber 2.02's comp 292 cam 4 spd
     
  26. mjb3707
    Joined: May 10, 2010
    Posts: 63

    mjb3707
    Member
    from chicago

    i got a 69 crossram z28 that i had since high school stick with chey parts they did tons of research for the trans am racing in the late sixties you cant beat the chevy off road cam #140 sounds like a monster sitting at idle just put the idle at 1800rpms i used to drive it everyday just run a decent gear 488 the motor dosent do anything till after 4grand
     
  27. Conniptor
    Joined: Feb 3, 2011
    Posts: 27

    Conniptor
    Member
    from New Jersey

    It's that there is a lot of plenum volume in a crossram so IF they backfire, it can be a lot bigger. Some folks add blow-off valves or burst panels to their expensive sheet metal racing crossrams to protect the manifold from damage. Mine is an old oem magnesium one and pretty valuable; I was warned that a lot of them were damaged from backfires over the years, so I was always very careful about the starting procedure...

    I'll attach a pic of when it was on the car...
     

    Attached Files:

    Deuces likes this.
  28. mjb3707
    Joined: May 10, 2010
    Posts: 63

    mjb3707
    Member
    from chicago

  29. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

    Damn looks sweet!!!
     
  30. Chubbs1955
    Joined: Oct 30, 2010
    Posts: 166

    Chubbs1955
    Member

    Another awesome set up, what are you running it on?
     

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