by rpoz-29 » Sun Jan 26, 2014 9:11 am
The 140 could be made to run pretty strong, but without a fair amount of head work, that 4 bbl carburetor is a waste. The intake valves are small, and the head is restrictive. I actually tried a 4bbl intake on a stock Vega in the 70's and it performed no better than the 2 bbl. Bear in mind I had a 2.92 rear, and a header. Maybe if I had it on a long stretch of interstate, it would have helped, but in town, (other than sounding fast), it didn't do much. I started autocrossing the car in 1975, and was hindered to some degree by SCCA rules. Eventually, I stumbled across what I found to be the best engine set up for my car, while staying inside the rules. I ran a 3.36 rear, a Cyclone "Bi-Y" header, an Accel super coil, and managed to find a 1971 2bbl camshaft. It was enough to get the car into the high 16's, at a little over 80mph (while set up to autocross), through the quarter mile on a miserably hot day. I do remember the old NASCAR "Baby Grand National" Monza's and Vega's running the 140, and making 150+ hp through a Rochester 2bbl carb. There is info out there, but it's hard to find.
Last edited by
rpoz-29 on Sun Jan 26, 2014 9:39 am, edited 1 time in total.