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Been looking at a CA black plate 1-owner '68 L71 that had it's engine rebuilt by Traco Racing. Anyone have any familiarity with them...??? Tks, Jeff B.
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Re: Traco Racing Engines
Traco is quite well known and built Chevy racing engines for many top teams including Penske back in the sixties. Their shop was in Culver City next to Dick Guldstand. Dick is not there anymore and I'm not sure if Traco is around anymore, either. The name was a contraction of the two principles - Jim Travers and ???? Coon as I recall. You can be pretty well assured that a Traco engine is about as good as it gets. I wasn't aware that they did rebuilds of stock engines, but if they did it, it was probably done right.
Duke -
Re: Traco Racing Engines
it was "frank" i think the name traco is still being used by who ever runs the co. nowComment
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PS
back then they painted their engines a light gray colorComment
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I remember "Traco Gray"
Back in the mid-seventies when Penske was preparing the IROC Camaros the engines were built by Traco, and were all painted gray. I recall hearing a story that the reason for the gray paint was that it made visually chasing down oil leaks easier.
DukeComment
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Re: Traco Racing Engines
Duke: Thanks for the wonderful report. The owner tells me he had a relationship with Traco, friend/relative, etc., that "permitted" him to have his L71 built by them. So you are right on about their not taking in stock motors for performance work. This '68 was purchased new for the sole purpose of racing, but the gentleman never did have the opportunity. He told me Traco bored it .040 over and that it now has 433 c.i. Apparently more cubes were the answer back then. Any comment on the added boring of the cylinder walls...?? P.S. doesn't have hardened valve seats... Tks, Jeff B.Comment
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Big block expert needed here
I'm not a BB expert, Jeff, so I'll defer any comments on the .040" overbore to big block guys.
In general the use of unleaded fuel will not have adverse effects on the valve seats, especially if the engine already has some miles with leaded fuel and it is not used "hard" such as road racing or trailer towing.
That said, you may need to dope premium unleaded with either leaded or unleaded high octane racing gasoline to have sufficient octane for the engine to run without significant detonation.
DukeComment
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Re: Big block expert needed here
Jeff and Duke-----
A big block engine from the late 60s period should be able to easily withstand a .040" overbore. Obviously, any overbore has certain "negative consequences" with respect to engine cooling, etc. However, a .040" overbore should have minimal consequences.
I always recommend using the absolute minimum overbore possible, if for no other reason than "block preservation" and making it possible for additional overbores at future rebuild times. Toward that end, I always insist on a .020" overbore for the first rebuild of a block, assuming, of course, that the cylinders can be adequately restored at .020" overbore which most will. Most machinests want to go .030" overbore on the first rebuild, mainly because they're set up for that and because most engines will never see a second rebuild, anyway. Actually, I'd even prefer a .010" overbore on the first rebuild, but off-the-shelf pistons are not generally available for small block and big blocks in this over-size.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: I remember "Traco Gray"
duke,bill howell was the chevy "point man" with the trans am teams back in the 67/69 era. that when i met the guys from traco. a light color is a big help looking for oil leaks.Comment
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Re: Traco Racing Engines
427 HP chevy engine blocks with 4 bolt mains will take .125 oversize and a 1965 corvette 396 will take a full overbore to 4.250 the same as the 427. doing that make a lot of cast iron chips. been there done thatComment
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Re: Traco Racing Engines
The Traco facility (machines & people) was purchased by Earnheart Racing and moved to North Carolina.
Dale.Comment
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Re: Traco Racing Engines *NM*
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Re: Traco Racing Engines
Wondering if you are referring to the late Dale Earnhardt...?? This specially-built TRACO '68 Chevy L71 now resides just outside Moorseville, NC, home to most NASCAR race teams, and I understand that D.E.I ( Dale Earnhardt Industries ) is without a doubt the most well-financed, extensive operation in NASCAR... Tks,Jeff B.Comment
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