Which conditions would need to be present to choose a Torker over a Performer?

Cam duration?
Planned use of vehicle?
Carb size?
Gearing?
Converter stall?
Transmission choice?

 

I have run both on my car, no matter what cam I was running, the Torker always ran quicker. If you have to have a EGR valve, then the performer. If you can fit the Torker under the hood, use it. I really don’t think you can do much to hurt the low end performance of a Olds, assuming it’s tuned right.

 

Good question , subscribing

 

Thanks. My car has a 16” hole in the hood with a scoop over it so I can run just about anything.

 

Why not run an RPM intake

 

Nothing against RPM or Performer. But there are a bunch of Torkers for sale second hand in my area. The others don’t pop up as much for sale.

 

Here's a low-cost Torker build doing pretty good on pump gasoline:

 

I’ve seen this before. This was an apples to oranges to grapefruits comparison. No cam specs given for any of them, one had aluminum heads, the others iron. One had a roller, the rest didn’t. One had a better ring pack, the rest didn’t etc. What a joke.

 

I’d like to see some engine builds/dyno tests other than the same cookie-cutter belly button builds.


Back when I use to get car magazines worth reading, and they had Olds engine builds it was all the same. Mild flat tappet cam (occasionally they would use a roller, but still the girly-man grinds) same heavy Speed-Pro pistons, and the same predictable results. I guess that’s to be expected being fanatics of a “orphaned” car manufacturer.


While every engine has their own personality and advantage/disadvantages, it would be nice if things were made equal. The closest real world engine shootout I can recall was Car Crafts big block battle from the early 2000s

 

I’d like to see the same.
So, my plan is to have a big block mule the same as the small block one I have. Unfortunately my hip surgery threw a wrench in the works and consequently I won’t be able to do anything until I finish the 6-8 builds already waiting in my shop, so it’ll be awhile.
However it’ll be 9.5-10.0:1, have Iron heads to start with, and a typical Hyd cam in the 230@.050 or so range. From there it’ll get head, intake, and exhaust changes to show what works etc. Should be interesting.
Note; once I’m back the small block mule has a list of changes that will be thrown at it immediately. Stay tuned for that.

 

Is the plan for the 455 mule to use a modern crank , pistons and ring pack ?

 

Most likely an N crank, H beam rods and my Racetec piston.
HOWEVER I do have a 425 .842 block and crank that I might grind to 4.25” stroke and use a BBC rod etc.
Whatever I do though it'll be a pretty typical base.

 

What was particularly disappointing was that no Buick engine was made available. I guess, Cadillac didn't count, since they were never into racing. But still, because people sometimes use them and there were actually performance parts made available for them, maybe one of those would have been interesting. AMC and Ford need not apply, since GM and Mopar would continually kick sand in both of their's faces, except for the 426 ohc Ford. But, from where are they going to fetch one of those?
What I found particularly interesting was the stroked-out Chrysler 400 block doing pretty well for a poor man's build. I'm guessing, because of continued production for motorhomes way past when GM big blocks were long discontinued. Perhaps, this was why aftermarket parts for those are still reasonably priced

 

Ok, building an Oldsmobile engine is stupid considering all it's short comings. That being said I'm extremely stupid " stupid is was a stupid does" 😂

Now to try and answer the actual question. You pick the intake to enhance the application "total build". In the case of a 455 they are very forgiving in a moderate build. Ive swapped those intakes with almost no gain in mild street builds. If you are aiming for low torque use the Performer dual plane unmodified. If you want to increase upper RPM power the Torquer single plane. Their is no absolute numbers you can apply. If you take a look at all the available intakes their are intakes that will make a noticeable difference. A Victor intake would not be suggested for a low RPM application. Layout your build and you will get different opinions. Most will work but some will be way off.