Using rectangular port intakes on oval port heads

[Keith Tedford]

We took a '74 smogger 454 and added a Cam Dynamics 272 energizer cam, rectangular port intake, 750 Holley, and headers. At 3900 pounds with driver the car ran 102.4 mph with no special tuning what so ever. With traction that equates to about 13.2-13.3, if you had traction. Bottom end torque was excellent. Not bad for a total under the hood investment of about $1K including the engine. The torque felt like our L72. It was a pleasant surprise. Not many cars run as well for so little invested. Others have used this intake on race oriented oval port engines with excellent results. Add to that the hipo Chevy look and the intake is worth it even if it didn't work.