Zane's 71 327 Ram Horn - restrictive?

[rcazwillis]

I remember when I was a teenager, the truck was weak in the engine department. Decent low end, but would not pull any RPM. I always thought it was just the way the engine was built.

The engine we put in it has vortec heads, good springs, Edelbrock dual plane, with a quadrajet and the same exhaust from 327 ram horns to tail pipe. Timing is 12 degrees with new HEI. Should not be a factor. Tuning is on the rich side. No vacuum leaks, plenty of fuel flow. Everything was built for a future cam swap. The engine should spin up to 5500 pretty easy with good power. It won't. It runs fine, but is kinda lame. Very reminiscent of the engine when dad drove it.

Considering the only common factors are 327 ram horn manifolds, 2" exhaust, and glass packs, I wonder about the ram horns. They are 327 versions with the alternator mount on the driver side. Could they be restrictive enough to cause the problem? Could it be the glass packs? I guess the answer is yes to both, but where should I start?

I just remember the driver side manifold also has the flapper valve on the exit that helps the engine warm up. Could that be enough to choke it down. I have not verified it is actually opening up.

I checked for bananas.

Zane does not yet know the difference, but I do. Has to be fixed.