Vortec heads, RPM intake for the vortecs, 268-ish cam that doesn't have lift higher than the vortecs can handle, 600 edelbrock carb, 1 3/4 headers, 3 inch exhaust and a 3000 rpm stall converter. in my opinion, the converter is the best bang for the buck.
How about a revised list of what you do have that you are not planning on changing or want to work with for now. Rearends, If you want to stay GM with your Chevy look for a 12 bolt. #1 choice Very common choice is a ford 9". The gm RPO code G-80 gov' lock rears are good for trucks on slippery/muddy/snowy roads, not really the best thing for a heavy hitting street car. They dont work untill traction is already broken. Most of those work on the centrifical force of one axle spinning up to around 100 rpms faster than the other.
Its all about the combo. I prefer the Iron eagle Platinum 180's because they come ready to bolt on for a little over $800 and use all your existing parts. They flow well, are setup for .550" lift hydralic or flat tappet cams, and are brand new. RHS makes a nice cast iron head also. Vortec's are good heads and if you are starting from scratch they are a good buy, but when on a budget and reusing parts - they can get spendy. To do the vortec swap: Heads - $300 intake - $200 valve covers - $50 for new chrome ones, $10 for junkyard ones valve cover gaskets - they are expensive for these because they are reusable - $30 guided rockers - $70 for stock replacement guided rockers new, rollers are aroung $200 So you will be in for about $610 and change to bolt on a stock set of heads that are lift limited to about .460-470" before you start hitting the guide. And if you want to run any type of cam: Springs - $80 retainers - might be able to reuse the old ones, otherwise $30 locks - I always replace the locks with machined ones $20 machine down the guide - just do it yourself by buying the arbor - $50 So around another $180, but now you are good to whatever lift the tock springs are good to. Thats almost $800, which is pretty close to the price of the Iron Eagles or RHS heads which are both superior.
Alright this is what I have. Stock 350 motor. Im willing to put a cam and new heads on it. I already have headers on it and dual exhaust kicking out in front of the rear wheels. I have a turbo 350 with a 2800 stall in it right now. I have a built turbo350 out of Kevin from the motorpsychos 57 ford g***er(if your from Cleveland you know the car) that has a cracked casing. I plan on swapping the internals into a good case and putting that in. Im not sure what all has been done to it but supposedly it has some voodoo. Im willing to swap carbs and intake. I currently have an edelbrock 600cfm carb. I am ***uming that will be enough even with the new heads and a cam....Is there any benefit with going with the 9" over the 12 bolt? I am ***uming I can get the 12bolt cheaper. I really dont want to pull apart the motor other than to put the cam in it.
Speed costs money, how fast do you wanna go? I've been doing what you're trying to for a long time now and here's how I see it. Hipo rearend. $1000. Appropriate gears and positraction and strong enough to take punishment. Somebody will undoubtedly chime in to beat-down that price with tales of cobbled up **** and once in a lifetime deals. But if you wanna do it even remotely right, that's the buy-in. $2k+ is increasingly common. Hipo transmission. $1000. Even if you go low buck like a th350, you'll need a shift kit, a decent converter, good trans mount, decent fluid lines and cooler, good U joints, and a shifter that you can safely hammer at redline. If you want a stick shift or overdrive, it jumps to $1500/2K+ Hipo SBC. $3000. If you wanna rebuild one to be a 400hp contender, that's the bare minimum money to do it right. You'll drop $1500 on the shortblock with machining and basic parts, then you'll drop $1500 on heads/cam/intake/carb. Again, somebody will undoubtedly chime in and call BS, those guys are building half*** ****. Some are luckier than others, but ultimately the fuse is burning on all those motors. Even at 3K, you'll be buying used aftermarket heads. Add the basic numbers and guess what, $5k! That's the buy-in for a hot street car with any reliability. Sorry to break the news. If you avoid the financial realities of seeking speed, in a year or two you'll look back and realize you spent more than planned, and your **** is still disappointingly slow. Been there, done that. good luck
I'm all about the heads. The heads will determine how much power you can potentially make. You shouldn't even look at cams until you have your heads ready to go on. If you have them flowbench tested, you'll learn where they flow well, and then you can choose a cam to match the potential of the heads. Pretty much any headers are better than any manifolds. You've already got headers, and for a street small-block like yours, they're probably fine. You've got a 2,800 rpm stall converter- again, for a street car, that's fine. If you go Vortech heads (a good call for a budget SBC), there are limits to how much cam you can run (as was mentioned earlier- .450 is about the limit). I'm a fan of AFRs, Brodix's, and Darts. They all offer great heads in various configurations and port sizes. For a street 350, you should be looking at a 190-200 cc port. Intake-wise, I like the Air Gap...a tall dual-plane that delivers solid mid-range power. Your short-block should be fine to 400 horses, maybe even 450 for short periods (like dragstrip runs). I also love solid roller cams, but they require regular maintenance. If you're not capable of that, a hydraulic roller is fine. I cannot recommend flat-tappet cams anymore with the ZDDP concerns in modern lubricants. I also like 4 hole-to-open carb spacers, internal engine coatings, and synthetic oil. Start by choosing heads, and build the rest around their capabilities.
^good post. Now that we know you wanna reuse your stock 350 shortblock, the question is what kinda pistons do you have? Not because it matters if they're forged or cast, but because you wanna tailor the compression ratio with head selection. To have any aggressiveness in the cam you need at least 9:1 or it'll have miserable low speed manners. Go much higher than 10.5:1 and you'll have pump gas compatability issues. Be thorough with your calculations and include the type of head gasket you're gonna use. Guys thinking they have 9.5 but actually only having 8.7 are the rule, not the exception. I would go so far as to say you should pull the heads and verify the pistons before buying new heads. Only exception is if you have really, really, really good do***entation as to what they are. "stock" can mean everything from a huge dish to 4 relief flattops. If there ever was such a thing as free power, this is it. If you're already changing heads the combustion chamber volume should not change the cost. good luck
Probably the most realistic, practical step-by-step reply I have read so far came from RacerRick. His suggestions mirror what I did with a 71 Nova. I had a family, 3 little girls and a boy, and drove the car every day to work with the baby seats in the back. I was on a budget, too. It started as a 307/th350 grocery getter with an open diff and 2.73's bought from the original owner. End goals and combination are critical. What do you really want to do with it, realistically? Next, carefully consider the entire combination from engine, trans, gears, weight. Talk to lots of people and lots of manufacturer tech lines. They will also ask about your combination. Some of the opinions on this site are good info, but keep clear in your mind where you want to go. Ask a 100 people and you will probably get 99 different versions. I started with a nice flowmaster dual exhaust and headers and saw my et drop from 18.1 to 17.5 sec. A month or so later I rebuilt a 600 holley vac sec and added it along with an edelbrock performer intake and saw my timing slip drop to 15.6. A rebuilt HEI with new plug wires and nice valve covers went on a month after that. Next was a re-ringed 350 (new bearings, timing chain, rings, "Z-28" valve springs, etc) with a carefully selected hydraulic cam and self-ported heads. E.T. dropped to 14.1 and the car was deadly consistent (within a tenth all day long). The cam was too wild for the stock converter and had a hard time idling at a stop light, so a 2200 rpm stall converter was added and life was good. My wife liked the car the most before the cam and converter were added, and it's true, it was a lot of fun. Once the comp cams 292 cam went in, the car got serious. Ran it like that for a couple of years without any problems, but got the go-fast itch again. A spool and 4.10's dropped my e.t. to low 13's and the car ceased to be a daily driver and then I started breaking parts - you know, the weakest link syndrome. I've had lots of fast cars, but that was probably the most fun, taking it from an old mans car into a quick, quick ride. Take your time and add one thing at a time to evaluate how it affects performance. Good luck with it and have fun!
look heads cam etc this whole m***ive engine build,,wtf,,,he's not even sure what he wants..your guys are talking big money that without knowing teh trans and rear are all a lil pointless ,,,lets get back to basics,,,people are pulling names and big words out there ****s .he has a basic good motor to start so,,think small
I cleaned your post up a bit hope you don't mind. Ok Do you have A "GM crate motor part #" we could all look at the specs. or, Is it just a budjet builder motor any known specs on it as far as the compression? What heads do you have & what do you know about them? What intake manifold do you have now?
The casting number is 10066036 I got it as a long block from a guy who had a stroke and could not use it. I have no info on the motor, or the heads since I was not the one that bought it new. It was still new when I bought it. The intake is a cheapy edelbrock the guy threw in with it. Any specs you guys could find in it I would greatly appreciate it I pulled this off another site I ***ume its accurate... They came with 993 casting heads also made in mexico, which are large chamber 76cc 1.94 intake 1.50 exhaust. The compression ratio is 8.5:1.
The most bang for your buck? I'd spend $400 and add a NOS Sniper kit. It's pretty mild. The most aggresive jets are 150 hp. You don't need a seperate fuel system. The power's only there when you need it. On a mild motor you'll still pick up a second and a half in a quarter mile. Have fun. If you blow it up, then you can start on all the other stuff.
The easiest thing to do w/that motor that would give the biggest improvement is a B&M or Weiand mini blower. New ones are pricy but clean used ones are pretty plentiful and can be found much cheaper. Just send it out for new bearings an seals or if you feel capable do it yourself. As long as you keep the boost reasonable and get your carb and timing right that motor wont sweat it. It will also have good driving manners and get decent milage if you stay out of the throttle.
Well lets ***ume for now this info is correct. And remember these are my opinions, everyone will have one. That is mild comperssion and large chambers would accept a sane level of boost well, If you wanted to go with a blower. The ones that LSaA mentioned should fit under your hood and that is a fantastic way to get some extra out of that mill, With the internal by-p*** valve they are pretty economical to run, power when you need it with out the drag. Your TH350 has the following gear ratios 1/2/3 and A 700r4 has the next set.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=500 bgColor=white border=1><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>TH350</TD><TD>2.52</TD><TD>1.52</TD><TD>1.00</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=500 bgColor=white border=1><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>700R4</TD><TD>3.06</TD><TD>1.62</TD><TD>1.00</TD><TD>0.70</TD><TD>N/A</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Your converter at 2800 stall, might be a bit much, on a street car why? In order to take advantage of that stall your cam should make power in the higer RPM ranges, You'll want a cam that will come on around 2500-3000 and pull up top. That is what its made for. In order to make the the most of the cam you will need a high rpm manifold. That cam and that manifold. Your bottom end will tolerate 5500 6000 rpm. That limits your driving range from 3000-6000 rpms. Kinda goofy for a street car, It will be a DOG off a light, to the parts store, around town, great if you can make use of your foot on the floor. You cold have some fun with it for sure but a reckless acceleration ticket will be a reality, zinging that thing to 4000rpm from a stop sign. It wont be any fun unless you are already exceeding the speed limit. Next, a kinda heavy tri 5 chevy with a 2.50 first gear is going to need something in the 3.90 range and higer for a rear gear to get going like you want. 28" tire and 3.90 gear will be 3050 rpms at 65 mph. Thats right where you want to be in your power band but kinda high for a free way cruise. Really Fun to punch it at 65 up 125 mph, really fun!! MPG would ****. Is that what you want ? ? Didn't sound like it from you explanation.
If i remember correctly, 2nd generation f-body rears are pretty much a bolt in deal. You can still find 10 bolt posi rears dirt cheap and the're plenty durable for the street, especially if you're not running slicks and a stick. Anything more than a 3:73 ratio isn't really necessary if you concentrate on building power under the curve, stay on the conservative side and focus on properly matched components and proper tuning.
i was going to mention a search on vortec....get a realilistic idea of how fast and evaluate the budget.....think torque & you'll have a ball........
listen to the guys talking tuning, gears and longblock std rebuilds first. after that, small 4 barrel, 1 1/2" primary headers with maybe turbo mufflers aor gl*** pacs and then small cam, meaning 250-260 dur 200-210 @ .050, .450 lift 108-109 lc for a little lope. car probably has 3.70-3.90 gears. if its a powerglide disregard all and put in a 350 th or 3-4 speed first. 2000-2500 converter. cant beat quality ign....good luck
After my posts on page two, have reread this thing a couple times and reflected a bit.........and beginning to think this is the best recommendation yet. I've run one of those weiand 144 mini on a mild 350, it's a hugely streetable setup at 6-8psi. The blower is almost free power......and I mean free in the dollar sense. You can literally buy a used one, run it for years, then resell for similar to what you paid. Wanna talk about maximizing your existing longblock and rear gear?? The blower will make big stupid torque. Torque covers for things like high rear gears, and pressurized intake manifolds cover for things like small cams and poor head flow. It might be the one thing that saves changing 20 others and ends up being cheap in the longrun. And the other thing.....I feel like a poser saying it. The OT vehicle the blower was on.....real clean, simple, muscle style car. Cruise nights aren't my thing but go to a few every summer. Before the blower, it attracted a small group. After the blower, literally 10X interest. Downside though, everybody expects it to be as fast as 8/71 equipped cars. Be warned though, there's no going back. Once you pressurize a car, all future unpressurized versions will be a disappointment good luck
Im thinking, I am going o get it running this week and go from there. I have to replace the leaf springs because they are shot so I figure while Im at it I will replace the rear end(probably a 12 bolt, if anyone has one laying around they want to sell...). The next thing I think I am going to do from an economical standpoint is put in a new cam. After that if Im not happy with it Ill do heads and intake.
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