So say you have a sbc and you want to add a little horsepower......I know what can be done but what makes the most sense for the money? For example, heads, cam, what should you do first?? That's just an example. I could usually drop a few hundred dollars every couple of months and need to pace myself. Im sure a lot of people on here are in the same boat and cant go out and drop $8000 on a motor. Soooo what should you do and in what order. Im sure there will be varying opinions but I would like to hear them
First thing is to decide what you consider Fast. Also, Fast on the street or on the Strip. How reliable do you want it for mileage? Pump gas or Race fuel? Old school 327 or the best Factory parts around today? What kind of weight are you going to be pushing? The Wizzard
HEADS. Its what gets **** moving. Port, polish, bigger valves, mill, deck, and good springs. Next would be a healthy cam. Fuel delivery and exhaust will follow.
The first step is to make sure your motor is healthy. A compression test, and maybe a motor oil ****ysis from blackstone to make sure the bearings are not degrading. Once your sure your SBC is up to the task, the next step is a cam and timing chain. carefully choose one that will fit your realistic expectations and driving habits. Shortly after the cam, a 4V carb upgrade, followed by a re-curved and powertuned distributor. You ~can~ use a factory 4V... In reality, your not really giving up very much by using a factory piece on a street engine... Maybe 3-10 HP max. Unless you used a cam that needs a single plane... In that case, ebay is your friend. After that, a power tuned carburetor is in order. The Q-jet, set up properly, is a damn fine carb! And finally, a set of headers and a nice dual exhaust. JMHO, YMMV...
56 chevy 150, not sure on the curb weight, pump gas. street driveable but not a daily driver. Gas mileage could be horrible and I wouldnt mind but I dont want to worry about keeping it running at a stop light. Wouldnt mind taking it to the strip for fun every now and then.
currently i have a brand new crate 350 with stock heads. Its the 71-80 replacement motor. Headers, edelbrock cheapy intake with a 600cfm edelbrock carb. Have'nt even fired it yet.
I will not dispute that the heads are where it's at as far as making BIG power, but I'm under the impression the OP wants to wake up a basically stock engine for more spirited driving. If you want to make the kind of HP that require big work on the heads, then the first step would be to rebuild the short block with high comp pistons, aftermarket rods, etc... Like I said, just my opinion
Some times save your $ and just tune. Get what ya got right! It's amazing how many rods have what should be great motors that should brown your shorts,but don't,just cus there out of tune to some amount. Stuff that needs to be right on and isn't. Timing/vac and or advance,carb jetting and or linkage wrong,cam set,valve set,headers wrong,plugs wrong,even aircleaners too restrecked,wrong gearing and or bad shift timing,or even just wrong T-con with the auto ******. Most any rod that is about 2000lb.s with any great running stock V8 can do it all. Offten just some great tuning can make ya say OMG,I don't need more power,or not. For some it's never enough but really there is a point were it is p***ed stupid power
Weight is your enemy. keep your intake air cool. a spacer under your carb. Use as thick of an air filter as you can. Make sure your ignition is in good shape. Wires. Good Dist cap. These are pretty basic but cheap and they work. Maybe headers and duals. Don't let things get too leaned out though.
Building a motor is like bakeing a cake .You have to follow the recipe. If you don't follow it it taste like ****. But if done right it makes you want to slap your boss!!! Now if you want to make it run better you have to match up your parts ie Heads, Cam, Intake get the meaning. Don't spend money on stuff you'll have to change. Start from the bottom and work your way up. Meaning if your not going to touch the block start with your cam then heads and last intake and carb then tune it. Its easyer to do the work out of the car than in it. I think you said it was a new crate motor that you haven fired of yet. find out the specs on it and go from their a good combo is a set of 2.02 1.60 heads with a littel work 480/480 cam good duel plane intake 600 or 650 cfm carb. That will give you some good sound and performance all around not a drag motor but a good warmed over SBC and pretty dependable thats my .02
Realistic plans and a clear goal will be most important. That plan and goal needs to include the rest of the driveline. That must be done first, before any parts are bought or wrenches turned. Every one will have a favorite part to replace or warm over first, all have some merrit, but alone, that part is not going to give results. Every single part needs to work together, in concert and unison. If they don't you are waisting time and money. All drivelines are a compromise aimed at the goal. ^^^^Understanding this is the first step in going fast.^^^^ The stock configuration is the ultimate configuration for the general consumer. Shooting for ultimate horsepower will only be a good measure if you will be driving it at the higher revs. The only time that does any good is for a few seconds, bragging rights maybe, if that is important to you.
So Im ***uming swapping out the rear end would be a good starting point. What would be a good set up? Once again I dont want to go over the top and spend $5000. Or would you reccomend putting a cam in it first.
31 Vicky's got it in one - "All drivelines are a compromise aimed at the goal. Understanding this is the first step in going fast" Excellent advice. What is your goal? Work that out and then reqd "recipe" will follow.... Rat
After you verify the ignition system, cooling system, fuel system, and engine are ok - then start modifying the engine. First thing - headers and a good exhaust. Second thing - camshaft. Third thing - heads. Then intake and carb upgrade. Ditch the stockers and buy a set of iron eagle platinum 180's with a 64cc chambers to get the compression up. Order them with the hydralic flat tappet springs. For a cam - Comp cams XE268 hydralic is a nice one for this setup. Your existing intake and carb should be ok, but an Edelbrock Performer RPM Airgap and Edelbrock 3310 750cfm va***n secondary carb would be better. A 3.5ish rear gear, and 2200 stall converter if its an automatic will make a pretty quick car.
First off, what car and year...Depending on your location you may have emission test... But a basic h.p. build up would be a cam, lifters, double roller timing chain, intake, carb, headers, and a better coil...Basically all-bolt on stuff, excpet for the cam and chain...A nice exhaust wouldnt hurt either. And different rear end gears. Maybe a stall converter, shift kit...All really depends on how far you wanna go. But basic bolt-ons will help a lot...
You could do a cam first if you want. Why do a cam, how do you choose ..set rpm range where you want it to live at so that it matches your gears, ..takes full advantage of your Tconverter if you have an automatic. ...So motor breathes better. .... Got the intake so that it can inhale better .....got the exhaust so that it can exhale better. .....got the heads so that it can do both better. .......Choose the specs, change up the dynamic compression ratio. Without looking at the other related parts you may actually loose untill you have the funds to get to the next part. Oh and change your mind in the middle , and the other things will change. Lotts to think about. some times way too much! Here is a hokey & corney ****ogy: Lets say you where watering your garden and wanted more water out of your hose. You could turn the valve on all the way as a first step. you could get a larger hose you could get a larger nozzle you could call the city and get more pressure. None of those just by it self will get you any more water. UNLESS that was the problem.
Do you know what compression ratio that crate motor has? Bolting on a set of rebuilt Vortecs might help out a lot, both in raising the compression and flow, but it will also require a new intake and valve covers. You can usually get a set of reman vortecs for $250 here. They flow comparably to some aftermarket heads, but are much friendlier on the budget.
Go to surplus store, buy a JATO Rocket, Strap on Rocket........ All kidding aside, Intake, headers, cam and a good ignition. Not necessarily in that order.
So we all agree it's a package not a part that makes performance. 2 key items I'm reading is let it breath and good Ignition. I agree. I am a firm believer in K&N air filters as well as system 1 oil filters. I'm a very fortunate guy with a strong relationship with Summers Machine. I don't half to know the Formula, just tell Archie where we want the performance level and let them do there stuff. What I do know is that most home builders put wrong carbs on thinking big is good. Headers can destroy performance more than add if they are wrong size tube and length for your Heads and Cam. I've also learned out of the box performance parts usually requier fine tuning to get the most out of them. That said if I were going to warm up my sbc without getting advice from Summers, I'd find out what kind of lift my stock heads will take and find a cam that works within those specs. Next I'd see what dia my exhaust ports are and get a set of headers with same size tubes and around 30" long. Block huggers are a Joke for performance in my book. I like Edelbrock performance carbs much more than Holly mostly because I understand them. I also feel electronic ign is a must, many to choose from but for a daily driver I use Pertronix. Be sure to get your Dist. re curved per Cam specs. This formula is generally cheep and easy to do and can be done one step at a time by most home builders. The Wizzard
Quikest way to go fast...in a short distance, is to install a 5:13 Posi gear in the rearend...that's a couple of hours fix...you'll be wayyyyy quiker than anyone on the streets... Of course, the downside is loss of mileage, trips out of town are a no-no and a way too quik trip to the red line of your engine... R-
well even just some good gears could give you a lil snot on teh street without screwing you up on the hwy..and not for nothing you can get a posi in a junkyard for like $250 that may already have a good gear set..nothing has to be like hot rod magazine top o the line stuff.. I think narrow now more what you want.. do you wanna blow someones doors off at the traffic light ?? fly down the hwy ?? lil a both. good gears with any motor can make a noticeable difference,,at a reasonable cost 400hp through a **** rear end gear is a bit of a waste IMHO
Since you asked? Let me see if I've got this right: you don't know what you have now, you don't know what it weighs, or what transmission, or axle ratio... ...but you know it's not fast enough... ...and you know nothing about this engine, or any engine, you want all the answers in 5 minutes, but have no money?
Okay....I have a rough idea of what it weighs. Im sure most of the people on here also have a rough idea of what a 56 chevy weighs. I do know what transmission I have and I do know what stall converter I have. I do not know what gears come in a 150 model but it does not seem that anyone else on here knows for sure either since I have tried to figure it out in the past. the point is moot anyway since I plan on switching it out. I know its not going to be as fast as I like because I have had other mid 50's cars with the same setup I currently have. I didnt say I had no money. I just said I cant blow $8,000 on a motor. thanks to everyone that gave me helpful advice on the thread. Too bad there always has to be one a$$hole.
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