01-11-2017, 04:07 PM | #51 | |
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Re: Lets talk Small Block
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I've had at least one person respond saying that they had a 350 in a 4x4 that made decent enough power. A few suggestions for putting on Vortec heads and a new cam, but less than I expected responses about feeling that I'd be best off going for the 383. Honestly, I'm leaning toward pulling the motor and changing the heads, cam and intake to something that have been proven to work well together. I'm not quite sure what that will be though. I've got to figure out if my block is set up for a roller cam. It does have the one piece rear main seal, but I'm not sure if the machine work was done for the roller cam. I don't think my current stock replacement heads are bad, I'm just not sure what their potential is. Also, I'm on the fence about spending a couple thousand for a top end kit, or maybe 4 thousand for a 383 crate engine. One thing goes wrong if I go with the top end kit and I've got to pull it and start over, and I'd been maybe better off to go with a crate engine. I tend to have bad luck with such things. |
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01-11-2017, 11:21 PM | #52 |
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Re: Lets talk Small Block
Well since you are going to go with a crate deal you should advertise your engine while it's in the truck so potential buyers can hear it run and you should get more out of it. I bet somebody with a drag strip toy or stop light bandit might like to have your engine.
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01-12-2017, 01:16 AM | #53 |
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Re: Lets talk Small Block
If you do have 64cc chamber heads now and 10.5 compression - your next set of heads needs to be aluminum. Then you'll have alot more leeway with the dynamic compression, (you can use an even smaller cam and gain more low-end torque).
Vortec heads are nice if you've planned your build including them, but will cost you when changing over to them. I'm betting your setup can be made to work with a cam better suited to you. You need to know more about this setup before changes can be made to it tho'. A fresh rebuild one pc seal shortblock with flattops is a great start, if that's what you have !?
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01-12-2017, 11:47 AM | #54 | |
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Re: Lets talk Small Block
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That leads me to ... what do I really have under there. If I knew for sure, it would be much easier for someone on here or a cam company, or Summit, or whatever to recommend the correct cam. But I don't know. The only way I'm really going to find out would be to pull the heads right? I sort of need to know the head chamber size as well as the piston design (top of piston to deck would be nice but maybe isn't as critical). Also, any new cam I choose, assuming it is less aggressive should probably have new valve springs put in correct. Without knowing, I could make some guesses that I have Flat tops, 64cc chambered heads and probably really something closer to 9.5 to 1 compression. Then find a cam based on that guess. However, if I've guessed wrong, then I'm throwing money away. I'm nervous of the uncertainty of what I'm starting with. So I probably should pull it out and pull the heads and find out what I'm starting with. From there, I guess it is how much money do I want to spend. Cam Roller Cam Cam and heads Roller Cam and Heads new 383 base new 383 High Performance anywhere from a few hundred to 7 or 8 thousand. |
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01-12-2017, 06:34 PM | #55 |
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Re: Lets talk Small Block
For all we know it probably has a Thumper cam in it. It will always be doggy and hard to tune. The "racing" pistons are probably run of the mill flat tops. It sounds like you already have a sound engine with new heads. I'll bet if you put a good moderate cam in it, it will run like it is supposed to. I actually took some aluminum heads off of my truck (350) because I figured the extra power wasn't being used with the light hauling and slow driving that I do. If you live near mountains and haul big trailers then maybe big power is more important to you. Everybody here likes VooDoo cams or Comp Cams 268. I'm sure any of them will really really wake up your engine. If you're set up for roller lifters then there is another option.
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01-12-2017, 06:47 PM | #56 | |
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Re: Lets talk Small Block
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01-12-2017, 09:08 PM | #57 |
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Re: Lets talk Small Block
Not that you need another opinion, and you have more engine building experience than I do. But I've read the whole thread, and it does seem to be worthwhile to pull your head's and see what you got. Couldn't you add a thicker head gasket if you felt like you were dealing with too much compression? One thing that hasn't been mentioned much is the intake manifold. I didn't see whether you said it was single plane or dual plane. But the previous owner sounds like somebody who might be running single plane. I'll bet with a new cam and possibly a new intake, that you'll be ready to go.
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01-12-2017, 10:17 PM | #58 | |
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Re: Lets talk Small Block
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01-13-2017, 03:31 AM | #59 |
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Re: Lets talk Small Block
Cool. Yeah it seems that if the cam is pretty aggressive, that a 670 carb may be restrictive. I'll bet that a mild cam could work pretty well with the 670 carb and the dual plane intake, even if you have flat topped pistons. If you experience some detonation, maybe you can back the timing off some? IIRC it's set fairly advanced currently, right? I don't think that will solve the problem if the compression is too high, but it will keep from making it worse. What does it idle like now?
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01-13-2017, 11:28 AM | #60 | |
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Re: Lets talk Small Block
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