350 Vortec in a 68 mod questions??

[tdiffee]

I have a 68 Chevy C10 SWB that I'm putting a reman vortec 350 in. I am deciding between a 350, 700R4, or a 4L60 trans and am not sure of the current gearing but am probably going to change it to suit my needs. I am wanting to put a new cam in it but even though I'm limited on lift I am not wanting to machine the heads any. I am looking more for a lopie idle for show purposes but am looking to make my power in the midrange because I am not one to really push the limits (really high RPMs) but also won't be pulling anything with this truck. For this cam will a set if 1.6 roller tip rockers benifit me and what springs will I need? I will also be needing an intake and carb. that will pair well with this setup. Lastly I am thinking a set of 1 5/8" headers. Would ceramic coating them benefit me in my application? Thank you for your assistance.
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[Captainfab]

For a cam I would look at the Comp XE262 or XE268, of course in the factory roller grind. Also Lunati should have something comparable. The problem with wanting a lopey idle with a roller cam, is that is typically a cam with a 110 LSA which also comes with increased valve lift. You can accomodate a lift of about .525 by switching to the beehive springs and appropriate retainers, and not have to machine the heads. Otherwise use the springs recommended by the manufacturer for the cam you choose. A nice affordable factory roller cam is the Ram Jet 350/HT383 cam pn14097395. It doesn't have much of a lope at idle, but it does sound good. I would run 1.6 rockers with that cam as GM did in the Ram Jet 350. You can use the stock L31 Vortec springs with this cam and 1.6 rockers.

A good intake would be the Edelbrock Performer RPM #7116 which is for the Vortec heads. A 600-670cfm carb would be sufficient for a 350.

I don't think you will see much performance benefit from coated headers. It does decrease underhood temps and protects your investment in the headers.

[Scotty-D]

.475 lift will be the maximum if you are planning on running a stock height (1.700")valve spring. That will give you a .050 safety margin. The stock vortec springs are horrible, and a popular upgrade are the inexpensive "Z28" valvesprings with the inner dampners removed.

Beehives are a much better performance spring, and give you a bunch of extra clearance with their 1.800" installed height. Just about any performance roller cam is going to put you over .480 lift, so this would be the way to go since I'm assuming you don't want to tear your heads off your new motor and machine the valve guide bosses down.

As far as a cam, this one would get the job done and do it well.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hrs-180325-08/

Your motor should be a little bit over 9.2:1 compression so I'd be looking for a stall in the 2800 range to get you going with this cam. Its a pretty mild cam, but will have a nice choppy idle with the 108* lobe seperation and make gobs of useable midrange power.

You are planning on running a carburetor arent you?
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[dznucks]

Both of the responses above are spot on. I went through this 6-8 months ago and can provide some more details for you.

Comp cam recommended the 268 cam for a good street cam with lots of low end grunt in a vortec motor, the lunati 60102 is comparable. For the springs look at GM NAL-12499224, $68 at summit. I think these are the L31 springs mentioned above. Comp Cam CCA-774-16 retainers, $53 free shipping, Amazon.com. You can also swap out the valve seals to gain more retainer to seal clearance. The NGk TR 5 plugs are also good plugs for the vortec heads.

Make sure the springs you use have comparable spring rates and heights to the springs recommended by the cam manufacturer.

Im not sure how much the roller rockers will help your build. My vortec motor is 355, 10.5:1, with the Lunati 60103, and I noticed a slight improvement with the 1.6 rollers. I am using the Scorpian SCP1036 rollers. With lower compression and lower lift, your money may be better spent in another area of the motor.

Dont get an Air Gap style intake, will cause you all sorts of headaches. Dont go over a 670 cfm carb either.

The 1-5/8" primaries might be slightly too big at low RPM, but will shine at higher RPM with the vortec heads. Make sure the header flanges and gaskets match the openings on the vortec heads. The ceramic coating will help keep the engine compartment cool, but may promote cracking.

[tdiffee]

Thanks for the responses. I meant to add that I was going to go with the beehive springs. So the stock lift limitations shouldn't be the end of the world. I'm going to be running a carb. and was thinking 650cfm range.

Decisions decisions decisions!!!

[hugger6933]

Go over to demacrat rd to the RHS building and get you a comp cam. Dude that stuff is made right there in Memphis Back in the day when I was racing and into hotrod motors and such I would spend a lotof time there as well as over at Ashland MS at TCI. But the 268h cam would be awesome inthere ,is your motor a vortec or did you just swap the heads onto an older small block. If it is a vortec look into a hyd roller of some kind as that is what is in there now. Once again the guys at RHS and Comp can help you with the best cam for what you need and you won't have to have it shipped. Memphis used to have several cam copanies, Comp, Lunati, Bullet and a couple more I can't remember the names.

[tdiffee]

Hugger- I was thinking that myself. Bill Taylor (Coleman Taylor and TCI) just came out of his no compete clause and and opened BTE in Southaven. I was gonna talk to those guys about all my tranny stuff and maybe buy some of my performance parts through them. It is a complete vortec engine and I was thinking/wondering if it was hydraulic roller so thanks for clearing that up for me.
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[tdiffee]

Here are pics of the way it sits now..............

[Marv D]

Unless BTE is going to learn customer service after the sale,, I'd run VERY FAR and VERY FAST. I bought a $4300 BTE glide in a Dedenbear SFI case for my Nova. Lasted 3 passes and took out the band and drum at Pinks All out (#2) I got 3 passes on that trans. BTW wouldnot stand behind it. I paid the local BTE dealer $400 to do new kevlar band and drum,, lasted 7 passes and craped the bed again. Took it to Hughes and $1800 IN PARTS later it had a new valve body, input shaft, drum, and a bunch of the BTE CRAP replaced. That was 4 years ago and a little over 300 low 9 second passes in a 2800 pound, big tire door car! If it wern't for the case needing re-cert I would leave it alone because it's working PERFECT!! Do the math and do yourself a favor,, find someone besides Billl Taylor to do your trans work.
You could try someone that appreciates customers like Jake Shoemake,,

http://www.jakesperformance.com/Home_Page.html

just happens to be a member here also!. And if you don't want to take my word for it,,, Jake warned me about BTE,, but I thought Ohh sure,, how bad can it be.. it's just a stinking Glide, EVERYONE knows how to build a glide for 800HP,,, Yeah.. just ask him about BTE!!!!!!!!

[Scotty-D]

Originally Posted by Marv D

You could try someone that appreciates customers like Jake Shoemake,,

http://www.jakesperformance.com/Home_Page.html

Big +1 on that. Dollar for dollar, you won't find anyone who builds a better transmission and stands behind it like Jake does. His track record speaks for itself.
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