Thread: Vortec setup OR roller rockers?

Tweet

Originally Posted by Muncieman

i HAVE A FRIEND THAT BUILDS STREET ENGINGES. HE TOLD ME THAT AFTER USING MOST OF THE SBC ALUMINUM HEADS AVAILABLE THAT HE DISCOVERED THAT THE ELDEBROCK ALUMINUM HEADS WHEN TORN DOWN CHECK OUT WITH ALL THE CORRECT SPECIFICATIONS EVERY TIME. HE SAYS THAT THE ELDEBROCK HEADS ARE THE ONLY HEADS TO CHECK OUT LIKE THIS. SO YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN SOME GREAT ADVISE GARYS GEARBOX

First off-please turn off the caps.That is interpreted as yelling.Edelbrock does build a good product.But to make a blanket statement like that isn't accurate.How did your street engine builder come to that conclusion??.Does he have the equipment,flow bench,test for for what he is saying??.Hell RHS builds one waling aluminum head as so many other companies do.Bottom line I have my doubts the ONLY Edelbrock check out.Seems some limited experience is coming into play.Short of tie-ing in Edelbrock's $3,500 EFI system with the heads my ref to them as been a mid moderate kind of mod.

I went with Vortec heads, Erson TQ-40 cam and the flat-top pistons I got the higher pressure z28 drop-in springs and .035 up locks for the valve stems to compensate for the new lift in the Vortec heads. I also splurged and got a 3hp mini starter. After I had the block all the way together on the stand I realized something was not right with the rotating assembly. Turns out a rod stud was bent and was causing it to bind up the crank. I went to the guys at Accurate engine and got a new crank, bearings and a replacement rod. Now it's back together and I started it up and it seems to be running pretty strong. The increased compression is very noticeable and the Edelbrock 1405 is plenty good as is with standard jets and metering rods. So far I'm pretty happy with the build and I figure 400 hp is a good target. It is hard to tell anything from a stand run so I'll have a friend at Lincoln tech dyno the car after the engine is in and broken in. if it isn't obvious from the pic I have a dual plane intake and some worthless chrome pan and chain covers that don't add any performance numbers but make me happy anyway. also my brother is planning on running almost the same exact setup on his 72 nova with a 327 that he is putting a five speed overdrive transmission in from an 80s pickup truck. 355 engine.jpg

nice photo is that a test ? water pump is on upside down

Wowzer zowzer - you're going to have some kinda fun with the cooling on this engine - I hope you did a better job on the inside than the outside as I believe the water pump is... well... upside down?

Not to worry guys just having a little fun with you.----- I didn't even put the seals on the pump. Nice to know people have attention to details. I don't think anybody would do this for real because the water galley holes don't even line up.

Update- my brother and I have had the engine in for about four months and it is a roaring beast! I can't believe how just a few mods can make that much difference. Seat of the pants is great -the rear tires burn out and won't quit until I am going halfway up second. I think the up-locks are a success on the vortecs or I would have seen a bent valve by now. It is great to know that my 350 did vortecs on the cheap without any machine work and no "ghetto grind". I think my total engine investment is under $800.

Next step will most likely be a manual od transmission but what I'm reading looks pretty bad. T5 is too weak even the "world class" won't hold 400hp. Np3500 is still a bit weak, expensive to repair and geared for a truck. Np4500 is heavy,bulky and geared wrong too. Saginaws and Muncies aren't od trannies. So what's left? A very expensive t56 swap . . . . Is there anything else? I have always loved c-bop for easy repairs and affordable parts please chime in if you have a workaround idea. Thanks!!!

I've seen some of the TKO 5 speeds hitting the used market for a reasonable price, new they're a bit over $2k. There's usually one or two showing up on Racing Junk used, never know what you could pick one up for from the right guy on the day he's really short on $$$$$$$!!!

Ok so obviously I have been busy. new job-got married and sold my 1971 Cutlass and two dune buggies. . but on to the good stuff . I put in a WC-T5 out of a 1990 5.0 camaro off CL for $200.00. I had to do some fab work to make the master cylinder work and got it a new clutch/pressure plate/flywheel. The gearing seemed pretty low and starting from a dead stop was a PITA. I did some research on the Corporate 10bolt 8.5 and found that I had 2.56 gears. I was then on the hunt for a posi unit with some 3.08 gears or up to 4.11 gears. I think I got lucky and found a Torsen posi unit on ebay that could ONLY go on non c-clip axles. which is BOP only. Lots of research before I put my money down. My brother has the lift so I drove 20 miles to his house. I have never rebuilt a rear end before so I looked up how to do that. long story short I did the shims new seals and pinion gear and drove it home. What a difference!! the posi unit came with a 3.42 ring gear so I'm doing 1900 Rpm at 60 MPH. (that is just about exactly what my TH350 and 2.56 gears were doing)

Thanks to every one leaving stories of how they did their projects and being able to search for just about anything you need to know really makes it all possible. Thanks for all those that have gone before me.