Thread: one for the engine brains.

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hi guys, I have a 350 block and a good set of 416 casting 305 h.o. heads they are 1.84/1.5. ported/polish/and gasket matched.
I posed this question on another board, but was only told they dont flow as well. so here goes,these heads on a 350 will create around 10.5 to 1 compression, so therefore what is the result???I understand that they dont flow as well as say 882 castings, but at 10.5-1 would these heads produce a torquey bottom end?how limited would the top end be??would it have lots of power on take off , then loose it at say 4000 rpm?? or would they just suck??
the plan is for a lowered chev s-10 truck , mainly just a tire screecher, If i want to go fast i'll drive the vette.what I want is lots of ball$ pulling away fishtailing up the road.will this be the result?? or will it just suck?? mike

well i would think any v8 in a s-10 would pull like hell off the line but yes a 350 with 305 heads is constrictive and is an instant 10.5:1 which from the launch to about 4500 rpm great power and since you dont want top end anyway i think it is a great way to go in the s-10 have fun buying tires often

well,I do most of my driving in town , and it will never see the quarter mile.
I also have a two speed glide c/w shift kit and a hughes 3000 stall converter, would this be too long a gear for this combo ? would a th350 with a stock converter and shift kit do better? any opinions??let me have them as i have little experience to draw from. mike

well, I took the bronco for a spin last night (it has a tach)and at wot from a dead stop , it shifted at 5,500 rpm.a 2.9 litre.
my guess was the combo would top out at 4,000 rpm,(this was only an uneducated guess).
would this motor literally choke at 4,000 or would it keep reving only not as hard after 4000. or what pm would it loose power??
would this combo be better served with a 4 or 5 speed??
c'mon experts, I need some solid advise. mike

Mike,

Not sure if I'm an expert, but I think you should get a different set of heads. These simply are not going to give you the performance you want and will cost you money in the long run when you figure out you need to change them. If you are going to build this project, don't cut corners on something as important as the heads.

Pat

If I were you I would head to the local bone-yard and grab some 993 casting truck motor heads. They usually have small 1.94 intake valves(instead of 2.02) and they shouldn't cost more than $100 or so, depending on where you are, I guess. Even the older ones w/out hardened seats will work for years( I have tried it) in a pinch. Of course Stu is right, heads are critical, you are smart enough to ask if you should try it I think you'll be fine if you listen to the majority of the old dudes, even some guys at the junk yard know some stuff. Even if you have a set of great 305 heads you will get sick of wishing you'd have scrounged a bit. Small Blocks have been around much longer than weve been alive and I think they can make or break a person. AND... 1.94s do make torque! This is a great place to learn keep reading and just make sure to do your research on the road with something that won't have you pouring in 104 octane booster additive by the gallon=]. Oh yeah and the key to a good rebuild is the cleanliness of your components, clean it all 10 times!

Also even some 350 heads (882s for instance) are vulnerble to cracking and warping. The real advantage of certain heads like 993s is their rigidity and resistance to cracking. Some of that is lost when you install 2.02 valves and or port them extensively, but at least there is enough material to remove and not compromise your main goal, which should be reliability, unless you need an excuse to bring your girlfriend home late, and you like changing cracked heads.=] I have never magnafluxed a set of heads, but I wouldn't even consider it w/ any 305 head, because you can depend on them to fail if you run them hard...

I'm not a Chevy guy, and certainly not an engine expert, but I know that on small block Fords when you add up all the parts, labor, and machine costs it is usually cost effective to buy a set of out of the box aluminum or cast iron heads. If you're not gonna race the thing, why not just use what works?? A 3000 stall converter on the street ??? Sounds like it would generate way too much trans temp for street use. A milder converter that flashes around 2200-2500 RPM would probably be a lot better deal. Five speeds are nice cause you have the overdrive 5th gear and can get away with deeper gears for in town and still run down the highway without zingin the motor.

i have a sick 390 in my 3/4 ton truck and want to put in a car 460 i have a good 78 460 out of a lincoln but i dont know what mounts i need to put a car 460 in my truck. 460 truck towers dont exist anymore help please. i know my truck isnt a hotrod but i drive a truck because i like trucks. the 390 in my truck im not going to rebuild because i can get 460s cheaper