Ok so I will start by allowing my ingnorance to show.

I am looking for information regarding the assembly of my engine. I have assembled a plain jain 350 and it ran fine but for the next engine I would like to get into the details.
The engine only high perf. engine that I worked on was a 383 that I had built by a professional racer that owned a machine shop. At that time I was just concerned with him giving me the most power I could get from that setup.

I knew the stroke and bore and the basics of the installation as far as putting it together but I havn't gotten into the details of the deck height, DCR, Quench, IVO, EVO, and so on.

The only work that I did to that engine was to change the heads to 76cc chambers and install a different cam to make it more street worthy. What bothers me is that I just removed the old heads and put the new ones on and installed the cam straight up. The result was a much weaker engine than I had started with.

I would like to get my hands on, or into the next buildup completely and I am trying to obtain info that will help.

Thanks

Dustynn

[This message has been edited by Dustynn (edited 10-05-2002).]

What heads did you take off? If they were smaller chambered heads the loss of compression will definately make it feel weaker.

Oger..yea I know the heads were the result of the power difference. I was running about 11 to 1 on compression. This was ok for my camaro because I didn't drive it all the time and I could afford the expense of racing gas to keep it from pinging.
I took the engine out of the car when I sold it and used it for my 83 chevy p/u.

The heads that were on it were the double humps with 64cc chambers, and the cam was a magnum 305H. Just too much for a daily driver IMO.

I appreciate the response but the power loss isn't my concern. I really want some information on building my current engine.

I hear people talking about the quench and dynamic compression and other details and I know what your talking about but I need the details because these are things that I havn't gotten into yet.

Thanks
Dustynn

[This message has been edited by Dustynn (edited 10-05-2002).]

there is some really great information on... www.speedomotive.com (http://www.speedomotive.com) Click on the link about engine building tips.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish with this next engine? What kind of car, gears, trans / stall, and ESPECIALLY USAGE? Will it be a daily driver, weekend cruiser, full time drag strip car, etc. What kind of fuel will you be running - pump premium or race gas?

Knowing your goal will help give us some direction if we are going to help you understand how to pick the "perfect combo."

My combo is starting with a late model LT-1.
I know that some may not agree with using this engine but I got it very cheap and complete, minus intake. I plan to use the conversion intake to run a carb.
It is going in a 69 camaro with a martz front subframe.
I plan to drive the car a few days out of the week (93 octane)and I live about ten minutes from Houston Raceway Park so I plan to visit as much as possible.
I would like to stroke the engine to either a 383 or 396. The part that I get lost on is, do I have to buy a complete rotating assembly or can I just buy the crank and diff. pistons. This thing will never see the other side of 6500 rpms so I am not worried about forged products.
Is there any negative effects of running the camshaft intended for efi but with a carb?

To build a 383 (I don't know how you could make it into a 396 - thats a BBC) you need to get a whole new reciprocating assembly, crank, rods, and pistons. (technically you could reuse the 5.7" 350 rods with the right pistons, but you'd have to rework them anyway). You also need a vibration dampener and a flexplate for a 400 small block. They sell kits (even for your late model block) that include all the parts I mentioned plus rings and bearings for right about $1,000. I personally like the Eagle kits since that is what I run in my 383, but there are other companies like Scat and others that make good stuff. I'd avoid the cheap, cheap, kits.

You could probably run an EFI cam with a carb, but why would you want to? If you are going to run a late model roller block and spend the money on the stroker kit you might as well get a roller cam that will work well with your build up. I've heard nothing but great things about the GM Hot Cam, I don't have the specs handy though.

Also, you can sometimes reuse factory hydraulic roller lifters on an aftermarket cam if they are in good condition, so chances are you only need to buy a new cam. If you wanted to reuse the old LT1 cam I think you will find it to be too small anyway.

If the motor came out of a Camaro or Firebird I think you would have the aluminum Vortec heads. So with a medium sized cam 10.0:1 to 10.5:1 compression would be what I would shoot for. You could get 12cc dish Keith Black pistons (hyperutectic - not forged) that will run 10.3:1 compression with your heads and a .040" quench height.

Hope this helps.

the 396 small block is getting more popular. American Speed makes quite a few 396 cube small blocks, using a 3.875'' crank throw.

Eric..thanks for your reply and advise. I didn't mean to lead you to believe that I wasn't going to use a roller cam. My real concern was if the cam being setup for fuel injection would affect my setup since I am going to run a carb. I know alot of people say that I should just run the EFI but I have decided not to.
The stroker kits that I have found havn't been that cheap but I will look into the Eagle kit.
Anyone have an idea what kind of power I can possibly make with this setup...using the Hot Cam...

Thank for all the help

Eric..do you have a link to the the eagle web site or a distributor that would get me headed in the right direction???

Try the Jegs catalog or call them direct 800-345-4545. Look at part # 356-B13005L for $930 on pg 22.

You could also call my machine shop and ask if they would ship - they sold me my Eagle kit with -12cc KB pistons for $900 balanced but that was 2 years ago and I bought a crapload of other parts from them at the same time.

Talk to Ray or Todd at the Able Co. 616-534-6946 and mention my name (Eric / 68 Camaro), maybe they'll cut you a deal.

Thanks Eric..exactly what I was looking for....