Calling SBC Folks!!

ncgamedog

ncgamedog

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2005
Location
Greensboro, NC
Guys I'm collecting parts to complete my 355ci SBC. Right now I have a 5.7 liter TBI series block bored 0.030 over with stock turned crank, stock rods, and new flat top pistons. The hydraulic roller lifters were gone when I got the block so Im planning to just use regular hydraulic lifters instead...if that will work? Does anyone know if that's ok to do with these blocks or if there is a source to get new rollers cheap?
Im also trying to find some heads that will work well with this setup. The engine is going in my 68 chevy project 4x4. It will mostly see low RPM's and be used for cruising around the farm, or country, and some light to medium towing (under 10000-8000 lbs). I want to be able to take a few road trips with it and will eventually add AC. I say all that cause I want to build power in the right range and keep the engine cool under those conditions. I am thinking about some early castings with smaller valves to create more torque, and somewhere around 70-76cc chambers. Im thinking I should be shooting for around 9-9.5:1 compression ratio. Def would like to be able to run 87, but at least pump gas. Im also thinking abt an RV cam of some sort. I will be using an edlebrock performer intake and most likely the stock quadrajet carb, rebuilt. I might be persuaded to go to an aftermarket head if its really worth the extra coin. Other information that may be important is that it will be running in front of a th400/205 and the axles are geared 3.73. Will be running around a 33" tire, either a 285/75/16 or a 255/85/16...maybe even a 750-16 lol. I want this engine to work well and come together correctly, and not just end up as a pile of parts. I know there are a lot of factors to consider so I'm throwing all this out there in hopes of some experienced guidance. Thanks for any input you guys can provide on which direction I should go and what parts to look for.
 
Regular hyd. lifters will work with the block. It would be a shame not to use a factory roller. So much smoother and cooler running. You can get regrinds from Willhoites for 100 bucks that will pull stumps and bump MPG.

You will be MILES ahead going with the Vortec heads. Why leave the best head Chevy ever made for a production 350 truck engine on the shelf? They bolt on great hp and tq gains box stock. Use the thickest head gasket (like .040 compressed) to ease the compression with the flat tops. The excellent quench pad on these head resist detonation and allow more pump gas compression than the old school heads.
You need the self aligning vortec rockers that come with the heads. Vortecs use a 8 bolt intake that is commonly available on ebay as cheap as the old style.

I have built a good many of these and they are the hot ticket for what you want to do. Just my 2 cents!
 
nctom said:
Regular hyd. lifters will work with the block. It would be a shame not to use a factory roller. So much smoother and cooler running. You can get regrinds from Willhoites for 100 bucks that will pull stumps and bump MPG.
You will be MILES ahead going with the Vortec heads. Why leave the best head Chevy ever made for a production 350 truck engine on the shelf? They bolt on great hp and tq gains box stock. Use the thickest head gasket (like .040 compressed) to ease the compression with the flat tops. The excellent quench pad on these head resist detonation and allow more pump gas compression than the old school heads.
You need the self aligning vortec rockers that come with the heads. Vortecs use a 8 bolt intake that is commonly available on ebay as cheap as the old style.
I have built a good many of these and they are the hot ticket for what you want to do. Just my 2 cents!
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X2. This guy is right on the money. Those vortec heads are just plain awesome, best bang for your buck.
 
Wouldn't the vortec heads give me too much compression? I was looking on summit, and the biggest chambers they list is 66cc. There were some world products sr torquer heads w 76cc chambers and 170cc runners near the same price. I already have an old style performer intake, but I guess I could always sell it for the vortec style. Should I be looking for smaller intake runners to build more torque?
 
Go with the vortec heads the compression wil be a lil more but it will be worth it and stay with the factory roller setup you will probaly make around 350hp....you can't never have o much horsepower
 
Why not go with a 5.3?
Better MPG, more power stock than you are likely going to build here, same or less money...and no finnicky carb to dial in?
 
The Chebby engineers got this one right. There is more to these heads than just combustion chamber cc's. The flat pad in the combustion chamber is called a quench pad. It rapidly shoves the mixture over into the plug area. It dosent allow the mixture to pre-ignite on the wrong side of the piston and cause detonation. This along with the heart shaped chamber that swirls the mixture right into the sweet spot, create the fast burn characteristic. Before Chevy made these changes, you would have too much compression due to the inefficancy of the head. Vortecs changed all that. My Dad drives the flat top 350 every day with these heads on 87 octane and it will lay you back in the seat like its a 383. Do your own research, I am just sharing what I know works.:)
 
Ron said:
Why not go with a 5.3?
Better MPG, more power stock than you are likely going to build here, same or less money...and no finnicky carb to dial in?
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Oh trust me, I'd love to go LSx, but there is no way it even be close on the money. The block already has the machine work done, and I have the pistons and rebuild parts already...gave next to nothing for the short block and parts. I was looking on 67-72chevytrucks.com and they have a running thread for LSx swaps costs, and most average around 5-7k. I only hope to have $1000-2000 in this. You might could buy a 5.3l for that, then you gotta consider all the mods that come with it. Like, engine crossmember, wiring harness, FI parts, fuel tank, pump, F-body conversion parts, gauges, ext. The list goes on until you get up there around that $8k mark to do it right and clean. I refuse to run an LSx on a carb too, which is what some folks do to save money. I just wanna put this little motor together to have enough funds left to get further down the road on the project as a whole. It should give good service for a few years. Once I get this thing together and painted there is a V2.0 in planning for about 5 years down the road, including tons, hydroboost, NV4500, and a genIII engine.
 
nctom said:
The Chebby engineers got this one right. There is more to these heads than just combustion chamber cc's. The flat pad in the combustion chamber is called a quench pad. It rapidly shoves the mixture over into the plug area. It dosent allow the mixture to pre-ignite on the wrong side of the piston and cause detonation. This along with the heart shaped chamber that swirls the mixture right into the sweet spot, create the fast burn characteristic. Before Chevy made these changes, you would have too much compression due to the inefficancy of the head. Vortecs changed all that. My Dad drives the flat top 350 every day with these heads on 87 octane and it will lay you back in the seat like its a 383. Do your own research, I am just sharing what I know works.:)
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Right on, I hear ya. I know vortec's are a good option, and probably the best one. They are kinda pricey, unless I can find a good used set. I have also heard many mixed reviews about them too. Though for a basically stock engine like this one, they may be the best bang for the buck. As for research, that's kind of what I'm trying to do here. There is a lot of theoretical info out there. The instance of your dad's truck is the kind of stuff I'm looking for, real world examples. So his engine is a stock bore, stock deck height motor with flat tops, running vortec's? Do you know which ones he's running? I know there are a few sizes. Would the deck height on my TBI motor be the same as any other 350, assuming its stock? I know that some of the later GM head castings, like 882's, were designed to raise the engine temps to help atomize the fuel mixture, not sure if that applies to the vortec's or not. I do want this thing to stay cool, cause I see it idling a lot. I don't want to have to go to ridiculous measures to keep it cool. Like expensive aluminum radiators, multiple fans, and all that stuff. Im just trying to get a good sense of how all the properties of the heads and other components are related so I can start doing some more research. That way I'll be able to make sense of the numbers. Id like to be able to collect enough data to do a couple theoretical BMEP calculations. Maybe I'm thinking about it too much.
 
Not to hijack....but 100k mile 5.3s are out there all day for ~$600
Add in a ECM and harness and you will be near a grand.
engine crossmember - Will admit here not up on the exact body style reqs.
FI parts - What other FI parts?
fuel tank,pump, F-body conversion parts, gauges, ext. maybe a G here total...
Look at everyone building buggies, they aren't runnign G3 motors because thy are more expensive and less powerful than Gen 1s.....Heck at a BARE minimum I would be running TBI...you can get there cheaper than carbed and have much better fuel economy....


Then again, I am just getting lazy in my old age and love being able to crank a car standin ouside of it without oing the carb/accelerator pedal tango.
 
@Ron
No worries, hijack away. Im here to learn.

Like I said, it pains me not to use a more efficient engine for sure. And if this thing were going to be driven enough to realize those fuel savings, it may be worth the extra investment. With what you mentioned, you're already approaching 3k. There are just a lot of hidden costs associated with that kind of swap. I know my limits, financially, experience wise, and time wise. I want to get the truck running for my grandfather, fact is he's not getting any younger. I might ne able to do the research and learn enough abt the wiring and all to do the swap, but I just don't have the time to invest right now. Which means I'd have to pay someone who does. You also have to remember this is a little different than a buggy build. Those guys have to buy gauges, tank, and all that stuff anyway. They also basically have to have FI, and most don't have to invest a lot of money in paint and body work too. I will admit I'm playing a bit of devil's advocate here too. And to carbs, I mean, I dunno...I have had a few rigs running a Q-jet and they have been nothing but reliable. One pat of the gas, bump the starter, and she's running. The carb on the truck prob hasn't been freshened up in 20 years and it sits a LOT, but it fires up everytime. It will need to be retuned to the new engine of coarse, but you've got to tune them either way, be it with a screwdriver or computer. I've got a great Q-jet guy too. The LS will happen eventually, but I want to be able to afford to do it right and really clean.
 
X2 on the 5.3. They are sweet engines and getting more affordable every day. (I own 2 of them) They still require a good bit of ancillary work and expense in a retro fit application.

With this being described as a budget build, vortecs are your best play. You can always TBI it at a latter date with an adapter to your 4bbl intake.

To answer your question about running cool... Dad's truck is a restored 67 1/2 ton. It hauls a small 5th wheel camper all summer, with the a/c blasting away and never gets over 190 in traffic or pulling it up Fancy Gap. It has a stock 3 row brass radiator, factory shroud and a thermostatic fan clutch. He actually has some cardboard in front of the radiator durring the winter to get good heater out put. I did bypass the the built in trans cooler and put in a large stand alone unit on it. Personally I think it is silly to plumb trans fluid into the radiator of anything you will run hard.

Hope that helps.
 
^ That's awesome. I'd like to see some pics of your Dad's truck! Though I'm not sure "budget build" applies in the same way as usual. We ARE on a budget, but I'm not going to "cheap" it out. The budget just has to spread over the entire truck. I want to do the engine build right, and use quality parts, but there is no reason to over spend on one aspect of it, if all the other parts aren't on the same level...ya know?

I am planning at some point to do an LQ9/NV4500 swap. Just cant swing it right out of the gate.

Do you know any of this about your dad's truck?

So his engine is a stock bore, stock deck height motor with flat tops, running vortec's? Do you know which ones he's running? I know there are a few sizes. Would the deck height on my TBI motor be the same as any other 350, assuming its stock?
Click to expand...

But thanks for the advise, I will plan to go vortec's
 
I would definitely make sure the cam you go with doesn't have too much lift... If your heads have press in rocker studs that could turn in to a problem, unless you have screw in rocker studs
 
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