well after 9 long years, i am just about ready to rebuild my ol girls engine.

below are some pics i made of the stuff going in her, i will update as it progresses along, especially during the build itself.

would wouldn't believe what all i did as far as cleaning and painting everything. i pulled every pulley of, and completley dissasembled the accesories, etc. real thick clear for durability. spotless.

 

more pics

 

and even more

 

and last ones

 

subscribing. whats the goals for this motor?

 

well its being set up for a 355 1/8 mile track, maybe 1/4 once a year.. 99% weekend machine cruiser. looking for a 10 sec 1/4 mile even if it's 10.99 i would be thrilled!

my pistons and rings are on their way, probe p2256f 2v flattops, shooting for a .040 quench and around 9.2:1 for future boosting by a d1sc procharger.

cam as you know is the comp xfi 292. got to get those springs swapped like we talked about before the build. got a good deal after a month of searching for a 4 bolt 1pc seal block, with my 2 bolt trade in, i get one ready to assemble for 475$ 4 bolt 1pc seal block .030 over.

i have the moser 9" assembled with 4.56 gears and a detroit true trac diff, all timken bearings, strange center section, 31 spline axles. all suspension bolt ons as well waiting to go on. lca's, adj panhard, sportline springs etc. ls1 brakes etc.

also have new summit draglites skinnys up front mt et streets out back. 10" with a 26.1 overall width.

if ya need anymore specs or want to see more pics of the parts let me know!

adam

p.s this is just pics for now, it's going to be a while before assembly begins, i still have alot to do, balancing cleaning etc. i just wanted to bring everyone up to speed on what i have been doing and let everyone see what i gots going on.

 

Sounds good, I just didnt remember the exact setup you had planned. Car will feel abit lazy down low and thru the midrange at 9.2 to 1 until the blower gets on. Thats a big cam for a 355 but will run hard if the compression is up over 10.3 to 1+.

I assume flattops and 75cc heads for that 9.2 to 1? Definately gear it up to get that thing moving with that 6 gear.

 

what ya think hp tq wise, just a guestamate, and with the procharger later on? i am using 4.56 gears

 

Tough to say for sure. I know a buddy's car is capable of running mid high 7's in the 1/8 mile at 87-88mph so far which is bottom 12's. Estimated 330-340whp. He has alot less head and cam. He has old style AFR 190's with stealth ram and 280xfi with somewhere in the 9s to 1 compression range. 3600 stall, 3.90 gear now. Hasnt been 60'ing as well as I think it should have. May be lack of compression/tune/converter/too much tire, not enough suspension, weak valve springs etc etc

There are other guys here making over 380whp with AFR 195's and 280xfi cams on stockish bottom ends...

I've seen 292xfi LT1 cam/head cars pull some great numbers but they are up near 11 to 1 compression most of the time. Its a big cam that needs some converter and gear to really move and a stiff valve train to keep valves from floating.

Given the low compression, that cam and 195 or 210 heads will probably support close to 6500 rpm+ peak on a 355, and easily pull to 7K. That should do close to 380whp+ Abit less cam and higher compression has done it, so you would think it will pull that high. You have better heads, proper valve springs and larger cam than my friends low compression 360" motor so you should make 30-40whp more all together I'd think. Thats closer to 370-380whp.

Add 9 psi to that and its gonna make closer to 550whp. Thats a big cam, not really needed for a blower, and blower would like abit more exhaust duration anyway but it should work well enough for lower boost levels. Should be a stout motor with a blower and a bit soft on the bottom end while all motor. Gear and converter will help, but with the blower, you wont need or want as much converter and gear so its a balancing act.

 

With Orr, a little less cam would be the ticket dont need much cam with FI as you may NA.

 

well im one of those who also is into the sound, lumpity lumpty... cracky passed 400whp i believe before he sold his 355 lt1 trans am, hp dosen't mean much to me, and on top of that i have much better heads also. all i want is that 10.99 or better timeslip. even if it only had 200hp, just as long as i can hit that 10sec range, even a 10.99 will be suficent.

those 4.56 gears will wind up quick, i like good fast shifting. i have so much to do to this thing it's not funny, i am afraid however it will be a year+ before and actual work will begin on the car itself, minus the motor. i have been retired out by my doctor and forced to sign up for my disability, so i am limited on what i actually can and can't do to this thing myself.

im also going to change out the fuel lines and put in a new tank where it has been sitting so long, i mean everything on this car is going to be new, i could fit 20+ posts on parts along i have sitting and waiting. suspension etc.

i do want to ask a question about quench, all i ever heard for a steel rod engine was minimum, .040, but as of late i have been hearing .030, which is right? im using the head gasket for the quench instead of decking the block. no reason to deck one unless it's really needed. your suggestions?

 

.035-.042 is generally accepted. Most combos work well like that. Going smaller may not help anything. Going abit larger can hurt.

Decking the block is nice to ensure a smooth surface and a thick gasket for best sealing IMO

 

no reason to deck, bore a block etc, especially if ya don't have to. but i do see your point. about sealing etc. i always take a straightedge to my blocks and heads, new or not.

i look forward to this build, i will be taking pictures and notes of everything, including tips tricks etc that i have found by teachings and reading. hopefully it will help someone with their build in the future, and as i make posts, anyone with any suggestions etc, please feel free to chime in, because i would like to help new people here as well better understand how difficult, or how easy any certain part can be.

 

I am looking forward to the xfi 292 cam. rarely see big hydraulic rollers being used these days. Its seems guys get into the low 230's with cams but any bigger they go to a solid roller.

 

got the pistons and rings, probe p2256f lw and hastings rings 5/64 5/64 3/16 4.030 bore, i was wondering, can you file pre gapped rings if needed?

 

yeah you should be able to file the rings...

 

Looking for a little feed back. I'm thinking about changing up my '87 Formula. I've got a 383 with SuperRam complete intake system, upper, lower and 1000 cfm throttle body, 219 lingenfelter cam 10-10.5 comp. and AFR 190 heads. 26 lbs accel injectors & 1.6 roller rockers. Running stock ECM with a custom chip. Car runs good 12.3-12.5 1/4 @ 107-110 mph. What I was thinking about was changing the intake to the HSR/Weiand Stealth Ram. Looking to pick up some topend rpm power. Just wondering how the stealth ram would work with the 219 cam. Losing a little bottom wouldn't hurt to much I have a hard time keeping the tires down now. It seems from what I'lv read people seem to be pretty happy with the stealth ram, just wondering if the change would be worth the $ and time.

 

I think it will pick up a few ponies if the superram isnt ported out alot. Stealth ram flows alot more air than superram out the box.

I think a cam swap would yeild better results. Slightly larger would be nice but becareful with the springs on the heads. May be floating the valves. What rpm do you take that motor to? Are they stock AFR 190 springs in the heads which would be 1.4" diameter or so with 120 lbs seat?
My buddy's car is getting bad valve float after 5700 rpm with a xfi cam. Aggressive lobes so i knew it would float but didnt expect it to be this bad. The 219 cam may be floating the valves too after 5800

 

IMO keep the Super Ram and port the hell out of the manifold to 290-315cfms and will out perform the HSR.

 

dang vincent, those are sweet numbers man, do you by any chance have a dyno sheet to gander upon? well done man, well done indeed!

 

I did do some match porting when I originally built the engine, plenuim-runners, runners-base. The engine when last dynoed (2004) was making 335 rwhp@5200-5500 and 390 rwtq @ 4000. I nomally shift it right there. I didn't do any porting to the heads, however I did put titainuim retainers to lower the weight on top of the springs. When I ordered the heads I told AFR what cam I was installing. The engine doesn't feel like it floating. I've got the slp 1 3/4 headers, no cat, flowmaster exhaust. Also I'm still pulling air thru a modified stock maf sensor and slp cold air.

Thanks,

 

VincentZ28 what type of engine management are you using? Sounds like a great combination you put together. What the duration @ .500 in. on that 280? When I put my engine together I was basically building the Lingenfelter engine combination with out the modified corvette heads. I thought the AFR's were a better piece for the money. I also wanted something I could still use the stock computer to run the whole thing. I put this thing together over 10 years ago and technology has changed so much. Porting the whole SuperRam intake is a great idea. If I could get the engine to run good and idle with that cam, that might also be a good change. As I remember those older computer systems didn't like duration to much, usually very hard to get good idle quality.

 

Yeah if you can port the superram base out like Vincent has done, it will make great numbers but its alot of work to the base to get it to flow like that. More money in that port job than in a complete HSR job.

 

Thanks for your opinon. If I get the time and some extra cash I just might give the HSR a try, ya know just fell like tinkerin with her some and see if I can squeeze out a few ponies. Orr89RocZ any chance you got any relatives from Tennessee? Just so happens I'm also an Orr.
Thanks,

 

I'm using the stock ECM. Have you seen the Video?
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/post...91-post17.html

 

holy ****! you put down 420whp with tpi? damn, mind if i copy your bin for a starter chip for my ta?

 

Look at the videos and names again. That was 1989GTATransAm that made 420whp. Dyno Don made 400whp and I made 392whp with the Super Ram.

 

You guys are putting up some really nice numbers, nice job!

 

If you got time money and willing to do the work, you can get those systems to flow well. The base is the key and needs heavily worked to support big numbers.

 

Crap thats awesome! 420 at the wheels is impressive.

Best I did was 385 to the wheels... Ran out of injector lol I still need to get back to the dyno one of these days to see what the car does now. Best I've done is a 11.575@116.1

 

haha, I seem to run into alot of Orr's but I dont suppose I am related. I want to get an updated family tree to be sure.

 

Kat, what cam and heads are you using? By the numbers I assume you are happy with hsr intake. I'm thinking of switching out my accel superram upper/lower for the stealth ram.

 

Yep using a HSR that was ported out and set of AFR 195's that I had ported out also. The guy that did them got another 40 cfm out of the heads. Tho I never got a flow sheet with them. Oh well. The cam is a Cam Motion custom grind. 241/246 .596/.593 (at the valve) and on a 112 lsa. The rockers are 1.6 RRs.

 

Well, it sound like I should have purchased the AFR 195's instead of the 190's.

 

any valve float? thats a big cam, not to far off from the xfi 292, 241in, 246ex, xfi is 242, 248, you got a copy of the cam card? did you swap springs?

 

Nope none at all. I shift at 6500 1-2 and around 6300 2-3.

I have the cam card somewhere I'll dig it up when I can get a chance and send it to ya.

Springs yep I had to swap them. I'll have to look to see what they are. I know that they are comp springs Just cant remember if they are the 986's or the 916's

 

What model pump is that Melling. I would advise against using it if it's the generic M55A/HV pump and get the Melling Select pump instead.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-tech-performance/1558337-pics-of-melling-potential-disasters.html

ED:I see a nice build coming here

 

thanks for the heads up, it's a shame this day and time when you have enough worries about building an engine, now you have to check your oil pump casting as well.

i have had that pump in it's box since like 2006 i believe. alot of my parts i got that year, they have just been sitting and waiting. i will defanantly check that pump and number out, i didn't go hv type, just the m55 and it turns out it was a m55a, i don't believe in hv, because all your doing is pumping all your oil mostly to the top anyway, i just believe in standard volume with higher pressure.

thanks for the compliments. well get this baby going soon, stay tuned fellas.

edit: btw i was wondering around looking at posts and came across this thread, https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...ml#post4896250 just another thing you have to remember and be ready for. like i said, this build is going to be educational as well as illustrated.