leme start of to say i have a 350 that i could put in and im sure i will at some point, but how cool does that sound "built 310 high compression on E85" sounds good to me. so thoughts on this combo TFS 175's, some type of big cam, 12.1 or 13.1 CR, light weight internals that rev high. if this is possible i know it wouldnt be the best or ideal thing, much easier ways to make more power i know, such as ls motors,350's ect ect. but im curious who makes internals for this type of build pistons,cranks, rods ect. also E85 i have read some good things about, others bad. but i can get it cheap cheap cheap, and from what i have read i can get away with high compression on that stuff...true or false... i know i would need alcohol rated lines, tank, carb set up for it. horse power should be good i think thoughts on this guys??

 

You basing the engine on a chevy 305, chevy 307 or olds 307 ?

 

chevy 305, i have a 307 as well laying around outta old old impala. but this is just me being curious.

 

It's only cool to you. Which in the end, is all that really matters.

 

It should live at 12 to 1 on e85 if that gas is around your area. Trouble is gonna be getting there. May need a dome and that will cut into your piston to valve clearance abit. Need to be careful selecting the cam.

Heads should support 6500 rpm and that is about the limit of cast cranks imo. Maybe best to go forged but thats alot of cash for a 305 build. Or you could keep it under 6500 and see what it does. Just get new rods with good rod bolts like ARP's. Should be a stout little motor

 

E85 isn't really cheap. That's deceptive. The burn rate is actually much faster than regular gasoline which = more $$$. We have one or two gas stations around here that have E85. I'd never do it if you actually want to go anywhere because most gas stations don't have E85 at the pumps.

Keep that in mind before you start building it.

 

yeah, i know it was only a thought i had in my head, i stopped in at a local garage today, and asked him about it, and of course he said 350!! but to my suprise what he proposed was such a good deal i couldnt pass it by, he is also a speed shop with an engine dyno, he said for 2800 bucks, he could build me a 355 pump gas motor, that is good for 450-475 range. with dyno sheets, and invited me to watch. for about 2k more a 383 thats over 500 horse. this made my decision final that the 305 would be a fun motor and no doubt different, but i would just be plain stupid to not take the option of 2800 bucks for 450 horse. only thing i need is carb and intake. rest will swap over i would think. im excited for this motor. im also selling a gmpp 290 horse 350 for 700 bucks brand new in the crate

 

E85 sold at the pump is intended for flex fuel vehicles, which adjust mixture ratio for the percentage of ethanol in the tank. The percentage of ethanol in E85 varies between summer and winter, so you will have to adjust your jetting for the fuel you are getting. It takes more heat to evaporate ethanol than gasoline, so there is more gasoline in E85 in the wintertime so flex vehicles will start easier.

12:1 to 13:1 is about right for "real" E85. If the percentage at your pump changes during the year, you'd better stay around 12:1.

The factory tank and lines are fine with ethanol. "Gasahol" has been around longer than our cars.

E85 was pretty nice when doing round robin at the drag strip. Not so nice on a road trip.

 

Yeah doing 450 hp on a 355 is a much easier feat than 450hp on a 305 Your wise to do the 355 for that money.

 

yeah i was readin this and i was like WTFFFFF http://www.classictrucks.com/tech/10...d/viewall.html
has anyone ever heard of procomp heads, and anywere to get em thats not off some shady looking website that i dont trust??????? and yes i figured the torque would be better than a 305 build, and torque is what gives you that kick in the ***, out the door feeling!!!

 

is this pipe dream build, the kind of build you read about, or can you really get the parts that cheap???

 

Don't get procomp heads if you're dropping that kind of money. They're not the worst out there, but they're certainly not the best either. There are much better options out there for around the same price.

 

Procomp is hit or miss. Castings can be ok, and may clean up ok but they tend to be thinner than others. Components is where they cheap out on, from what i've seen from various head builders/engine builders.

If you wanted a budget head, you can go vortec's, either the bowtie small ports or factory GM stuff, or go Dart SHP aluminum or Jeg's brand heads. All good heads for 1000 bucks a pair complete or cheaper. Vortec GM castings can be found for couple hundred bucks + clean up and new hardware from machine shop. Can do 400-450 hp with those.

 

I vote buying a used set of good heads.

 

I know a guy selling a set of hand finished ported profiler 195's for 1100 setup for hyd rollers with GOOD components. Finished by Speier racing. Listed on his forum in the classifieds

 

yeah i was also wondering whats with lt1 cams in the standard sbc 350...i thought an lt1 is just a 350. and are vortech heads the same thing the Lt's came with??? and from what i saw procomps for 600ish...sounded to good to be true. and i asked about the lt1 cams cause i love the sounds of a cc306 cammed lt1 DRIVES ME NUTTS!!!!

 

Not exactly. The cam, crank, rods, and pistons can interchange, but the intake, block and heads have a completely different cooling scheme, and LT1s have the Opti ignition system that mounts to the front of the block.

It's "Vortec". No "h".

Not exactly. The Vortec and LT1 chambers and ports are similar, and valves & springs interchange, but the Vortec heads will not properly mate to an LT1 block and LT1 heads will not properly mate to a Gen I SBC 350.