hello all, so i just recently(yesterday) bought a 350 block originally from a 71 blazer that I hope to swap in the camaro. I want to do this right so I have no problem waiting for extra cash for the right parts. I was aiming for 350 horse but also want to keep some streetability. As you may of guessed it, this will be my first rebuild and the only experience I have in the field is reading anything I can get my hands on.
So lets start with the questions...
-cam- i don't want to go to wild but could you hint at some good specs for my project
-stroking it?- should i? what am i replacing?
-bore it?- .30 over and make it a 355?
-everything else- what brands to look for/to stay away from/ any more specs
/in other words i need help picking a combination/ and will take any hints

btw i have headers/flowmaster down under/ and performer intake with 600cfm holley up top

thanks in advance

 

Yes you should bore it and make it a .030" over 350. It is NOT a "355", no matter how many times you see people post that ridiculous stuff; look in a piston or ring catalog, and see how pistons and rings are listed, and that's what you'll have. Performing routine maintenance on a block is not considered as creating a new displacement except in magazine articles for the last couple of years; calling a .030" over 350 a "355" is a sure way to identify yourself instantly as an inexperienced non-professional. So I'd recommend strongly against ever using that term, especially when talking to machine shops and the like.

You'll need to bore it out to get smooth, straight, perfectly cylindrical bores with the correct finish for new rings to seat on. Not for the purpose of adding cubes. Those few additional inches are insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

What heads do you plan on using? Not the 71 truck heads I hope.... because you'll never see 350 HP out of those. But with the right heads, 350 HP and good street manners is as easy as falling off a log.

The Performer intake is not a good choice for 350 HP either. That's pretty much the upper limit of what it will allow, assuming everything else aout the motor is perfectly tuned and matched and optimized (not likely); it makes the torque curve start to fall off at too low RPM to get 1 HP per cube. A better choice would be the ZZ4 intake, or if it will fit under your hood, the Performer RPM.

Do you have a budget and a time frame for this? Any other parts already such as crank, rods etc.? Do you have or have access to any engine building tools, like a stand, torque wrench, micrometers, etc. etc. etc.? That will help determine how much of the work you can do yourself, and how much of your budget will have to go toward paying somebody else to do various things.

 

thanks for the response...alot of help
355...i read it everywhere and verbally hear the term alot but that does make sense -thanks for saving my pride -luckily i only said it to ppl who told me

-no im not using 71 truck heads lol (btw any suggestions)
-performer is not enough!!! really? everyone told me that thing is good to 400/it was on the 305 anyways so no harm buying the rpm and i do plan on buying a cowl hood so clearence should be a factor
-unlimited timethe camaro is coming off for the fall semester and i am getting a new d.d. so as long as i am making progress on the engine i will live driving an import
-as for money it will be tight but i don't want to buy cheap i want heads/cam good for 350+ so there will be room to improve other parts in the long run i have the engine on the stand and i am collecting tools /any suggestions/ - torque wrench i will get micrometers i will have to do a search on/ and anything i need i will get.
i want to do it all myself/except machining it of course don't have those kinda tools.

i think thats it so back to the parts to get should i stroke it which i have come to understand means increasing the stroke with a larger crank/will i see 350/400 easier/cost efficetive mod?/
and cam any suggestions of duration and specs?

and thanks again

 

Power comes from heads. Get the best ones your budget allows. If you go with stock ones, pick and choose your castings carefully; don't get stuck with some smogger junk because it has 2.02" intake valves graunched into it, or other mistakes like that.

A good, cheap, fast buildup is a flat-top 350 short block with stock crank and rods; a set of Vortec heads (906 or 062 casting); a Comp XE262 cam, with the right valve springs NOT the stock ones, and some better rockers such as the Comp 1400 series; and a Performer RPM intake for Vortecs. That combo should put you at 360-375 HP with very friendly street manners and near-stock gas mileage, for about as cheap as it can be done.

 

Have you looked into what it would take to create a 383 stroker? Most people i know on here who have gone that route are not sorry.

 

thanks alot RB83L69 for putting me on the right track

as far as stroking it, i don't know too much about it, if you could enlighten me stekman or anyone for that matter, i would appretiate it.

thanks again for the replies

 

A. It is called a 355 because it is easier to say than a "350 that is thirty over" and it displaces 355 cubic inches. It is a 355, therefore there is nothing wrong with calling it as such.

B. The ZZ4 intake is not a better intake than the Performer. CHP did a comparison a while back of all the low budget intakes out and they had several complaints about the zz4 intake design. I ran an Edelbrock Performer intake well into the 12's on a 350 trapping in the 105/106mph range.

 

:werd: I say "355" often to describe my motor only because, like you said, its easier than saying "I have a 350 with a 30 overbore." With the logic of calling that type of terminology "ridiculous" I guess everyone should stop saying they have a 383 and call it a 377.

 

I call a 350 a 350 no matter what the overbore is. Just like the manufacturers and professionals do and always have. As stated above, the overbore is for MAINTENANCE, it is NOT a "mod", any more than turning your brake rotors when they get gouges in them is a "mod".

There is nothing "wrong" with calling a .030" over 350 a "355"; there's just nothing really "right" with it either. It is street jive monkey-spank, that's all; and as such I refuse to have anything to do with it, and would advise anyone else to refrain from it when talking to professionals. It makes you look like a newbie.

 

...back to stroking a motor anyone??? cost effective? worth it?

and btw 88IROC350TPI - what intake are you running on your .030" over 350?

 

Nobody said its a modification worth mentioning, but a 350 has a 4" bore. When you modify that it does not share the same bore size as a 350, therefore it is not a 350 whether it had maintenence performed or not.

 

Whether or not it is cost effective, that would be determined by the amount of money put into it. Same thing with whether or not it is worth it.

Like i said above, most people i know were not sorry they "strokefied" the motor. A little extra torque never hurts anyone.

 

i think when talking with people that only know enough about cars and engines to be dangerous or when talking to friends and you all obviously know the difference between a 350 and a 355, using a 'lay-man's' term such as '355' may be appropriate. But when talking to professionals when accuracy is needed, then 350 with a .030 over-bore (or however you wish to say it) is probably called for.

As for 383 strokers, I've known two people with them, and they blew up quick. When I do a 350 build up, I'm going to leave it a 350 and not 'strokifie' it.

 

wait wait wait.... how is it not a 355? someone please tell me how boring a 350 .030 over does not change the displacement? sounds like a bunch of **** to me.... its common sense.... refer to the block as a sbc 350 bored .030 over and refer to the displacement as 355 ... am i right or did i miss something major when i started learning about engines??

 

Tell you what, take your block to the machine shop, have it bored .030. When you get it home check the casting numbers, see what they are. I'll bet it is still a 350. Just a 350 that has had some maintenance.

 

displacement is still 355 after "maintainence". of course casting numbers will be the same.... but who cares...

 

"355" tells you exactly what it is for fewer bytes than "rebuilt 350" or ".030-inch over 350".

I'll have to cast my vote for "355".

 

agree with five7kid, understand everyone else .... in the end.. i dont care lol

 

Back on the topic, He asked about advice on what heads you would use on a 350 bored out .030 over to try and make around 350 HP and still be streetable?

 

Any of the better stock heads, which leave out any with chambers larger than 64cc as well as the earlier 305 heads, are capable of producing that power level with good port work. The later 305 heads, such as the 416 or 081, will work also, if larger valves are installed, and they are ported appropriately.

Look for a head/piston combo that produces about 9½:1 - 10:1 real compression ratio, after the true deck height is taken into account; and a cam in the 215° - 220° intake duration range with a bigger exhaust lobe than intake lobe. The Comp XE262, or ones of similar specs from the other major cam mfrs such as Lunati, Crane, etc., is about right.

I have both the ZZ4 intake, and Performer intake, and a Performer RPM, and some other intakes, laying around. I'm running the ZZ4 intake. Out of all the ones I have that fit under the stock air cleaner and hood, it's the one that has run the best. The Performer is very little different from the stock one I have. The ZZ4 is considerably bigger inside; the plenum is taller, and the runners are larger and straighter. And the fit and finish is massively better. I didn't have to "adapt" a single thing when I put it on, in comparison with stock. It bolted right in.

OBTW, for the purposes of picking parts other than pistons and rings, it doesn't really matter that the 350 is .030" or not, except that the slight increase in CID also results in a slight increase in CR. Mostly, what boring the block will do, is give you smooth, straight, taper-free cylinders with the right finish on them to seat new rings to, and thereby get the best performance and longevity possible out of your rebuild. Beyond that, it's a non-issue.