So its time for the Camaro to depart with its original 3.1L V6 and grow some *****, so by the end of this week, the V6 will be sitting on the ground, and I'm going to start building my 350.

I'm packing some goodies in the new 350 while I'm in there, and I have a few questions, pretty much all valvetrain stuff though. So heres what I got so far:

86-94 350 Longblock
906 L31 Vortec Heads
SDPC Vortec Intake baseplate
Stock runners
Stock Plenum
Stock throttle body
24 ilb LT1 injectors
3" Headers and 3" Flowmaster American Thunder exhaust
700R4 out of a 87 IROC-Z w/120K
'165 ECM, still looking for a prom

I want to do even more to it to get this to run even better, and more powerful. I want to get a .525/.525 LT4 Hotcam and 1.6 full roller rockers to make the most out of the Vortecs and the TPI. But before I go too far I should probably let you all know what my goals are.

I want to make at least 1HP per cubic inch, and I'm hoping to hit 375HP at the crank to translate into 300 at the wheels, and if I'm making that much power, it will probably translate into 425 ft/ilbs or so I'm guessing. I know that I will have an engine with tons of low end torque thanks to the TPI intake, and I know that the engine will run better at higher RPMs thanks to the Vortec heads. I want to run higher lift than the 191/196 and 202/207 Cams that I have, and the LT4 hotcam is a mean cam, but I'm also thinking about a ZZ4 cam, because it will still provide .475 lift on the intake, and .510 on the exhaust to help the poor flowing exhaust characteristics of the 906 Vortec heads.

But for me to do anything more than .480 lift, I need to modify my Vortecs to accept more lift, and I'm not sure how to go about that. And, I have questions about going all roller for my engine. When I tore apart the 350, I knew it was a truck engine because it was a flat tappet cam and lifters, not hydraulic roller like any post-87 Camaro/Corvette engine should be. What all is involved with turning a flat tappet engine into a full roller engine with roller chain which I have, roller lifters which I have, and the roller rockers that I want to run?

Also I plan on using Felpro-1094 head gaskets 4.1" diameter and .015" compressed thickness, that on a 350 and the Vortecs 64cc combustion chambers will net me 9.7:1 compression like a stock L98, and will make more power than what the 906's normally run on an L31 at 9:1.

I'm also wondering what my timing should be. I've heard of 350 Vortec TPIs before running 32-34 degrees of advance, but is that too much for a street car?

The county I live in does not require emissions for state inspection, so I'm not going to run any. EGR delete and no AIR system on the headers should net me a few horsepower not running all of that and a smog pump on the engine. Yes, the engine will run hotter, but it will have more power and I can easily install a cooler thermostat to keep the engine cooler.

So what should I do for a cam, and if I do go higher than .480 lift, what should I do to make it work(rockers/valve springs, etc.)

Any and all help/ideas appreciated guys!

 

What are your plans for suspension and a rear end for that power?

 

I have IROC-Z suspension ready to go, I'm going to run the stock rear and the 700-R4 from the IROC I got parts from until I can get something better. It should last at least awhile lol

 

Well, got some pictures of what I've been doing so far...







V6 about ready to come out

 

The V8 is cleaning up real nice, but still need to clean out the cylinders...

 

 

Junk from tearing the 350 apart:



261 Swirl Port heads

 

Top end for the swap:

 

More of the 350:

 

350 Before I tore it down:

 

Pictures of the Car:





And thats about all I've got for now

 

Nice.

 

Well, got the V6 pulled out, these are from Sunday.

 

Bent the hell out of the radiator support, but fixed it as best I could

 

Now whats the easiest way to move the engine mounts from the V6 to V8 slots?

 

You remove the V6 mounts, and discard...

Then you install the new V8 mounts, which are different from the 6 cylinder pieces.

You also need the proper "clam shells" that bolt to the engine for your 350. You need to use the car mounts, because pickup truck mounts make the engine sit an inch or so too high in the engine compartment.

 

It would also be a good time to think about poly engine mounts, since you are going to have some power under the hood. In my opinion, you won't notice the vibration that much and you won't have to change them again.

The "clam shells" are most easily gotten from either a 2nd gen or 3rd gen Camaro/Firebird with a chevy small block engine, or the 78-87 G-body cars, like the Monte Carlo. That seems to be what I find the most in the junkyards, with reference to the engine brackets.

 

If you need the mounts that attach to the frame, I have an old set from a 3rd gen. You can replace the rubber with the poly ones. I sold the ones that mount on the engine.

 

I have the engine side mounts that I got off a 305, but I was wondering about the car side of the mount, I can't reuse that at all? I was under the impression that it was just moving them from the V6 bolt holes to the V8 ones.

And I'm wondering what the easiest way to do that would be also, since the bolts aren't threaded and have nuts on the inside of the K-member...

Could I just get the bolts out and thread the V8 holes so they just screw in or is the K-member not thick enough to do that?

And same goes for the transmission cross member, do the bolt holes move up there too, or are they the same?

 

I use some long 3/8" extensions, u-joints and socket with tape keeping it from falling apart to get the nuts off.

Threading the holes does not work. Put the nuts back in when you bolt on your new mounts.

The mounts are different, and don't interchange. Your new mounts will bolt to the front 3 holes in the crossmember.

I have read recently of some guys who took their time, drilled out the holes for the V8 mounts oversize, bolted the mounts in and then welded the nuts to the crossmember. It seems like a good idea, but I am not going to do it. If you use flange nuts and blue loctite, you should be worry free as far as them coming out. If you put the poly mounts, you probably will never have to change them again while you own the car.

If you are going to use a V8 700R4 trans, put your V6 transmission's old tail shaft with the torque arm mount back on your V8 trans, and it will bolt right back in where the V6 trans came from. It is a direct fit.

I would put a poly trans mount here too.

 

Well I already sold the V6 trans, so now what do I do? Do I need a new V8 torque arm or what? And yeah I have a poly transmission mount.

And alright, I'll just have to get new engine mounts and then I should be good to go with the engine side mounts that I have from the 305.

 

It's not the torque arm, it's the provision for the mount on the transmission tailshaft that you need. Most TH700's don't have that, but all f-body TH700's do.

There are aftermarket options for torque arms that don't mount to the transmission, though.

 

Then I'm fine, I have a 700-R4 from an 87 IROC-Z so it has the tailshaft for the torque arm. I thought you guys were telling me they were different lengths or something haha

 

Would a LSA of 106* be too choppy do you guys think?

 

The 165 ECM might not jive with that cam choice

Doesnt matter what tailhousing your new 700R4 has on it. If it has the 3 holes cast in, great, use it as is. If not, swap the one from your V6 trans over, its just 4 bolts. It would be a good idea to get your VSS gears correct now before installing the trans into the car and realizing your speedo is off

 

I need to do serious tuning or have someone do it for me anyways changing to Vortec heads, and the larger injectors and so on. So my cam selection doesn't matter, and I can theoretically run whatever I want if I want to tune for it.

What all does changing the LSA entail? Just the idle quality? Thats the one thing I haven't really looked into yet about cams.

And yeah I know I need to get a VSS for 16" wheels, and 3.23 gears. Should be easy since thats what the 350 TPI cars used anyways.

 

And speaking of tuning, anybody out there that would want to tune my 91 S10 2.5L prom to something that would run a 350 tpi auto? haha

 

Cleaning up the deck to get it ready for the Vortecs.







Im going to actually spend the cash and convert the engine into a roller block to avoid all the frustration of running a flat tappet will cause.

But while I have the engine still torn apart, what would be the easier way to clean out the coolant galleys in the engine? Looking inside there, they're pretty dirty and now full of all the stuff I scrapped off the deck, and I don't want all of that gunk to ruin my radiator.