Come on Orr.You know this stuff!!!.

 

I'm very surprised they recommended you that cam? That's another thing i dont like about comp cams tech. They dont take into account the heads you are running. Vortec heads stock dont get anywhere near .550 lift, and if you cut the guides that still would be the max you would like to run on that.

Also, anyone who knows vortecs know that they are weak on the exhaust side. Meaning, you dont wont .550/.550 lift and 236/236 duration. You want a bigger number on the exhaust side for example, .530/.550 and a 232/240 or something like that. You usually want around 6-8 degrees more on the exhaust side for vortec heads.

There are a lot of different options for other heads, but for vortec's it really is proven to spread out the intake exhaust how i said above and to remember the lift on them is definitely holding you back from too big of camshafts.

 

Vizards stuff is good stuff. I havent read alot of his stuff but I know it is good for average joes beginning engine builds and can get you very close using simple selection tools

This thread has progressed alot longer than necessary. The goals are a pretty straight forward engine. Keep it a budget 383 on vortec heads with a lopey cam that will still make some power and be entertaining on the street but give great sound. You can throw a dozen shelf grinds in that thing that will all be within 15 hp of each other and accomplish the goals Get a cam with total overlap much over 60 deg and things will start loping abit. Higher 60's low 70s and you got yourself a race car for the street lope

Solid roller with vortec heads on the street is about as useless as you can get. I would call back and question the tech's advice to his/her supervisor.

 

I'm running that exact cam on my 357. It pulls pretty good after 3,000 RPM and has good street manners. Makes enough vacuum to run power brakes and idles decent at 700. Howerver, I'm running 195cc aluminum heads, vic jr. intake, and 11:1 C.R. I wouldnt run that cam with everything else being basically stock.

 

Seriously, why are we giving him recommendations for SHELF cams? You pay the same price for a custom one... get one tailored to your application and goals. Comps magnum cams (even the XE's) are outdated.. that, and their tech support is horrible.. that's IF you actually get someone.

I still vote you talk to someone who specializes in camshafts and not just selling you a generic stick from a catalog. Total waste of money. For such a critical component and having everything matched to your engine - it's silly to not to do that. I'll be going to Chris Straub for my next solid roller in a few days. Really smart guy, honestly. He posts quite a bit on YB and I think the Chevelle forums as well. Always has something insightful to discuss.

 

Kewl.I am going to suggest a cam to the O/P that might need a convertor because it dies everytime he drops it into gear.Well there goes another 350 to 500 bucks.Sounds great through.Hey man it comes in at 3,000 so I am going to tell him to get 4.56's so he can get use of the money he spent on it during normal cruise speeds.Sure wouldn't want to see that money go to waste.Hell it's a 383 and to build one means off idle it's known for torque,but to see that go to hell in a hand basket and see that money spent on that doesn't bother me much.I mean to see suggestions for a cam the comes in late and heads that are miss matched not meant to flow well in those rpm's,not to consider SCR's,nope that doesn't make me wonder what all of us are doing here.I mean afterall he could buy into a 350 that would "sound " about the same without the extra costs of a stroker..........but who cares about that anyway.It's his money right??.Why care about the advise given when we all just want to play along with a sound game.Really doesn't have nothing to do with us as members of a forum and the pride of doing it right.Naw,that doesn't matter.When the search engines pick up on the posts,people won't realize we as members aren't serious anyways.It will help them not waste time here to get advise about matching parts up.A rep doesn't matter.Well atleast you all answered his question................

Yepper Orr-I do see your point now this thread really has gone on too long.

Oh,one last thing.Flash,want to say I am sorry to hack your thread like this.I respectfully disagree with your goals.

 

I ended up finding a 350 2-bolt main short block in town here that was too good to pass up. The front end of the crank had come apart so he pulled it and saved the heads. $100 for everything else seems like a good deal. I've got a friend of mine who builds race motors for local racers that is going to put me in touch with some good people for machine work, too. I ended up tearing it down to the block this weekend to check it out and it seems ok to me. Just some very minor surface rust in the cylinder walls. It spun over just fine. Here's some pictures:


http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5259/dscn0494l.jpg
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/636/dscn0495n.jpg
http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/5249/dscn0496k.jpg
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/2259/dscn0497p.jpg
http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/7573/dscn0500c.jpg <---this one shows the destroyed crank
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/1713/dscn0501h.jpg
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/5367/dscn0503o.jpg
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/820/dscn0505tl.jpg
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/449/dscn0506c.jpg
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/3870/dscn0507c.jpg<--most of it wiped off, and I sprayed the hell out of the whole block with WD40 afterwards
http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/7223/dscn0508m.jpg<---GM 3970014
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/9597/dscn0509c.jpg<--10:00
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/7185/dscn0510u.jpg<--T26
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/9127/dscn0511e.jpg<--CONV2

I would like some feedback on this, please. It seems like it's in decent shape. I believe the next step is to have it hot tanked and magnafluxed.

 

any thoughts?

 

check bores, check for ridges. check alll the bearings and rings you take out to see if ther is any wierd wear etc. thats all the help i can give i just took a sledgehammer to mine because it hits even more now and i snapped

 

Ok, I'm researching lower ends and from what I can see, this is a pretty good deal. I've read some good reviews about SCAT products. The block I bought is a 2-piece RMS so this should be ok. The big unknown to me is the advantage of internal vs external balance. I've always thought you balance internally, then use neutral flywheel?

Anyway here's the link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SBC-SCAT-383...sories&vxp=mtr

 

dont forget about harmonic balancer

 

I'd assume neutral balance as well on the harmonic balancer? I've read a good bit on internal vs external balance and the more I read the more confused I am. It seems to me like you'd want to balance the crank itself with the weights that mirror your piston/rod combination. Then throw a balancer and flywheel on and balance again?

 

i bought an externally balanced then took my flywheel crank and all that in to be balanced