What are the go to vehicles for 350 blocks with factory roller lifters and single serpentine setup? As far as I know the gen 2 350 trucks had provisions for roller lifters, but came with flat tappet. A list of models and years would be great!

 

ALL 1996-00 full size chevy/gmc trucks/vans/suv with the 5.7 L, 350, 5700, L31 (pick which of those numbers you want to call it) vortec engines had factory roller cam/lifters installed.

Also as you know the '87-92 F body had roller cam/lifters.

However I do not think those truck's serpentine setup will work on the third gens. I think they stick up too high and hit the hood.

I'm not a serpentine guy. I like my old V belts, so I'm sure what other set ups may work for you in a third gen

 

I put new belts on my Camaro and ever since I can't get them to stop squealing no matter how much I tighten them. Is there a trick to getting them tight enough?

 

It's not always about getting them tight enough. It's also the belt it's self and the pulleys.

Make sure you got the right degree V belt. The belt number is it's angle of the V and it's length.. Like a 15435 or 43515 (depending on company) would be a 43.5" long 15* V belt

If the V degree is off the belt will ride inside the pulley too much or ride up too high on pulley. Both can cause the belt to slip

Also if your pulley has any paint or rust or oil on it, the belt will slip.

If nothing else try putting some belt dressing on the belts.

 

I've heard of a tool that you can use to check the angle of the v on a pulley too. I'll take a look at that though. Thanks.

 

Oh BTW as far as trick to get them tight. I use an wooden pole/rod. Might have been a broken shovel handle or something like that.

I put the wood pole on side of water pump and up under the bottom of alt. and pull on top of pole to move alt up the bracket slot.

Kinda do the same for the power steering pump. It's alittle harder to get at though.

 

If you want to keep the pain in the rear V belts, you can also sandblast the V part of your pulleys for more grip. They do get "slick" after awhile.

I have a serp setup with underdrive pulleys and a rollers from a 91 TA I could sell if you need it. I can't remember if I has the smog pump or not tho.
PM me if interested

 

Caprice through 1993.

 

That's a real good way to trash all your bearings in the accessories.Too tight is as bad as too loose.That's 1 of the advantages of a serpentine/idler pulley setup.Correct/consistant tension.

 

Yeah too tight is just as bad, but it aint rocker science so didn't feel I needed to say just push on rod/stick enough to get belt just right. The OP asked how to get belt tight. I know it can be hard to pull up on the alt. by hand and get belt tight enough..

Yes in middle of your belt run you need to be able to push belt by finger down 3/8" or so.. Less than that is too tight..

Been using my wooden pole for 15 years and NEVER trashed an acc. bearing. In fact I have a 1970 monte carlo PS pump on mine that I have used on 3 diff cars over the last 18 years. Same water pump on mine that I put on when I built my car 10 years ago. I am on my second alt., but 1st one was a junkyard CS130 that I got for $15 at a local pull a part yard.

Common sense goes a long way.. The wooden rod just helps you to get leverage and hold it while you tighten the bolts.

 

PM sent.

The wooden pole is a good idea, I've done it before.

So far the list of roller lifter motor sources are:

-Caprice through '93
-'96-'00 full size Chevy/GMC trucks/vans/SUV
-'82-'92 F-body

Any others? And as for the serpentine setup. Will an a\c setup work without a\c if I get a non a\c belt or is the arrangment of the accessories completely different?

 

On the F body it would be 1987-92.

I'm pretty sure the '92/'93 Buick roadmaster got a gen I roller SB before the swap to the LT1 in them.

I think the 91 or 92 olds custom cruiser came with a roller cam 350

Cadillacs with the 350 in the 87-92 range should have a roller cam as well

Also if you want to you can add corvette to the list but I don't think you will find one of those at the junkyard lol

 

Just out of curiosity, though, what would be the year range for the Corvette?

 

IIRC that would be 1987-91 corvette then the LT1 was used in the vettes in '92

 

You can use the LT1 roller cam, lifters, pushrods, dog bones bolts, and hold down parts also.

 

Yeah, but I'm going to be building an engine slowly as I get money for parts, so I might as well start with a block set up for roller lifters and already has them. A friend of mine who is going to help me with the build suggested that I start with a brand new long block, but that's a huge chunk of change.

 

Sometimes a bare shortblock is super bare. If you hitup the right yard, you can get the extra parts stupid cheap. (if needed)

 

If you are looking for just the lifters.

Caprice/Roadmaster/Custom Cruiser/Impala/Fleetwood Brougham RWD 89-96 (4.3V6 or V8/5.0/5.7)
96-02 Trucks/Vans/SUVs (4.3-5.7)
87-97 F-Car (L03, LB9, L98, LT1)
87-96 Y-car (L98/LT1/LT4)

Then you could get the LS lifters too, but they are more trouble to get at than I feel would be worth to mess with. You have to remove the heads to get them out, even though they share the same lifters.

 

Well, I want the block with the lifters, pushrods, and roller cam. The odds of the engines having roller rockers are probably slim.

I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to go this route. I might decide to go with a big block or LS. I've seen how much power can be made out of a turbo LM7. Crazy!

Thanks for the help, though. I have a pretty good list of sources now.

 

What power level are you after? What is your goals for the car? What is your budget?

It's easy and cheap to build a 400 HP 350, especially a roller cam one.
500 HP can be done with good aftermarket heads
600 HP for a max effort type 350-383

All of those figures is N/A engines. If you want to add boost from super or turbo charger then bump those numbers up by atleast 150 HP.

It's all about your budget, and needs

 

mis alignment of the pulleys is a reason belts squeal. make sure all pulleys are at the same plane. as in, there is no pulley ahead of, or behind any other one.

 

I'd be tickled to have even 500 hp. A turbo 400 would be more up to the task of handling it than the 700. Downside is a higher first gear. But that should matter with those kind of hp numbers right?

 

Yeah with 500 HP you wouldn't want or need the low 1st gear of the 700r4. I was close to that power level and with stock suspension, th-400, 3.42 gear with a locker in rear and 255/60-15 street tires I could lay 300 ft. of twin rubber stripes down at will on dry pavement. .

Even with 275/60-15 drag radials I was spinning 100-150 ft

I had to replace all rear suspension to get the thing to hook. After $1,500 worth of suspension parts I got it where I could roll into the throttle and not spin and knock down 1.60's 60' times.. Then started breaking 10 bolt rear ends and had to go to a ford 9"

Again, whats the budget and use/goals? 500 HP sounds like a cool idea but it's more of a pain than you think.

Mine went from a daily driver w/ track time, to a cruise around town and track use, to track only and maybe pull it out on the road and drive 1/2 mile and back every 3 mo. or so.

It's not 'fun' to drive really. It's a chore to drive... It's fun to race it though.
For lots of driving.....It's too loud, it's rough, it stinks, it shakes too much, floors get too hot, cockpit is too cramped and tight, vision is not as good, has many blind spots, have to work the throttle to keep it idling, brakes sucks really, gets poor fuel mileage (7mpg on 93 octane)

In fact I went and built me a milder v8s10 to have a fun toy to drive around alot cause the camaro at that 500+ hp mark just aint as fun to me for cruising around in. So I built a 390-410 HP vortec headed 355 and dropped into an '88 S10.

If you want a 500 HP N/A small block you need something like what I have
10.3 to 10.6 compression
.040" quench
lighter weight strong crank, rods, pistons.
I use scat crank and rods, Wisco 2vr flat top pistons
Solid flat tappet or hyd roller cam. Mine is 249/252@.050", .570"/.579" lift
Brodix IK200 or 210 heads, AFR 195 or 210 heads
7/16" rocker studs
good billet alum full roller rockers
7qt oil pan with trap doors. windage screen, rear man baffle
I'm using a 'smaller' carb on mine. A holley 4150 HP 750 double pumper
172 gph carter speedway mech. fuel pump
light weight fuel pump pushrod
Hedman long tube headers
Dual 3" pipes
3" X pipe
Dynomax ultraflo mufflers
Mallory digital box, and E core coil, MSD billet dist. and 8.5mm wires
custom built 9.5" 3500 stall torque converter
local race shop built th-400
Moser ford 9" rear, detroit locker, 31 spline axles, 3.89 gear
S&W 10 point roll cage
Window net
Spohn SFC, adj LCA, LCA brackets, adj. panhard rod
Jegster adj torque arm
AGX adj. rear shocks
Air lift drag bags
And spin the engine up to 7,000-7,300 on shifts at the track

 

Try a totally stock or mild cammed 6.0 LSx. Thats a great combo with alot of kick and gives plenty of smiles per mile. If you've never built an engine before, this is a great way to get started

Stupid powerful builds are awesome when you're getting on it but the other 95% of driving around town is a chore

 

I've decided I'm just going to port and polish what I have, put some good headers and a decent cam in it and run it for a while to give myself some more time to think about which direction I'll go. And an x pipe with electric dumps, that ought to keep me satisfied for a while.

There is a video on youtube of an RX7 with a dual fuel setup on an LS motor. Two sets of fuel rails injectors and pumps, race gas starts pumping as soon as the turbo reaches a preset boost. It otherwise runs like a normal car, very smooth, on pump gas. That would be the ultimate setup, but very custom and very expensive.