Just like to update you guys on what i have planned for next year.

AS most of you know i was able to accomplish my goal of 12's with bolt ons on a L98. Wasnt sure it could be done but as i went along with it and saw my progress keep progressing lol, I was excited. Finally ran 12.95 and 12.99 earlier this october


I wanted to do a cam swap a few months ago but decided to go for 12's with bolt ons sicne it was easier/cheaper overall. NOW I WANT MORE!

This car bores me on the street so i need more power. This is what i'm doing this winter

Mildly ported/cleaned up Vette L98 aluminum heads...113 castings. I got a decent deal on these from a guy who also is doing heads and cam this winter to his vette, so I'm taking his heads.

CC503 cam, 224/230 .503/.510 lift with 1.5 rockers. I hope to keep my 1.6's and have the heads machined to handle the extra lift. I may go with a different cam, something abit bigger or the XFI stuff, but i dont really want to rev this shortblock that high especially since the heads should only max out at 5800 rpms with this cam. Thats right where i want to be.

MANY stock LT1 heads cars with this cam make 330-340whp. My mild ported heads should flow a tad more than a stock LT1 head. So even tho i have shorty headers, i hope to make 320-330whp.

I went 12.9's with 254whp on a bad tune, what do you think i can do with 320whp? If i get that much out of this setup. My buddies car put down 308 and was running mid high 12's at 110mph and he's abit heavier than me.

I also plan to get my converter restalled to 3600 stall. its 2800 now and I know i can handle more with the cam. HSR tq curve is flat!! Also will need 3.73's
With the aluminum heads i should be raceweight of just over 3400lbs. With the DA near sealevel like my 12.9 passes, could i crack 11.9's at 112ish?



Granted by next november i may have a completely new combo when i get a new job hopefully

Sounds good man! I'm sure you can get your 11 second pass next year with good traction.


Not to jack your thread, but I graduated last year and got a job. Now I'm ready for a head/cam swap also. I'm torn between keeping TPI or not. But that is going to be the biggest factor on what heads/cam I'm going to get.

yeah it will be a big difference. I like alittle more topend revs vs low/midrange tpi torque so HSR and a bigger cam suits me.


If i only go low 12's with this setup i wont be too dissappointed. I'll just upgrade the heads to something like AFR 195's or E-Portworks LE1/2 L98 heads. See what that does, then maybe a 125-150 shot??

Forced induction! Get a little whistle under the hood.

i think it'll need a little more camshaft to run those numbers

i was just gonna ask you about these heads since you've ran them on your car. i think i may need abit more cam too but we'll see how this runs

you may want to go with a 4.10 gear with that cam and head setup since it should put you at around 5500 rpms i think 3.73 is 4800? Or you could get a nos tpi kit adjustable to 100 to 150 hp and run 11's

go for it and good luck!

I would put more money in my formula but I bought my ws6 and 2 sport bikes so I am tapped out and need to start saving for the future like a house, etc...

i had that old crane solid cam in a 350 with those heads. 238*/248* @ .050, 114lsa, .480"/.500". i never got all the way down the track under 100% full power. i was always working with the launch and stuff. i pulled the motor apart before i was able to really mess with it more. best i got out of it was a 12.16@110mph on a 1.64 60'. i think that had i messed around with it some more and played with the tuning and gotten a real launch out of it it probably would have gone some 11.8x's.

hope u can get in there dude....u going with comp or crane?

not sure yet, i got a cam lined up from a guy its a comp 503 cam like i wanted, just like yours i believe. Now i am leaning towards abit more cam but i reallly dont want to venture into tuning a big bumpstick and reving this poor old motor over 6000rpms I just cant afford to blow it up right now

thats what i'm thinking i may need more cam. that seems like a healthy stick, alot beefier than a 503 grind. But what would it run under full power and good tune?

i think you may get some mid 12's, but 11's are a stretch...but than again, i'm runing 12.6x's with a small cube motor with a ~small cam...

loose some weight is all i can think of really.

like i said previously, i think that had all variables lined up and i made a 100% full pass, it probably would have run 11.7x/11.8x. but i was also like 3300lbs with driver. i'm lighter than that now. last time i weighed the car with the 9" and iron headed 305, i was 2970lbs w/o me, 3230 with me.

i'm thinking i have 12.8's as the car sits with just more stall, better tune, and more gear maybe. Cam alone should be worth 30whp atleast and give me mid 12's. hoping alittle head flow work could give me another 15-20whp and run low 12's for sure.

well to update this some things have changed.

i have some options now. i can get some aftermarket heads and i'm thinkin of AFR 195's or similar. OR LE1/LE2 L98 vette heads. Granted the vette heads may not flow as much as the AFR's and cost about the same, they will be unique and different and have beehive valvetrain as well. 255/180ish cfm is what they are said to flow. plus the 58cc chamber will keep compression up where i need it. else i'll get the AFR's milled to 60cc

EITHER way it should be ample to put my 3400lb raceweight into the 11's i would think. my stock L98 heads weigh about 51 lbs a piece assembled. So by next year i should be around 3400-3420lbs. THat is if my *** doesnt grow alot

And for the cam i may go 230/236 on a 112lsa, basically the xr282hr on a 112 instead of 110. should peak near 6200rpms and i dont think i'll shift any higher than 6000 on the street to be safe. Track i'll rev it out. stock bottom end living on a prayer!!

Forget the AFR and Look into some TEA (Total Engine Airflow) heads. They can set you up with a nice matching heads/cam package that WILL WORK, with your stock bottom end and make great power. Not to mention you already have the HSR so its just a matter of injectors/pump/tune once you install the H/C.

Don't try to pick heads and cams outa summit catalogs, yea it can work, but for the money/time, it is always better to look into a custom deal from a bigger name like TEA or Advanced Airflow.

i know, but this combo i only want to run like a year or so...thats it. and then i'll do a rebuild 350 or 383 or 408..not sure yet what next winter will bring

so for the time being, off the shelf stuff will work. this is a old L98 shortblock, i'm not willing to spend a buttload of money on it for a custom setup. The heads i am willing to spend on since i will reuse them for the next build down the road. The AFR's will be nice for that new motor down the road, so i'll work them over with the valvetrain i will need for the custom grind when it comes down to that. right now i'm considering the LE ported heads and LE1.5 cam

TEA looks good but are pricey... 2080 bucks for ported trickflows, seems abit high but the numbers look good

If thats the case then dude. Take it from a guy who has done alot of stuff like this, just get another block and start working on it in your spare time. swapping stuff on old bottem ends is more hassle than its worth,esp if you already have another motor in mind. Not to mention, your just taking money away from the "race motor".

If you need a quick fix, a nice simple N20 kit will be great, or just run it as it is and keep working on that 60'ft.

IROC

I appreciate your advice, and i know where your coming from but the motor is already torn down the the shortblock. the car will be getting these mods.

I dont mind the work, i dont find it a hassle at all. This is my first "motor build" even tho its using stock old bottom end and i'm just adding heads/cam. I'd rather do mods to this motor to see how they work and learn this process rather than doin it to a new motor and risk screwing that up and damaging a new motor. atleast if something goes wrong on this motor its not a huge loss. Also this gives me a chance to dive into serious tuning and something to look forward to next year. Its a win win situation for me.

Nitrous for a quick power fix would be nice but its not there all the time and doesnt give me that cammed car sound that i want to have. Nitrous kit now would be counterproductive to my end means down the road. Atleast a head purchase now can be reused for later builds

most of the parts i put on this motor will be reused except for the cam. Anything I dont reuse i'll sell off and get some of my money back. I dont see anything wrong with what i'm doing.

]

LOL I think you took that wrong. Trust me ive done alot of those heads/cams on old bottem ends before, and yea there is nothing wrong with it at all. I was just sayin that building a motor on the side, while having a running car is always good, and not to mention, u can go all out right away.

Best of Luck though, IF you do a search on Triaxton I think his name is, he had a mid 11's IROC on a stock bottomend with simular mods.

Keep us Posted.

i see. lol that would be a great idea and to tell you the truth i SHOULD have been doing JUST that with a LT1 this guy had for sell. I really wanted to build up that motor.

next year i just may do that. we'll see but i'll definately keep you guys posted. I just hope i can tune this car.

I think you could run some 11's with AFR's and a mid-230's duration roller cam, I would almost guarantee low 12's. Your setup will have better heads and more cam than mine and I've bested a 12.3.

i mean i've went 12.9's at 103.8 with bolt ons only and running very lean 14.5 to 1 afr and made only 254whp.

if i had better tune i could have seen 260's whp and probly ran 12.8's at 104.xx.

if i had more gear and stall, i could have seen high 1.6 60 foots and ran 12.7's at 104-105 i think.

i sure HOPE a bigger cam and MUCH better heads and 50lbs less would give me atleast bottom 12's

I see no reason why the car shouldnt be in the 11's in the same weather

I just like to be conservative on my guesses.

i'll be happy with it for sure but being conservative is good since if you dont achieve your goals, you will have less let down

Or surprised that it did better than you convinced yourself it would. I almost wet myself when I got my 12.3 slip!(well not really, but I was excited to say the least!)

hmmm I put down 311RWHP with a bad tune(low shift points, timing out for NOS). The owner before went 12.90 with everything the same as when i dyno'd it. It weighs in at 3250w/o driver.
With 3.42s and he also didnt run te car much nor beat the hell outta it.

250ish rwhp seems low for a 12.99.

Nest year im hoping for a 12.50 now that I have my moser 12 bolt 3.73s new tune, new DR's and gonna toss in a less restrictive intake.

Jay

It does doesnt it. haha its all in the launch man. 311whp should carry you to mid low 12's in a 3250 lb car

You can go through a lot of trouble and work to do that N/A or you can go the easy route and go forced induction.

I know it's not a popular option on tgo but since I went to turbo buicks I have seen the light. If I were you I would go with a rear mount turbo. Actually an old school TE-45A with the smaller exhaust housing would probably work pretty well (and are pretty common)

Add Methanol injection with twin M15 nozzles

Some form of engine management with wideband control

all together probably 3 grand with all the minor details included.

You'll skip measly 11.99s all together and be running high tens instead.

not legal at my track...so remote turbos are out of the question

I really would love a turbo setup, but on my stock shortblock right now i wouldnt trust much more than 350whp which should only be 5-7psi. I think. I really would do it if i had more fab skills and turbo knowledge, and more money

Not legal at your track? That makes no sense... why not?


As far as your long block holding up...

I have 170,000 miles on my stock 3.8 long block and I run 30 psi which is good for a 7.2@96.5 mph (converter unlocked) with a crappy 1.7 60 foot.

If you keep it from detonating I think it will handle more power than you think.

well my track is IHRA but i know NHRA rules stated a turbo must no be a certain distance from the engine bay or something like that. I'm pretty sure IHRA is the same way or similar. Unless they changed it, thats what i have been told

You should start on your new engine and buy a nitrous kit for your car. You'll soon be asking about 10's not 11's anymore. The stock engine should live for a while under a shot and the stock cam is pretty much a power adder grind to begin with with it's LSA.

So true.

I suggest going that route and build your new motor once.

well i took my stock cam out and see a fairly worn front cam bearing...so i dont know if i will keep this shortblock or not.

see my other combo thread for the pics.

I don't think you'll need the 125-150 shot. Tim (Click here) was able to pull an 11.66 naturally aspirated w/the Lethal cam offered by Joe Overton at the time (I was finally able to squeeze the specs out of him, too lol). With the lobes and custom grinds being offered today, combined with the AFR's your considering, and the HSR that you already have, you should see eleven's no problem (provided your 60-ft is there)....

yeah since i'm getting AFR's and a decent cam i should see 11's eventually i'm sure on motor. i still want the shot tho I dont have a cage tho

Hey you can always make at least 1 pass every weekend without a cage I'm in the same boat right now, 11.99's and you need a cage, there's no way I'm not going to be in the 11's on spray this year. Hey look at it this way, even with the shot you can still mess with the car N/A; I usually do more N/A passes than nitrous passes.

Ummm....You dont need a cage til 11.49. The 11.99 rule was changed to accomodate all the new cars like the Z06's, Vipers, etc. that are able to run 11's "stock", with only minor bolt-on's if any.

thats my front bearing for those who havent seen it. dont know if i want to go for it or just wait and do a rebuild

That does look pretty rough, will a machine shop just install cam bearings for you? As for the 11.49 rule that is GOOD news, I just had this argument with the guy that's doing the fab work for my K member and torque arm he said as far as he knew it was still 11.99. I didn't really plan to do anything about it until they tell me I have to so apparently I'll be good to go for a while.

all my local boys are telling me to cam it and that its fine i dont know what to believe but i rather take my time and build this car right i think

Ouch...!

could that be from a loose timing chain, cuz my stocker had alot of slack in it?

I wouldnt risk it. I would just pull the motor and have new cam bearings installed. I would also inspect the main and rod bearings.

Possible that there was too little oil entry in that particular area, clogged passageway, etc. Very interested in seeing your next combo though....

If you do leave it like that, time to switch over to some nice heavy Rotella T. I tell you what if it were my engine, I'de be leaving it just like that: stuffing a big used camshaft into it, super mega porting my stock heads, and nitrous kitting the nards off it. Think of it this way, when you decide to up the jets to a 250 shot you can alway say "oh well the cam bearings were already shot anyways "

i saw one of your dyno runs on you tube .....

dam thats a nice car and it sounds mean.

Yes it could be, But also it could be from debris in the engine, coulda happened during the intake service or swap. I would really take a good look at the rods and mains. and makesure that sucker is CLEAN. But in either case, it needs new cam bearings, which isn't to bad. Long as the rest looks good, (plastigauge is your friend) then just get some new cam bearings installed and giver.

i'm just gonna rebuild the block... new stuff all around, probly 355 or 357

Best to do it right the first time.