OK, we got the vortec we bought torn down and as the original seller thought it has spun a bearing. The crank is trashed as the #8 rod journal is about 1/8" smaller on the bottom side. I have looked and the stock crank is only $165. BUT.... since we are there and I am assuming that #8 rod could be trashed and one other rod had a bearing that seemes to be thin, I may need to spring for a couple of rods. The block has absolutely no wear. I am betting it will need just a hone and new rings, but if I need to bore the block and need new pistons, and 2 of 8 rods and a new crank... would there be any reason not to go 383? I understand that I am now going to require a tune of some sort in the computer. And this is also for my sons first car, so it is going a bit away from my original plan. If we are going to replace the entire rotating assembly am i going to be better off going with the 383 in the long run? It is going in the 91 RS with a 2.73 rear and the 700R4. We are hoping for some fun and mileage at the same time. The 93 truck TBI 350 with the correct 350 parts is pulling 22.3 MPG at 80 so I am happy with that and am hoping for more with a better engine.
Any help and info would be great. I am waffling back and forth 350 to 383.

 

I was in the same boat. Trashed the original 350 TBI and am now running a carbed 383. You can feel the difference in power. Not sure how old the son is, but something to consider. I say go 383.

 

yea i have a 89 rs with a 305 ill say just go 383 you would be able to get more power out of it in the future theres prob a 20 to 30hp difference but you have to but a new crank anyways you might pay a little more but in the end you have a big smile on your and sons face

and yea having a camaro you going to stray off your original plan when i blew head gasket on 305 i told myseld just to basic rebuild and now theres alot more than just a basic rebuild

it we be a never ending project

 

are you going to keep tbi set or go a different route

 

tbi 383 tuning is extensive and its more than just an engine block. you gotta do tuning, upgrade fuel system, etc

 

ajustable fuel reg. fuel pump with 350 inj or bbc injectors and get a tune by tbichips the easy way or tune you self wich can be a hassle unless you go carb which is another area you would need to tune also if you want the best drivability which can be a hassel to

But thats the nature of the beast if its not one thing its anothe lol :P

 

OK so this is the boys 1st car.. currently 13 will be 14 and learners permit age in the spring. I was thinking Since that bearing spun that rod is shot? Is this a good assumption? I also saw one bearing half that seemed thin and was not tight to the cap so that rod may be bad... I am sure that if we go 383 we will need EBL. I have never done fuel mapping but I understand the concepts and I am sure if I can figure out all the alphabet soup that is used I can figure it out.
Now upgraded fuel system? Is that a bigger pump only or do we need larger lines? I am really wanting to keep TBI. If I was going different, I would just drop an LS in it and make it even better.
Can I "tune" the engine down? Pull some power out of it for the early stages of my sons learning curve? I am really thinking the vortecs 255 hp is plenty, but hate to buy a new crank and rods then in a couple years want more.. I mean he wants more....

Oh and no Carbs. He is a youngster that is used to the convenience of FI. Now maybe do the coil on plug conversion, that is need and we already have most of the Vortec parts... Maybe better to do that and keep it 350....

 

[quote=zachary3;5082723]ajustable fuel reg. fuel pump with 350 inj or bbc injectors and get a tune by tbichips the easy way or tune you self wich can be a hassle unless you go carb which is another area you would need to tune also if you want the best drivability which can be a hassel to

OH and I already have the 350 and injectors in the car, running better but we want him to understand how it works and how to repair it if it breaks. Is there anyone that already has a simple 383 chip that I can buy? I am dong a basic simple rebuild, no fire breathers... He will have to prove he can handle one of those. I want to be able to move up in steps, baby steps is fine.

 

no you just need to upgrade intake fuel pump but if 255hp is your goal you dnt need to and just keep it a 350 because 383 is going to make more than that i belive stock pump can run up to around and support 275hp

 

[quote=bigjcfiredog;5082987]
talk to the guy for tbichips he is really helpfully and getting a chip for your needs

also go to his website it has good info

 

well goals are what I know the replacement 98 vortec was from the factory. I had 300 hp through a th350 in my old nova and loved it to death. the 93 350 was factory rated at 210 and seems choked by the factory exhaust and feels like a slug. (I drive a Hemi Jeep and the wife has a '10 Ram with the Hemi. So our love of HP and torque is obvious.) I love the low end, and want something that will go good but still get some mileage as he will be 24 miles round trip to High School.

 

i believe a rebuild of vortec 383 would prob put you around 300 350 hp range with nothing else done just due to more displacment a 350 would prob be around 300 or so

 

[quote=zachary3;5082991]Zachary, are you running his chip? I am also interested in if you are running EGR. I have heard that it helps mileage, I have no reason to get rid of it other than just figuring out how to do it.

Also If I am thinking right, 383 will be new pistons, rods and crank. I would rather put money into the engine now to make the future mods easy and not have to yank it back out. I believe I will get the GMPP TBI Manifold with the EGR on it, just have to figure out how to plumb it. Oh and I will have shorty headers.

There is no emissions testing here so the cat may dissapear when we do exhaust. need larger pipes and a Flowmaster, per the boys love of their sound, and dual pipes out back.

Lots of things to do, oh and of course the color change! Teal will become OSU Orange with black stripes. The girls will be uncontrolable.

 

this tread should be really helpfull in your decision

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...s-305-tbi.html

another source for good info and products is

http://www.tbichips.com/tbimods.htm

http://www.cfm-tech.com/

http://stores.ebay.com/Xtremefi/_i.h...2&_sc=1&_sop=1

 

[quote=bigjcfiredog;5082998] have

lol yea mines is mettalic black yea if you dont upgrade exhuast it will not but out much power it is very restrictive and is a good way to choke engine and keep power down flowmaster sound good put highway drivineg there droning sound im change to magnaflow

for egr you going keep egr only option is http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-12496821/
a little bit on expensive side can also use carb intake its cheaper but lose egr

 

Zachary, I have read that 305 to 350 thread more than once. It is why my sons Camaro runs smooth and sweetly now, although it has a little leak I am not wanting to fix since we are yanking it, oh and it has a truck EGR not a Car EGR. Do not get these confuesed. They work or are commanded the opposite. Plugging the line to the EGR which I removed and cleaned and it works fine, has cleared up all of her issues. I think maybe since it is leaking a tiny amount of coolant that it has messed up the O2 sensor and I still need to do the 350 knock sensor in the block as I don't know what is there, but I am not willing to drain and refill since it will be getting yanked in a couple months. I will have to call the TBIchips and see what he recommends.

 

yea im running his chip and it works perfect makes alot easier and not have to worry about tuning it

 

I guess if I am going to go ahead and have a chip burned I can delete EGR? How do you get away with no EGR out in LA LA land? I figured the auto ***** would be all over you.
As for the Flowmaster, we have one on the motorhome and he loves it.. He is not much for the Super 40's or 44's though.. His mom is thankful about that one.. It would be cheaper to go the carb manifold and adapter, but what about the linkage? Will they all bolt up? I do not weld..yet... I can bend and drill but if it will cost as much as the GMPP manifold I might as well get the easy one.

 

true sounds like alot of work in the camaro i had to fix alot of stuff before my gasket blew its hassle like a little mosquito but rewarding in the end


yea he has project cars that he swap vortecs in and has a write down in what he did and dyno numbers he has a 4000+ LB TRUCK RUNNING 20mpg and it has over 400 fwhp

 

lol they are ***** out here , but good thing im in the navy and im a florida resident my car has florida plates so i ge no heat from the *****

yea you can delete the carb thats what i did and i have carb manifold is better and it flows better cause and more options i plan to get holley avenger efi or ez efi they self tune in near future and able to handle more power

they should bolt right up as it only change the height of tbi unit

 

I was thinking that it might raise the TBI, do I need a scoop? I had thought of trying to get 2 vortec truck air intakes and hats and making our own Cold Air Induction. We love to try and rework things, but might just do the open element. I figure if GM and Dodge can get 400 hp through those little intake hoses on their newer cars We can feed this guy the same way.

 

yea i have a open element and if take out the space for air cleaner it will drop 1 inch for more cleareance

 

OK. So I guess I need to get a star drive bit to get the cam out and get the block and parts and pieces down to the machine shop. Since we don't have to have it running till spring that gives us ample time to search and order just the right parts. I will contact TBI and see what he recommends. The best thing is he is currently thinking of going out of state to college, 320 miles each way and I want something that will not cost me both an arm and a leg to get him there.
Ironically his Camaro from KC to Ft. Riley, home of the Big Red 1, already gets 22+ mpg at 80 so it is officially the most efficient vehicle in our fleet! I just want to keep it close to 22 or so, probably will do better driving slower, if only I could.

Any ideas on a cheap way to change from an open diff to a posi? I am certain that will be very necessary too! Even mom spins the hell out of that one legged rear.

 

jus go to junk yard and get good used axle with posi out of a iroc and or z 28 i belive they also have 3.73 gears thats the easiest

i drive a prius thats my long haul i drive from san diego to los angeles every weekend

 

No way I will get this 14 year old IN a Prius!!! Let alone drive it when he has a Classic Camaro!!! I would prefer the 2.73 gears. I thought about the fourth gen rear as they also have rear disks....again maybe keep him out of some trouble... but I have read we cannot use the factory wheels he likes. Plus we are talking more $$$ that will take away from other things he might want. Like some speakers with some bass!!

 

Go 383 and as far as the rear 89 and upGTA or IROC got the good discs on the rear and should be straight swap mount same wheels etc.

 

lmao thats y i only drive for long distance camarois daliy driver love american muscle .. yea you can find the third gen rear with disc brakes yea forth gen rear you need a adapter to use stock wheels yea i have a system in mines too love the bass i put two 12in 500 rms dual voice coil with 1200 watt amp in a sealed custom box i made with mdf and filled with poly fill i know alot about systems lol

 

Yea remember my son only knows what he sees.... Dad drives a Hemi powered 07 Grand Cherokee with 32" tires, and Mom rolls a Crew Cab Hemi powered 4X4 RAM! Oh and the 460 powered motorhome, and then there is Grandpa's 402 big block 72 Chevy Truck!! There is no little in our family! Well grandma has a new Chrysler 200 rag top.

Maybe we can score a disk rear, but what can I put the high gear in it? Maybe I need to ask that in the rear end forum.

When we get the news on the heads and block we will make our final decision on the 383 or 350. If the rods were fine I would just go 350 and be done.... but "since we are doing this, might as well do that!!!.. Ha I just hope he appreciates it.

Just maybe before scouts tomorrow we will have to let him take it for a good spin over at the school parking lot, before it starts to freeze and we begin its transformation....

 

it should have the 3.23 gear i mean in it already and you shouldnt get big change in driability and mpg and have improve acceleration higher than that you start to get a change in drivability

 

I know it has been a while but my son broke his hand and has been in no mood to do any wrenching. We finally got the cam and lifters out and I am confident that it will have to be replaced. The lobes are fine but two of the bearing surfaces have grooves big enough to catch a finger nail in. So it is shot and I was hoping to reuse it. The lifters were very gunked up and super hard to get out. Had to use an extension and bang them in to break the crap loose so we could get them out.
So, this bugger is getting more expensive as we go. This bunch of parts is heading to the machine shop this week and see what all it needs. What I am wondering now is if we stay 350 with these stock heads what is it going to cost to get the Vortec heads machined to accept anything but a stock cam? Again I want to keep this thing controllable for a 14 year old. Cam suggestions and where to look?

The only cam I ever changed was to an excelent Voodoo cam back in the 80's. Pretty sure that is not the profile I want with TBI.. Any suggestions of who has the best cam tech people for TBI? Thanks guys.

 

Make sure they're vortec heads first... If the engine came with a TBI on it, it AINT vortec heads.

And honestly man, a vortec 350 is enough to kill a 20 year old, much less a 16 year old. I know I wasnt very responsible at that age. He needs a 305 at most. He will blow it up or hurt himself in short notice with a 383 camaro with vortec heads. With a mild cam that will hit around 330-380hp, in these cars that's good for a 12 second quarter mile. Thats REALLY moving.

But if you insist, and you know your kid better than any of us do, then these are my main points of concern with a good build:

1. Those truck blocks got fuel injection... if it's a Vortec block, it got roller cam hardware. This is GREAT news. If it's a TBI truck engine with crappy garbage swirlport heads, then you need to relegate them to boat anchor usage, AND you're stuck with a flat tappet cam unless you want to either pay for a retro-roller cam setup or you want to get your machine shop to install all the roller cam hardware.

I repeat again - real vortec engines got roller cams and Vortec heads. 88-95 truck engines with TBI on top got garbage 193 swirlport heads. Do not waste any money on those 193 heads. Vortec heads aren't that expensive, they're worth getting.

2. With the EFI, those bores dont wear much. Still, you'll probably need to go at least .010 over on the pistons. With flat top pistons, you need a 72cc chamber to get a reasonable pump gas compression ratio. What you will end up needing is a 15-20cc dish piston with Vortec heads (64cc chambers). That will get you around 9.5-10:1 with a .040 quench distance.

3. QUENCH DISTANCE QUENCH DISTANCE QUENCH DISTANCE!!!! Do a search. Quench is the distance between the top of the piston and the compression pad on the cylinder heads at top dead center. The distance needs to be .040-.044 inches. This is VERY important. This may mean you will need a very, very thin head gasket. Make VERY sure you tell the machine shop that you may need to run a .015 MLS or copper shim gasket to keep your quench in the correct range. If your quench opens up to .065+ your engine will be prone to detonation and will be way down on power. You will have to retard the timing to keep it from blowing itself up and all that power you paid for ... you dont get it.

4.The largest roller cam you can run with Vortecs from a performance standpoint is probably something along the lines of a Comp XR276. That will get great power, and with a 383 will be very streetable. 330-380hp probably. Going beyond that can be done, but Vortecs aren't well suited to big cubic inch smallblocks at high RPMs. A 383 is fine but you will want to keep your cam reasonable. A giant cam will just eat up your low end powerband and the heads wont support the high end the cam is supposed to give you in return.

If your block is actually a TBI truck block and has garbage heads and a flat tappet cam, I would suggest a Comp 280H. It's not as modern as the Xtreme Energy series, and the ramp rates are lazier, but I think that's decent insurance in today's oil climate where aggressive flat tappet cams are prone to failure at any given oil change or track day. The 280H should give enough vacuum for power brakes on a 383, and it will sound nice too. Should give you a nice tolerable power band also. If you want to look into the xtreme energy series flat tappet cams, something like the xe274 would be nice. These are cams that are the high end of streetable on a 350, but on a 383 they will be more mild and more drivable.

5. Real vortec heads have some serious valve lift limitations. There are several workarounds.
A - machine work to the valve guides
B - beehive springs (Comp 26918-16, GM LS3 "Yellow" springs, with Comp beehive retainers)
C - offset keepers, an extra .050 inches is plenty.

This all will depend on whether you have a roller or flat tappet cam. A 280H for example is actually a relatively good match for the GM LS3 springs... and those are very affordable.

There are other things... but that's what's on my mind... also make sure you keep a 1 pc RMS, internal balance 383 crankshaft.



One more thing... you do realize you can just turn your crank down and it's perfectly serviceable right? Some guys claim turned cranks are BETTER for performance usage than stock journal cranks. Running a regular 350 and flat tops with a good 1.560 compression height will get you to around 10.0-10.2:1 compression, which at a good quench height and with a cam the same size as those I mentioned, will get you into a fantastic running 350 but you may have to run premium gas in it. WIll still get you over 300hp. Probably 330ish.

The only problem left is tuning for those cams might be a little tough with the factory TBI. You wont find much in the 220/220 to 230/230 duration range that will be computer controlled compatible, so it's up to you if you want to go smaller or go carb. If you go smaller get some dished pistons to keep the compression down a little. 10.0:1 is kind of pushing it without a bigger cam to bleed off some of the compression.

 

Gunna go smaller to start with since I would be happy with the stock 255 hp. Even if we stock rebuild with headers and a good exhaust we should be in the 265-275 range easy. We need fuel economy also, as he will be running 25 miles a day back and forth to school and that can get expensive at the price of fuel today.

Is there a market out there of good used cams? Any advice on what to look for and what to shy away from?

Thanks Infernal This will get printed and added to the binder of info.

 

OP asked if the EBL has a governor? Yes it does for MPH and RPM. Can be turned on and off by flashing the ECU. Takes about 3 minutes.

 

Vortecs will help a lot with fuel economy, as will the TBI system IF you can get it running and tuned properly.

If you go 383 you wont be able to reuse the pistons. If you stay 350... I guess you may be able to... but I dont think most people recommend that. You dont hear about too many rebuilds of stock 350's that dont need to be overbored, but if there are any that qualify these are the ones taht would manage to do it. Honestly I'd still get at least some hypereutectic pistons.

The cheapest way to get a decent amount of lift on Vortecs... Man this is one of those things that just depends on a lot of factors.

First of all, see how much your machine shop charges to machine the valve spring pockest and valve guides for more clearance with the retainer. This is the proper way to do it, and it will allow you to use any regular valve spring in the future.

Secondly, you CAN grind down on your retainers... most wouldnt recommend it, but it has been done successfully. Do a search on google on vortecs and retainer grinding, try "ghetto grind". You're looking for .050 of clearance between the retainer and the valve guide at max lift. That gives you a little fudge room, but dont cut it too tight.


The cheapest route I've found, and you can only do this with certain roller cams, is to run LS3 yellow springs and Comp beehive retainers. This will not allow you to run the more modern, more aggressive roller cams, but you CAN run the LT4 hotcam with it.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-787-16/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-12499224/

The problem is those springs have fairly weak seat pressure. You can play with shims to get a shorter installed height, and they'll be stronger. I think at 1.8" they are 90lbs, and a 1.75 they're at 105lbs, but Im not quite positive on that. That means if you run an aggressive roller cam you may run into valve float issues.

The way this works is the retainer itself is smaller in diameter and in height on the valve stem. It's much smaller than a standard retainer because it's made for Comp's "Beehive" springs, which are themselves an upgrade for GM beehive springs like the ones I just listed.

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...ade/index.html



The retainer itself isnt as tall, and it gives you roughly an extra .100 inches of clearance. So if the factory limit is .460 lift (usually they say it's .470 but lets be safe), these will theoretically get you clear to .560 lift.

But like I said, if you need to shim them to get a stronger seat pressure, you will eat up your coil bind height with those LS3 springs. Generally they're considered safe to .550 lift. So if you shim them .050, you can only run a .500 lift cam... make sense? The solution is to go to a Comp beehive spring that matches the closest to what your cam is spec'd out for . They're generally just around $200 a set. The 26918 springs are probably the most common.

The good thing is they're single springs, and your vortec spring pockets, from the factory, should be perfect to locate beehive springs. If you go to install them and there's a bunch of slack and the springs move around hither and thither on the valve spring pocket - you may have issues. They shouldn't, but you know how this mass produced stuff is. Just worth checking.

So if you want to go with a larger, more aggressive cam, as long as you stay below .560 lift, you have the retainer/guide clearance you need. But to get those high lift ranges you will need to spend $200 on some nice Comp aftermarket springs. If you run something like the LT4 hotcam, you can run LS3 yellow springs with 1.5 rockers no problem.

What Im trying to illustrate here is the cost range:

Smaller, older roller cam like the Hotcam means you can use LS3 springs, beehive retainers, and roll on wtih it. Cost is $60, $60, and whatever you spend on the cam ($230 new). So $350 worst case scenario for the Hotcam. To run a bigger cam, you will need to spend $200 on valve springs, $60 on retainers, and $290 on the cam (Something like the xr276), so roughly about $550.

Now compare this to what your machine shop tells you to it will cost to machine down the valve guides and spring pockets for dual springs like the Comp 986. Then your cost will be, hypothetically, $290 for the cam, $60 for the valve springs and you can use normal retainers, around $50, and then the machine costs for machining the valve guide. This is the "proper" way, but whether it's worth it or not depends on how wild you want to go with the cam and how much your machine shop charges.

And as far as a 16 year old and a 300hp car... I bought my car in 07 when I was 21 years old, and the ONLY reason I drove it as reasonably as I did, and it was SLOW, is because I paid for it and I knew I couldnt replace it if I blew it up or fix it (At the time). At this point I've learned a lot and things have changed, but Im also older and a little more mature about things. I KNOW if I was given this car when I was 16 I would have made a total butt out of myself. Maybe your son is different, who knows, I just know how I was, and I was a pretty tame kid in most regards.

Also, back to cams, since you asked. I would do everything in my power to ensure you can use a roller cam. There are SO many advantages to it, especially since you have a roller block, that it's just really a bad idea to not do it. Better gas mileage, better street manners, more power, more reliability, more efficiency, you name it. It will practically make the car blow chocolate unicorns out the exhaust pipes. A used roller cam as long as it isnt visibly damaged is perfectly fine to get, a used flat tappet cam can work, but it's a crapshoot. You have to make sure each lobe stays with its lifter, and just different valve springs and vavletrain geometry can upset a flat tappet setup enough from the conditions that it was broken in on, that it may wipe itself, it may not. I would just say avoid any used flat tappet cams. Roller cams are perfectly fine to re-use as long as they're not damaged. Without going 383, and staying with a 350, I would stick to something that's 230/230 or less. The xr276 is an EXCELLENT street cam for Vortecs. It's 224/230 if I remember right. Keep the lift within your valve spring/valve guide limitations, and you should be fine. The xr276 hits .510/.520 lift. An LT4 hotcam will be .500/.500 lift with factory 1.5 ratio rocker arms.

 

I like the yellow spring idea, and have read so many stories about these beehives being superior with respect to harmonics and control this might be the way to go. We might go with an lt1 or a slightly bigger comp cam. Guess I will have to carve out some time to talk with tech support. We are sticking with the roller, that is why we did not just rebuild the running 93 350 engine we have in the Camaro now. I wanted the better Vortec heads and the roller cam. I plan to get the pieces we tore apart into the truck this weekend for their trip to the machine shop. I will pick his brain as well. Part of the reason I was hoping to reuse the pistons is I have seen these trucks with 300k on them and still not even puffing smoke. Again it is hard to remember that we are building this for a young driver but hopefully he will keep hot rodding alive into his generation. Plus there is no excuse for a Camaro getting beat by a new Malibu V6 or a damn Honda fart can out running it. Just saying that would be bad. In todays world even those little 4 bangers are pushing 200 hp from the factory so this will be close in power, he will just be much cooler.

Another question I haven't found answers to, will I have to replace all the rods? I think the one that spun the bearing is obviously wiped out, but can I just get one? I can hardly wait to get this baby machined and back from the machine shop and we can start buying parts and get out in the shop during the holidays and weekends when it is too cold to be outside. Thank you all for your help. I know he will appreciate it once he starts the build. By the way, he is doing all the work, I am just managing the project and helping with stuck bolts and extra hands. He will be very careful with this as it is his dream car. (Well other than the 1969 and 2011 Camaro dreams.)

 

you can reuse rods. They're forged steel as long as you true them and machine the journal round again they're perfectly usable. They dont fatigue like aluminum for instance. You can actually bend a rod 90 degrees on one end. Heat it up, and bend it back, and it's just as strong as when you started. Reconditioning rods involves grinding both sides of the cap-rod mating surface, and then line honing them out to the correct size again, and then replacing rod bolts, assuming they are true. But there are a couple of caveats... If you buy a single replacement rod make sure it has all the same important measurements as your other rods. The other thing is you want it the same weight.

The cost of this machinework plus good rod bolts (it is silly to rebuild using stock rod bolts. Even if they were strong enough to last another 200k miles, you want to spend a little extra and get some good ARP wave-loc bolts so it can handle 6k RPMs and up. Cheap insurance to avoid rod bolt failure) generally adds up to almost the cost of new replacement rods with good rod bolts already. This is one example, and this is what I run:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SCA-35700P

The other issue you will have to deal with - if you go 383 you will very likely need H-beams, as they give more clearance for the oil pan rails and the camshaft in a stroker engine. If you are willing to grind more off the oil pan rail in the block, and you are willing to pay extra money for a small-base circle cam, then you can use regular I-beams. This isn't something that always happens, but it's something that happens often, and there's no way to determine if you will have problems until you throw it together and see. I cant remember if you settled for a 350 or not, though.

I would still discourage trying to re-use pistons. Good aftermarket pistons are not very expensive. IF you go with a 350 make sure you get pistons with a 1.560 compression height. Extremely important.

 

OK. So we all made the trip to John's Machine out in Olathe, Kansas. Good guy very helpful and honest so far... He confirmed my thoughts that the crank and cam are now paper weights or good for art projects. We will know in a couple of weeks what needs done. So far he said at the least we need to cut down the valve guides. Only $72 and good insurance. I will probably get new springs and camshaft. Still has to play nice with the TBI computer. I also found a complete rebuild kit for 230 with pistons and rings all bearings and gaskets. Crank is 165 so for around $1000 we should have a rather decent engine package. Still not sure if the LT4 cam might be a bit big for what we are trying to do here. I will plan for it, with springs and machine work, but probably go with a smaller cam. Maybe we will go wilder when he learns to stay on his own side of the road! We got our last drive in before the snow and ice and now the Camaro is all warm and toasty in my shop ready to be torn down and be reborn in May.

 

If you can get the valve guides machined down for that kind of money, and the spring pockets machined too (usually done at the same time from my limited knowledge of it) you wont need to use those beehive springs and you can use the far more affordable traditional springs. This really opens up your cam options.

The LT4 Hotcam is 218/228 @ .050 and .500/.500 with 1.5 rocker arms. It's really on the fairly mild side and was built to run with fuel injected LT1's. Doesn't mean it will be easy to tune a TBI on it, but it's not one of those big carb cams.

Found this on youtube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MISgaZy17E0

"Here is an idle clip of the new project. Engine is a roller 350 with vortec heads, LT4 hot cam, 1.6 roller rockers, 454 TBI, Edlebrock RPM air gap intake, SLP shorty headers, borla muffler on one tip straight pipe on other tip. DOnt aske me about the tips. I didnt do it that way."

It's a TBI car with vortec heads.

That said, since you can put some stronger 986/987 etc springs in there, you can go to a bigger cam no problem.

 

OK just a little update. We are going to stay 350 (I am pretty sure.) I received a call from the machine shop today. My block will need to be bored 30 over, Heads need to be surfaced and have the guides done. He told me that the rods need to be resized too. I figured this since it spun the bearing. Resizing the rods is going to be $104. As I was doing the math, since I now have to get pistons and a crank, and have to spend at least 100 on rod repair, I might as well go with a new reciprocating assembly. I can get everything crank to rods to pistons and rings and bearings for $600.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ESP-B13402L03053/

So I figure just the crank at 165+ and rods are 200+ then pistons are 200+ then I am basically getting the flywheel, bearings and rings for free. So then I just need cam bearings and freeze plugs an oil pump and cam and timing set and I will be ready to run. OH and that intake I am hoping to get from a TGO member when I get the cash. The only thing I am concerned about is the compression. I think these pistons are rated for 9.8 compression with 64cc heads. I do not want to run mid or high grade fuels...

Oh hell I forgot the new valve springs and keepers etc.... Hope I can find enough $$! I could have just kept the old engine.... Oh well it is part of the fun.

 

Alright.. Another update. Maybe time to start a build thread as we finally pulled the trigger on the crankshaft replacement. We decide to go with a whole new rotating assembly from JEGS! Going to stay with the standard stroke as I think it will be more than plenty for him. We bought the Eagle Street Performance Rotating Assembly. So now we have, well will have tomorrow according to FedEx Tracking, a new crank, rods, pistons, rings, and all bearings ready to drop in! Still have to deliver the pistons to the machine shop so he can hone the cylinders to the exact specifications of each piston. Oh and the new assembly comes balanced and includes a new flexplate. I am excited to get the freshly machined block home and get the boy to work assembling it. Still have a few things to buy, but this will at least get things moving and start the process.