well guys here it is
i have a 78 Firebird with a 350...
im gona take out the engine and get it rebuilt (bored to 383) and put new heads etc on it
but i really need help choosing a camshaft and crank. i really want a camshaft that makes the idle really lumpy and will give me crazy power. this is a race application, so emissions doesnt matter. i want a crank that can handle it. also, what compression ratio should i get? i plan to go all motor. i was thinking of getting those summit headers, im not to sure about that. i was also looking at the edelbrock RPM cam and intake manifold. i want my car to run 12's-11's all motor. i need your help

thanks
mike

 

yea well as you know the 383 is a 3.75 inch stroke with a 4.030 bore...... that big stroke wont clear most cams... you have to buy a small circle base cam. Also remember that a cam that is radical on a 350.... isnt AS radical on a 383 b/c of displacement... id say the edelbrock cam is weak.

Look into good brands like Lunati, Elgin , and comp.... my three favorite. I'd say go with something like the lunati "SP Hydraulic Series- 305 adv duration and .540 lift"...... i think its a 109 lobe separation. that cam will be all the cam you will ever need and if all you're doing is racing it .... all the better (b/c it's in no wat streetable)..... you're gonna need some insane heads.... look at some dart heads.... or prolightnings. Go single Plane intake.... get like a 1050 dominator carb....get a bulletproof bottom end and a bulletproof drivetrain along with some low low gears and sticky tires n nice suspension and you'll be aight. and as far as compression goes.... well it will need to be around 11:1 somewhere in that ballpark. Good luck man. i Hope you build somethin crazy.

 

thanks man, that was actually a HUGE help...
i have the money for a cam now, and im buying the parts one at a time.
What are good headers?
can i run that engine with stock (yet ported) heads? i realize it will be choking the engine alot, sometimes i just get alil overanxious.
will the steel crank be good enough? also, the driveshaft, do i risk breaking that at all?
and for suspension, i was thinking of Edelbrock springs and shocks etc, i saw them on SpeedTV heh
only reason i said edelbrock cam was cuz thats the only thing i was lookin at
what GPH fuel pump will i need?

 

You should beef up your main caps with ARP bolts, it'll need a line hone if you go that route though. There are advantages to cast cranks too a know, they're lighter than forged therefore less reciprocating mass and spins up a little faster. BTW we're not talking a Pontiac 350 here are we?

 

as much as i hate to say it, im not sure if its a pontiac or a chevy motor. its in a 78 Firebird. how do i tell?

 

It is probably a pontiac motor.Or even an olds.

 

im vearing more twards pontiac...

 

Pontiac engines do not look like small block chevys, They are very wide and would look more like a big block chevy if anything.
A quick way to tell is look at the distributor, If it can be removed without taking off the intake manifold it would be a Pontiac motor.

 

If it is the Pontiac 350 ou already have the 3.75" stroke, howeverit suffers from a small bore....3.88". The Pontiac 350 is like the 305 is to the Chevy smallblock, basically the bastard child nobody wants, most people swapped them out for 400 or 455's. PHR did an article on a Pontiac 350 buildup for the Engine Masters Challenge and made 354 HP and 405 TQ with an overbore, Edelbrock heads and a Comp cam with 286 degrees duration and .586 lift. I have the article if you want more info.

Tim

 

hedman makes some good headers so does hooker, i wouldnt run it with stock heads.... porting and all that is expensive... if you find some aftermarket heads for that motor id say go for it.... cast crank is a good way to go, i'll be running around 400 horse and i got a cast crank, just make sure u get some good rods and pistons, as for suspension you'll need subframe connectors, panhard bar, ladder bars, i would get a driveshaft loop just to be safe...you wont need an in-tank fuel pump if you run a carb setup actaully i dont even know if anyone makes FI for those motors, but u'll need the fuel pump that goes on the block.

 

yea, well i decided today that it would be wise for me to just find a block of a 400 and build up from that, bore it out etc
anyone know where i can get one? or have one laying around?
this way i can build up the engine without having to take the old one out.