I have a stock 88 305 bottem end engine. My setup includes vortec high performance heads milled to 58cc (good to .550"max lift), rpm manifold, holley 670 avenger carb, and the rest of my mods are in the sig. I'm looking for at least 300hp and i was thinking the LT4 cam would get me there? (Dur.@.050: 203/210, Lift:476/480, LSA:115). Can you guys recommend me a better cam?(has to be roller). I am using this car as my daily driver. Also, can someone explain to me what LSA means? (the bigger the LSA the less drivable it is?)
Thanks for any suggestions

p.s. The TBI guys are gonna kill me for going carb

------------------
Pat Hirsz
www.iit.edu/~hirspat/MyPage2.htm
88 305TBI
Mods:Hooker Aerochamber 3" exhaust, no cat,SLP 1 5/8" headers and y-pipe March pullies, no smog, 180 thermo,
14x4 K&N, 3.42 gears(open), Ultimate TBI Mods,AFPR,MSD(ignition,coil&wires),Edelbrock TBI Manifold, 190ltr/hr fuel pump,
Eibach springs with KYB's all around,
Harwood cowl hood, Z-28 wing, fresh paint(black)
120,000 miles, 5spd, T-tops
0-60mph-7.2s-Gteched

92 RS, 305TBI, auto, 3.08 gears, 180 thermo, glasspack (no muffler)

 

I'm moving this to the general tech board...you'll get more answers there.

EDIT: That cam is too small. Look for somthing in the 208-214 @ .050 duration range.

The LSA is the distance in degrees from the centerlines of the intake and exaust lobes. In general the less the LSA the less streetable...but that cam range isn;t too agressive to begin with. you can afford a low LSA.

[This message has been edited by Jester (edited July 24, 2001).]

 

Reopened

BTT

 

Thank You.

 

My suggestion would be the Comp XR264HR, except for one detail... it may have too much lift for those heads. They have a situation where the retainers will hit the top of the valve guides at lift more than .480" or so. It varies somewhat from one pair of them to another, yours might fit or they might not. The only cures are either to machine the valve guides down, or replace the retainers with some that are not as "tall" where they go around the valve stem. I notice you claim yours are good to .550" lift; I take it this means that you are planning on machining out the spring pockets to accept larger valve springs (since there are none made in the stock 1.25" diameter that will survive for very long at that kind of lift, no matter what their paper claims are), replacing the studs with screw-ins to eliminate them pulling out, etc. There's no way that those heads out of the box will support those lift numbers.

Unfortunately, when you start machining on those heads, their economy goes away in a hurry. They're not a performance head, they're a replacement truck head, regardless of their flow numbers; so they're not set up in the slightest for performance usage. By the time you do the usual stuff to them to make the suitable as such, you'll have as much money tied up in them as you would in a set of true performance heads.

The rest of your combo looks fine. You should end up pretty close to 300 HP.

------------------
"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

[This message has been edited by RB83L69 (edited July 25, 2001).]

 

Actually, SDPC2000 sells the vortec high performance heads for $330 a piece (which are machined for screw in studs, ferra valves, 1.25"springs, guide plates, and a few other goodies. Its either those or the sr torquers which will cost me about the same. If i port the torquers, can they flow as much as the vortecs? If money is no object, would you take the vortec hp or torquer heads? And thanks for the advice on the cam, i think the XR264HR is what i will go with.

 

1.25" springs is the stock diameter. I would never build a motor myself that used springs of that diameter in an application with over .500" of lift. However, for the cam I suggested, good springs in the stock diameter (NOT the stock aprings that come on the Vortec heads) would work, those that SDPC includes should be OK although they don't say what they actually are.

Note that at that price, you get used castings, not new; straight-stem valves, not undercut ones; and no studs or guide plates, only the machine work for them. They don't mention whether they will guarantee the clearance from the retainers to the valve guides to be any particular value. Definitely check on that spec before you buy, otherwise you may have to do some more machine work yourself after you get them. This is not a matter of the valve spring rating, it's the design of the head itself.

So, to assemble them fully, it will take about another $75 of parts, which will bring your total cost to about $735, plus maybe some add'l. machine work.

Tough choice....

------------------
"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

If you're willing to handle the die grinder, you can get 305 S/R Torquers to handle everything you want for less money than those Vortecs are going to cost you before having them shaved. The 300 hp shouldn't be a problem, either.

I picked up mine from Competition Products and had them upgrade the springs, retainers, and valve seals. Unassembled, they arrived on the doorstep for less than $650. Also got the Standard Abrasives Deluxe Porting Kit for about $35, has great instructions for how to go about doing your porting job (even World Products endorsed them).

Use 350 head gaskets if you go with the WP S/R 305's.

------------------
82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R4. 2.93 limited slip. Cat-back from '91 GTA, ZZ3 intake, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LG4 w/'87 LB9 block, ZZ3 cam, ported World 305 heads, Hooker headers & y-pipe, 3" Catco cat & 3" cat-back).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. '66 396, 9.7 CR forged TRWs, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet, GK 270 cam, Magnum rockers, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" Hedders & 3" Warlocks, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & Trans-Scat shift kit, MegaShifter, 3.08 8.2" 10-bolt w/Powertrax, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Idles smooth @ 600 RPM in D. Best 15.02/95.06 @ 5800' Bandimere (corrected 13.93/102.4 @ sea level).

 

Thanks guys, i think i will go with the s/r torquers from competition products but i want to get them ported, especially on the exhaust side. Does that mean i would be better off getting the unasembled ones? Do the unasambled ones come with everything you need but you just need to assemble them yourself? Or can a machine shop port the assembled heads? Also, what kind of rockers do you guys recommend with the XR264HR cam? Sorry for all the questions, this is my first time for building up an engine.

 

BTT