Ok well i have come up with somewhat of a budget

lets say $5000ca approx $4300us +-

So once again what i have:

350 4 bolt .040
cast crank
cast pistons
GM rods
GM non cc HEI
882 heads <--- definately have to go bye bye
edelbrock performer EPS intake
edelbrock 600cfm carb
edelbrock performer plus cam
double roller timing set
hedman LTs
TH-350
open end diff, 7.5" 26spln 4.11s <-- needs to go too
Maybe some suspension upgrades?

Also need tires and rims but i may do that another time as that might get a bit pricey. but could you reccomend some sizes and whatnot, i want to get some nice fat rubber on the back.

Lets say just street daily driver (the whole 2km a day to work... )

What kind of beast can i build with that?


Edit: as per IHI's req i added the us dollar value...

 

get some performer heads and a small shot and 12 bolt rear end.

 

So ill smoke the tires for 3 blocks do a donut and hit a tree... lol

I was looking to do a bit more than that and AFAIK theirs no place to get a bottle filled up here, and i would hate to be spraying everywhere i went to get some power. I also havent heard good things about the performer heads and they are pretty expensive.

 

I dont know how much the shipping rates are to Canada, but I'll assume slightly more than to the US (though it'll probably be higher).

Is this a mostly street, some strip vehicle?
What form of induction do you plan on going w/ ?

I'd start with some AFR 195's heads.
Manley Streetflow valves

Cam and intake depend on what kind of induction you want to run, and what powerband you want.

Get stronger rods, maybe some "pink rods" from GM that should be fairly cheap. Some nice forged, or hypereutectic pistons.


Your TH350 should be ok for a while
An aluminum driveshaft from a 4th gen
9 bolt from a junkyard that just needs some freshening up (check classifieds too)

That should put you roughly around 3000us

Then depending on what kind of induction you want, that's probably the rest of your money.


I've found that WS6 or IROC swaybars help out a lot. SFC's will help a lot too. Of course, your suspension setup will also depend on what you plan to do with the car too.... more info needed

 

Shipping from US with border fees and all will kill me but i might be able to do it.

It is an all street car, it might see the track once next year as its a 10hr drive to the nearest track (edmonton).

As for powerband i think ill try to keep it 5500-6500 Tops to keep it from flying apart

 

do you want to keep on using a carb? are you attached to your intake manifold? do you want to keep using THAT carb?

 

No, i am not pleased with the edel carb at all. Everything is up for discussion. If you think something i already have could be better reccomend it. I would like some sort of MPFI but thats just going to cost wayyy to much.

Edit: just FYI all the accesories are on the car right now, the block i want to build on is sitting about 3' away from me right now, its got the rotating assembly in it already but that can be changed in a hurry

 

i agree, you would simply be out of your budget. Unless you wanted to get some vortec heads.

I think there's a vortec style stealthram out now? Or maybe it was the miniram... i dont know, it was one of those TPI alternatives lol.


You would probably be best with keeping your intake, getting a holley or demon (700-750cfm, may need to research all your choices of carbs though)

I'm a fan of Comp's cams. But Lunati makes some good ones too. I'd probably suggest the Comp XE268h. That way you can keep a stock stall torque converter, and it still gives you good street manners.

The whole K-kit sells for something around 310us on summit. But you need to use 1.5rr's w/ it.

If you have any money left over after that, work on the suspension (definetly get SFC's)

 

IHI : if you're still admiring these threads (or anyone else...), how would a stud girdle affect how often you have to relash your valves on a solid cam? didn't think that'd affect it.... A stud girdle looks so incredibly simple, that something a person could make on a mill with a chunk of steel?

I'd say go with a roller cam, that way you can keep your nice street manners, AND have wicked lift. 1.6 roller tip rockers is a cheap way to gain a bit of power, if you're buying rockers anyway, 1.6 is just a few bucks more then 1.5, if any diff.

I agree, box your current LCAs, (do you have a welder?), panhard rod, get some LCARBS... wait for the 10bolt to break, don't get ahead of yourself with a giant rear until you need it.

th350s are strong, I wouldn't worry about that. if you can find an AL driveshaft at a wreckers, nab it, but I think you won't find one...

I would strongly suggest sticking with carb, FI is a nightmare to tune, despite what some may say to the contrary.

oh yea, and if you don't have SFC's, get those first.

 

OK whats this look like for a start:


Us$$

Heads: Jegs 64cc Alum Heads $595ea
Cam: Comp XE274H $100
Lifters: Comp HE $70
Pushrods: Comp HE $30
Carb: Holley street avenger 670cfm $370
SFC: Jegs bolt ons $180
diff: Eaton lim slip $440
crown and pinion: Jegs kit, 3.42s $300
Dizzy: MSD kit $550 (jegs #121-85551K)
TC: around 2-2200RPM undecided still, lets say $400

That brings me out at around $3700us + ship & border.

Edit: just seen your post sonix,

I was planning on just using my old rockers (probably not a good idea) retro roller kits are fairly pricey.

 

Retro rollers are lifters, not rockers. You might need new rockers for a cam with any appreciable lift. A set of roller tip lifters is about $150 US.

 

Sonix recomended a roller cam too...

Ill check out some prices on going to a full roller setup.

Roller Cam: Comp XE282HR $250
Retro lifters: Comp $420
Rods: Comp $30
Roller Rockers: $266

Total roller assembly $966, quite a bit more than the flat tappet.

 

If you get the cam and lifters set you'll save about 10 dollars.

I still think that the AFR 195's are better. You wont need as much cam to make the power. They are less than 100 dollars more than those edelbrocks.

I am unsure, but I think the edelbrocks are just bare heads too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/195cc...QQcmdZViewItem

that's a good link to some buy it now AFR heads assembled for the most part.

I would get some 1.6rr, the Comp Pro Magnums (about 250 if you buy through eBay... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/COMP-...QQcmdZViewItem

these claim free shipping as well)

You'll probably need new retainers, and locks, so add in another probably 100cad.

that carb is probably allright.

I think that torque converter, coupled with a Comp XE268h would give you great results.

If you want the 274 cam, you'll need a different intake. Should probably go for a ZZ4, and a bigger stall.

You'll want to rebuild the bottom end to handle this horses, so atleast get new pistons, and rings and have the block bored out (only as much as you need to have it straightened)

GM Pink rods are fairly inexpensive and should be overkill for your application. The cast crank will probably (probably) be fine.

So add in machining charges for balancing, having it line bored, bored out, and so you can add on probably another 350 cad.

Sonix made a good point, dont replace the rear end until it's broke. The 2.73 peglegged woes suck, but imagine how much fun you're going to have murdering it .

In the mean time, keep your eyes open for a killer deal.

If you get 1.6rr's, make sure you get springs to handle them. The advertised lift on cams are typically always for 1.52's.

Add in some Manley valves (about 80 dollars for each set US)

 

The block is already machined and ready to go...

Why spend more on the AFRs, they are more expensive than the jegs heads and have bigger cc chambers and handle less lift "out of the box"

The jegs heads are assembled and claim to be good for .68 lift.

 

http://www.airflowresearch.com/pages/195sbc_sh.htm

because i somehow doubt those jegs heads (though they are good!) flow as well, even with the bigger valves.

Let's face it, on a street machine, 1.94, the stock valve size is probably perfectly adequate. The more you go over that, the more top-endish you are making it. Plus, both valve springs will handle the XE274, I would probably throw some weaker valve springs in for the break-in even. You can have the heads milled down for the appropriate CC for something like 35 dollars here in the US. Or you can use a thinner head gasket to make up the difference.

In the end, it's your money to spend Just hoping to lend a hand

 

I know the jegs wont flow as well but the smaller price and chamber size better suits my needs, nothing like trying to make power on a motor with 7:1 compression

I would have to ship my heads out if i wanted to mill them down which would suck for shipping costs.

But i guess i could go with a speedpro piston/ring kit for $240 that would bring me up to 9.4:1 with 76cc Heads, that would work fine with the AFRs

 

yeah, I am fortunate enough to live in a fairly populated area, close to a handful of machine shops. Guess I take that kind of stuff for granted lol.

Those jegs heads will be better than the stockers atleast lol.

Since funds are a problem at this point, and not wanting to bother w/ machine shops... have you given much thought to vortecs? They beat most heads for flow from 0 - .4 lift. Around .5 they still go strong, but that's typically where the aftermarket heads will eat 'em up.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ALUMI...05128535QQrdZ1

is some aluminum vortec heads. Then you can save on shipping, they are 64cc, you'll need to get springs and such, but you should save a ton of money this way. It's about as much for the set of those heads as it is for just the one Jeg's head!

Something to think about atleast

 

Ok heres an updated list

Heads: AFRs pair $1500
Piston/ring kit $240
Carb: Holley street avenger 670cfm $370
Intake: RPM air gap $200
Roller Cam: Comp XE282HR $250
Retro lifters: Comp $420
Rods: Comp $30
Roller Rockers: $266
SFC: Jegs bolt ons $180
Dizzy: MSD kit $550 (jegs #121-85551K)
TC: around 2-2200RPM undecided still, lets say $400

So that brings me to $4406us which is in my target range but shipping may kill me.

Would this setup put 350HP to the ground?

 

if not 350, then damn close (assuming you have it in good tune). I would expect atleast 350 from those heads, the compression ratio, and that cam atleast! lol

try for a high 2k, or low 3k stall.. I think that cam will need it.

 

you don't need roller rockers to run a roller cam, you could re-use your stock rockers... you could, it would be dumb, but just saying, you could do it.
it's more cash, mostly due to the retrofit stuff, but it's worth a fair bit of power, just something to think about. you didn't quite factor that correctly actually.. compare your cam, lifters, pushrods with flat tappet, to cam, lifters, pushrods, dist gear, cam button (small, but adds up...)
and I think you need lifter links too... (rods? what are those?)


Summit roller tip rockers in 1.6 or 1.5 ratio are $99 US. Can tire online can get proform 1.6 roller tip rockers for $134 to your local canadian tire, no shipping cost.

roller rockers are completely independant of anything else (basically), and just give a bit more power due to less friction, and are more reliable.

on your add up budget, i'd say your dizzy is a giant waste of coin. well maybe not a waste, but not the best bang for buck. an MSD box might help, and a crane adjustable vacuum advance kit, but $550 is a bit much for that.

don't buy new ring and pinion, get used, or get a whole axle, save the cost of installing the gears (big $)
don't use bolt on SFC's.
that posi is a rip off, IMHO... (just overpriced...)

just a few thoughts from me, I think you could get what you want for cheaper, by skipping things you don't need.

 

I dont know what the hecks going to have to happen with the rest of my drivetrain lol

The TH-350 and the 4.11s in the rear really arent the greatest combo for me. Engine screaming @ 3500RPM just to get up to 120km/h is hard on fuel economy to say the least. But this will mostly be an in town stoplight car

Whats so bad about bolt on SFCs?

I dont deal with CanadianTire (long story, involves me being asst mgr for parts dept)

Besides keystone has gone to lunch on some of their pricing.

 

I'd stall at at least 3k for a 282 cam.

Don't get bolt in SFC's, unless you weld them in later. bolt holes elongate over time as the chassis twists around.

AFR truly is head and shoulders abouve many other head companies. I have the 210's on my motor (haven't driven it yet, though). With AFR, you get high lift performance, without the sacrifice of low end velocity, as with a few of the other head companies where it seems it's really one or the other.

Don't get a street avenger. All the fancy bells and whistles they add to it doesn't really make it that much better than a good ol' double pumper. Besides, you would want a 750 on that.

Get the K-kit for the cam. See if you can get the AFR heads with just the valves, guides, and seals. The rest should be matched to the cam.

 

3k stall

I think ill go with a bit lesser of a cam maybe, what would a 3k stall be like for drivability? (with th-350,4.11s)

 

Not that bad with a small diameter converter.

 

Trickflow Heads - $1400 - For everything including a set of 1.6 FULL roller rockers, new pushrods, etc etc.

Goto FI for better power and MPG. Ebay for the sensors and whatnot and go with a Super Ram manifold setup. That'll run you another $2000 when all is said and done (wiring harness, computer, etc).

Go with a TPIS cam (mine is 224/224 @.050 - .528/.528 lift with 1.6rr - 112LSA) and lifters, another $300 or so.

That gives you about 600 bucks left. What else dont you have? Headers? Full exhaust? Good mufflers? Stall converter?

This is what I'd do. But it really depends on what YOU WANT out of your car.

You dont need 3k stall with 4.11 gears. You'll climb into the RPM range of your cam (provided you dont go too big) quick enough. 2400 stall would be fine.

 

Wouldnt that mean my car wouldnt even move till like 1500 RPM?!?!?! (3k stall)

I will also need a full exhaust and rims/tires but im not factoring that into this right now.

I think ill stay carbed for now... But damn that edelbrock RPM pro flow injection kit looks like a very nice piece for $2k

I want to be able to safely say i put 350HP to the ground but the more the merrier

 

Ok well now i would like to see if i could work the Pro Flow RPM injection system into the mix, its going to screw up everything else i have had on the list though. Edelbrock claims over 430HP with their heads and headers! on a 350 (doubt it though)

So lets start @ square one again

RPM Pro Flow injection $2000
AFR Heads (pair) $1500
Pistons&Rings $240



For EFI cams i have absolutely no clue, thats all new terrain for me. I would like a nice lopey idle though.

As for the dizzy i guess i need one of those too as the EFI controls spark curves and whatnot, suggestions?

 

I have a stock (rebuilt) '79 Z28 shortblock in my Camaro. Its a bored 350 with dished pistons, cast crank, etc... rebuilt, but same as stock.

This is what I have planned for mine over the winter:

- '79 Z28 shortblock
- Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake
- Holley double pumper (650cfm)
- AFR 195cc heads (68cc chambers)
- Comp xe274 cam
- MSD box and dissy

My little 350 makes around 250hp now, judging by my trap speed (around 95mph) but should be quite a bit more in the spring.

 

a 3k stall is still streetable. Just dont go anything over it. Please realize that a stall converter doesnt add any horsepower though. It keeps you from bogging out, and gets you into your powerband quicker.

Like I said before 700-750 at least for your carb if you are looking for 350hp at the wheels (approximately 420hp give or take at the flywheel I'd estimate).

The SFC's you'll need welded in like stated above. And have it done at an autobody shop that deals with frame repair (you dont want to have the frame permanently in a tweaked position. A body shop will do it correct if they do framework).


Going EFI will be out of your budget and will take you much longer to get back on the road (and tons of time to tune it). I believe fuel injection is far superior in all aspects aside from ease of use, dont get me wrong.

If you need gas mileage, go a lot less cam, you wont need roller, smaller stall converter. You wont need as big a carb, Your entire setup will change basically.

If your goal is 350 at the wheels, the setup you had mentioned prior w/ roller cam and AFR heads sounded very sweet. I'd suggest a different intake setup though. Perhaps if you want to go EFI, you can go with an LT1 intake setup? A whole TPI setup from a junkyard isnt too hard to find (atleast around here) if you have a junkyard close by that is?

eBay is good for finding a TPI setup, and the HEI CC-distributors are a dime a dozen. Shouldnt be too hard, and not THAT expensive. Should easily support the 350hp.


Please realize that you will be running your funds short. The small stuff hasnt been added up yet, and expect another 400-500cad in "small things" gaskets, fluids, the "missing bolt", those keepers, retainers, a balancer, etc, etc...

 

Down time is not really a concern of mine, we get 8 months of winter and the car is up on jackstands for 9 . So the funds can be stretched out to acomidate the EFI which i would really like to see on there.

to me it just seems alot easier to sit inside the car with the little handheld computer thing to change my fuel & spark curves rather than getting out every 5min to change jets or metering rods & springs and mess with the dizzy to try and get a good setup, which will all change the next day when theirs a 20* variance in air temp...

So i pretty much have my mind set on that RPM EFI setup with all its goodies, saves me the $600 for a A/F ratio gauge and O2 sensor and all the other bs it monitors.

 

Glad we have a base to start from now

Those heads will still be great for your application (or just about any that is).


The cams you'll need to look for would be in the 114lsa range. Huge lift is hard on computer systems.

You can try the LT1 290HR-12, also called the CCA-07-306-8. Also known as the CC306 to the LT1 guys. This is about as big as they dare to go. It's the "big boy". But that's probably about as radical as you may want to go. You'll need to retrofit for roller cam though.

A 2100 - 2600 stall would be good for that.

 

So this EFI is 7.55" to the top of the air valve, How much taller would that be than a carbed manifold w/carb? I have no problem chopping up the hood as i plan on a cowl induction one day. I would like to have that open element popping out of the hood

 

Sonix: I was just going to ignore this post as it seems to be going in circles, give ideas....then that dont work, give new ideas...then that dont work...and so it goes on and on and on
As for your question on stud girdles and solid cams, it all but eliminates routine lash adjustments. I checked mine every Fri night before the races becasue I had to, otherwise I took the cahnce of not kicking azz and taking names. Initally when motor is first fired, especially with aluminum heads it's going to take 4-5 heat cycles to get the metal seasoned before things start taking their adjustiment and sticking to it, after that if you set the valves good, your done for a long time. Buddies BBC with solid roller went all season with valve covers never coming off. 12 points races and driven 3-5 times a week....and BBC are terrible on valvetrain parts.

84: I've got $3500 in the motor in my sig, it makes over 500hp, super streetable, great pwr brakes, would drive anywhere and never shifted over 6K on race days...DONE!!! You just need to shop around to fin the good deals. 1289 passes, over 6K street miles most singing 35-4000rpm on the interstate. I got horrible milage, roughly 2mph but it was fast, realiable, consistant, and fun....best parts were minimal cost and no maintenance. Only thing looking back now I'd of changed is I would've wwent with a ATI damper and standard double roller 3 way keyed timing chain and it'd probably still be together and not missing the first 3" of the crank shaft.

Good luck with whatever you come up with.

 

I keep going in circles because i have to

I take in ideas and throw some out... I started off wanting to do a blown 383 But now i have i have been persuaded to keep the 358ci with a rpm pro flow EFI, at the least the EFI will be some eye candy.

So your saying i have to keep an eye on my valve lash for a while with a solid, is it the same thing with a hydraulic? they are a bit more forgiving i know.

 

AFter you get a hyd set, your done so long as nothing bad happens. With the solid I would check it every week for a month or so until you see it tighten up, then you can go for quite a while.

If your only driving it 1 day a week, then dont bother checking lash, put some good street miles on it, get the heat cycle going on and then check later. I had a 3 week hiatus this summer and drove the snot out of my junk, 3 weeks later lash was exactly what i set it at 4 weeks prior.

 

i do put a few miles on in a year, put about 16000km on the clock this summer. so i guess ill keep an eye on them every so often just to make sure.

 

If u really want efi i would get a stealth ram or a lt1 intake thats converted. Then get a tpi computer, harness and sensors out of a junk yard or ebay. Would be cheaper and u could spend money else were.

 

hydraulics dont even have a break-in IIRC.

if it were my car and I wanted EFI, and the best street manners/retain some gas mileage (better than 2MPG atleast ), this is probably the setup I would go with.


AFR 195 heads
- Manley StreetFlow valves
- Port them myself a little (dont need much work at all, if you dont know what you're doing you can screw them up even)
- Comp Pro Magnum 1.52rr's
- valve springs to handle .550 lift
- new retainers and locks... nothing special

CC305 cam (CCA-07-305-8) and lifters set

a block already set up for rollers and 1 piece RMS (saves mucho machining costs in the long run when you can get the block for about 50 dollars at a swap meet)

- pink rods
- forged crank
- forged pistons (flat tops w/ valve relieves and some ... special touches )

-block balanced, line bored, blue printed
- hardened pushrods

an LT1 intake setup (1993 intake for the TV cable setup)
- bigger injectors ( would have to look into this more)
- port match runners
- grab a TPI wiring harness and such so I can hook up the LT1 setup since I have a carbed setup now.
- bigger throttle body


Given the time, and resources, this could all easily be done (with all the small stuff) for under 4500 US.

All it takes is looking around for some second-hand parts where you can get them, finding the best deals, doing some waiting to get a bomb of a deal/trade.

The above setup should easily clear a stock hood, and still provide the 350HP at least to the wheels, with gas mileage, performance, and reliability.

Since it's all going in circles, I'll just leave it at that, and you can take what you want from it


edit: a solid cam probably wouldnt be too great with an EFI system...

 

For the FI setup, The one and only junkyard up here has nothing for FI except TBI setups, in that case i do have a complete truck w tbi sitting here i can rob parts off of. Second hand parts for EFI are pretty hard to come by up here, and forget about finding a third/fourthgen in the junkyard.


As for me diving at a $2000 set of heads with a die grinder, not a chance. never ported a head before and dont want to risk killing a new set of heads. But im also pretty firm on keeping the AFR heads, now they seem like a pretty good investment.

Forged rotating assembly is going to be pushing the $$, I only plan on keeping this motor for a year. That is why i would also like the EFI setup from edelbrock, its good for 1000cfm so it could pretty much fuel anything i could ever dream of building. The heads would also be worth the money as they would work nicely on any future buildup.

I know i might be pushing the HP/TQ numbers for a cast rotating assembly but do you figure itll hold up for a summer?

The cam you reccomended looked to be nice but i would like to grab a retro roller kit rather than try to retro the block for OEM roller lifters. Just sounds like bad news to me.

 

Why are u building an engine and only keeping it a year? You can get a tpi computer and all the other stuff on here or ebay. Then get a lt1 or stealth ram and you would not even get close to 2000, then u can get better pistons and rods. I wouldnt spend the money on a retro fit roller lifter set up. Also Put that money into the bottom end.

 

Just for the ease of installation and that lovely thing called reliability, i dont want do try and rig up rollers into a non roller block. So itll either be retro roller kit or a flat tappet.

I would rather spend more money on the things like the EFI and heads, because like i said i dont plan on keeping this bottom end for more than a year. This is going to be my head start on a 383. I will probably grab a set of rods though as they are usually the first thing to go on a OEM block, in which case i wont cheap out on those either as they can also be transplanted to the 383.

I really dont want to go through the pain of trying to piece together some micky mouse FI setup i bought through 50 different purchases on ebay, only to find out i need some other part or something doesnt match up. Or worst comes to worst the damn thing doesnt work at all.

I am debating the flat tapet idea, its alot cheaper now but if i went full roller now all i would need is a new cam for the 383.

Does that sound like its making sense to anyone?

Does that seem wrong to anyone to have a MPFI with aluminum heads, full roller setup and cast crank and pistons? I dont think this thing will put out enough power to hurt the OEM parts for the few months it will be together.

 

Just build a 383 now. Your gonna be throwing money away.

 

Save your money in that case!

Do what you want the first time around, throwing a load of money into something you'll keep for a year is pointless. Spend the extra 1000 (probably less) and wait the extra 2 months instead of a year.


I would get an 87+ block. It will be ready for the roller setup (or maybe it's 88, for some reason I dont remember the exact year they switched). Go to eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/86-up...spagenameZWDVW

there's a forged stroker 1 piece RMS crank. Same price as you'd pay for a standard stroke crank basically.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Scat-...spagenameZWD1V

there's good forged i-beam 5.7 rods


as for the pistons, you'll probably expect to spend an additional 450 at most (all this in US).

That total would bring you to approximately 1500 US, with a all forged stroker bottom end.

Get an SFI approved balancer, and flexplate. Expect another 350 or so for that

That brings you to about 1850 US.

Bearings all around, about 100US 1950US

Heads about 1500, brings you to 3450

LT1 intake setup (from LT1intake.com, setup and ready to go for SBC gen 1) expect about 600US, brings you to 4050.

Now add in the TPI wiring harness with ECU, and add in about 150US. That brings you to 4200US.

Cam and lifters expect around 300. 4500US.

Machining charges to have the block clearanced for stroker, align bored, balanced, blue printed ( you could skimp on blue printing if you wanted... I wouldnt).

expect approximately 350US 4850.

Add in all the small stuff, and you're right around 5200.

About 1000US more than you wanted to spend, but you have what you wanted the FIRST time around instead of spending MORE and getting the same results LATER. Makes more sense to me atleast?

 

I still dont see how im going to be losing out by switching to a stroker in a year. The only parts im buying now that i probably wont be able to use is the cam, I will probably even use this same block for the 383.

I know it must make more sense to just spend a little bit more now but if i go to a 383 now i will kill off the rest of my driveline before i get a chance to do anything with it.

 

I read the first half or so and skimmed the rest of this thread, so I apologize ahead of time if any of this was already said. Firstly, I would like to say that hydraulic non-roller cams DO have a break-in period, and it is very important.

As for a cam...the XE282 is a big cam. You'll want at LEAST a 3200rpm stall torque converter, maybe a bit higher. I'd recommend the XE274 cam. I have it in my car with mildly ported LT1 heads and an LT1 intake with some nice big headers, and it makes quite a bit of power down low and pulls like crazy to 6000RPM. With my XE274, if I end up staying automatic and not converting to a T-56 like I plan to, I'd want a 3200 Vigilante stall torque converter. Even down low it feels torquey, from around 2000RPM and up, but I'd still want a bigger converter to put me closer to my powerband. I'm looking to make 350rwhp+ with a good tune. Car should be good to high 11s with the amount of weight I've taken off of it as well. Even in as bad of a tune as my car is, I was able to make a 2 1/2 hour trip down to the University of Illinois without a torque converter lock-up and I pulled off 19mpg with 3.23 gears. That includes some "topping my car out" driving on the open freeway and sitting in traffic for a while. Not too shabby.

I'd also say to go with the AFR195s over the Jeg's heads. For the extra little bit of money, they will make noticeably more power. You won't need valve lift to .680" anyways with the cams you're looking at. I'm sure some places will even mill the heads for you before they ship them.

If you're going to convert to EFI, I wouldn't even bother with a stock harness. Grab a stock computer and some injectors, and then buy a painless wiring harness for $250ish. Those harnesses make things SO much easier and cleaner looking. I've pruned my stock harness all down and it still isn't as clean as my friend's car looks with his painless harness.

I'm running SpeedPro forged flat-tops with 6.1cc valve reliefs and GM Pink Rods with a lightened Eagle cast steel crankshaft with ARP rod bolts and a main bolts. With my 52cc heads, a .040" Felpro gasket and a .020" copper shim, my compression is 10.5:1. The shims aren't the best idea to make things most efficient, but it works. I don't know if I'd trust my car with the 11.1:1 compression if I didn't have the shims there.

If you want added strength, you could pick up a good set of forged I-beam rods. I would have done this if my bottom end wasn't already assembled when I got it. You don't necessarily need the forged I-beams though since you don't want to run spray or anything like that. I'll probably eventually switch over to I-beams or H-beams to handle a huge shot of spray, but I don't know how far away that time is. I would definitely recommend using ARP bolts/studs to assemble the bottom end though. Might as well buy a set of ARP head bolts too so they are re-usable. Cheap insurance anyways.

EDIT: I don't know why I was saying I have an XE274. That's the 230/236 cam. I have the XE268 cam, 224/230. Either way though, I'd like a bigger stall like I said above.

 

I did decide on going with edelbrocks pro-flo RPM EFI setup, It looks like a very nice setup with all the goodies to run it and i like tuning while you drive part

For heads yes ill get the AFRs and some cast pistons to bring my compression up, Rods i will upgrade and cam is not 100% chosen yet.

Any part that can be transplanted to my 383 i will spend a good chunk of money on, thats why i just want to keep cast crank and pistons. Why buy a $2000 rotating assembly to run it for a couple months?

I will definately look into a set of ARP bolts and studs as they should be able to hold up on the 383 and pretty much cheap assurance something isnt going to come apart.

 

find someone who has that aftermarket FI system, and talk to them about it. I'd venture to bet it's not quite as easy to setup and tune and get working right, as it claims to be.
Just food for thought, $2k on induction, then not ever be able to get it running right would suck, and there'd be far less people that could help you set it up right, compared to a carb. Just my HO. don't buy ANYTHING that you don't plan on using for a long time, use what you have if you'll junk it after a few months. you'll NEVER be able to sell used engine internals.

 

I'd say go with stock EFI setup with a painless harness. $250 for harness, $200 for decent new injectors, $25-50 for ECM, $35 for Moates adapter, $180 for Ostrich real-time programmer/emulator, and a $15 license to TunerPro RT.

www.moates.net

$730 plus either a MAF sensor or a MAP sensor.

That's a capable, on-the-fly tuneable EFI setup for under $800 including injectors. You'd need a new fuel pump, filter, and laptop. Cheap laptops work great. I was using a Pentium MMX 166MHz laptop with 128MB RAM to run my setup.

I know you can get used ready-to-bolt-on Stealthram setups for $600-800 too. An LT1 intake manifold conversion would be a bit cheaper after all is said and done with all of the small pieces and modifications. So you're still under $1800 including the Stealthram. Throw in a wideband O2 sensor to make tuning a ton easier, and you're looking at right around $2000. LT1 intake instead would make it a bit cheaper probably.

On the flipside, you could get a new carb intake for $200 and a new carb for $200-300 and do the same thing. Ultimately, the EFI setup will get you better gas mileage and drivability while producing the same kind of power, but will be far more difficult to tune than a carb.

 

Why do u want that edelbrock efi set up so much? Get a complete lt1 off of ebay, for around a 1000. It has good intake, already roller lifters, has alum heads. Get a 383 kit, seen them on ebay, cam, and maybe work over the factory heads and not spend 1500 on the afr's.

 

LT1 with 58mm throttle body, bigger injectors, long tube headers, and the $1850 LE3 head porting and custom cam dealy through Lloyd Eliot = 410-430rwhp, and he under-estimates on his site

www.eportworks.com

I plan to go with his LE2 head porting this winter or spring for my own car. LE2 should be good for mid 11's NA.