Alright, I can't seem to figure out what I need to do. I'm seriously losing my mind!!!

I plan on purchasing a T@L 408 engine. It comes with heads but I already jumped the gun and spent some cash on a set of Vortecs with the .550 springs and the Vortec style HSR intake. I also bought Hedman shorty headers, a 58 mm TB, SVO 30 LB. injectors, 1.5 aluminum roller rockers, and a TCI Street Fighter stall rated at 3,000- 3,500 stall.

I wanna work with what I've got and somehow create a good combo. This will be a street- strip car and I'd like to run in the low 12 second range. I can send T@L my Vortecs to have the exhaust ported because I don't wanna ruin the velocity of the intake ports. I really don't want the motor to rev higher than 6k so cam selection is critical! What can I do to optimize a good head and cam combo? It needs to be easily tuneable and capable of putting down at least 350 rwhp.

Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated! I'm tired of procrastinating!

 

Who's T@L? If they can port Vortecs, then they ought to be able to recommend a cam to you.

Keep the advertised duration in the 270 range, the ramps and LSA computer-friendly, and you shouldn't have any problem reaching those goals.

 

Call T and L and ask for lloyd. He can most likely suggest a cam for you.

 

You may want to work on this in the mean time. If this was a problem with a 250 horse TPI, it's going to be a BIG problem with the 408's torque...

 

my buddy has that motor. it came with Dart pro 1 platinum heads and a CC306 cam. only made 300whp but at roughly 3600lbs or so, it ran 12.6-12.7 at 110mph...so go figure. it only revved to 6000rpms but the cam was done by 5500.

why would you go vortec heads on that motor? I thought T&L used Dart Pro 1's on all those 408's? those are a better head than vortecs.

Either way you will make 350whp.

Is it a roller block? I think those motors are rollers. Your limited to near .550 lift, you want to stay abit under that for clearance. SO aS far as an off the shelf grind that should meet your goals, i'd try the comp cams 282HR or 288HR. should make peak power by 5500-6000rpms. probly will make alot more than 350whp tho tuning shouldnt be too bad. those cams have about 65-71 degrees of overlap but with those cubes, it will be swallowed up. 110lsa aint bad either since the overlap aint too big. if you want, get them thru thunder racing on a 112 lsa if you want less overlap

 

mine has the 288hr and the dart pro1's
the engine on the dyno made
peak HP at 5400, 501.8hp.
Peak Torque at 4400, 520.5 ft/lbs

over 500ft/lbs up to 5300rpm

so needless to say, it really moves

 

I didn't realize those are 4" stroke motors. What C/R and gas requirements do they have?

 

i want to know is where do you find a piston for that setup? you'd need a compression height of like 1 inch if you use a 6 inch rod. I know some make those but they are rare and would have alot more compression, like 11.5-12 to 1 i'd say with that stroke.

 

With the vortecs you are limiting the upper rpm range. Are you planning to stay with the tpi set up?

 

i've got 10.44 compression, so it works on pump gas. I dont know that length rod/piston they use, it seems to be a company secret.

 

that is correct i was wondering about that myself and never could find specs. must be a secret cuz most ppl i've talked too say factory blocks cant really be clearanced for a 4 inch stroke as you will get into the waterjackets or get very close to cutting thru.

 

They list the rods as 6". Here's a clue on how they do it. Notice how tall (not) the pistons are. With lightweight short pistons, they don't need big counterweights to clearance the block for. Clearing the cam is a different story. I'm sure the blocks have the cam relocated higher. Since it's a "custom" block, the water jackets are relocated also.

 

i was told they use ZZ4 based blocks? if they used aftermarket blocks with cam clearanced up and different water jackets then i can see them doing it without problems, especially if they used a tall deck block

but for the price they sell it for, i doubt that. 4700 bucks for a motor pan to intake all forged is a steal! and ZZ4 block isnt much different than L98 1 pc blocks i think

 

It doesn't have to be a tall deck block. It's probably the ZZ383 block used in this short block assembly that comes with a 3.80 stroke from GM:

 

Well I also bought UMI lower control arms, adjustable panhard rod, subframe connectors, and I already have 70/30 Lakewood struts installed up front with about 1' cut off the springs. All I really need now is the adjustable torque arm and lca relocation brackets. I'm gonna hold off on sticky tires for the moment cuz I don't wanna grenade the 9 bolt. When the entire driveline is "bulletproof" I'll go with some sticky slicks.
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The tpi setup is long gone. I already have the Vortec style Holley Stealth Ram. This motor isn't emphasized on the upper end... The Vortec's should be capable of making good streetable power.

 

Well I already bought Vortec's and the Vortec style HSR so I figured I'd use them. How did Your buddy only manage to make 300 hp on the dyno with that setup?? That reminds me that a dyno is a better indicator of instrumenting how much power could be or was gained, rather than how much exact power is available. Theres too many variables involved. Were can I find those cams??? I couldn't find the pn 282HR or 288HR anywhere. Isn't a cam with 110 or 112 LSA a little bit difficult to tune? Or do the extra cubic inches just eat that figure up?

 

idk about my buddies setup... the cam is a mismatch to the combo i believe and it probly wasnt properly tuned. even with that, it should have made more power so i dont know if that cam was really in that car or not.. he had what seemed like valve float problems or upper rpm fuel problems tho, the power flatlined up top earlier than i'd expect. he made 308whp and i made 254whp the same day and i only had bolt ons. my car went 103.8mph in the 1/4, his went 110, his car probly weighs 3600 or so with him, mine was around 3450 with me in it. His motor was advertised at 490hp from T&L...it didnt produce. He was running a 12 bolt or 9 inch i think and 700r4 with 2400 stall. not sure if it was locked up or not on that run. made 421whp on 150shot

the 282hr is a comp cams grind... #08-432-8 i think it is. 110 lsa isnt that tight on that cam since your cubes will eat it up. total overlap is only 65 degrees with the 110 lsa. it will have a choppy idle in a 355 but still manageable with some tuning work. on a 383 or larger, it will be swallowed up. The cc306 cam has 74.5 degrees of overlap and its on a 112lsa...its WAY more choppy and more difficult to tune on 355's, yet makes similar power at higher rpms than the XE grind. my buddies 408 ate this cam up. My L98 sounded as mean as his car at idle. he had just a TAD more lope than my stock bolt on L98 and my car dont lope all that much, check the clips in the sig. Everyone at dyno day thought i was gonna make 350whp hahaha.

Dont be afraid of the lsa, that big inch motor will eat it up. I plan on running a TIGHT lsa cam on my build, while keeping overlap minimal

 

A 4'' stroke will fit into any production block, you just need to pick the best rods for clearance. The cam location is the same as is the water jackets. You will want a cam with 110-112 lobe sep on the bigger stroke motor. Also pay atten to the oil pan and how much oil you can run with out the crank laying in oil.Your vortec heads will make this a great truck motor LOL. I would use an AFR 195 head for a street car but you already have the votecs bolt them on and have some fun. And your tires will hate you.