Ok here I go again...

For absolutely no reason my cam got whiped resulting in metal dust all in the engine which dropped my oil pressure. So the engine is getting a re-build.

Here's what I have:

- 2 bolt 383 block.
- Eagle rotating assembly
- Speedpro 12cc dished pistons
- World Products S/R torquer heads
- performer rpm intake
- Hooker shorty 1 5/8 headers
- 2 1/2 Y-pipe
- 3 1/2 Single w/ dynomax bullet
- Accel HEI

Heres what I need:

- 750 carb, might be grabbing a 750dp off a friend
- CAM AND LIFTER KIT
- bearings
- gasket kit
- Roller rockers
- Electric fan w/ controller (car starts to run hot in traffic)

Side notes:

I know my heads aren't great. atleast I can run a decent cam with them, is a minimum of gasket matching or porting recommended?

Trans is a tko 600, rear is the stock... 3.27 I believe.

I am open to all opinions but understand I dont have much money. I will be able to buy everything necessary for this project but not much more.

Any power predictions with a recommended cam?

Thanks everyone

 

What size cams cause power brakes to begin to fail? Also, what will give me the most hp/best power curve... the biggest cam I can run, or a smaller cam matched more to my heads?

 

What year block? Roller?

 

I believe its an 89, one piece rear main seal non roller.I was going to look into a roller cam with link bars, but the fact that lifters alone are $300 killed that idea.

 

It's worth it. Youve seen the cost and problems first hand now that come with flat tappet cams. I view the one in my engine as a kind of ticking time bomb but it's been fine for a couple of years now. But I run ZDDP additive at every oil change.

The link bars and cam are pricy, then you gotta add in better valve springs and a new timing chain cover.

But honestly, that's probably the single best power upgrade you can do after a head swap, and it'll increase the longevity of your motor while you're at it. No more having to break in the camshaft and worrying about lobes going on vacation.

 

if the block is a 89 one piece rear main seal then its a roller block....

whats the specs on your heads?

Lifters i would use the LS7 lifters, i believe they were $120 or maybe alittle less. Orr had used them in his 10 second 383 with no problems and i have them in my 383 also.

I always believed in doing things right the first time, so you dont have this problem your going through now. If you have to wait an extra month or 2 to grab the good parts then do it its worth it.

Depending on the specs of your heads you have will depend on the cam choice.

-LS7 lifters
- Hydraulic cam ( need specs on heads )
- rpm air gap intake
- Good flepro gaskets ( i bought cheap gasket set for my build and had to upgrade due to cheap quality kit i originaly bought )
- Might be alittle pricey but i used 2 Zirgo 16'' 3000cfm electric fans with a fan relay, fabricating the mounting wasnt all that hard and cost about 20$ for the 2 steal bars. I had my car out n 100 degree jersey humidity weather in traffic and she never went above 180. And when i was able to cruise at 35 ish she dropped to 170

- comp cams magnum pro ultra 1.52 rockers

 

Its really crazy about these flat tappets. Have they always been on the rockey edge of failing or is it just because the recent composition of the oil?

Is there a way to tell if my block can accept the roller spyder plate besides pulling my intake off? I KNOW it is 1 pc rear main and right now it has a flat tappet. As for year I thought it was 89 but not positive. It's looking like I will go with roller though.

Heres my heads:

TECHNICAL SPECS


Casting ID Number: I-052, I-058

Material: High density cast iron
Valve Seats: Intake (integral), exhaust (hardened)
Valve Guides: Integral cast iron
Spring Seats: Machined for 1.560" and 1.250"
Valves: Manley stainless steel valves in assemblies (inconel exhaust valves on marine applications)
Valve Diameter: 2.020" intake, 1.600" exhaust (11/32" stem)
Rocker Arm Studs: Screw-in style
Rocker Arms: 1.5 ratio (use of 1.6 ratio will require elongation of pushrod holes)
Intake Runner: 170cc, standard port location
Exhaust Ports: 65cc, standard location
Combustion Chamber: 67cc or 76cc, straight plug orientation
Spark Plug: 14mm 5/8" .460" reach tapered style, Accel 276 or 276S or equivalent
Valve Job: Multi-angle intake and radiused exhaust
Valve Cover Rail: Raised w/ perimeter and center bolt pattern
Valve Angle: Stock 23°
Accessory Bolt Holes: Stock
50-State Emissions legal
Accepted by many oval tracks and sanctions as stock replacements. Check with rule book.
HEAD FLOW @ .500 LIFT
223 intake, 143 exhaust (Super Flow 1050)
235 intake, 151 exhaust (Super Flow 600)
All heads flowed with a standard .750" intake plate, without exhaust tube, and 28" of water.

I cc'd the chambers and got 72cc's. Also I am hoping to do a little porting. Chevy High Performance gained 11cfm on the intake and 43 cfm on the exhaust, so say I gain half of each of those.

I threw these heads up on craigslist and will put them up on here to since I know they aren't ideal. If I sell them I guess I will have to re-evaluate but I won't plan on that.

I heard the taurus fans are pretty sick. Real high cfm's. What do you think about that idea with a controller for it?

 

From what I was told a 1 piece rear main seal is a roller block after 86. A friend of mine has 160cc 65cc edelbrock heads on a roller 355block running 12.9. Match a hydraulic roller to the heads with a rpm air gap and u should see decent numbers. Don't go flat tapet

 

I'm going to go out now and pull my intake off to see. 12.9 is cruising pretty good. I saw a combo 383 with my heads that were ported and made almost 500 hp. So I know these heads can produce power but it seems porting is needed. I will go roller. I'm doing this engine right. I have a performer rpm, not the air gap though. I figured I would install a oil splash shield to keep the intake cool. Does this sound okay? I will also gasket match the intake, sharpen the "plane divider" and maybe take a slot out of it?

 

Niiice, it is a roller block... sorry guys for some reason I was under the assumption that it wasn't. So these LS7 lifters... they arent the same lifters that are in the Z06 LS7 engine right?

These? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NA...e%7c5.7L%2f350

 

Dunno about the LS7 lifters, but I'm running comp's Pro Magnum rockers in my 355 and I like them.

 

Wow just looked into those pro magnums... saw 1.75:1 and 1.85:1! Didn't know they made them bigger than 1.7. I was thinking of just using 1.5:1 and choose a cam based on that, or is there a benefit to sacrificing cam to go bigger on a rocker arm?

But I read what these guys were saying on this forum about rockers, seemed pretty reliable. Seems everybody is happy with Scorpion, what do you guys think?
http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/all-...mparisons.html

 

Flat tappet cams were fine for years and years and years. It's the modern oil that's killing them. The advent of roller cams in more modern engines are why hte modern oil isnt formulated with them in mind also. But roller cams allow for much faster valve lift rates in addition to being more reliable. The ratio of duration at .003 and duration at .050 basically determines your drivability at a given power level. Duration above .050 lift is the duration significant enough to give you actual airflow and power. Duration between .003 and .050 basically is just lost efficiency, overlap, low vacuum, etc. This is an oversimplification, but you get much more drivability for the amount of power you make with a roller cam that can ramp those valves open at breakneck speeds. If you dont understand what all the numbers are about, just know that roller cams WILL make more power.

Stay with 1.5 rockers. Those larger ratio rockers complicate the valvetrain geometry needlessly. Get the cam the size you need and use normal 1.5ish ratio rockers. To me those high ratio rockers are for making stock cams (or an aftermarket cam) you already have bigger without having to go through all the work to change the cam. You're already doing that.

If you get a roller cam right around the 230/230 to 240/240 range it will sound wicked, still be relatively drivable, and make fantastic power. With a 383 you may be better off going 240/240 but it dependso n your gearing and torque converter.

But just because a block is 1 pc RMS does not mean it's a roller block. You may have to buy the link bar lifters after all. Just pay attention when you open it up. But the cam/valve train will be the best way to get around your cylinder heads for now. I would probably suggest sticking closer to 230/230 duration cams just because those heads may not flow enough air to keep that engine fed with a larger cam. But I dont know enough about them to say for sure

I would stay away from aluminum rocker arms. Aluminum fatigues over time and you'll need to replace them every once in a while. Not only that, the roller trunions have bearings that wear out and need to be replaced. I got some Comp Pro Magnums (They dont sell those particular ones anymore but the Pro Comp Super Mags or whatever they are, are very similar) and they're all-steel, so the rocker body will last a long time ignoring catastrophic damage, and the trunions on them are much larger than the trunion bearings on most aluminum rockers. They still need to be rebuilt, but not as often. Some people say the aluminums rockers will last damn near forever, some don't. Just depends. I personally hve no experience with them, but my research lead me to going with steel rockers when I put my engine together.

Going with a big cam will mean you need good rockers and good valve springs. If your cam is of the very high lift variety, .550+ you will probably need to change your valve springs every once in a while too. Power costs money, unfortunately.

 

Yea, I guess we are seeing the end of the flat tappet cam. Thats good to know about a roller cam. Why does the rate of duration change below .050 affect driveability (vacuum?) so much? I have also read that LSA affects driveability, which is in turn overlap right?

Those Comp ultra pro magnums seem nice. I like the engineering of the webbed design. I will stick with Steel in that case. I have heard the same about aluminum. A buddy of mine has some valve springs he thinks would be good for me. (He builds engines as a side job). But I will get the part number for them and all the info.

I did pull my intake off and the three bosses are threaded, so I need to get the lifter guides and retainer plate and I will be good to go.

When comparing cams, how can you tell which ones have a more aggressive profile? 2 cams could have the same duration but one could hold the valve open on the nose for much longer, resulting in more air flow. Any ideas?

 

Subtract duration at .050 from duration at .003 lift.

Every cam manufacturer measures it slightly differently, and this is just a general supposition, there's not really much point in using that as a way to compute which cam is best. There's just not enough consistency across brands and there's so many other factors that affect things. Compare the roller cam durations around 230/230 like the comp XR series, and then compare that to edelbrock/summit flat tappet cams in the 230/230 range. You'll see a difference in total lift and in the duration numbers, you'll also notice the power-range is a lot wider with a modern roller cam.

Also as a very base way to explain why that's the case... duration at .003 determines the drivability/vacuum etc, duration at .050 is what determines power. Several other factors play a part also, like overlap/LSA/etc, but that's just a VERY general way to explain it. Dont rely on that, I was just showing you why roller cams are so much superior for performance. Basically you get more practicality for the same duration at .050, or you get the same power for more vacuum/better idle etc. depending on how you go about it. The closer the two sets of numbers the better.

The other element of roller cams is beyond measurements, not only do they open faster, even with the same duration at .050 of a flat tappet cam, the valve will be at higher total lift in most cases, but it will also be near and at maximum lift for a longer amount of time. The valve is open farther, and longer, even with the same duration.

 

I can deffinately see why roller cams are so much better, I never realized all of the benefits of them.

Seems from what I have heard the XR288HR would be a good choice, what does everyone think? Too much? not enough?
http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/c...?csid=190&sb=2

Thanks for all the info Infernal. Very useful.

 

With your heads I wouldnt go bigger than that. I think it iwll work out well, but it depends on whether your heads can flow enough air to make those work at 5k+ RPM.

It will be quick and sound pretty good, though.

If I had to do it all over again I'd go with a roller cam just so I wouldnt have to fret about cams getting wiped from bad oil.

 

As far as the cams go, its also more than that. Newer grinds are more aggressive, which means they need heavier springs, and put more dynamic loads on the lifters. Its also getting harder to find decent lifters. The GMPP ones are the only decent hydrolic flat tappets Ive come across. Theyre much more durable than the cheepie ones.

I got tired of the flat tappets as well and went to a roller cam. Morel makes some decent lifters, but theyre kinda spendy if you want hydrolics. Mechanicals are a little cheaper, and if you use pro mag rockers with needle bearings, they will need little re-adjusting once you set the lash initially.

Comp also has lifters for less, but the manufacturer they use has had a checkered past. I got a set of the older ones, and they where pure crap. Broken before I even installed them. Ive seen posts of people who got sets that didnt have the link bars rivited on. The link bars fell off, and the lifters turned sideways, causing all kinds of destruction. The morel ones seemed to be a much higher quality product. The hydrolic ones are a little noisy due to the fact that theyre designed for use up to 6500 RPM, so they have faster bleed down rates to prevent pump-up.

 

Seems like most guys go with the XR series cam for performance builds. I'm sure there is a reason for that.

I have heard from multiple people that the LS7 lifters are mint and inexpensive, so I will probably go with those. I have to get the exact part number but the springs that I can get new for 60 bucks are the trick flow HR's.

 

OK so heres what I am thinking...

Cam: XR288HR

Lifters: LS7

Heads: Ported and polished S/R torquers

Intake: Performer rpm

Carb: Holley 750dp mechanical secondaries...

Anybody have any recommendations where to start with the carb for jet sizes/power valves/squirters? I got a book for tuning them so I will start reading up on that. What about shim head gaskets... are those good to use?

 

If your block has the provisions for the roller lifters (threaded bosses for the spider and deep lifter bores), you can run standard stock lifters and save money. Have to be careful as there are lift limits on a stock roller valvetrain. Cant have too small a base circle or too much lift, or you'll have serious issues.

 

I had a set of trickflow springs that came with my heads. Didnt really like them. They had lots of surface defects. The best Ive used so far are comp beehives, which are perfect for use with a roller cam. I have 'em and it goes to 6k+ without issue. They handle more lift, and use a much lighter retainer.

 

The block is threaded for rollers. A buddy of mine is looking into a package deal with lifters, pushrods, rocker arms, and some other stuff. I will have to wait and see how that turns out. He said he ran the same part # springs on a 355 that turned 7k no problem.

I am excited to port these heads. CHP gained like 43cfm on the exhause and 11cfm on the intake with a first time porter doing the work so I hould be able to just about match that. I still don't expect my engine to pull much higher that 5,500. I am hoping for 320whp and 108 in the 1/4... what do you guys think?

 

Engine is out, bay is pretty bad. I'm gonna get some degreaser and other materials to clean and hopefully repaint it.

 

The engine is all torn down. Now needs to be machined. If you look at the picture of the scuffing on the cylinder wall, the pistons have similar marks. They are speed pro with a black antifriction coating. This coating is worn off on most of them now. Does this mean these pistons need to be replaced?






I have been doing some research on reasonably priced heads that would out perform my S/R's and came across Skip Whites pro comp 210cc aluminum heads with cnc'd chambers. For $700 these heads seem nice. I know a lot of people don't like pro comp but these heads on a 350 made 418hp with a flat tapped howards .488/.510 cam. If I got the 58cc chamber I would be right at 11:1 SCR and 8.4:1 DCR. What do you guys think?

 

I had pistons come out of an engine that saw at most 45 minutes of run time with scuffing on the pistons. It just happens. Dont worry about it.

 

Okay, thats good then. Saturday i am going to do a lot of measuring and inspection so I know what parts I need. What do you guys think about a 190cc vs a 210cc head? I know the 210cc will give me a higher peak number but will it also give me more area under the curve?

 

More power, but higher in the RPM band.

With a 383 I think you'd be happy with either, honestly.

 

How much scuffing is in the bores? Are they polished or scored near the bottom? All that metal can really do some damage. FWIW, a lot of manufacturers use the anti-friction coating, and most of the time, its still there unless something serious goes wrong with the engine from what Ive seen.

 

Yea I think I will go with the 210 cc runner. Camquest had the xr288hr as the best fit with the most hp and tq and most average hp and tq. But I will take a pic of the pistons saturday. Dimented24x7, The bores aren't that bad, the pic above is pretty much the same in every cylinder bore. I would not say they are scored, just scuffed.

You guys got any tips for measurements? I will have the help of a buddy who builds engines right and has done all this but we are going to really go through it with a fine toothed comb.

 

Your block is still a 2-bolt yes? Be careful about being eager to spin a lot of RPMs with a 2-bolt. I dont think 4-bolts are worth waiting/looking for personally, but if you're spinnin to 7k it becomes a concern.

 

It is a 2 bolt. Yea I have heard that 2 bolts can't take as much of a beating, for obvious reasons. The xr288hr is rated to 6,000. So somewhere around there it will probably dip off. Is it really a legitimate concern having a 2 bolt block? Have you seen a 2 bolt fail specifically because its a 2 bolt main?

 

Well if you're spinning very high RPMs, the speed of revolution and the power that goes through the block are going to be pretty high. There are people who wont run a GM block at all over 400hp, 2 or 4 bolt or whatever. I think that's kind of extreme, but according to some people stock 350 blocks warp and bend and flex at high RPM/power and cause all sorts of issues that they allege the average hot rodder just attributes to, say, cam or bearing failure or whatever. They say that a lot of these issues are because the blocks dont have the structural integrity to handle the power level. I think that's extreme, personally, but it makes you think. I dont hear that kind of talk much here on TGO, but I wonder if that's just because people who build Gen I blocks around here dont have the money to buy fancy aftermarket blocks. Most with that kind of money seem to go big block or LS.

I think 500+ hp or significantly over 6000 RPM (6500 regularly) you need splayed 4-bolts, which are made out of 2-bolt blocks. 4-bolt blocks are acutally known for cracking in the main webbing around the bolt holes. Splayed 4-bolt mains and the machinework to install them is pretty damn expensive though. I think when I looked into it you'd have atl east $500, maybe $1k in the process, but that was a while back adn I didnt look too deeply at it since I couldn't afford it, and for that kind of money I knew I didnt need it.

To me as long as you stay below 6k you should be fine. Just dont end up with some solid roller cam with a 3500-6800 power range.

This is what 45 minutes of run time looks like on cylinder walls:



Note the bore at the bottom. Its not a lot, but remember its only had 45 minutes of run time on it.

 

Yea I am sure warping does occur. That much mass flying around has to have an affect on whatever is holding it together (main caps). I read about how the LS454 motors have a good amount of deflection at high rpm due to their geometry. Much more than the 7.0.

I will be doing some racing but it won't be real regularly. I will be going right up through the gears pretty often though. Something about getting on the highway at 10 at night after class gives me the urge.

For that money to splay the caps I would just invest in an aftermarket block. From looking at those cylinders mine looks in pretty good shape for 20k and metal ran through the engine.

 

Just as an aside, the LS motors have 6-bolt mains... the bottom ends on those look incredibly strong. Ive heard several local guys who are fairly knowledgable otherwise say that a stock LS1 bottom end can hold up to 1000 hp. Also the 3rd bore down has a crack in it. Just thin cylinder walls in a 060 over block. You can still see some light scuffing in it though, but those weird dark gray lines around it are around the crack.

 

I was wondering what that change in color was. That explains it.

So I spent a lot of time at the shop yesterday. I took my oil pump apart and found it was all wavey and gouged which explains why my oil pressure started to dip. Also, I'm not too sure what to do about my wrist pins. They should be full floating, but are VERY tight. Am I going to need special machine work done to fix this? What caused this?

Other than that all the measurements looked good. Cylinder bores were not tapered. Crankshaft had about .001" wear on rods and mains. Should I go with standard bearings or .001" under? Also, how much clearance should I have between the diameter of the piston skirt and cylinder walls?

Thanks guys.

 

Taking longer than expected, as normal, but the rotating assembly is in, rings all filed to fit, clearances all checked and good. Saturday I'm hoping to finish it up minus pushrods. Gonna measure for the length then order.

 

Thats about as much as my previous block had that I used to get back and fourth to school. Had close to 80k on it or so, and still had the hone marks in the cylinder. But, the engine didn't see much abuse. Any idea what caused yours to crack like that?

My current one does look a little more like that, but it routinely sees high RPM use and prolonged WOT. That seems to load the pistons up a lot more against the bore walls.

 

A better picture of it, I cleaned it up a bit for the picture. To brody, again, notice the scuffing towards the rotational axis of the wrist pin towards the bottom of the picture.

The engine was in a friend's car. he put a lot of work into it and had it rebuilt and he had to go .060 over on it. He wasnt happy about it but the block had history for him so he dealt with it. After he got his engine together, he had some issues with exhaust/fuel getting into the coolant. He blamed the block and threw all of his stuff into a 305 block. The problem was still there, and he found out it was his 113 aluminum L98 heads that had a crack in them. The block was apparently fine, but he had already spent money getting everything set up for a 305, etc. So it was easier for him to sell the 350 block with 3k miles on it as a good working block with fresh machinework than it was the tear down the 305 and rebuild the 350 again with new heads. And he's well known here for having a 12 second 305, so that 305 was pretty quick, he wasnt missing the 350 too much.

I got the block and had it rehoned and ran it with some Vortec heads. Had a hard time getting everything working - my first set of heads were junk, so I had to put new heads on it and the bore/oil looked fine after that initial attempt at cam break in. After the new heads I finished breaking in the cam. Went fine. Oil looked fine when I changed it after break in too. After that I drove around the block to start adjusting the TV cable (it had a 700r4 at the time) and adjusted it and parked it for the night. The next weekend I set aside a day to try to get the TV cable dialed in right, and noticed a lifter tap - so I decided to pull the valvecovers to adjust the valve lash, and this is what I found:



I think just driving it around the block cracked the cylinder wall because it was .060 over. That's why I always tell people to avoid .060 over engine blocks these days. Apparently it was fine before the 3k miles before it was disassembled, looked fine before and after the hone to the guys at my machine shop, and it looked fine to me too, even after it had a few minutes of run time on it from the junk heads. I pulled off the crap heads and it still looked fine. And the oil was clean after I finished breaking in the cam with the new heads too! I think the wall was fine for just running the engine in neutral, but just too thin to last when it was under enough load to have to propel a 3300 lb car. What I wonder is how long it would have lasted if I hadnt rehoned it for my new piston rings.

By the way, my buddy who had this 350 block and threw together a hodgepodged 305 out of scrap parts, he ended up running 12s with his 305 even after he had to ditch the Aluminum L98 heas for 416's.

And it was a happy ending for me too, really, because I ended up with a 1 pc RMS block that I could bolt a T56 up to easily. I didnt have to worry about one of those crazy conversion flywheels.

I also want to point out that my cam survived 2 different break ins. I think something happened with the second break in too taht made me abort it out of paranoia. I ended up pulling the manifold and inspecting each lifter and putting break-in lube on each of them. But the cam survived, still running strong.

 

That block must have been real close to cracking before it was honed. The metal in the oil deffinately added to my wall scuffing. I don't remember seeing any scuffing last year when I did the head swap. What do you usually do for engine break-in? I have heard a couple different theories... I am thinking 10 min 2,000rpm. 5 min varied rpm. 3rd gear acceleration/deceleration 6 times? Then after that should I drive it easy for 200 miles or get on it some?

 

Breaking in the rings is different than breaking in the cam, and thats where you're getting confused because apparently people are distinguishing.

You break in the cam by running it at varying RPMs from 2000-3000 for a 20 minute period. Then you change the oil. My cam only got about 15 minutes of break in broken up over 2, maybe 3 different sessions due partially to the above complications. So it had a rough time but it's still working strong.

Then you drive it and the actual driving it is what breaks in the rings. There are different schools of thought on that. My approach was medium acceleration and deceleration by downshifting to force engine braking. For you I'd just run it to 5 grand and let it slow itself down without you touching the brakes... do that as many times as you wish. You'll find some people advocate just running it WOT and beating the snot out of it to break in the rings, others say to baby it etc. You'll just have to figure out what you're comfortable with.

 

Yup, I did some more reading. Seems like engine braking is what is needed. Is the deceleration when the rings spread out the most? Once I go through the initial break-in procedure can I drive in any way I want the same day/next day? I hope to have it running sunday. The motor is built, all my clearances were good. Compression ratio is 11:1, Dynamic 8.5:1, and dynamic cranking pressure of 172psi. I hope I can run 93 okay.

I am going to throw the lightest springs right in the distributor. Not sure what combo I should run in the holley 750DP... any of you guys have experience/suggestions of what the motor would like from the holley?

 

Looks like your rebuild is going well.
Just a thought on this;
I run the Taurus fan and I love it. Factory reliability with TONS of extra capacity. I'm not sure what you mean by a "controller". A fan just runs based on temperature. You use a temperature switch based on the setpoint you want (about 20*F above the thermostat setting), a relay and fuse and you're basically done.

 

I got a used one out of a mercury for 30 bucks. Just have to cut a corner out of the shroud and mount in some how. By "controller" I meant what kit that controls the fan. I got one from painless wiring. I got one with the same temp as my thermostat I think. Is that bad? I thought if I went higher the engine would heat up too much before it would cool down.

 

Yea, the "kit" is basically some wire, a fuse, a relay and a temperature switch. I usually piece these together at my local princess auto (farm supply store) for a couple of bucks, I think the painless kits are too expensive.

Keep in mind that the thermostat operates in a range. So lets say you have a 180*F thermostat, it STARTS to open at 180*F, and is fully open by about 190*F. Someone can correct me if I got that bassackwards - my point is the range concept.
The fan switch is the same. A 195* fan switch will turn ON the fan at 195*F, and will turn back off around 185*F or so. Again, I might have that reversed - the point is the range. You want your thermostat to be completely open, a few degrees before your fan kicks on. The whole benefit to the fan is that it only runs when it has to. Hence, on the highway with ambient air whooshing by, your thermostat can be open partially, maintaining a 184*F temperature (somewhere inbetween closed and open), and your fan would be OFF. Giving you a net savings.
If you had overlap, your fan would be struggling to cool off the engine, and your thermostat is trying to close, to keep the engine WARM. They'd fight each other and you'd wonder why your fancy electric fan is on ALL THE TIME. Remember, a fan keeps the engine cool, the thermostat keeps it warm. Not everyone understands that concept...

 

Ehhhhhhh So this is the one I got...

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PRF-30103/

175* off and I have a 180* tstat. Soooo, What part could I grab an a parts store to modify this to work?

 

Heres my progress.

 

Im jealous.

Also my fan runs all the time. Has for years. Not really a big deal to me.

 

You just go and buy a 200*F on, 185* off switch. The factory one for ~1989 camaro's is a bit hot at 230 on, 215 off. The 200/185 isn't terribly common - I bought mine on;
http://www.mamotorworks.com/corvette?frame=1.944
Cheap, and the instructions are on there on how to use it. This way, your car will run in the 180-190 range for the most part --- which is exactly where you want it to.

 

Got the engine in.



Unfortunately I wasn't able to get it done this weekend. I need a different fan. The one I got is too big. It wont fit flat against the radiator. It sticks above it a good 3". Do you guys know what size or a good fan I should get off ebay or something?