Hey everyone i picked up a 97 350 roller block and have a few questions. It came with the 906 vortec heads, and i'm going to put 918 beehive springs to allow for more lift for a different cam either lt4 or comp cam xe 268. Just wondering if the stock rockers,rods, and lifters are good to reuse or should i upgrade them. Also whats the deal with the thread in studs for those heads is that the way to go, whats wrong with the factory ones.

 

For a mild build you can reuse all that stuff.

Vortecs use press-in studs, same as millions of stock heads, They're usually fine with mild cams such as you are considering. But with higher lift, stiffer springs and higher RPMs you can start to pull them right out of the heads. That's when you want screw-in studs.

The XE268 is a flat tappet cam, by the way. If you want to go with an aftermarket cam make sure it is a factory-style roller cam. Not a flat tappet. Not a roller-conversion cam. Factory style roller cam is what you want to work with factory style roller lifters.

Vortec heads are a nice upgrade over any factory head that came before it. But do you have a Vortec-style intake to work with them?

 

Yeah i know i will need a vortec intake for tpi, but havent desided if im going for stock look or the hsr

 

It would be a good idea to have the rocker studs either pinned (cheap) of modified for a screw-in replacement. While the Beehives aren't the strongest spring out there, they're certainly a huge step up from the stockers. Probably the best choice for the Vortecs.
The stock roller lifters and connecting rods should be fine provided they weren't thrashed to death previously. I would upgrade to at least a roller tip rocker. Keep in mind that the Vortecs use self aligning rocker arms rather than push rod guide plates to help maintain geometry. You'll need the same should you move up. Either that or further head modifications are needed to accept the guide plates.
Unless you can be sure that your compression ratio is approaching the 10:1 range (which is unlikely with an OEM short block), you'll be happy with a shorter cam in the 268 or 270 range. And like Damon pointed out, be sure to get a roller profile. Gather all the needed specifications and determine your SCR. Make your cam choice from there.

 

Thanks for the quick response what do you mean by getting them pinned?

 

Back in the day (and maybe even still), you would drill the base of the rocker stud and directly into the stud. Then a dowel or pin is inserted. This would fix the rocker stud in place and prevent it from being pulled out (to a certain degree).
A little reading and I found that once over the nose spring pressure get past about 220lbs, it's necessary to have the studs done. The certainly applies to the Comp 26918 springs at about 310 lbs/open pressure.