Building yet another 350 for a buddy,

10054727 Block

Stock Rods / Crank, Had crank turned 15/15, Stock Bore as this motor was almost perfect condition before tear down (26k Miles on it)

Debating on Stock or going with some Flat Topped 2 valve relief pistons (Budget build)

Vortec 062 casting Heads, Edlebrock RPM for vortec heads to run a 1405 Carb I cant find the part number for the retainers / Springs, But they are the same as i used in mine, It allows for .550 lift. Going with Screw in studs over the press in.

Debating on the best cam, This will be a daily driver that might see the track every couple of weekends. Plan on using 93 octane what is the best gasket? I was thinking like a 10-10.5 to 1 compression ratio.

He really wants 400RWHP, I told him 375 is probably what he will end up with without doing Exhaust port job on the heads. and Oversized Valves. (This is where stock or flat topped pistons come in, I was thinking Flat topped to get compression and leaving the vortec ports / Valves stock)

The motor had flat tipped cam (out of a 87 truck) Im not sure if im going Flat tipped or Roller, I really want to go roller though.

Im still learning and I know the people on these forums have forgot more than i know Any advise is much appreciated

 

You're not going to hit 400 RWHP on a mild build and most likely not 375 either. 330-360 is a more realistic number for most people provided you do your homework. You need to determine your budget before you start focusing on numbers. Besides, the numbers don't mean much considering it's all about consistent averages and peak numbers as a whole aren't worth much.

 

Been doing my homework for a while,


Im using Alex Spring kit, Going to stay with flat tipped.I got valves and springs in the head and i can hit .550 lift no problem, Though i know that much is pointless with these heads.

I know the Exhaust port is the weak point of these heads and that about .520 lift the flow levels.

I was thinking LT4 hotcam

I want something with a quick lope profile on the exhaust.

 

to answer your question about head gasket to use, I like felpro 1003 for low compression engines MLS for high compression engines

 

I found the best gasket for what you're after is the Victor Reinz/Clevite 5746. It's .026" compressed thickness with a 4.100" bore. Combine that with your 64 cc heads, a flat top 6 cc piston and depending on what your piston depth is you'll get a SCR in or around the 10:1 range. A stock piston depth of around .030" below deck will net about 9.8:1. Deck the block to get the piston depth to .014" and you'll see 10.2:1. The .014" piston depth combined with that gasket will also result in a nice tight quench of .040".
You won't see 10.5:1 in a standard bore 350 with flat top pistons and 64 cc heads. If you've really done your homework, then you'll know to match your SCR to your cam. Besides, 10.5:1 will take a lot more cam than the LT4 cam which by the way is really dated. There are much better choices available.
As was posted before, 400 rwhp isn't realistic. A well assembled Vortec headed 350 with a cam in the 226 @ .050" lift range might make 375 chp. Get a bigger cam and spin the engine higher and you can pass 400 chp but you better have the SCR to support the cam and parts to support the rpm.
Been there, done that.
Best 350 combo I've ever had was a standard bore 350 with stock rods (ARP bolts) and crank, unported Vortecs with Comps 26918 springs, XR276HR cam, Air Gap intake and a 670 VS Holley. Measured SCR of 9.9:1 and a DCR just short of 8:1.
It pushed a 3700 lb IROC (with no suspension to speak of) to a best of 12.7 @ 107 mph w/ 1.70 flat 60'. (3.27 gear/700R4/ 10" converter/slicks). It also knocked down over 20 mpg hiway.