I've been reading this article in GMHTP about Scoggin-Dickey's secret to unlocking major HP. It seems pretty good considering the cost of the enigne I would like to build (383 min-ram).

Is this setup worth it? Has anyone tried this, or know someone who has?

tj

 

howdy,

welcome to the board. sorry i havent read those articles so i cant help you there. but i noticed you are from london. where in london are you located?

 

Currently living in the East end. Dundas and Clark Rd.

I am not new to thirdgen.org, I've been around it since '96.
I've just been observing because only recently have I got back into the IROC.

 

I can't speak from experience, but it seems to be a hot setup in a lot of mags right now. The article you are talking about is basically what I would like to build up for myself (one of these days)

Welcome aboard too.

 

aww i see. i live here in london most of the time (right at richmond and oxford actually) and my house is out in the country near Nairn. so is your iroc still on the road?

 

Welcome to the board.

Your 383 mini ram wouldnt need a vortec base because the mini-ram is a 1 piece induction system like the lt1. Actually, have you thought about the lt1 intake? The miniram is basically the adsact same thing as the lt1 and there is a guy named john that converts the lt1 to fit on regular coolant flowing small blocks. Check out www.lt1intake.com . Its about half the price of the miniram, complete. Only thing is, I dont know how the lt1 intake would like up with vortecs, but if you email john I am sure he could tell you.
The scoggin-dickey baseplate is good with vortecs but it obviously depends on what you put on top. Large tube runners from AS&M would be a torque monster but might not have the hp you would expect from your 383. A super ram is the usual 383 favorite and would get you less torque than the LTR but more hp. Semi-siamesed LTRs would be mostly the same as LTRs except your trading a bit of torque for a bit more hp. Theres lots of people getting good power from 383-426 converted lt1 intakes though...
greg

 

My car is off the road right now and has been for 3 years (bought a house and got married).

I plan on getting it ready for '03. I would like to get a few mods in before spring so that I can get up to Sparta to see how my timeslips are progressing (ran a 14.7s 1/4mile) I think I will beat that because I found my MSD ignition was causing problems.

To answer to ninety1TAgta I am not trying to use the Miniram with a lower plenum, I am asking about the Scoggin-Dickey setup so that I can avoid a major $ rebuild with a cost effective one from Scoggin-Dickey.

tj

 

Vortec baseplate isnt to cheap... I think it would come to 800+ canadian then shipping, duty and any of those gay fedex/ups charges. The converted lt1 intake would come to about the same price, and you dont have to worry about putting anything on top.
greg

 

Greg, has anyone posted any results from the LT1 swap yet?

The LT1s and LT4s making huge power have either had the intake sectioned and ported or have been sent to Extrude Hone.

 

A 383/Superram will not yield you less torque than an LTR setup..unless you use a stock 305TBI cam..lol

Daz

 

Sorry daz, no need for the laughing now. I shouldve said lower rpm torque...
greg

 

A guy on the TPI board just did a swap on a 305... he says he feels quite a bit on his butt dyno... he is trying to get to the track ASAP for results... Hopefully we here soon..

 

I've been reading the same articles and went to the TPI and Engine Swap boards to checkout how it is working for the brave few who went for it.

Seems like some have had really nasty teething problems especially the auto guys. Most of these seem to be S-D base manifold related. From what I have read the Scoggins-Dickey manifold is a good piece with good fit but still needs work and the EGR thing is a real problem for the coil and local wiring on the passenger side of the motor.

The downside for me is the cost in. A set of L31s need work the valve springs are good for .420 lift or so says Scoggin-Dickey, the mags and engine shops. After a few calls I found that rebuilt L31s with .500 springs go for around $800 in these parts. The S-D manifold is about $920 CDN with tax, border, shipping and installation add-ons like EGR and gaskets. Add about $200 for stuff-that-you-didn't-think-about when you decided to do the upgrade and you are in for just under $2000 CDN.

Not so FREAKING cheap after all eh ?

On the other hand there is a guy running a 305 stick with L31s and S-D at (ET) 13.53 so there is obviously alot of potential once the issues are ironed out. I'll bet a 350 would be better and a stroker well, who knows ?!?!?!

I decided against the Vortecs et al, I'll be looking for a deal on something that fits bolt-on or performance building my factory heads.

my .02 cents worth,
RP.

 

Well I dont know what you consider huge power, but here is a guy doing mid 12s with the converted (stock lt1) and some other mods worth mentioning. I dont know if theres more as I was just looking for one example.


heres his mods-

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...&highlight=lt1


Personally I dont think the LT1 would be the bottleneck in this situation. This is pretty comparable to 383 SR setups as well. he says theres more left in the engine, like low 12s, and I would believe him because these times were relatively soon after he put it on and obviously it needs to be tuned for different runner lengths (Like 14 or 15 inches?). This is also with the stock 48mm TB. Most comments from people who just put the LT1 intake on are they noticed a bit more power (with same old cam and chip etc), but its extended another 2000rpm or so. If your doing a 426 or something pricy build up, a miniram is worth it. But for a 383 or less imo an LT1 gets the job done for half the price or less.
greg

 

Hey man that guy is fast -- .557 reaction ? And that is one fast Lt1 3rd gen.

I called TPIS for their Mini-Ram they want about $1900 CDN ($1200USD x 1.63 exchange more if you include taxes, shipping or border) by the time you are done. This LT1 John guy wants $400 USD for a similar setup. Hard choice eh ? Neither systems support EGR too bad for those of us who are stuck with emissions...

RP.

 

I was thinkin bout that myself. Maybe just mount a egr somewhere and make it look like its hooked up. On TPIs its damn hard to see and you cant tell if the vacuum line is hooked up anyway. If you got hotrod it wouldnt matter anyway...
greg

 

Hmmm... you got that right you can recal the prom to disregard EGR but leave it in place or stick one on the engine somewhere -- if you have to pass a visual just run the vacuum hose out of sight... my car runs so clean with the Jacobs I wonder if I need an EGR at all ?

But all that doesn't matter if you swap out to a 400 eh ? Don't want to startup the hotrod exemption argument again but it seems that the 400 block is the only one we can get an exempt with. The 3.766 and 4.00 bore blocks are apparently not exempt regardless the crankshaft. Which brings me to the 400/LT1 (John's) combo I have been speculating recently, now that would be a pretty scary setup eh ? Wonder if anyone has some software to test out that setup ?

adious,
RP.