Sorry if these are stupid questions. I am a newbie. I am building a new engine for my 91 camaro. I have the block finished. I just want to take out the 305 tbi that came with the car and put in a 350 with tpi. I am just looking make a streetable car with more power than it currently has with the 305. I have heard and read that vortec heads are the way to go as far as what you get for your money. I am looking into purchasing a set of the vortec heads. I am using this cam.

http://www.sdpc2000.com/catalog/1989...y-Camshaft.htm

Is vortec heads good to use with this cam or should I consider a different cam. Again, I am only looking to build a street car with some get up and go compared to the 305. Any suggstions or critisism is welcome.

I also read this on another thread here on thirdgen. "For $400, tops, you can port and polish your L98 heads as well as have them completely rebuilt. And they will flow like Vortec heads if you are patient and do the necessary work yourself. It is NOT hard to do. Yes you can do it--unless you are a quadrapalegic."
Would this be a good idea or would vortecs be better?

I have some of the parts for the tpi setup but I am not sure what year they came off of. It all came off the same car but the guy I bought them off of was not sure what year. Will it make a difference if I do not know the year? I have the wiring harness, intake manifold, runners, throttle body, intake plenum. What else will I need to set the tpi up? I also read with the vortec heads you need a different vortec intake. Will the tpi still work with the vortec intake? If anyone has any parts that you think I will need for sale please let me know. I hope you guys can help me because a lot of this stuff is confusing for a beginner. But hey I am learning, little by little, with all of your help. So thanks. I appreciate it.

 

I wouldn't run a cam w/ that much duration on a TPI car. Would require custom tunning(custom chip work). If you haven't already bought peices for building the 350, you might want to look into doing the 305. The hydraulic roller in the later model block is a much nicer set-up than a flat tappet. There are plenty of guys on this board with hard running 305's. (12 sec- range n/a). The late-model 305 is a good motor. If your set on the 350, then go for a cam with anywhere from a 450 to 480 lift(as you the one you spec) but unless you plan on doing major mods, keep your @.050 duration at or under 220/230. Past that you're past a TPI intake's typical power band. - The Vortec heads offer better flow as well as a better designed combustion chamber. They're more than worth it. Stock vortecs will only accept cam lift of around .470 w/o bottoming the retainers to the guides or over doing the springs. Scoggins ... offers vortecs built to accept more, or any good machine shop can build to suit. Scoggins also sells the correct base plate to allow you to run the vortec heads w/ your TPI. YOu can drill and tap the heads to accept the standard intake, but then you must run either double or really thick intake gaskets to get the port hight up to meet w/ the heads. -

any other info need, try the search key. there is A LOT of info on this board. 305 vs. 350, vortec heads, vortec TPI set-ups etc....

 

Thanks for the input Shagwell. When you say

"keep your @.050 duration at or under 220/230."

Does that mean that the one I am looking at, the xe268h,
you would not sugget because it has...
Duration @ 0.050" Lift Int. / Exh. : 224°/230°

I am just trying to get a better understanding because I want to do the right thing. The 224° is too much?

How would I go about getting custom chip work done. As you mentioned?

Thanks.

 

I would find a cam w/ a little less duraton than the one you spec, especially if you intend on driving it every day. A buddy of mine is running fully ported heads, and a 220/230, 497/502 cam in his GTA. It's really finicky on the stock chip(dies at stoplights sometimes, idle surges sometimes, etc...). He's going the the Holley commmander computer though. - There're a lot of people on this board who do their own/other peoples chip work. I don't. For what I've seen if you really want a perfect tune, you need to tune it on a dyno, and by the time you do this once or twice(say you change exhaust- time to re-tune) you've paid for the Holley computer, which you can change on the fly w/ a laptop.
- do a search/go on the DIY boards. the are forums on here dedicated to at home/or paid prom tuning.
A LOT of the info you're looking for has been discussed many times on this board, meaning you'll find more info in a search than you will w/ your own topic. thirdgen.org is awesome

- just my $.02

 

Sounds good. I will do some searches tonight. Thanks for your help. If anyone else has anything to add, please, feel free.