Good morning all

Sorry to bring up the topic but I can never seem to find a solid answer.

So for the last few years I had been considering doing an LS swap. Bought some stuff to get started but now am thinking about a different route. I have always loved the TPI system for a street car, so I am going to build mine up.

I want to go with a FIRST Fuel Injection intake, but I am looking for advise on good heads and a cam to match. The engine is at about 82k miles, so I was thinking about pulling it anyway to rebuild. Maybe even rebuild, my dad has tons of SBC. I have seen a few suggestions for AFRs ranging from 180-195 and more cams than I'd care to list. I just want a good "matching" combo for the FIRST intake.

The car is strictly a street car that I drive to work in the summer.

Rear end is stock for not but I am currently having the trans probuilt and putting in a 2400-2800 stall. Not exactly sure where I will end up yet, so I'm open to input here as well.

While we are at it, does anyone have experience with the Long Tube Headers that Hawks sells from StainlessWorks? Looking for a suggestion on those as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

350-383 cube? Cant go wrong with Afr 195 or similar

 

I guess I forgot to include that part! Currently have the original 350.

What cam would you recommend with the AFR 195?

 

Eh depends how mean you wanna get with it. I like bigger cam street cars myself

A custom grind 224/228, 226/230 or so xfi lobed profile would be great on a 110 lsa or so.

More daily driver type may want the shelf version 268xfi cam. 218/224 will drive stock and make good power.

Less aggressive lobe family like the xtreme energy or even magnum high lift profiles it would have longer valvetrain life.

 

I want a mean car but don't want to lose streetability. Often times I cam caught in a lot of traffic, can be stop and go for 20ish miles on the way to and from work if that helps sway to one cam or another.

Also think I will be safe with a 2400 stall regardless of the above mentioned cams so that is where I am going to go with that.

Any head upgrade recommendations for the 195s?

 

2400-2800 is fine on converter

I had tuned big cams on stock converters just fine. The cam with good tuning will make all the difference. A 224 deg lobe is pretty much a great match for a first sized tpi on a 350 imo. A 230 for more of a hot street strip deal

The last tpi car i did was afr 180's on stock L98 bottom. Lt4 hotcam clone from lunati. Big mouth tpi stuff. Drove stock like. Made good torque.

If you went with an xfi lobe you could request the 8019 spring upgrade but its not needed until 5800-6000 rpm which you likely wont be goin over to far. The base 8017 spring is fine and could even shim it slightly for tad bit more seat pressure.

 

Taking notes on all of these items

What are your thoughts on injectors? I just replaced my injectors with stock ones last year. Should I upgrade to 24 or 30 lb ones?

 

I'd go 30's for room and any future upgrades. Although a 24 could get it done

 

Can't go wrong with AFR195's.
Pro Yank 3400 is my fav converter by far. Have two of them now.
They aren't like the old converters. No problem with slip at all.

For long tube runner intakes the LPE cams specifically made for TPI replacement are my recommendation for sure. I have two of those too.
17"+ vacuum at idle. Perfectly streetable and easy to tune.
LPE216 cam
for 350 or 383 cubes.

 

Can I run 1.6 rockers with the AFR 195s? If say I use the Comp Cam XFI268

 

There's a lot of merit in that statement. I had a custom grind using Comps 3015/ 3036 XFI lobes with the requisite 1.6 ratio rockers.
Even though I'm pretty intense when it comes to valve train geometry, the intake valves took a beating over time. About 33 000 miles and replacements were needed.
To do it over again (and I am), I'd forgo the XFI lobes.
I'll also talk with Terry Walters regarding a cam spec'd to my particular combination of parts.
http://waltersengines.com/
They use Vizard's COS-Cam program and from what I understand the success rate is second to none. Jones cams also comes highly recommended.

 

Xfi shelf cam lift spec is with 1.6 rockers. Xe stuff is with 1.5

 

As noted above.

 

Im an idiot. As soon as I posted I went over and looked at the comp cam website and saw just that.

You guys have given me a lot to think about. I am trying to log everything and put together a little build book based on the above recommendations and other posts.

While we are on the Cam topic still, how about the LT4 Hot Cam? Thats what 88fastgta was using during his FIRST build, I dont recall seeing anything about him changing it.

 

LT4 Hot cam? My understanding is that the grind is old and there are better and more efficient options available.
One thing to keep in mind, and Orr I believe has plenty of experience here, is that the choice between one cam and the next is often very small in terms of real world output.
I was pushing the envelope in trying to get a highly "streetable" 350 that would knock down great gas mileage and still get my lump down the track quickly. While I managed to achieve certain aspects of that goal it was at the expense of durability i.e. high valve train wear.
Remember also that selecting cams, depending on past builds and anecdotal information is one thing, but computer programs have advanced the science greatly and specs have changed over time. So has the availability of better aftermarket parts which at one time were only in the realm of the elite engine builder.
This is why, after having built or been involved in building several old school SBCs and selecting a cam the old fashioned way, I'm going to pony up my cash and have one designed specifically for me. I may end up being out the 150 bucks for the consultation but then again it may make the difference between being fast and being faster. And keeping the durability I mentioned earlier.
More to think about.

 

That cam is a nice smooth cam. Very tame and will last along time. Makes ok power. Pros: its cheap as you can find them used from time to time and valvetrain doesnt have to be crazy. Cons: down on power some with the lazier lobe shape. Abit lazier low end due to slow opening lobes, have a rather large advertised duration with a small .050 duration. But i like it.
It made 272 whp on a old L98 bottom end with afr 180 heads and tpis big tube stuff. I honestly thought it would make 300 but could have been engine condition.
Did an LT1 with trickflow 195's and their copy cam of same specs, made 355 whp thru a manual trans.

Easy to tune, drives near stock

 

As skinny says the power difference isnt huge. 10-15 hp in areas of the curve. Kinda hard to notice