[1972elcaminomartin]

I have a 350 4 bolt in my 72,and looking to add abit of HP on a budget.Im unsure of the bore of the block,and believe the cam to be close to stock.What im asking is....Is it possible to get some more HP out of it without boring it out and replacing pistons,crank etc.It seems to have good oil pressure,and the only smoke from the engine is worn valve stem seals(first start up) Ive just bought a edlebrock perfomer manifold,to replace the professional products...carby is a holley 600 vac sec,and a streetfire dizzy,with hooker super comp headers.....What id like to know is,can i replace the heads..with something like this.http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DRT-127122/..and the cam with ??..http://www.summitracing.com/parts/LUN-60102LK/..(do i need roller rockers and a stall converter,or can i use my stock parts ?).Unfortanetly,at this stage,i dont have the funds to do bottom end work,(very expensive in OZ). Am i going to gain anything from these parts ,i understand,to make power,its a combination of EVERYTHING,but,Im not looking for a SCREAMER,just abit more punch than my smog motor has to offer.Or would i be better off buying a crate motor,from the likes of summit... selling what ive got to recoup some of the cost..http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MLL-BP3830CTC1S/.....Its http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MLL-BP3550CT/or this.. very hard to make a decicion from the other side of the world:dontknow: ....Id like to just go B/BLOCK,but not all that cheap here either...ADVICE PLEASE

 

[Keyser Sose]

those heads (rebuilt) would be fine for a nice street motor. Go with the carb/manifold you have. A nice hydralic cam would be in the .460-.480 lift range with 270-285 duration. this will perk it up a lot and still give you nice street manners and decent mileage (depending on how you drive it). 3:23 rear gears, and a shift kit will add to the seat of the pants feel and let you chirp the tires when you shift. Main thing for what you are wanting is NOT to get carried away.
hope you get over your dizzy

:beer:

 

[aeilenstein]

You don't "need" roller rockers, but they will free up some horsepower due to less friction. Those are great heads for a street-driven car that you chose. Cam is good, but you can get a meaner-sounding idle (but not rough) with a 108 or 110 degree lobe separation angle. Have fun with it!

 

[BOOSTED-SS-ELKY]

How much power do you want and how much money do you want to spend? One greatly effects the other.

I like how you're thinking about replacing the heads and cam, good decision. If you have another vehicle to drive while your Elco is down, perfect. Before you purchase heads, determine what size combustion chamber you would need in order to raise your compression ratio to about 10:1. I like your cam choice, that should be fine.

10:1 compression + that cam and a good tune should make 350-375 hp, easily.

 

[1972elcaminomartin]

Thanks guys, for your knowledge on this....I have a th350,thats been rebuilt and shift kitted,and also posi rear,but unsure of the ratio?So ive got a decent package,just very little power at this stage. Im looking for between 330- 375 HP,and something that is able to be street driven,without cooling issues,as it gets pretty damn hot in summer.(i have a stock radiator)

A couple of questions;How do i determine what CC size i need to raise the compression,in regards to the head selection ? .............What heads,would you guys recommend,(just remember my budget.)

Would i need to run a higher stall converter,with that cam and heads ?

My budget is around the $2000 mark,but unfortanetly for me ,atleast $3-400 of that gets swallowed up in shipping cost to australia,so basically only leaves me with whats left.I know HP dosent come cheap,but im sure a few aftermarket performance parts,could raise my HP abit.

And Yes ,I do have another mode of transport,so my elky is mainly a weekend car.

 

[BOOSTED-SS-ELKY]

I would pull the heads off and see what kind of piston you have and how far it sits down in the cylinder while at TDC. Its probably a dish piston with four valve reliefs, but that's just a guess. Once you know this information then you'll know how many CC's the combustion chamber needs to be with a certain thickness head gasket, to get your desired compression ratio.

You could run a converter with more stall if you wanted to, yes it would help, but its not necessary. You could always put one in later.

 

[CANTED]

You can't beat the Vortec heads for what you are looking to do. You will need a Vortec specific manifold though.http://www.jegs.com/p/GM-Performanc...ce-Cast-Iron-Vortec-SBC-Heads/749896/10002/-1 What you save on the heads will more than cover the manifold. Perhaps you can sell the one you have. Just another option.

 

[1972elcaminomartin]

I did consider the Vortec setup..as ive heard good things about them...but have just bought a new eddy performer,so will stick with my plan.

Im not all that knowledgable on duration,CR,CC,Lift etc,but i guess il take the heads off and inspect.......(the engine is still in the elky,a cam swap is still doable like this though isnt it?) I am looking at a head and cam setup that will WORK well together,with what ive already got.

Would this work..guess its probably not as simple as that.:dontknow:.All you guys will have different opinions on this matter,but could you give me some links of combination that will work well,if these dont:beer: 330-374hp

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/LUN-60102LK/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PAR-2169/

 

[aeilenstein]

Martin,
Those heads and cam will work fine together. Yes, they'll make 330-375 horsepower depending on compression ratio. Those heads have a nice price on them, for sure.

Your cam may or may not require alot of front end disassembly. Most people have to remove the fan, fan shroud, and some of the front support bracketry. It just all depends on how much room there is. Remember to put the cam in GENTLY as to not damage the bearings.

You'll be making tire tracks before you know it! Stay confident.

 

[aeilenstein]

Forgot to include previously:

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_1209_eight_budget_sbc_head_shootout/

 

[Keyser Sose]

Martin,
Those heads and cam will work fine together. Yes, they'll make 330-375 horsepower depending on compression ratio. Those heads have a nice price on them, for sure.

Your cam may or may not require alot of front end disassembly. Most people have to remove the fan, fan shroud, and some of the front support bracketry. It just all depends on how much room there is. Remember to put the cam in GENTLY as to not damage the bearings.

You'll be making tire tracks before you know it! Stay confident.

you'll prolly have to pull the radiator to get the cam in/out. Don't forget that at the VERY LEAST you'll have to take the motor mount bolts out, and raise/block the engine up higher so that you can get the oil pan off/loose. Oil pan goes on OVER the bottom edge of the timing cover, so have to pull it loose to get to the cam/timing gears. Is easier just to pull the engine out, but you can pull the long bolts in the mounts, jack the engine up (AFTER you pull the dist) and then block it up like that with wood blocks between the motor mount halves. This will give you enough room to take the pan off, if the exhaust isn't in the way.


If you do end up pulling the engine out, check all the core (freeze) plugs and replace all the gaskets/seals while you have access. Unless you like doing things twice, then nevermind.\

Wow, this is turning into work, huh?

:dontknow: oke:

 

[1972elcaminomartin]

Thanks for the valued input guys:You_Rock:....I think i will go with those two(lunati,Patriot),as the $$ are in my budget.I originally pulled the old intake,as i developed a oil leak in the rear.Im waiting for my new intake to turn up(ordered yesterday,from OZ)..so once that arrives,i might put that on and get it running again,as it could take a few weeks for my new parts to arrive,and in the meantime,look at buying or borrowing an engine crane,to make the job easier,as id forgotten the sump had to come off,and may as well do the job RIGHT the first time....P.S will the 600cfm holley be up to the task...this is where things tend to get out of control(one thing leads to another)

 

[BOOSTED-SS-ELKY]

Your 600 cfm carb will work fine until about 5800-6000 rpm.

 

[aeilenstein]

I have a similar engine, but your cam is .020 bigger on the exhaust side--I had to increase my primary jetting from .067 to .070 and open up my idle feed restrictors on a 600cfm carb. Just a heads-up that you might need to make some adjustments here and there! :smileyb:

 

[1972elcaminomartin]

Thanks again guys.....Changing jets etc,Easy enough to do,and not Expensive.

 

[aeilenstein]

You're right. Make sure you take a few pictures and post them for us to see your progress. Everyone loves engine pictures!!

 

[hotrodpc]

Here would be my concern. You mention the motor only smokes at start up which we all know is likely valve seals and/or guides. That in itself tells me there is a few miles on the motor and some decent amount of normal wear has taken place. I don't think it much matters what your compression is now, or what it was supposed to be on a new motor, but without doubt, if you have OEM 76cc heads on this motor now, and you're changing to 64cc heads, without doubt you're going to see a significant raise in compression ratio. If this is a well worn motor, and you make a significant raise in compression ratio, those well used rings just might not be able to handle to new higher compression ratio and you end up with alot of crankcase blow by, oil burner and plug fouler. :dontknow: Any clue what kind of mileage is on this motor? It could be just that the valve seals are dried out due to age and the rings be in good shape too. You'll know much more when you pull a head and can see the condition of the cylinder walls. There are tel tale signs that can give you a good idea of the engine wear. Things like ridge, crosshatch pattern, glaze on the walls etc. Just saying, I'd sure give it some consideration. Maybe do as you plan, but a ball hone job, new rings and main & rod bearings might be an idea too. For a 350, the parts are not expensive. Just a matter of the time involved and if the bores are in tolerance.

 

[1972elcaminomartin]

HA HA....just as i thought(nothings that simple in engine build ups).I know exactly what your saying there.I dont want to have problems later on,thats for sure...It seems SUMMIT are out of stock on the heads until december anyway....But as ive said,im on a budget,as lots of people are these days,and cant really afford to go too far on the engine.Im unsure how many miles are on the motor,my guess is LOTS...At this stage i think i may throw on my new intake,and get it running again,and hopefully the dollars start flowing abit faster....Thats also why i asked about the Blueprint motors,as by the time i muck around replacing all thats worn,and aftermarket parts in mine,i could probably have a ready to run crate motor...?? :beer:

 

[1972elcaminomartin]

Heres a couple of pics of where im at....P.S Not really into a flashy looking engine bays..... YET....it looks pretty from the outside, haha...I havent attempted to rip the heads off as yet..as im still unsure off what direction im going??I sometimes wish i lived where i could just order a nice High perf 350 or 383 stroker without a shipping expense and tax bill of $1000... and sell off my old slug of a motor,ahwell,life aint meant to be too easy !

 

[1972elcaminomartin]

Can someone PLEASE build me a nice 350-400 HP motor and ship it to OZ please please please.I will pay.