engine help, Injuneer and others step inside please

[Trash man]

i got a 350 motor im attempting to build as funds allow for my car. its a 74 4 bolt main motor. tear down was uneventful cept for the could rod bearings that had marks i didnt like and a cracked ring. but my question is im rebuilding the bottom end stock, but for the top end(heads, cam, intake, TBI unit) i was wondering what u suggest to get me around 300hp. i do relize that im gonna need to do some chip burning but i want to kno what is the best college-fund friendly set up?

also does any1 kno if my t-5 will work with this flywheel and also kno what size clutch i would need? the motor is from a 74 fullsize blazer. thanks again

[DeWynter]

The t-5 needs a 153 tooth flywheel, Im not to sure what is on you 74, but it is most likly not the right one. You can find the right flywheel easy enough at a autowrecker or buy a new one, but since your on a budget, find a good one then have it resurfaced, it will do till you get a better cash flow. I belive the 153 tooth fly wheel came on mid to late 60's vettes and early camaro 4 speeds. Also on 82-85 camaro and fire birds with a 4 speed and the 5 speed. You just need a nuetral balanced flywheel. for 85 and older engines with 153 teeth and I belive the diameter is 11 3/4".

[Injuneer]

Haven't paid much attention to what's hot with the Gen 1 smallblock. There is a huge selection of heads available, but for the budget minded, there's the Chevy Vortec heads (sort of an iron clone of the LT1 head for the Gen 1 SBC).... high flow out-of-the box, and low $$$. Couple that with a Stealth Ram intake (clone of the LT1 intake for the Gen 1 SBC), and use a stock TPI computer and fuel injection setup. I think that's about as low in cost as you can go. Stay away from the stock TPI intake, unless you are looking only for low end torque. The stock TPI intake runs out of steam at about 5,000rpm or lower. Should be able to find a cam that matches whatever your "streetability" requirements are. Avoid the stock MAF sensor if you can... the GM unit used on the 3rd Gen's is a disaster.

But I'm not the best source of info in what's the best low $$$ combo.... just thinking out loud.

[thenuge876]

I think he said TBI which would be the throttle body injection, which I definately wouldn't use if you want some more power, going with even a used TPI set up with some better runners and a higher flowing intake (you could even try some porting on them) could give you a much better set up, but heres another vote for avoiding the MAF on a 3rd gen But that would be able to help you build HP and the TPI's were good tourque builders too.

[Trash man]

well my boss is totalling a 3500 dual 454 tbi truck so i was gonna grab that set up off of it. i would do a tpi conversion cept i dont wanna chop the car up, and also if im gonna rewire my car, why not do a LT1 swap instead. so looks like at the swap meets im gonna be lookin for some vortech heads and such

[DeWynter]

well my boss is totalling a 3500 dual 454 tbi truck so i was gonna grab that set up off of it. i would do a tpi conversion cept i dont wanna chop the car up, and also if im gonna rewire my car, why not do a LT1 swap instead. so looks like at the swap meets im gonna be lookin for some vortech heads and such

The LT1 swap is alot harder than many say. Look on ebay for a stealthram or a Super ram, I picked up a super ram for $900 with trottle body and it will flow 1000CFM out of the box. Then get a good set of heads. The nice thing about the superram is its drilled to accept both styles of sb1 heads(centerbolt or old style perimeter bolt valve cover). If you are lucky you can find the super ram with the computer still that came with it, but it will still run on the stock computer, it just requires reprograming. The Super ram is kinda halfway between the old TPI and the stealthram(LT1).


A well made SB1 can still make alot of power and as more and more guys move to the SB2 and LS style engines, the cheaper the stuff for SB1 gets.
Also stay away from anything TBI as in its stock form comes with swirl port heads and sucks big time.

[Trash man]

i was just using the unit off the 454, i have ported swirl ports now,a dn they dont do too bad. but thats why i also asked bout heads. so i would be better off building the bottom end stock and then doing a LT4 hotcam speced cam and vortech heads and then the stealth ram? how hard is it to wire up?

[DeWynter]

i was just using the unit off the 454, i have ported swirl ports now,a dn they dont do too bad. but thats why i also asked bout heads. so i would be better off building the bottom end stock and then doing a LT4 hotcam speced cam and vortech heads and then the stealth ram? how hard is it to wire up?

The vortech heads dont bolt to a super ram or a stealthram, as the have raised runners and interfear with bolting it down. You can get a vortech TPI base but then you have to run the same runner setup as a stock TPI(or bigger runners but still looks the same). I got a good set of used L98 aluminium heads that had been ported and had 2.02/1.6 valves put in for $500.00 USD so there must be more out there. I started with a 1970 350 4-bolt out of a 70 vette and had it bored .030 over and put a 383 stroker crank(400 machined) in with 10.3:1 pistons and the 87 L98 heads(88 and up are better)ported and bigger valves, the ports match perfect to the felpro racing gasket 1204(I think that is the right number) and toped it off with the Super Ram, then I put in a Comp cams retro-fit magnum 260HR cam in. The cam could be changed to something a bit better but Im still testing whats best. I also used GM LT4 Roller Rockers (3/8 stud ver.) You can skip out on all the expensive stuff like roller rockers and the retro-fit roller cam and just make it a 350 rather than a 383, but still get some nice gains, and upgrade later when you got the money. As far as wiring the Super Ram was a easy all the stock sensors fit perfect and no wires had to be lengthened. It litteraly took an hour with putting dielectric grease on every connection once the motor was in.

[Trash man]

so i could use a set of L98 heads and a super ram together? yea i just plain on making a nice lil 300-350hp street motor as i gotta pass emissions still . but also when i go to the track i dont wanna be a joke(i already have 3.42 gears) i was hoping i could hit low 14s with this motor

[Joe 1320]

for 300HP you'll need 2.02 and 1.9 intake and exhaust valves, with a roughly 268-272 or slight more agressive cam.

[DeWynter]

so i could use a set of L98 heads and a super ram together? yea i just plain on making a nice lil 300-350hp street motor as i gotta pass emissions still . but also when i go to the track i dont wanna be a joke(i already have 3.42 gears) i was hoping i could hit low 14s with this motor

Ya Super Ram and L98 aluminum heads work together, but Im not sure if the stealthram is dual drilled for the old style and new style. The L98 head is only 1.94/1.505 stock so you might want to port them and put bigger valves in. The L98 aluminum head is an odball, it has centerbolt valve covers but the pre 85 bolt angle.