building 350 for my camaro
 

I have a 350 in my 84 camaro z28, but it wasn't built right so I'm going to do it myself.

This is what I want to achieve 350-400hp.

The block is pre 80's with the oil dipstick on driver side. Think block is bored 60 over, but not for sure. Has cast iron 202 heads on it. I want to put roller rockers in it, along with roller cam of course. Thinking about a 750cfm holley carb. And want to put a 400 crank in the block and have the main ground down to 350 mains. Intake not to sure on.

I have pulled the computer system out of it. Don't like computers controlling carbs. If I had multi point fuel injection I would go with that but it's a little out of my price range right now.

Seeing how there is no more computer control I assume I must do something to the tranny for the 4th gear lockup. Something like a painless wiring harness for it.

the whole car is getting a complete make over.

I'm thinking around 1500 to 2000 for the motor. Is that about a fair range?

Any advice welcomed

Re: building 350 for my camaro
 

never built a motor but i've been doing some research because i plan to this spring. not all of my info may be accurate, but i believe it to be. first off, its bored .060, thats as far as you can safely take a 350 before you risk weakening the block. personally, i would buy a new block, or find one in a junkyard and rebore it.

1500-2000 is reasonable for parts, but that would be used parts, and you're also gonna have to throw in machine shop costs. you can do a lot of pocket porting on the heads to achieve more flow.

if i could reccommend 1 thing to you, i'd say spend $20 and buy "How to Build Chevy Small Blocks On a Budget" by David Vizard. I'm about halfway through it, and its a great source of info.

well dude,if ur lookin for that HP,build whats in my sig or close to it. the cam i used makes 342 HP in a 350 thats .030 w/ the same intake i have on it according to Comp Cams (which i believe). Vortec heads are about the best street heads for the money....period. people say porting and polishing these heads is a bad idea and it actually hurts the performance of the heads. if u buy Vortec heads, your going to have to get the valve spring seats ground a little bigger and better springs for more lift. the push rod holes also need to be drilled out,especially for 1.6 RR's. you HAVE to buy an intake thats made especially for Vortec heads b/c of the bolt pattern (only has 8 bolts holding it on). that leaves u w/ the Edelbrock Performer RPM and the Edelbrock Air Gap. depends on your wants/needs but i think the Performer goes to about 5500 or so,and the air gap is good till around 6000 RPM's or so.

i wouldnt even bother w/ changing the crank unless ur gonna redo the whole bottom end while its apart. but thats just me.

and for the torque converter lock up,theres a way u can wire it up using GM part #'s and w/o taking the pan off. it uses a vacuum switch,and u have to wire it to the brake light switch under the dash (to unlock it when u hit the brakes) and i think it makes it lock up in 4th gear.

hope this gets u in the direction ur lookin for

You can build a nice little 350 for $2k bucks. As stated earlier, ditch that 60 over block cause it will run hot no matter what. Go find a 87+ motor that is setup for a roller cam. Assuming all the internals are still good, you can reuse the rotating assembly after it's been checked and machined. Have the block torque plate bored/honed and fitted with larger pistons to make about 10:1 compression with 64 cc heads. Then get a set of vortec heads, an LT4 hot cam kit, and an intake and you're pretty much done. You should make over 400 horses at the flywheel.

Vortec heads are a low dollar head. The main drawback is that if you want to go with TPI, you have to get a certain manifold made by SDPC. So, later if you want to go with the Accel SR intakes or the HSR, you are screwed. Nothing is cheap because it is good and has no drawbacks.

I thought he said he was planning to use a carb. since MPFI was too much $$$$.

The motor runs real cool. I don't use a termostat in it.....It's always around 150F. It's going to be a complete strip down of the motor. Is it easy to put rollers cams and rockers in a block that wasn't made for it or does it take some machining to allow it to work? If it does I guess I need to get a block that is made for rollers. I'd like to get a 4 bolt main as of right now the one I have is only a 2 bolt main. What do you all think about the 400 crank in a 350.... Has anyone done it? If so any problems with it like cracking the block or anything?

I would put a thermostat in that thing for one.

You can get roller lifters put in a block that wasn't designed for one but you would have to pay a hefty price for the retrofit lifters. Just get a 4 bolt main roller block from any JY.

400 crank in a 350 with a 0.030 overbore is a 383. I believe it is a 377 without the overbore and just the stroke. So yes, it has been done for a long time. Should be fine if you clearence it right.

Guess that's what I need to do. So it's not good to run without a thermostat in it. How can I tell if a block is made for rollers because I've never seen the inside of a block that was made for just rollers.... I don't want to be taken in buy any JY.....


Just so I'm straight on this rollers are alot better than standard lifters because of the friction factor correct. Less friction means more horse power correct........

What size carb would you go with a 600cfm 650cft or 750cfm?

Easiest way to tell if a block is a roller is to check the lifter valley. There should be several holes down the center with threads to mount the lifter retainer. Make sure you check the back of the block for the 5.7 stamp to make sure you get a 350 instead of a 305.

http://shbox.com/ci/ci284.jpg

A roller motor will generally last much longer than one using a flat tappet cam because of less friction. I've got an LT1 cam with over 150k miles and it looks brand new.

As far as a carb goes, a 600 with vac secondaries will be better on gas mileage. If you're driving the car as primary transportation, go with that one. If you're making a hot small block, go with a 750 with mechanical secondaries. That will give you a kick in the pants, but gas mileage will suck.

So that's what a roller motor looks like from the inside.....Yeah that's a big change then a solid channel...... What brand of rollers would be the best to have or are they just about the same.

Thanks for posting the picture make's it alot better to find when you know what your looking for

Comp cams make a replacement stock style roller that will work perfect for a street car. I believe they run about $170. :)

im kinda trying to find a way to make my torque converter lock up and have no computer or harness for a computer either. the only thing ive found is a kit from jegs for like $75. maybe someone will know of a way to lock it without needing that kit.

Not sure how that fits into the topic we're discussing, but that lockup kit is probably your best bet. You should also look into having a reputable transmission shop install it for you.