Im looking for a 350 to drop in my 82 Z28. A reputable source has a...
350, bored .040 over, upgraded pistons, block has been decked. The cam is a "mellings" RV cam and has "truck heads". The guy told me he built it for low end grunt, but never installed it. (Like I said, hes a reputable source.) On other Camaro site, some guys have said that this motor will SUCK at higher RPMS, and I should stay away from it. (As in it will pull real hard off the line and DIE seconds later???) Im looking for a 'street car', just 'light to light' goofing off, that kind of stuff. What do you guys think?

 

I believe the pre-LT1 engines were basically "truck" engines, give or take a tweak here or there.

If the heads are stock, they do suck, but if an all out race car isn't your goal, go for it.

 

The TPI motors that found their ways into the later third gens weren't exactly known for being higher rpm performers either. Plenty of low end torque though will be good for an everyday street cruiser. Seeing that it is from a reputable source, that is a plus as well.

 

what heads...

882s would not be bad ..its a LW casting....but who cares

 

just a head swap and cam swap away from being a race car.

 

find out what heads it has

 

"The TPI motors that found their ways into the later third gens weren't exactly known for being higher rpm performers either"

exactly

they made their power between 2500 and 4000rpm...and typically fell flat on their face past 5000rpm.

but with tons of power down low you can still make a fast car. you'll just have to adjust your shifting accordingly. if the engine peaks power at 4500rpm, there is no reason to shift a 6000...since you'll probably be WAY out of the power band.

running the numbers through the gear calculator (with 3rd gen, t5 manual, 3.08 gears)
at 5500rpm you are going 46mph, and at 6000 you're going 50mph. however when you shift, you'll be dropping your rpms down to 3600 for the 5500rpm shift, and 3900 rpm if you wait to shift at 6000.
now if you engine makes peak power at 4500rpm....you'll have 900rpms in the power band to rev before hitting peak if you shift at 5500rpm.
but if you hold the gear and shift late...you're reduced to only 600rpms under the curve before peaking.

and down track you'll be running the last section of the race with rpms past peak, and out of the power band...which won't be as effective.

power down low can be ALOT of fun, both at stop lights and in the curves (powering out of the corner). you just have to know how to optimize the power to the ground.

 

Besides the fact that they dont flow worth a flip comparitivly speaking and have large chambers? These heads were made to pass smog limits not for performance.

Who cares? Those of us who like more power.

Scottd,
Because they are "truck" heads I'd bet they're low compression. Only good side to that is you'll be able to run less expensive 86 octane fuel. But, they could also be 305 heads. High compression w/unimpressive flow and smaller valves than a 350 would like.

The RV cam is barely above stock. If all you're wanting is a stockish rebuild w/maybe 15 more hp and 20-30 more lb/ft and don't mind losing to many newer stock vehicles, then this will serve your purpose. If you want to be faster it'll take more cam at least.

The last incarnation of my 70 SS 350 was with a small cam like this. 262/ 272 (@.050 204 int./214 exh), Lift .420/ .442. I hated it! The car was completely gutless with this cam and some 186 heads. The rest of this set up was a 650 cfm carb, Weiand Stealth intake, HEI w/Accel coil, Hooker LTs, 2.5" tru duals w/an 11" TCI converter, and .308 gears (posi) in a 8.5" rear. If this sounds like what you have expect to be slow. We're talking high 14's. The set up I had before this was capable of high 12 sec ETs.

If the price for this engine too good to pass up, just get a Summit racing cam with a grind you want (for ~$60), slap it in and be done with it. Just make sure your springs can handle what ever grind you decide on if you go this route.

Even on a daily driven SBC I wouldn't run anything less than this:
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

 

I made 404rwhp and 478rwtq with some home ported 882's

who cares if its a 76cc chamber...are you saying you cant make power with a large chamber?



so with some 2.02/1.60s and a little love they are fine







....L98 heads....

 

Ported heads with larger valves are totally different than stock. Thats like comparing poted LS1 heads to stock ls1 heads. I saw no mention of the heads being ported....

Yes you can make power with low compression heads but you're still leaving some power on the table. Just like you would if you retard your timing so you can run lower octane fuel. L98 heads aren't that great either.

 

205 CFM is still not bad for a late 70s SBC head...that was my point

 

205 CFM isn't too bad, but look at the exhaust side. What goes in easy needs to come out easy. The L98 has a better balance and better chambers. 58cc Vs 76cc. You should know that intake CFM is only a small portion of the equation.