I am working on a 396 LT1 engine that is going into my 1995 Camaro Z28. Here is a list of my goals and what I have done to the engine so far. I think my goals are fairly realistic with what I have for a base of an engine. My biggest concern is that the heads and cam will not deliver what I want. My engine builder has probably done only a hand full of LT1s and I sort of question his choice for a cam. I question it because I see similar engines on the Internet that are using bigger cams and on the 400rwhp border. Here are the questions I have for right now.
1.Will the heads that I have flow well enough to support my desired horsepower?
2.Do you think that my cam that I have now will support my goals?
3.If you don’t think my head and cam package is not what I am looking for; what do you recommend?
4.Who are some people I can contact about a package?

GOALS
· 400 rwhp
· 11 second quarter mile runs
· Street driven daily driver
· Good vacuum for power brakes
· Redline around 6500rpm
· Compression Ratio 10.0-11.0

Engine Block
Original LT1 cast iron 396 cubic inches Stroke 3.875” Bore 4.030”
Splayed 4 bolt main caps

Rotating Assembly
Pistons SRP 4.030 –14cc Dish Forged 4032
Rods Lunati Pro Billet 5.850”
Crank Callies DragonSlayer 3.875” Forged 4340
Bearings Clevite H rod, main, cam
Rings Mahle Plasma Moly 4.035 file fit
Crank was balanced to stock LT1 specs internal in the front and external in the rear.

Cylinder Heads
Stock Cast Aluminum LT1, Port and Polish, Competition Valve Job,
Surfaced and CC
Valves 2.00” intake 1.57” Exhaust
Springs Isky 6105

Flow Chart
Lift Intake Exhaust
.100 67.95 54.7
.200 132.0 113.4
.300 177.0 143.8
.400 222.2 170.5
.500 246.2 182.9
.550 243.2 186.3

Cam Specs
Iskenderian Racing Cam Grind RR-272 IN HYD RR-282 EX HYD
Hydraulic Roller Lifter
Cam reference_____Seat____@ .050
Intake duration_____272______225
Exhaust duration____282______234
IVO_____________22 BTDC___-1.5 BTDC
IVC_____________70 ABDC____46.5 ABDC
EVO____________75 BBDC_____51 BBDC
EVC____________27 ATDC_____3 ATDC
Valve lift with 1.5 rockers Intake .505 Exhaust .530
Lobe Center 114 degrees
Overlap 49 degrees

Thank you very much for your replies. I hope to have this done by June 4th for the Hot Rod Power Tour, so I need as much help as I can get. I am sure I will have many more questions in the future.

 

Can anyone please give me some direction.

 

Likely not. LT1 head castings aren't great in a stroker, but if you got a better ported set, it wouldn't be as bad of a hinderance.

That cam seems pretty small for a 396. Larger engines eat up duration, so it will seem pretty close to stock as far as driveability.


If I were to do the whole 383 buildup over I would get a set of AFR 210's ported by Lloyd Elliott and have him get Bret Bauer to grind a custom cam and spec out the valvetrain.

See above.

That is all very doable, but you don't need 396ci to get there. A 383 will get you the added cubes, and easily in the power range you are looking for.

On a side note, What part of WI are you from? I go to school at UW Stout in Menomonie, and hope to have my LE2 383 Trans Am out here in a few weeks, and we could meet up if you wanted to go for a ride or check it out.

Chris

 

I would give that motor more head and more cam!

For a 396, that is a tinny cam and those heads don't flow much better than stock. All of your extra displacement and the luxury it affords (driveability, tq) aren't being fully used.

For packages contact:
Advanced Induction (sponsor)
Elliot Port Works (sponsor)

Your goals are easy for the displacement your making with enough h/c. Contact either and they can help you out.


***I highly recommend AI, they do great work and could put together a package that would appear tame in a 396 and SMASH your goals.***

Good luck and try a quick search for reviews and such.

 

I'm working on a 396 now that has to be a real driver, lots of vacuum no bad manners, hyd roller etc.... Oh and it also has to get about 500rwhp or more. Other than that's 100rwhp+ from what you are looking at I can still point you in a better direction.

Bottom end looks good, you just need lots of help on the top end.

I would send the heads to Lloyd and have them bumped up. 245cfm is not really enough, but 265-275cfm would probably do the job. I gave him a set of 255cfm heads that were really hogged out once and ended up with close to 600fwhp on a race motor.

The 225/234 114LSA cam is diffcient almost everywhere. You need less LSA, more duration and more lift. Going with a 1.6:1 rocker would help.

Ask Lloyd about upgrading your heads and putting a cam/valvetrain package together for you.

Bret

 

Your heads will support 499FWHP,all else being spot on,which isn't a bunch for a 396.The cam is WAY to small and so are the heads.It'll run out of wind before 5000RPM's.
You will have to 1-get bigger heads 2-get more cam 3-kick your compression up to achieve a 9.0 DCR and get an intake to flow with the heads. If ya don't--What was the since in building a 396 stroker When your stocker@356CID could have achieve those numbers.
This is in the 390-400RWHP range and not good for a 396.There are 356's on this board making that.

 

yup like these guys say. i run a cc306 with crane gold 1.6 rr in my 396 which is still too small but it runs good and my heads (stock lt1 castings) flow 280/220 with 2.02/1.60 manley race flows and a extreme port job i am around the 430-450 rwhp depends on day and conditions it varys. i will be adding a solid roller soon but also forgot mine has 13.6:1 compression so you would be slightly lower

 

Thanks guys for helping me out. I will have to contact Lloyd and see what he can do with my heads, or if he thinks it would be better to get new heads (AFRs, LT4s) and port them.

Chris, I live in Stevens Point, WI. I still have a long ways to go with my car but i hope to have it running for the Hot Rod Power tour June 4th. The car will not be totally finished because i will still need suspension parts and probably a rear end When i finally get it done i think that would be cool to meet up at a drag strip for a couple races.