Bought a 78 Camaro!

[NYH1]

Picked it up last Tuesday. It has a 350 4bbl, auto tranny. It's the same car as my very first car...same color too!

I'm either going to rebuild the 350 into a mild 383 using a 400 crank or I'm going to try to find a 400. I'm going to stick with the TH350 tranny and the 8.5 rear end. I might go with a 2200 RPM or so stall converter. I want to go with 3:42 gears. I want to keep it very drivable.

Going to use a small hydraulic flat tappet cam, intake side 226° to 228° duration @.050", .470-.490" valve lift, exhaust side 234° to 236° duration @ .050", .480-510 valve lift, on a 110 to 112 center line. I want the RPM range to be from 1500-1800 to 5700-6000 MAX.

I'm going to use a cast crankshaft, forged "I" beam rods (Eagle or Scat), I'm still unsure about the pistons. I don't know if I'm going to go with hyperutectic or forged. I want my compression ratio to be 9.0:1 to 9.6:1 max.

I like Dart's Iron Eagle 180 cast iron heads and GM Performance Parts Small Port Vortec Bow-tie iron Cylinder Heads. The Dart uses a 180cc intake runner, the GM head uses a 185cc intake runner. I'm going with a Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold. They make one for Vortec heads. 650-670 vacuum secondary carb.

 

[Den69RS96]

If you plan to make your 350 into a 383, I'd suggest going to a head with a little bigger intake runner like a 195cc. I have trickflow 62cc aluminum heads on my .060 350 with edelbrock performer rpm manifold. My cam is .480I/.494E and 228I/234 duration at .050. I make around 425hp.

I don't think you need forged pistons or crank unless you plan to spray or redline at 6500rpm or higher. If you do, definitely go with a forged crank, rods and pistons and get it balanced. Otherwise if you keep he rpms down and make less than 500hp, you cast crank will live. If your block is a 2 bolt main, I'd spend the money and turn your block into a splayed 4 bolt main with arp studs.

Good luck with the camaro. I love my 69 camaro.

 

[boostnut]

2nd vote for the trickflows. I had them on a 4 bolt 350 .040 over w/a performer rpm intake and a performer rpm cam (.488/.510 lift if i remember correctly). Ran 1.6 roller rockers and TRW forged flattops. Made 400-425 hp on paper, never had it on the dyno. I also used a cast crank turned .010/.010, never had any problems and beat that thing like it was stolen. Ran a th350 w/a 2500 stall, 3:42 rear, all stuffed into a 2wd s-10 blazer. Sure was fun runnin with the "new" mustangs & camaros in a blazer. Keep in mind, this was 10 years ago, don't think I'd keep up with todays new ones.

 

[boostnut]

 

[NYH1]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm going to stick with a mild 383. I already have the block so I might as well use it. I'm also on an EXTREME BUDGET, I have to make every penny count. I'm going to go with internal balanced crank so I can use my harmonic balancer and flex plate. I want to make power from 1500 to 5800/6000 RPM's max (I'm going to run a MSD 6AL box and chip it at 6000 RPM's). I'm more interested in torque for street use then I am horsepower. I'm going with 3.42 gears and don't want to use more then a 2200 stall converter max.

I called Comp Cams, Dart and World Products this past week. I told them what I'm going to do with this car, daily driver with a few trips a year to the track. I want to be able to drive this car in the rain if I have to.

Comp Cams recommended I go with their Xtreme Energy 12-242-2 CSXE268H-10 cam, 224/230 duration @.050", 268/280 advertised, .477/.480, 110 lobe separation angle, RPM range 1600-5800. Dart recommended their Iron Eagle 165cc head and World Products recommend their S/R Torquer head 2.02/1.60 valves.

To be honest, if either one of those two heads will work for what I need, that will save me a little bit of money. Not that I'm trying to skimp, but every penny counts. This is going to be a driver!

Thanks again, keep the info coming!
NYH1.

 

[2000ssm6]

The 383 is the best way to go on a budget. You can get a Scat 383 kit for around $600 that would be perfect for a mild street engine. Only thing is that kit is not balanced, so add that into the cost. You should be able to port match the heads for the intake and header gaskets, that will free up some extra HP due to less turbulance. That Comp cam sounds like a good one, should give ample engine vaccum for the brakes and decent idle. There are a butt load of 383 combos out there, you may have to try a few to find the one you want to keep. I like the Dart Pro 1 race heads(215cc, 2.05/1.60) that have been custom ported and a hyd roller cam in this range 567/.585 lift .242/.246 112LC. That setup would require a good cooling system and at least a 750 Demon double pumper to run on the street, gas mileage would be bad.

We are going from a wild 383 to a 406 in a race car so I will see if the owner has any 383 parts he wants to sell that you might can use. That car ran 10.06@132 on motor, with just a 383.

 

[NYH1]

That's a nice looking ride!

 

[NYH1]

Here are a few pic's...if I did this right!

 

[NYH1]

It won't let me post pic's. I'm doing something wrong. I'll have to try to figure it out.

 

[boostnut]

Thanks for the comment. Thats one I wish I woulda kept.

 

[NYH1]

I finally talked to my machinist/engine builder last night!

I'm going to use a Scat Rotating Assembly (pt# 1-90505-1), cast 3.75" crank, 4340 6" "I" beam rods and forged pistons. The kit cost the same for 5.7" and 6" rods, he said to get the 6" rods, especially for the same price.

He is a dealer for Howard Cam's. He will sell me a hydraulic roller cam & lifts at his cost. I called Howard Cams today and they recommended their 110245-10 cam, 224-230 duration @ .050", .501/.509 valve lift with a 112° lobe seperation angle. They said it will work from 1600 to 5600 RPMs.

I'm going to look at Darts Iron Eagle 180cc heads as well as GM Performance Vortec Small Port Bowtie Cylinder Heads. I'm going to buy then bare so he can set them up for me and check to make sure everything is the way it should be with the heads. I haven't bought an intake yet and Edelbrock makes their RPM intake for both style heads so I'll be good either way. I'm definitely still going with iron heads.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[NYH1]

I put a complete exhaust system on it. I went with Hedman 1 5/8" full length headers (32 inches long I think). And a Flowmaster 2 1/2" full length exhaust system. The system uses a single crossflow muffler (dual in, dual out) that go's between the rear end and gas tank. Which is great because these car have no ground clearance at all.

It sounds really good now.

 

[boostnut]

Wheres the pics?

 

[NYH1]

I can't post pic's on this site for some reason. I'll see if my wife can do it.

 

[Outlaw5.0]

Congrats on the Camaro, needs a big block though.

 

[boostnut]

Got that motor together yet?

 

[NYH1]

No, I'm going to do the engine over the winter. Right now I'm trying to figure out exactly what I want to do. The more I drive the car the more my desire for performance decreases and my desire for drivability increases. It's stock now and it's fun to drive.

I'm probably going to go one size smaller on the cam.

 

[boostnut]

You deserve the best of both worlds don't ya? Time for you to start reading about the LC2. Check out the hybrid forums, carefull, could be more addictive than CAD. Let me know when you're ready to start buying parts, I've got a few.

http://www.turbobuicks.com/forums/index.php