Need Advice On VortecPro Motor
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 74
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From: Cape Coral Florida
Need Advice On VortecPro Motor
Have had my BBC 68 for a little over 4 years now. I added all of the typical bolt on parts which pretty much followed the upgrades described in Zwede’s thread with all of the dyno testing of each upgrade (Zwede, in case you see this, thanks for all of the work you put into that thread!) so it was probably somewhere in the 500 hp range. I’m still not certain what the cause was but after only putting about 4000 miles on it after installing the Edelbrock small chamber aluminum heads, it dropped the #1 intake valve.
The good news is this gave me the excuse I was needing to order a VortecPro motor like I was considering before I added all of the upgrades to the old unknown motor. Mark already has my deposit and I am in line for a motor to be completed around the first part of June so I still have some time to make my final decisions.
Since the Edelbrock heads were not damaged too badly, I was thinking of having Mark recycle them into one of his 467 builds which he was willing to do but could not guarantee the final power numbers using them. He was confident that his iron heads will flow better than the Edelbrocks even after he works on them, so I will be opting for his iron heads.
Right now I am considering either his standard 467-470/480 motor or the same but upgraded with a hydraulic roller and Mahle pistons. He said the last one of these he built ended up somewhere around 617 hp (don’t remember the torque). The upgraded motor sounds very interesting and if I can sell the “old” heads they should pay for most of the upgrade, which would be cool, but not necessary.
Now, finally for my questions; 1) for a streetcar with TH-400, 2800 stall, 3.55 gears, street tires on 15-inch wheels (yes 15-inch wheels so I will have a crappy selection of tires) do you think I would even be able to notice the additional power from the upgraded motor or do you think it will all be lost in a big puff of smoke?, 2) how do I keep from going crazy between now and June?
I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks!
The good news is this gave me the excuse I was needing to order a VortecPro motor like I was considering before I added all of the upgrades to the old unknown motor. Mark already has my deposit and I am in line for a motor to be completed around the first part of June so I still have some time to make my final decisions.
Since the Edelbrock heads were not damaged too badly, I was thinking of having Mark recycle them into one of his 467 builds which he was willing to do but could not guarantee the final power numbers using them. He was confident that his iron heads will flow better than the Edelbrocks even after he works on them, so I will be opting for his iron heads.
Right now I am considering either his standard 467-470/480 motor or the same but upgraded with a hydraulic roller and Mahle pistons. He said the last one of these he built ended up somewhere around 617 hp (don’t remember the torque). The upgraded motor sounds very interesting and if I can sell the “old” heads they should pay for most of the upgrade, which would be cool, but not necessary.
Now, finally for my questions; 1) for a streetcar with TH-400, 2800 stall, 3.55 gears, street tires on 15-inch wheels (yes 15-inch wheels so I will have a crappy selection of tires) do you think I would even be able to notice the additional power from the upgraded motor or do you think it will all be lost in a big puff of smoke?, 2) how do I keep from going crazy between now and June?
I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks!
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 74
Likes: 0
From: Cape Coral Florida
Have had my BBC 68 for a little over 4 years now. I added all of the typical bolt on parts which pretty much followed the upgrades described in Zwede’s thread with all of the dyno testing of each upgrade (Zwede, in case you see this, thanks for all of the work you put into that thread!) so it was probably somewhere in the 500 hp range. I’m still not certain what the cause was but after only putting about 4000 miles on it after installing the Edelbrock small chamber aluminum heads, it dropped the #1 intake valve.
The good news is this gave me the excuse I was needing to order a VortecPro motor like I was considering before I added all of the upgrades to the old unknown motor. Mark already has my deposit and I am in line for a motor to be completed around the first part of June so I still have some time to make my final decisions.
Since the Edelbrock heads were not damaged too badly, I was thinking of having Mark recycle them into one of his 467 builds which he was willing to do but could not guarantee the final power numbers using them. He was confident that his iron heads will flow better than the Edelbrocks even after he works on them, so I will be opting for his iron heads.
Right now I am considering either his standard 467-470/480 motor or the same but upgraded with a hydraulic roller and Mahle pistons. He said the last one of these he built ended up somewhere around 617 hp (don’t remember the torque). The upgraded motor sounds very interesting and if I can sell the “old” heads they should pay for most of the upgrade, which would be cool, but not necessary.
Now, finally for my questions; 1) for a streetcar with TH-400, 2800 stall, 3.55 gears, street tires on 15-inch wheels (yes 15-inch wheels so I will have a crappy selection of tires) do you think I would even be able to notice the additional power from the upgraded motor or do you think it will all be lost in a big puff of smohttps://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/images/smilies/willy_nilly.gifke?, 2) how do I keep from going crazy between now and June?
I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks!
The good news is this gave me the excuse I was needing to order a VortecPro motor like I was considering before I added all of the upgrades to the old unknown motor. Mark already has my deposit and I am in line for a motor to be completed around the first part of June so I still have some time to make my final decisions.
Since the Edelbrock heads were not damaged too badly, I was thinking of having Mark recycle them into one of his 467 builds which he was willing to do but could not guarantee the final power numbers using them. He was confident that his iron heads will flow better than the Edelbrocks even after he works on them, so I will be opting for his iron heads.
Right now I am considering either his standard 467-470/480 motor or the same but upgraded with a hydraulic roller and Mahle pistons. He said the last one of these he built ended up somewhere around 617 hp (don’t remember the torque). The upgraded motor sounds very interesting and if I can sell the “old” heads they should pay for most of the upgrade, which would be cool, but not necessary.
Now, finally for my questions; 1) for a streetcar with TH-400, 2800 stall, 3.55 gears, street tires on 15-inch wheels (yes 15-inch wheels so I will have a crappy selection of tires) do you think I would even be able to notice the additional power from the upgraded motor or do you think it will all be lost in a big puff of smohttps://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/images/smilies/willy_nilly.gifke?, 2) how do I keep from going crazy between now and June?
I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 7,123
Likes: 433
From: Gladstone MO
C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
YOur questions-- (1) you will most likely notice. OR more precisely, your tires will. and (2) get over it. you will second guess every decision you make, and will be in agony trying to figure out if you "chose wisely".
I've been in this very same boat for going on 2 years. Started the project, had a financial setback, recovered from that and started again. Just about done now. With my current work schedule, I might have the thing on the road in June.
I've been in this very same boat for going on 2 years. Started the project, had a financial setback, recovered from that and started again. Just about done now. With my current work schedule, I might have the thing on the road in June.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 1,939
Likes: 477
From: NSW, Australia
C3 of Year Finalist (track prepared) 2019
I'd always run a hydraulic roller if you have the option (and have in both the engines I've built in the past 12 months, one of which was for our old f250 truck/tow vehicle)... I'd also always opt for more power! But the base engine will have plenty of power to blow off any 15" street type tyres (as opposed to drag radials) you can buy in our sizes. Up to you really...
Pro
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 534
Likes: 2
From: Connecticut
I have a Mark Jones 468 BB in my 78. GREAT motor! 622HP and 602TQ. It's crazy fast.
Mark's specialty is the heads. He puts over 40 hours of work into them. Well worth the investment and lots if fun to drive.
Mark was a pleasure to deal with as well.
Mark's specialty is the heads. He puts over 40 hours of work into them. Well worth the investment and lots if fun to drive.
Mark was a pleasure to deal with as well.
Last edited by DO2G; Mar 23, 2017 at 06:37 AM.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 74
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From: Cape Coral Florida
YOur questions-- (1) you will most likely notice. OR more precisely, your tires will. and (2) get over it. you will second guess every decision you make, and will be in agony trying to figure out if you "chose wisely".
I've been in this very same boat for going on 2 years. Started the project, had a financial setback, recovered from that and started again. Just about done now. With my current work schedule, I might have the thing on the road in June.
I've been in this very same boat for going on 2 years. Started the project, had a financial setback, recovered from that and started again. Just about done now. With my current work schedule, I might have the thing on the road in June.
Congratulations on your recovery and restart on your project. What choices have you been rolling over for two years? Three months is about too much for me.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 74
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From: Cape Coral Florida
I'd always run a hydraulic roller if you have the option (and have in both the engines I've built in the past 12 months, one of which was for our old f250 truck/tow vehicle)... I'd also always opt for more power! But the base engine will have plenty of power to blow off any 15" street type tyres (as opposed to drag radials) you can buy in our sizes. Up to you really...
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Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 74
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From: Cape Coral Florida
I have never had a true professionally built motor like this before and am really looking forward to seeing what the difference is like.
Have you torn up any drive line parts since you installed Mark's motor?
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2012
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From: Cape Coral Florida
What did you buy from Mark and how long have you had it?
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 26,563
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From: Northridge California
St. Jude Donor '14
After reading all of the positive posts on here and over on the Chevelle Forum from people that have bought from Mark, it was pretty much a no-brainer on who to go to for the new motor. I just wish I had originally bought a motor from him instead of spending a boat load of money on the old motor first....lesson learned; do it right the first time.
What did you buy from Mark and how long have you had it?
What did you buy from Mark and how long have you had it?
Mark built me a small block 350 around 2014, honestly I haven't driven it much because I got busy with life and various personal issues (work stuff mostly), but I have no complaints with Mark at all. The car runs well, I am currently going thru some tuning stuff, but that is because of a new carb and I'll admit the distributor wasn't curved correctly for the combo originally. I am rectifying these issues now, but it has nothing to do with him at all. Stand up guy. He may seem a little short when he is busy, but always happy to BS with you and take care of you with tech questions etc. Great guy that makes a quality product.
I drove my '73 today with Mark's motor and it pulls HARD.
Pro
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 534
Likes: 2
From: Connecticut
Is yours the 620 hp motor that he advertises on his website or the hydraulic roller version? With my setup, Mark advised against the standard 620.
I have never had a true professionally built motor like this before and am really looking forward to seeing what the difference is like.
Have you torn up any drive line parts since you installed Mark's motor?
I have never had a true professionally built motor like this before and am really looking forward to seeing what the difference is like.
Have you torn up any drive line parts since you installed Mark's motor?
Listen to what Mark says. He's built a lot of motors now for C3 corvettes.
You will also need a new hood.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2012
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From: Cape Coral Florida
Hurry June! Just in time for rainy season here in Florida.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 74
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From: Cape Coral Florida
What compression did you end up with?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 7,123
Likes: 433
From: Gladstone MO
C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
Yeah, I guess the worst outcome would be to buy the standard motor and then wonder what the upgraded one would have been like. But I'd have to say I think with this selection I can't really go wrong so I'm "wise" either way.
Congratulations on your recovery and restart on your project. What choices have you been rolling over for two years? Three months is about too much for me.
Congratulations on your recovery and restart on your project. What choices have you been rolling over for two years? Three months is about too much for me.