I have an extra smallblock that I would like to build into a powerful street motor for my car. I think it is time to pull the L-82 and original transmission and throw them into crates in storage. I want to drive my car hard without having to worry about destroying the original gear.

The donor engine is a '75 K5 Blazer "Trailer Special" 350 that has been rebuilt one time. The engine was bored 30 over but kept stock crank specs, which I am told makes it a 355cid. The engine ran very strong when I pulled it, but that was 13 years ago.

I would like to have it bored again and go with the vortec heads / vortec intake combo that everyone talks about so much.

So like the thread a couple months ago, I want to spend somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000. I already have an unused rebuilt TH350 to put behind it. My car has 3.55's in the rear. Everything is stock.

So, Vortec heads and intake... what part numbers / where do I find them / what price would I expect to pay?

What cam should I be looking at? I want a decent lope, but good low end *and* be able to wind it up to 5.5 - 6k rpm. Is this possible?

And with that cam, what rocker arms, pushrods, lifters, springs would I need to get?

Is there a good package somewhere that I should be looking at from Jegs, etc?

And the final constraint; since I want a streetable motor, it has to be able to burn pump gas, with a max of 93 octane.

Other miscellaneous:

Will have dynomax headers into true duals, high flow cats, H pipe, and try to locate Borla ProXS mufflers.

I don't know what carb to go with, but I would think a demon or Hollley maybe? I'm assuming a quadrajet is out of the question due to the vortec intake.

My extra transmission has a low stall speed TC *I suspect*. May need a new one for the new set-up.

 

i was looking at doing the same thing, after add'n up all i needed for the vortec setup it was only about $200 more to go with the holley sys. max 2 setup with alum heads, kit made to work together take'n the guess work out of what works with what and what dont. this kit is make'n 400+hp and tq, that was about what i was after so jumped on it
good luck with what ever you go with

 

Look into a crate motor, 350, 383, and up in cubes

 

stoge,there is absolutely no substitute for cubic $ if you wish to do it well.....as gdaina said,unless you are very motivated and skilled it is much cheaper to buy someone else,s package...because i thought i was smarter i have finished up spending well over $10,000 on parts for a 383 stroker...mind you,they are the best of everything but man,do they ever add up in price quickly...john

 

Oh man... so basically I am opening up a can of worms if I go with the build my own motor route... I think if I were to spend that kind of cash I would've had to think long and hard about an LS1 swap... but I bet with $10k you've got yourself a HOT motor.

That holley setup mentioned above sounds nice... but I guess $1000 - $1,500 more than my $2000 goal and I could have a ZZ4.

Hmmmm

 

Uea go with a crate, by the way the Octane gas useage really depends on your timing and Compression ratio. For higher CR you need more Octane

 

If you think the donor motor is still in decent shape, why not put a cam in it (something along the 262/268 range offered by Lunati, Comp, etc) and buy the heads/intake you are talking about. You save the cost of a major rebuild, get to try your combo out, and if the engine doesn't survive for long, you can buy a new short block and will only be out the cost of the cam and lifter kit (plus incidentals-- gaskets, bolts, etc.) You will also have the option of a 383 short block at that point if you decide to go that route.

I am still holding off on my 383 or 406 buildup because I am weary of the huge cash outlay to get a drivetrain that can stand up to a bigger engine built right.

Good luck!