Hey guys,

I've been gone for a while and haven't had any time to work on the old girl.
I've had a lot going on with the adoption that the Wife and I are working on.

Here is the thread on the current process.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1107000

I need some advice. My birthday is coming up and I am putting together a wish list
I can take just about anything apart and put it back together, but I do not know enough about the details of how things work best together.

I need to get a water pump, starter, and coil to start.


Here is the engine it is going on:

350 4 bolt main bored out to 383
Edelbrock Performer RPM Heads 64 cc chamber 170 cc intake
Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap Intake Manifold
Holley Carb 4160 750 cfm 4 barrel, vacuum, Dual Inlet, square bore manual choke
MSD ProBillet Tach Drive HEI Distributor
MSD 6 AL Ignition Box analog CD with rev limiter
Sealed Power Piston Rings, Chrome
Sealed Power Forged Piston, Flat top, ring groves
Crane Rocker Arms, aluminum full roller, stud mount
Crane Cam & Lifters, Hydraulic flat tappet, advanced duration 284/284, Lift .480/.480
Scat 9000 Crankshaft stroker 383 crank 5.560 & 5.700 Rods
Edelbrock fuel pump Mechanical Performer series, 110 gph, 6 psi
B&M 168 tooth Flexplate External Balanced
ARP bolts all the way around.








Also another question about the Harmonic Balancer.
I didn't buy one as part of the engine build, but this one came with it.
Is it decent?
Should it be replaced?
Is that washer supposed to be concaved?





Here are the water pumps that I was thinking about.
I am not set on any of these or even sure if these will fit.
I am very open to suggestions.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...?part=EDL-8812



http://store.summitracing.com/partde...rsview=sku&Ns=



http://store.summitracing.com/partde...rsview=sku&Ns=




Here is a link to some of the starters. Not sure of the difference between the regualar and mini.
http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...iew=sku&RC=100



I need a coil and would like to stay with MSD since the box, distributor, and wires are all MSD already.
I don't have a clue about the differences between them.

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...=KeywordSearch



Thanks in advance.

Ken O

 

"Professional Products" balancer = El cheapo made in China.

Personally I wouldn't trust it (heard of a few exploding) and get a quality balancer like GM, ATI etc.

 

Hey zwede,

Thanks for the info, That's kinda what I was thinking about the HB.

KO

 

Have you really?
I have never saw a harmonic balancer explode?
I dought it will explode on a street car and especially under 7000 RPMS.
I have a PP and It doesn't look any worse or better than a $400 with grafixs all over it or one that makes rattleing noises.
I went 130 MPH with one this summer and it held togather, so Im glad I saved my money and bought smart.

 

The way I understand the job of a harmonic balancer is even though you don't "feel" anything with the engine running at idle or at 130mph doesn't mean its doing its job 100%. Problems develope over time. The harmonic balancer is there to counter-balance the small vibrations inside the engine caused by the rotating assembly being slightly offbalanced. Some rotating assemblies are offbalance alot or only slightly. But these vibrations can also be very small and only become a serious problem at certain RPM ranges. Just b/c you don't feel it doesn't mean its not a problem. Bad vibrations caused by the rotating assembly being off balance can destroy your engine over time...and if you've got to pay $150 for a "better" HB then I'd say thats a cheap insurance policy on an investment that you probably have a whole lot more invested in.
I'm not telling you Performance Products is a poor HB b/c I really don't know enough about them to really judge. But I will say to make sure you have a good one. Do lots of research, talk to engine builders/shops and feel confident you are insuring a long life for your engine. Just my 2 cents. Good luck

 

Those heads are very small for a 383 motor. Get a set of 195 heads for that combo. With 170 heads your power will drop off at about 5000 rpm. They are just to small.

 

A harmonic or torsinal damper does not really balance an engine. Every time a cylinder fires it shoves the piston down hard thereby twisting the crank slightly. This is where the torsional part of the damper works. It absorbs or balances out the pulses of the crank. In one revolution you have 4 pulses. Multiply this by 7000 rpm and you have a lot of "harmonics" going on in the crank. The damper is there to absorb or balance this out. IMO a balancer is a pretty critical part in an engine that will see 6000+ rpm. In your daily driver that rarely sees high rpm it is not as critical. Mine sees a lot of 6500+ rpm shifts so I did not skimp on the "balancer"

 

Well I went with the ATI Super Street Damper Harmonic Balancer and the MSD Blaster 2 coil. I still need the water pump and the starter. I am going to go with the Edelbrock Victor Series Mechanical Water Pump (EDL-8812).

I still need to pick a starter. What is the difference with the Starter Mounting Pattern between Inline and Staggered?

Thanks
KO

 

I have seen many of those balancers, and have never heard of anyone having any problems with them. I kind of hate to not buy american, but when you are on a budget it is tuff sometimes to pay a lot more for the big time stuff. I am an engine builder and have used a bunch of them on street motors. That balancer probably cost around 60 dollars and a fluid damper will cost around three times that. If you had a 7000 rpm race car it would be a different story, but for your street car I would use it especially where it is already there. Just my opinion.

Happy Motoring and Merry Christmas
Russ

 

Oreilly's have a brand new mini starter in their master pro platinum series (pt # 32390) on the shelf for $160 - i have one on my 94 full size blazer, on my 66 427 vette and i put one on a friends 67 firechicken that has a 400 sbc - they work great and have a lifetime warranty. They sound really cool too when they start up.
Cheers,
Brett.

 

Couple things I see:
NO...the ballancer washer should NOT be concave. They used a standard washer. It should be real beefy (1/8" thick) !!! Get an ARP bolt & washer.
If your rotating assembly was ballanced with that balancer...you'll probably want to keep it. Engine is in...too late to ballance with new. Maybe fluid damper will keep balance??? Dunnno...
Staggered pattern starter is what all early blocks use for easy bolt in install. (check your block) Straight mount pattern starter can cause problems with stagered patern block cause ya gotta use adapters, shims...PITA.
Also...if your going to use the original fan & fan clutch, the water pump must be vette specific. That is..3/4" diameter short snout.
Eddie

 

Hey Brett, do you know off hand if that will bolt right up to a 383?
If not I will call them when I wake up.

Thanks
KO

 

Hey Eddie,

Do you what kind of problems that I may run into if I use this new ATI Super Street Dampener?
Also, I"ve got the BeCool Radiator setup with electric fans so that shouldn"t be a concern. Thanks for the info.

KO

 

I've seen a couple of cheap balancers "come from together". One whacked the hood of my buddy's truck, destroyed the battery and left parts on the road. The other took out the power steering lines and dang near wrecked the car when he drove over the oil. Both of these were spun at high rpm's, though.
Yours will probably be fine. Scribe a line you can clearly see across the parting line between hub and ring and check on it from time to time. If your scribe marks ever get out of line, replace with a Pioneer. They're inexpensive and are supposedly made by the same company as GM got theirs from.

 

A harmonic balancer shouldn't have anything to do with dynamically balancing the engine. A HB is essentially a shock absorber for the engine...and it is already round and balanced (or, at least, it should be...don't know about Chinese parts). The main thing with a HB is that it is designed for use with that engine. You should be able to replace the balancer with a "better" brand if it is designed to be used on a SB Chevy 350+ block.