Starting with a complete 1978 350 4V from a Scottsdale I propose the following no budget rebuild... .030 over cast dished pistons, hydraulic cam specs 204,214@.050, 422,444 lift on 107,117 lobe centers. Current 462624 heads are likely cracked.... I have in hand (and for free!) freshly machined 305 53cc 14022601 heads with 1.72 and 1.5 valves. Topped with the truck intake and Q-jet, exhausted with 1977 Corvette ramshorns and 2 inch Corvette Central off-road pipes and mufflers. Cam kit comes with lifters, matched springs and a timing set. Add gaskets, a Melling hi volume oil pump and GM corporate blue for a torquey, easy to live with powerplant. Comments/suggestions/flame jobs? Thanks!

 

My guess is 200 HP if it is well tuned.

 

200HP would thrill me as I would have resealed, painted and installed the truck motor as is if it were healthy. Not much discretionary cash flow right now... am I at least in the ballpark with cam and piston choice? Can I use flattops and not detonate? Thanks!

 

Sounds like a few builds going on around here, upgrade to Vortec heads and you make a trailer pulling 225HP

I would not use flat top pistons with a cam with that little duration

 

The 601s have been crack checked, are not warped and have a fresh valve job on brand new valves. with tight guides.. also (oddly) double valve springs.... not sure what they were intended for but I will install the "Z-28 Specials" that come with the cam anyway. Is there a better suited grind? Cams are pretty inexpensive so recommend away!

 

Do you need the hi-volume oil pump? Unless you already have one, save the money.
I'd probably go for a different intake, graigslist or ebay. $50-$80.
You can download free cam selection software from Comp Cams here:
http://compcams.com/camquest/default.asp

 

humm well i have to say this though what are you trying to accomplish??
because i have an current Build set up for an 305 to make 300HP with headers at 5500 RPM and like 330 lbs torque at 4000-4500 RPM. and im running like a 8.17:1 CR and 882 heads.

what you need to ask your self is what do you want and what can you spend. also going with headers might bring you more HP if you are willing to go that route

 

You need different heads w/ larger valves!
Cam is wrong for those heads!
You should state trans. for cam.

 

Trans is turbo 350 stock convertor. Heads are what I have and will be used... any recommendations for a better cam grind? All other components will remain as in original post because there is simply no money to upgrade.

 

The cam sounds like you are trying to describe the Edelbrock 2102 204/214 or similar. You need in Edelbrock 2103 214/214 or Comp HE 260H which Comp says will give more gas mileage than the stock cam.

 

well for a no budget rebuild it sounds good. not many of us do things on a no budget rebuild.....good luck and have fun

 

Is that 305 for a 22 T- it should not be a big issue to get 305 heads & get the C/R up. For example you could try Camaro & Monte Carlo forums where guys w/ 305 are switching to 350s ...

 

actually im throwing it in an 1985 Camaro and i think i might go with an .060 overbore.

well as i thinking about it 300HP is a quite a lot more then the camaro even with an 350 had lol. but i think i could build up the 350 it comes with and just run the 305 as is untill i get money to make the 350 an big power engine

 

Bobs77.. my whole life has been lived on a zero budget... desire is the mother of innovation and we've had a real good time so far! I have managed to build some awesome toys using "odds and sods" (any WHO fans recognize this?) since my first mini bike project as a misguided youth.

Jumper... I hope your build turns out nice, any help on my build here?

Ganey... researched your cam recommendation... I'm not educated enough to see the advantage in your suggestions... please enlighten me as the differences seem minimal. Thanks!

 

You need to do some research. The heads are 53 CC. These are real small chambers for a 350. How big of dish in the pistons? Deck Height? Gasket thickness? Required overbore? Cam is small duration. Head chamber is small and iron heads. Could get into detonation issues real easy with the small chambers and short duration cam. Then again your cylinders won't fill as well with the small valves and tiny runners. Definitly severly mismatched. Need to come up with a good, correct static compression ratio and post your rear end gearing to determine proper cam. Just picking one without taking any of this into account is a waste of energy. Properly matched components throughout produce best power. Mismatched components and undersize heads, runners and valves will make for an unhappy owner especially if you have to further detune an already anemic build just to run pump fuel which I think you will. You have to spend the money on a cam, pistons, gaskets, machining, oil pump. This will cost more than you think going in.

 

yah i can offer some lol but i need to know your goals here and what your peek is to pay.

 

Mako... I am fully aware of the costs incurred both for the components and the machine work needed. My problem is that I am not experienced enough to know what the nuances are between a cam which specs 204/214@.050 and one which specs 214/214. Or one which lists lift as 422 intake/ 444 exhaust vs 442/442. These are the differences in my original cam choice and Ganey's recommendation. Those seem like vanishingly small dimensional variations; which may make a huge difference in driveability and measureable performance. That's why I ask here... I seek the combined experience and knowledge of this forums members so I might not mis-spend my build dollars. If you have absorbed my post to this point you will note I specify a .030 overbore. Speed Pro pistons are available for reasonable cost... I do not know what the dish measures. I intend to utilise a Fel-Pro gasket set available at Advance Auto. They did not offer a choice of gasket thickness. You are aware why I choose all of the major components I will use... and why I will use them. I have no money for "upgrades" and wish only to optimize the expenditure of cash REQUIRED to assemble a fresh powerplant with my available components. If you choose not to share your hard earned knowledge and experience for whatever reason... so be it. Silence is preferable to derision. Can you add to the discussion in a positive fashion? Thanks!

 

I thought I was. I was not trying to insult, just educate. You need to do more research. You need to figure exact static compression with the pistons you are choosing, deck to piston top clearance, gasket thickness and bore and post it and your rear end ratio here. You have to have all relevant information to make a cam recommendation or a piston dish choice. The 53 CC chambers are too small for a 350. This raises your compression a lot. With Iron heads you have to limit compression to avoid detonation. This can be reduced with a bigger dish piston. Higher compression can be bleed off somewhat with a bigger cam. This affects driveability and power band. The heads won't support a high powerband so you have to keep your compression low. To determine the piston dish you need to get to the compression ratio the cam you selected will work with this information is needed. You can't just say "I Don't know the dish size, I don't know the gasket thickness ECT" You are asking for help and there is a lot of knowledge here but if someone asks for information to try and help you make good choices and you feel that you don't need to provide that necessary information no one can help you. I am not insulting you or your choices.

That 1978 350 came with 76CC heads. You are installing 53 CC heads This is a reduction of 23CC. If the 350 was 8.5 to 1 originally and you use the same dish size your new compression ratio is over 10.5 to 1. The cam you need to run that kind of compression with iron heads on pump fuel would be over 240 duration. This combined with the runner and valve size is severly mismatched. Combining all this with a 350 with stock convertor and a higher than 370 rear end ratio is a miserable car to drive. Get the information you need and select the correct piston to get you around or under 9 to 1 compression with Ganey's cam.

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/STL-W550P30/
Biggest dish I can find in a cheap piston. Don't list CC of dish though. This is for an 87 to 89 Chevy 350, 4.030 bore, 5.7 rod 3.48 stroke. Think they had small chamber heads.
Most big dish pistons are for blower applications They are forged and expensive.

 

The Edelbrock 2102 cam is for heads w/ better than stock ports & you are using 305 heads & have even smaller valves 1.72 than std. 350 heads 1.94. Intake duration should be increased.
HP w/ stock 1.94/1.50 heads about 280. Less w/ 305 1.72 valves.

Keith Black KB 118 has 22cc D cup which would put C/R around 9 w/ 305 58cc heads.

Basically agree w/ 63mako, I glanced at a C/R chart before posting the first time.