Roller cam block
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,948
Likes: 72
From: Oxford MA-----You just lost the game!!!!
Roller cam block
Hi, all,
I would like to build a new motor for my 1980 'vette, and would like to find a one-piece rear main seal, roller cam 350 that will accept a mechanical fuel pump. Can anybody point me at where I can find out what years and vehicles I should be looking in. Or, if I order a rebuilt shortblock, which vehicle should I say it's for. Thanks,
Scott
I would like to build a new motor for my 1980 'vette, and would like to find a one-piece rear main seal, roller cam 350 that will accept a mechanical fuel pump. Can anybody point me at where I can find out what years and vehicles I should be looking in. Or, if I order a rebuilt shortblock, which vehicle should I say it's for. Thanks,
Scott
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,889
Likes: 23
From: Kansas
Yes Sir; I happen to have one of those blocks. Standard bore, boiled out, new cam bearings. all the pistons & rods, I haven't bought a crank kit for it yet. I have a complete gasket set & new set of rings. I have right at 400.00 in it at this point. Now for the best part, I took it out of a 1997 dump truck. The top of the deck was blocked & I have saran wrapped it. Have a great day. Gene
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,948
Likes: 72
From: Oxford MA-----You just lost the game!!!!
My main concern is that I want to keep the mechanical fuel pump. How difficult is it for a machine shop to machine the block so a mechanical fuel pump will work.
I have been looking at GM part number 12530283. It's an L31 vortec long block. If I could have the block machined for the fuel pump pushrod, and install a cam with a fuel pump lobe, I figure I'll be all set. One piece RMS, roller cam, vortec heads, 9.4 to 1 CR (a .015 steel shim gasket could bump this up near 10 to 1). I'm gonna dissassemble and check clearances anyway, and I'm gonna replace cam anyway, so hey, samey-same, right? Unless the stock cam has a fuel pump lobe.....anybody know if it does?
Scott
I have been looking at GM part number 12530283. It's an L31 vortec long block. If I could have the block machined for the fuel pump pushrod, and install a cam with a fuel pump lobe, I figure I'll be all set. One piece RMS, roller cam, vortec heads, 9.4 to 1 CR (a .015 steel shim gasket could bump this up near 10 to 1). I'm gonna dissassemble and check clearances anyway, and I'm gonna replace cam anyway, so hey, samey-same, right? Unless the stock cam has a fuel pump lobe.....anybody know if it does?
Scott
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,948
Likes: 72
From: Oxford MA-----You just lost the game!!!!
1982 Corvette fuel pump. Will it install and hook up to the existing fuel lines on my 1980? Just run some power to it? Regulate it down to proper pressure for Q-Jet? What do y'all think? Ya know, if I don't need to drill the fuel pump pushrod hole, I might not even dissassemble the shortblock, just run it.
Scott
Scott
Racer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 355
Likes: 18
From: Corona Ca
I have a Vortec 5.7/350 4-bolt long block I bought from a freind for <some> project someday! The main reason I bought it was because it had the casting appliance for a fuel pump, mounting holes drilled and tapped, pushrod hole bored almost all the way through. Looks to need about 1/4"-1/2" of drilling to be able to use afuel pump on this motor. The motor would of course need to be disassembled to do this, but it is a pretty sweet start I think.
The motor was pulled from a new for that year Chevy Dually, so maybe '98 vintage? and had the fuel pump area as described. Wiki says this motor used '96-'99 in trucks and '96-'03 in vans, called an L31. Make sure it has all the stuff drilled and tapped and has the incomplete bore for the rod.
Good luck,
Tom
The motor was pulled from a new for that year Chevy Dually, so maybe '98 vintage? and had the fuel pump area as described. Wiki says this motor used '96-'99 in trucks and '96-'03 in vans, called an L31. Make sure it has all the stuff drilled and tapped and has the incomplete bore for the rod.
Good luck,
Tom
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,948
Likes: 72
From: Oxford MA-----You just lost the game!!!!
I have a Vortec 5.7/350 4-bolt long block I bought from a freind for <some> project someday! The main reason I bought it was because it had the casting appliance for a fuel pump, mounting holes drilled and tapped, pushrod hole bored almost all the way through. Looks to need about 1/4"-1/2" of drilling to be able to use afuel pump on this motor. The motor would of course need to be disassembled to do this, but it is a pretty sweet start I think.
The motor was pulled from a new for that year Chevy Dually, so maybe '98 vintage? and had the fuel pump area as described. Wiki says this motor used '96-'99 in trucks and '96-'03 in vans, called an L31. Make sure it has all the stuff drilled and tapped and has the incomplete bore for the rod.
Good luck,
Tom
The motor was pulled from a new for that year Chevy Dually, so maybe '98 vintage? and had the fuel pump area as described. Wiki says this motor used '96-'99 in trucks and '96-'03 in vans, called an L31. Make sure it has all the stuff drilled and tapped and has the incomplete bore for the rod.
Good luck,
Tom
So far, I have learned that I will need the following:
Flexplate, because of the one piece seal.
Intake manifold, because of the vortech heads.
New cam and machine work to use mechanical fuel pump, OR retrofit a 1982 'vette electric fuel pump.
I think I can use everything else off my old engine.
Scott
Racer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 355
Likes: 18
From: Corona Ca
When I got the motor, not much was known about the Vortec heads, so my plan was to add aluminum L98 heads, which I had a line on cheap back then. Therefore, intake was not an issue.
If you are going longblock Vortec, you have the right parts list, I am pretty sure everything else accessory-wise should fit; it all did in my buddys Monte Carlo we put one into. He went electric pump with his and kept the Vortec cam.
I have another late style roller cam 4-bolt block that I think I kept because it also had the fuel pump mount. I need to check but I thought it came out of a G30 van or a Step Van chassis. I'll try to get back with that info. Give you another place to look.
Tom
If you are going longblock Vortec, you have the right parts list, I am pretty sure everything else accessory-wise should fit; it all did in my buddys Monte Carlo we put one into. He went electric pump with his and kept the Vortec cam.
I have another late style roller cam 4-bolt block that I think I kept because it also had the fuel pump mount. I need to check but I thought it came out of a G30 van or a Step Van chassis. I'll try to get back with that info. Give you another place to look.
Tom
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,624
Likes: 431
From: Dale City VA
SBC's with the provisions for the factory roller cam were used in GM cars and trucks all the way back to 1987... many of them do have the mech fuel pump hole machined already. Easiest to find are the early 90's TBI pick up trucks.
Be aware that some of the real early ones will need to have the stands for the lifter retainer drilled and tapped. Also there are 2 different cam thrust retainers as the bolt spacing is wider on the early blocks.
One Ton commercial vehicles (like a cube van) will have 4 bolt mains.
Will
Be aware that some of the real early ones will need to have the stands for the lifter retainer drilled and tapped. Also there are 2 different cam thrust retainers as the bolt spacing is wider on the early blocks.
One Ton commercial vehicles (like a cube van) will have 4 bolt mains.
Will
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
