Hey guys...after the completion of my recent paint project I was approached with the prospect of putting together a 383 for a friend's '67. I was able to secure a deal on a locally-sourced 383 kit from a friend who was unable to complete it. 4-bolt block, cast Sealed Power pistons, cast crank of unknown origin (he mentioned an "$800 kit" so I'm assuming it was your basic Chinese eBay stuff), I-beam rods with ARP capscrew-type bolts. It's been balanced and is basically ready to assemble after I inspect it and clean it up. The pistons have two valve reliefs and a small dish (don't know exactly how much yet but I will cc them soon as well as mock up a couple cylinders to get quench, etc.).

Obviously there's nothing exotic here, the gentleman that I'm doing this for wants the following: a nice, docile, non-rumpity small block that has real good midrange grunt and is more civilized and tractable than his current semi-cammy 327. That motor has a very lopey idle and lacks bottom end, and he never drives it hard enough to really experience the kind of power that it makes. He's an older guy that wants a cruiser, not a racer.

With all that said, I'm looking for some recommendations for cam and heads. I won't know the dish volume and quench numbers for a few days, but we're shooting for pump gas-friendly compression numbers in the neighborhood of 10:1 with aluminum heads or 9:1 with iron heads. I'm trying to steer him in the direction of aluminum heads.

He already has an Air Gap intake and a Holley 650, so that part of the top end is not an issue. Budget IS a definite consideration, but not so much that he's willing to spring for the cheapest crap that eBay sells, and we're not gonna do the private owner craigslist route either. We're looking for a set of heads and a cam that are commonly available through the normal sources (Summit, Jeg's, etc.)...

Fire away, and thanks in advance!!

 

For aluminum heads, I've had good luck with Edelbrock. If you go with the smaller runners (170 cc I think), you should have super throttle response and plenty of low end. Well made and reasonably priced.

For iron heads, I've been very impressed with Dart Iron Eagles. I have a set of 210 cc runner heads on my solid lifter 412. Probably more than you want for the described build but they do offer smaller ones. These are very reasonably priced too.

Both have a range of intake runners and combustion chamber sizes to accomodate your dish size.

 

I had suggested the Edelbrock pieces as well, but I think before he pulls the trigger we're gonna want a little more in-depth info. One nice thing about Edelbrock is that their factoey is only about 20 miles up the road from where I live.

I'm most interested in what specs and why...he says he wants a nice smooth idle so I'm guessing little overlap, but at the same time he wants a good strong midrange grunt. I'd like to get a little insight into what sort of cam profiles to use with a given intake runner size to get where we want to go...as much for education as for anything else...

 

For cams, I always simply call Comp Cams. You provide them with all specs and goals and they give you an answer. Maybe not the very best answer but they have yet to disappoint me.

 

I personally wouldn't put iron heads on any engine anymore when the ali route is so easy.

Either Edelbrock performer valvetrain and heads, 64cc

Or GM L98 heads.

I got a set of swapmeet L98 heads with conical springs and roller rockers for a steal so check out second hand.

The joy of the Edelbrock stuff is that there's no guessing, bolt it all on and it'll work great with your air-gap and 650, the L98 route will need more thought put into it.

Vortec's are great, but heavy

Get decent Fel-pro gaskets, none of that cork crap, and decent sealers.

Let us know what your deck height and piston cc is.

My 2 cents....

 

Crower is in San Diego..Isky in LA Schneider in San Diego also
Eddy has a number of heads out these days.

Keep the overlap minimal stay away from the Thumpr/street race type cams

open your options for a head up to 190/195cc. Dont need a big cam if the head works very well.

 

This will suit your needs
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-2022

Depends on your motor as to whether 64 or 70cc

 

My street 383 has '0' decked block, 12cc dished pistons, 64cc TF heads, calculated cr is 10.3, CC XE274H cam and the usual intake/exhaust modifications. It is a nice smooth street engine.

BTW, I run 89 octane BP pump gas, without a problem.

 

I actually have a Crower valvetrain in my other car. Their stuff is second to none but it is a bit pricey. Same with Schneider, very good quality but $$$$. I kinda like the 'Call Comp Cams' idea. First off I need to get a couple cylinders mocked up and figure out the chamber size that we'll need...

 

I did some trial assembly over the last couple nights and this is what we've got- pistons are Speed Pro hypers, part # ZH859CP. Dish is 12cc, and they run from .020"-.025" below the deck at TDC which gives a 'below-the-deck' volume of from .975 ci. to 1.051 ci. My own math produced a compression ratio of 9.99:1 with an .030" gasket thickness and a 64 cc chamber, which will be fine with aluminum heads...

Cam & head recommendations, anyone?

 

For quailty parts with a smart budget - I would look to the Dart SHP heads in the 180 cc runner and a Lunati voodoo roller with 219/227 duration and it is on a 112 lobe seperation. Or Howard Cams have a big selection ( most cams are available on at least 3 LS angles -108, 110, and 112 LS) and a great reputation too. Howards #111145-12 is very similar. I wouldn't be afraid to go smaller on the cam also.

The "why" is because of the smoother idle, excellant vacuum, abundant torque, and a big grin factor when driving.

Competition Products has all the cyl heads you'd want to choose from and also Howards Cams. @ great prices too.
Jeg's cyl heads are also the Dart SHP and priced right.

$0.02



http://www.competitionproducts.com/C...artments/1952/

 

Thanks for the reply...On this particular application vacuum won't really be a huge consideration since it's going into a C2 (I know, wrong forum) and we're also committed to aluminum heads for the octane tolerance. We've pretty much ruled out a roller cam as well because of the expense (would be nice, though!).

We can actually wait a bit on the heads but I'd like to choose a can pretty soon so I can go ahead and assemble the short block...

 

SHP's are aluminum.
A smoother idle will always produce more vacuum, but that's what gives you great throttle response/low end & midrange power.

4 speed ? What's the rear gear ratio ?

 

I would go with the Dart SHP 180 heads and the cam and lifter kit here. The dart SHP heads measure bigger than advertised and the roller is a $300-400 upgrade and well worth it. Not the place to cut corners.
http://www.summitracing.com/search/b...19-int-225-exh

 

http://www.competitionproducts.com/L...CPXLUN10030LK/

This is priced at $499.95 cam and lifters. A pretty good buy !

218/228 on a 112, .503/.503

 

Roller cam is the way to go.Just compare the lobe profiles between the flat tappet and a roller cam.Check out my swap thread..http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...-cam-swap.html