Cheeto

Hi, looking for a top end kit. Stock hood, L-48 - Manual Trans
I cant plant a crate motor right now $$ However ,I can budget $2 K for some bolt on fun. I thought I had it ,with the Edelbrock Kit # 2022.Matched components ,til I was informed intake was too high for my hood. Need some help with putting this together. Thanks

Cool95vette

Looking at that Edelbrock's website it says that kit makes 315 hp. That's not much power for $2000.

Cheeto

I have 180 HP now. And you forgot to say what I can get for bolt on power for $ 2000. Thank You

Cool95vette

I used to have an Edelbrock performer intake with an Edelbrock quadrajet and it fit under my hood. You could put a Performer intake on with the rest of the components in the kit. I don't think it would make that much of a difference in the power numbers.

bluedawg

Cnc-motorsports.com

Jason Staley

Don't want to derail the conversation, but if you haven't changed exhaust system on your 77 it is a huge HP killer. You'll want to factor in new dual exhaust along with any engine modifications or you will not get the advertised HP figures from a "top end" kit.

Since you have a tight budget you might think about something along this line.That manifold is designed to work with small cross section L98 heads so it should work with those heads (you should double check port dimensions to make sure), will work with your factory carb, and it fits under my 76's stock hood. That would leave you some money for gaskets, cam shaft kit, rockers, and dual exhaust (~$400).

It won't be a killer combo, but with the correct cam it will be a big step up from your stock L48.

mobird

Hey I'm in a sorta similar situation - making power on a budget.


The very first thing I would do is ditch your stock exhaust manifolds and get full length headers with true dual exhaust. This is worth a substantial amount of horsepower.


Next, you need some good flowing heads (I'm considering the NKB heads from Skip White. Some people aren't big on Skip White, but essentially he buys bare cast aluminum heads and then puts some quality valves, springs, and retainers in them. Cost is about $700 a pair), a better cam (the stock L48 cam is crap for making power), and a cheap low-rise dual-plane intake.


You should be able to do all of that for under $2k if you shop smart and it will make quite a bit more than that 310hp edelbrock kit. I would advise you to do some research and ask lots of questions before you buy anything, I'm still learning, but there are a lot of experienced people on this forum who can help you out if you ask nicely.

Cheeto

Whats your guess on HP gain with headers/dual exhaust ?

augiedoggy

I build an entire 355 4 bolt 375-400hp engine for under 1,500 by buying components used on Craigslist.... For 2 grand you can replace the cam and lifters (around $200) with a performance cam and go with middle of the road performance heads for about 7-800 bucks... A performance intake for $150 and headers and exhaust or sidepipes and still have room for a new carb if you desired... And thats buying everything new not used by shopping by specs not branding... Usually the absolute most expensive single options are suggested..? My opinion is you will get more bang for your buck with all the components mentioned above even if they are middle of the road as far as performance vs spending all that money on say a very expensive set of afrs only to be choking them with the rest of the combination you can't afford to upgrade at that point.

augiedoggy

^^I totally agree.

Cheeto

OK Good info. How can I be sure with the port dimensions or what do I need to do ?

Jason Staley

Trick Flow's website say's the 175 heads have 1.230” x 1.990” intake ports. I couldn't find the manifolds port size, but Summit Racing does recommend to use Fel-Pro Gasket Set 1256 with that manifold, which has 1.23" x 1.99" port openings. So that combo probably will work, but I would call Summit, Jegs, or Pace Performance and see if they can confirm that.

Also, Summit Racing has other manifolds too that are more inexpensive, but I can't tell you if they will fit under your stock hood.

Cheeto

Thanks . I can do some searching around on that. As far as manifold goes I dont need to go more $$ I just need it to work with other parts .Would they be able to point out a cam as well (Internet parts houses)

Jason Staley

I would research several cam manufacturer's websites and then call their tech lines for advise. They'll probably want to know the following:

• Desired RPM range you will operate the car in
• The heads your going to use along with the valve springs
• Carb type & size
• Manual or Auto (what stall converter you are going to use)
• Rear end gear ratio & tire diameter
• Approx. weight of your car

Trickflow, Edelbrock, GM, Summit Racing, Jegs, .... lots of cams to choose from. Might just call Trickflow and see if they have a cam designed for those particular heads - would reduce chance of getting a mismatched setup. You will want to make sure the cam is compatible with the valve springs to avoid valve train issues.

augiedoggy

I went with a lunati voodoo 262/268 cam... The 262 and 268 comp cams are also popular for the stock factory gearing in most of the c3 cars.. anything bigger than 268 usually requires a higher than 2000rpm stall converter to work well. for my setup the lunati cam had large performance gains over the comp version in the dyno 2000 software I used with the specs on my heads.

The advice above about the valve springs is good.
Since my voodoo cam is a flat tappet and has an aggressive lobe design I opted to buy the recommended springs from lunati for the valves.

Cheeto

So to use the above Trick Flow heads: Trick Flow cam, 266/272 #31401000 ,Performer intake #2101,new HEI dist. roller rockers,hyd lifters,push rods, hardware ,bolts,gaskets, oh and,Flowtech headers #31106FLT Gonna try and use my stock carb So This is what the Tech worked on today for me

Knerf

why wont that intake fit under your hood, not like a performer is much higher if any higher than a stock intake?

Cheeto

OK So , I have a ton of ideas, parts, part #s and so on. Great info from the site as well. So when you stated why wont that intake fit under hood ,,which are you talking about ? Sorry

Knerf

the one you originally stated in your opening post.

Cheeto

Right. I dont know which parts house tech I was speaking to but he found it in his notes that the particular manifold MAY not fit . I asked if it gave a year or other info on it and got NO. So I moved on