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Hey All, So I’m breaking my own rule… I’m putting together a package for my ‘71. ( 350 4spd 4.11 gear ) This is from talking to my engine guy, and the tech’s at AFR, Howard’s and Dewitt’s Rad. Here’s where I’m at so far…
Heads: AFR 180cc street heads. I’m going with 65cc heads to bump the compression from 8.5 to 9.5:1
Intake: Their Eliminator series dual plane intake. ( They said with my L88 hood I’ll be ok height wise. I’m keeping my QUADRAJET, which will be set up again.
Cam: Howard’s Hydraulic roller w/hydraulic roller lifters. I can reuse my 1.6 Howard’s roller rockers. The cam is 560 lift 565 Exh 112 separation, which he said I will still have good vacuum for everything annd a nice lope. I included the cam card. See pic.
I’m reusing my shorty headers but will have to re do the exhaust to 2.25 diameter.
Radiator: DeWitts Pro series ( OE style ) w/o the fan kit.
Water pump: Stewart aluminum standard series
All ARP studs/bolts Felpro gaskets.
I’m hoping this will take me from the stock 270 hp to about 1971 LT 1 hp range, 330hp and 400 torque. The engine only has about 3K-4K miles on it since the rebuild.
Just wondering what you think? Am I missing anything? This is just what I’m planning on paper right now. Thanks for the input, Steve
Should do fine....but if I was doing exhaust over again I'd move to 2.5" at least.
Do you know the actual deck height of the pistons after the rebuild? Don't go too thick on gaskets.....some rebuilder pistons are short and end up way down in the hole and with stock style replacement gaskets can give up a lot of compression. What pistons are in it?
Cam is planned to be installed at 108 I/C..make sure to degree it to ensure you get what you want.
Plan on some distributor recurving with a lot more initial advance.
I haven't run the specs through a dynamic compression ratio calculator, but my initial impression is that it might be a little too much duration for the compression you have. I would shoot for 218-222 degrees of intake duration off the top of my head, but you should find a dynamic compression ratio calculator on line and run the specs. Shoot for about 8:1. Also pay attention to the quench. With a stock block the pistons tend to be a long way down the hole at TDC. Since you aren't decking the block, you may want to think about the thinnest head gasket you can find to improve the quench, and get a little more compression.
Just some stuff to think about. You are definitely in the ballpark.
Does the L88 Hood have the air box built into it? If so you could still run the higher compression without any trouble. The L88 system was designed to provide a 12.5-1 compression ratio engine with COOL intake air allowing it to be driven on the streets with less of an issue with pinging or detonating. It is essentially a cold air intake system on the L88 hood with the air box underneath.
I run 12.25-1 compression on my street driven 1968 C3 Corvette and get away with it because the cooler air makes it a happy engine. The L88 hood can fit a small block with some spacers with the air box. I love the compression as 12.25 to 1 makes for a fun engine to play with. Keep your compression as high as is possible without introducing any bad habits.
If you want to help your engine even more, keep your fuel from behind the radiator. I bring my fuel in from the back of the car over the bell-housing to the throttle body I am using. This keeps the fuel cooler and again makes more power than the pre-heated fuel going through the factory fuel pump location. I also insulated my fuel lines to ensure they stay cool.
Good luck and don't get stuck with a low compression engine, higher compression makes for some real fun!
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Top end rebuild
