96 Vortec truck engine???
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Instructor
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From: Smethport PA
96 Vortec truck engine???
I was wondering if anyone could give me a little info. I had a 95-96ish 5.7 vortec practically given to me today. It was in a bread truck that someone is cutting up for scrap. My question is, do the internals from that engine interchange with regular 350 chevy parts? I've been kinda looking around for a block to start building a 383 out of and can find much info on parts availability for this engine.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Drifting
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From: Middleboro Massachusetts
Originally Posted by Johnboy3
I was wondering if anyone could give me a little info. I had a 95-96ish 5.7 vortec practically given to me today. It was in a bread truck that someone is cutting up for scrap. My question is, do the internals from that engine interchange with regular 350 chevy parts? I've been kinda looking around for a block to start building a 383 out of and can find much info on parts availability for this engine.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Thread Starter
Instructor
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From: Smethport PA
I probably won't have the actual engine until sometime next week. I will get the casting numbers off of it then.
So, if I am understanding things, the short block is a regular 350 chevy correct?
So, if I am understanding things, the short block is a regular 350 chevy correct?
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Originally Posted by Johnboy3
I probably won't have the actual engine until sometime next week. I will get the casting numbers off of it then.
So, if I am understanding things, the short block is a regular 350 chevy correct?
So, if I am understanding things, the short block is a regular 350 chevy correct?
Jeff
Drifting
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From: Middleboro Massachusetts
Originally Posted by ylose
I have one of those in my 1996 Chevy Z71. She has 236,000 miles and still running strong. Daily 80 round trips to work.
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From: The Top of Utah
Originally Posted by ylose
I have one of those in my 1996 Chevy Z71. She has 236,000 miles and still running strong. Daily 80 round trips to work.
Originally Posted by zo6vetteman2003
Interesting motor. How similar is the 5.7 Vortec to the LT1 block?
ylose,
That is a lot of trips to work in a day. I hope it's close to home.
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Drifting
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From: Middleboro Massachusetts
Originally Posted by CFI-EFI
The Vortec block is a conventional Gen I block, which is similar to a Gen II (LTx) block, except for the water passages (reverse cooling) and water outlet ports.
Last edited by zo6vetteman2003; May 31, 2006 at 09:48 PM.
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From: The Top of Utah
The Vortec is an exclusive TRUCK engine. It was introduced in 1996 and uses VIN code "R". If it is a Gen II engine (LTx) why is it that everybody and their brother is swapping Vortec heads onto their Gen I engines? You can't swap LTx heads onto a Gen I because of the Gen II reverse cooling. 1991 was the last year of Gen I usage in Corvettes. *I*, honestly don't know when (or if) GM quit casting Gen I blocks. To the best of my knowledge, GM went straight from the Gen I to the Gen III (LSx) engines, in their trucks. My neighbor has a 1997 Vortec pick up. When he gets home, I'll take a look to see where his distributor is, but I really already know.
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Drifting
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From: Middleboro Massachusetts
Originally Posted by CFI-EFI
The Vortec is an exclusive TRUCK engine. It was introduced in 1996 and uses VIN code "R". If it is a Gen II engine (LTx) why is it that everybody and their brother is swapping Vortec heads onto their Gen I engines? You can't swap LTx heads onto a Gen I because of the Gen II reverse cooling. 1991 was the last year of Gen I usage in Corvettes. *I*, honestly don't know when (or if) GM quit casting Gen I blocks. To the best of my knowledge, GM went straight from the Gen I to the Gen III (LSx) engines, in their trucks. My neighbor has a 1997 Vortec pick up. When he gets home, I'll take a look to see where his distributor is, but I really already know.
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Gen.I, "Medium Journal", includes "Vortec" 305 and 350 thru '98
262...Mains-2.45"-Rods-2.10"
267...Mains-2.45"-Rods-2.10"
302...Mains-2.45"-Rods-2.10"
305...Mains-2.45"-Rods-2.10"
307...Mains-2.45"-Rods-2.10"
327...Mains-2.45"-Rods-2.10"
350...Mains-2.45"-Rods-2.10"
I'm sure if I hunted I could find production numbers too, ending in 1998 for the Gen I.
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From: The Top of Utah
I just got back from checking out my neighbor's 1997 Chevrolet 4X4 pick up, VIN code "R" (Vortec engine). Either he has one of those "rare", six years after they quit making them, Gen I, engine blocks, or he has one of the even rarer, Gen II, LTx, engines with the distributor in the rear, just like my non-Vortec, Gen I, Crossfire.
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Drifting
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From: Middleboro Massachusetts
Originally Posted by CFI-EFI
I just got back from checking out my neighbor's 1997 Chevrolet 4X4 pick up, VIN code "R" (Vortec engine). Either he has one of those "rare", six years after they quit making them, Gen I, engine blocks, or he has one of the even rarer, Gen II, LTx, engines with the distributor in the rear, just like my non-Vortec, Gen I, Crossfire.
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10243880...350...95-00...2 or 4...Vortec truck, Gen.I crate motors and "ZZ4", roller cam, one piece rear seal
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From: The Top of Utah
Originally Posted by zo6vetteman2003
As far as I know, the Gen I production continued through 1991 and later for trucks only.
Originally Posted by CFI-EFI
What makes a Vortec a Vortec, is the heads and the CPFI system.
Originally Posted by CFI-EFI
The Vortec block is a conventional Gen I block, which is similar to a Gen II (LTx) block, except for the water passages (reverse cooling) and water outlet ports. The Vortec has the same cooling flow as designed in 1955. Since it is a post 1986 block it has a one piece rear main seal, provisions for a roller cam and being a truck engine, probably 4 bolt mains. None of these items are Vortec specific. From post #4, "What makes a Vortec a Vortec, is the heads and the CPFI system."
Drifting
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From: Middleboro Massachusetts
Originally Posted by CFI-EFI
Again, the overlapping of posting and writing. And again, it appears we DO finally agree.
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I have one of the "880" shortblocks sitting on my engine stand. I picked it up from a friend who removed it from a 98 or 99 Tahoe he was parting out. He let me have it for free, so I figured I couldn't go wrong. It only has 67K on it, so I thought it might make a nice low compression supercharged project motor down the road. It should clean up real easy. He still has the heads as I don't think I would want to use them? If I want them I can get them...cheap, but my thoughts went to aftermarket instead.
Jeff
Jeff
Drifting
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From: Middleboro Massachusetts
Originally Posted by 406shark
I have one of the "880" shortblocks sitting on my engine stand. I picked it up from a friend who removed it from a 98 or 99 Tahoe he was parting out. He let me have it for free, so I figured I couldn't go wrong. It only has 67K on it, so I thought it might make a nice low compression supercharged project motor down the road. It should clean up real easy. He still has the heads as I don't think I would want to use them? If I want them I can get them...cheap, but my thoughts went to aftermarket instead.
Jeff
Jeff
Cast iron takes 35 more hp to haul it's mass around a track lol! Angle milling is also pretty popular on the Vortecs as I understand if you wanted to stay naturally aspirated. The way it's done is you remove more material on the exhaust side, and your combustion chambers get smaller. What's cool is it also raises the runners, and aids in the deshrouding of the valves, because it moves them more towards the center of the combustion chamber where the flow comes in more direct and unobstructed, this makes more power. Pretty nice if you ask me. Just a rule of thumb, it's by cutting .017" off the exhaust side per inch of cylinder head width. This changes the angle by (1) complete degree. (ex. 23 degrees to 22 degrees) The max. is 1.5 - 2.0 degrees 
or you won't be able to bolt your headers on. 
Last edited by zo6vetteman2003; Jun 2, 2006 at 12:55 AM.
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From: Poulsbo WA
I have a 97 Tahoe with a vortec in it...seems to be a pretty good engine. Only problems that I can think of with them is the intake manifold gaskets are known to leak and the heater outlet on the intake manifold is some funcky POS metal that breaks pretty easily (made of pewter maybe????) I experienced both of these. I had the heater outlet machined out and replaced with a regular cast iron piece after it broke.
As stated before these were truck engines. 96-98 in pickups, up to 99 in tahoe and suburbans, and I believe 00 for vans. May have also been in 3/4 and 1 ton trucks until 2000....but I'm not for sure. As for a post 92 gen 1 sbc being rare...give me a break....how many hundreds of thousands of pickups/suv/vans were made from 1992 through 2000.....the gen 2 sbc are a lot more rare.
As stated before these were truck engines. 96-98 in pickups, up to 99 in tahoe and suburbans, and I believe 00 for vans. May have also been in 3/4 and 1 ton trucks until 2000....but I'm not for sure. As for a post 92 gen 1 sbc being rare...give me a break....how many hundreds of thousands of pickups/suv/vans were made from 1992 through 2000.....the gen 2 sbc are a lot more rare.