Hi I'm new here, I have a 1976 l82 motor and a set of 062 casting Vortec heads, does anyone know what type of cam and rockers I should use with the heads? I was looking into the Comp cams 268H cam and kit. Ideally id like to get a choppy sounding idle and around 400 HP.

 

What do you want out of the car? Weekend warrior, pro touring.....what is the 400HP for?

 

The 400HP is gonna be for a weekend warrior, Im not aiming for pro touring, yet haha

 

If your target is 400 HP (at the flywheel?), you're going to need headers, a true dual exhaust system (sans the pancake catalytic converter), better flowing heads than the 062 castings, a better flowing intake than stock, and a bigger cam than the Comp Cams 268H.

The combination you've mentioned so far would work well on the street with plenty of bottom end torque and a decent overlap for nice sounding idle. I'd just stick with that plus some carb tuning to maximize your fun while keeping the dollars spent down.

The stock Vortec heads will require "self-aligning" rockers that have guides on either side of the rocker tip to keep the rocker centered on the valve stem. Comp Cams makes them as do several other manufacturers. Personally, I like the Comp Cams Mangnum self-aligning rockers best for street machine , but YMMV.

Hope this info helps!

 

How much HP should i be expecting from this setup? i do have headers and true dual exhaust. As of right now, ill be using 1.5 rockers, and an edelbrock performer RPM intake.

 

Given that information and assuming that your cam is the High Energy 268H, you should see an honest 300-320 HP at the flywheel at 5,500 RPM. (The two limiting factors on this combo are the Vortec heads with the smallish intake valves and the cam's modest lift (0.454" I/E. Vortec heads flow well, but are designed for low and mid-range torque.)

The only other concern that I have is that you said that you're using a Edelbrock Performer RPM intake. First, I didn't know that Edelbrock made a Performance RPM intake that would work with the Vortec head bolt pattern. Additionally, all the Vortec intakes that I do know of are square bore, not spread bore, patterns. Have you upgraded to a Holley or Edelbrock square bore?

Also, the Performer RPM is really designed for a 1,500-6,500 RPM operating range while the Comp Cams 268H is really a 1,500-5,500 RPM cam. That's a mismatch right there plus a Performer RPM intake should be fed by 2.02" intake valves to take advantage of the intake's flow potential.

Could you clarify exactly which intake and carb you're planning to use? Thanks!

 

From the last build I did, I can tell you the Vortec head's you're thinking of using there are quite capable of producing 400hp, with a good port job you can make some really nice number's from them, and get some really nice flow....ive heard of even 300 before!! Rare yes, and a lot of GOOD work... but still, the fact remains you can attain 400hp fairly easy.

The cam, and intake you choose will determine you're hp output. And, as much as I hate to knock anyone on here...the best thing you can do is call up Comp cam's or who ever you're going to use for the cam, tell them what you wish to do, and have them tell you the cam you should rely on. Roller's are obvious...headers as well... a EB performer intake will handle that power, if able to use with those heads, not sure..I went old school with my builds, always using a good set of 492 DH's, but that intake always did what I wanted it to. As far as carb... a EB 650 should be fine for what you want, if you're not absolutely sure of carb tuning a EB is so much easier than a Holley, but that's just my 2 cents. EVERYONE you ask will have different thoughts. For me, I hate Holley's. To much crap to deal with. And the single most common thing I see or rather hear all the time...?? Over carbed motors. Some idiot drops a Holley 750 Double Pumper on a rather mild engine build then wonder's why they cant get her tuned right.... Common sense is a beautiful thing when building a good strong everyday engine. PLAN PLAN PLAN... trust me, you do not want to waste time or money on parts you cant use!!! Good Luck!

 

From what I see I think you get the most bang for the $ by building a stroker.

 

80 Vette - A stroker is great IF you add bigger heads, cam, and better intake. If not, your peak hp will simply move down the rpm band. A way to do this in two parts is to do a bigger top end for a 350, that will accommodate a 383/406 later. AFR 195s or 210s are a little big on a 350, but just right for a 383/406.