Best way to wake up my 350 with 1500 bucks

[76k5blazerr]

So a few months ago I bought a 6.0/4l80 combo that I was going to put into my 72 c10, now I have decided to keep my numbers matching 350 that is in the truck right now, because I just can't afford to finish the LS swap right now with all of the stuff I want to do with the Jimmy. This 350 was rebuilt recently with only 5000 miles on it now and it runs great. I still want to hotrod the truck though, and building the 350 a little will be cheaper than the ls swap, which is what I am looking for right now.

I am thinking heads, cam, intake and a new carb. I already have headers and a good free flowing exhaust. Do any of y'all have experience with one of the "top end kits" you can find on summit. I was looking at an edlebrock kit for 1500 bucks that included a mild cam, aluminum 185cc heads (assembled), a performer intake, new timing gears and chain and I believe new lifters. The only advantage I see to buying a kit versus buying parts separately is that with the kit you know the parts will work well together.

The other option is to recreate a 350 build that hot rod magazine did a while ago, they made something like 385hp and 444 lb ft, with peak torque #s at 3800 rpm. I would be happy with something like this and they did it for 1200 bucks using a summit cam, pro comp 190cc as cast heads and a standard dual plan performance intake, also a 750 holley double pumper.

What advice can you guys give on this matter? I am open to pretty much anything as long as it can be done for 1500 or less because that is what I am getting for my ls setup. I am hoping for around 350 hp - 400 lb ft. I also plan to regear from the current 2.73 setup to either 3.42 or 3.73 and install a locker of some type. Should make for a quick ride and a tire fryer.

 

[vandelay industries]

If those centrifugal superchargers DON'T put as much strain on the crank nose as a "conventional" roots type blower, then i would want to investigate that. As you may know small block chevy crank noses just can't handle the stress of a roots blower.

 

[Bowtie85]

Vortec heads, a good cam such as a comp 4x4 piece and a performer rpm intake and call her a day.

I'd go with a 373 gear if your keeping a 3 speed auto fwiw. What sized tire do you plan to run?

 

[76k5blazerr]

Vortec heads, a good cam such as a comp 4x4 piece and a performer rpm intake and call her a day.

I'd go with a 373 gear if your keeping a 3 speed auto fwiw. What sized tire do you plan to run?

Ok, what excactly do you mean by vortec heads? Is that the heads off the late 90s small blocks? Also planning to run 29 inch tall tires.

 

[sweetk30]

first thing I would do keep the ls stuff .

next ditch the NASTY 2.73 gear and go 3.42 or 3.73 maybe 4.10 the higher is o.k. for later with overdrive swap .

3.42 @70 = 2930rpm / 3.73 @70 = 3200rpm / 4.10 @70 = 3515rpm

that big a jump in gear will make a HUGE seat of the pants felling .

why dump money in to old motor style if you have a ls waiting . . . and the trucks is just a run of the mill truck no limited run special production worth a ton of cash .

grab a good posi or Detroit true-trac when doing the swap . get a solid pinion spacer kit for under 25 bucks do ditch the crush sleave .

 

[76k5blazerr]

first thing I would do keep the ls stuff .

next ditch the NASTY 2.73 gear and go 3.42 or 3.73 maybe 4.10 the higher is o.k. for later with overdrive swap .

3.42 @70 = 2930rpm / 3.73 @70 = 3200rpm / 4.10 @70 = 3515rpm

that big a jump in gear will make a HUGE seat of the pants felling .

why dump money in to old motor style if you have a ls waiting . . . and the trucks is just a run of the mill truck no limited run special production worth a ton of cash .

grab a good posi or Detroit true-trac when doing the swap . get a solid pinion spacer kit for under 25 bucks do ditch the crush sleave .

The LS swap just seems to nickel and dime you to death. I will be in it for more money than if I spend a little on the small block. I'm looking at probably another 1000 bucks just to get it in my truck and running. I agree on the gearing though, and I may try to find a 700r4 to run, so I can go to 4.10 gears.

 

[Bowtie85]

Ok, what excactly do you mean by vortec heads? Is that the heads off the late 90s small blocks? Also planning to run 29 inch tall tires.

96-98 were vortec. Should be able to find a set at a junk yard cheap enough.

If your gonna run a 29" tire I'd prob go for a 410 if your gonna do light highway driving.

Had 27" tires w/3:73 gears and it was manageable on the highway in my Beaumont.

 

[76k5blazerr]

96-98 were vortec. Should be able to find a set at a junk yard cheap enough.

If your gonna run a 29" tire I'd prob go for a 410 if your gonna do light highway driving.

Had 27" tires w/3:73 gears and it was manageable on the highway in my Beaumont.

What is the deal with the vortec heads? Are they aluminum? They bolt right on to a gen 1 sec I assume? What cam would I want to run with them? And can you bolt a standard SBC intake to them?

 

[Russell]

I'd add fuel injection to the list. There are plenty of advantages to having active fuel and timing management.

Vortec heads are cast iron. They have a unique intake bolt pattern and port locations. They bolt right up to the older blocks however. A good set of aftermarket heads will outperform them without much effort though.

 

[76k5blazerr]

I'd add fuel injection to the list. There are plenty of advantages to having active fuel and timing management.

Vortec heads are cast iron. They have a unique intake bolt pattern and port locations. They bolt right up to the older blocks however. A good set of aftermarket heads will outperform them without much effort though.

Think I will stick to aftermarket aluminum heads then, definitely going to consider something like FAST efi in the future.

 

[Blue85]

The LS swap just seems to nickel and dime you to death. I'm looking at probably another 1000 bucks just to get it in my truck and running.

If you have $1500 to spend and it's $1000 to get the LS in, then what's the problem? That doesn't include swapping to the 4L80? Seems like swapping the LS motor and tranny would be cheaper than sprucing up the old engine and adding a FAST system.

 

[76k5blazerr]

If you have $1500 to spend and it's $1000 to get the LS in, then what's the problem? That doesn't include swapping to the 4L80? Seems like swapping the LS motor and tranny would be cheaper than sprucing up the old engine and adding a FAST system.

FAST system will be later. Only reason I have 1500 to spend is because thats how much I sold the LS for. If I had kept the LS I wouldn't have had the money to finish the swap. What do you guys think of this setup,

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-2022/overview/make/chevrolet

 

[Snoozer]

That's probably a good setup. Sounds like the exhaust end of things is solid, and the engine is fresh too.

Personally, I've never been a fan of Holley carbs. But that opinion isn't worth much, as there are many who ARE fans of Holleys. I have become a fan of SMI carbs. https://www.smicarburetor.com Sean Murphy hand builds Rochester Quadrates (and Holleys) to your engine and driving specs. Since you know the specs of the cylinder heads and camshaft, he has a formula to build the Qjet so you that you can basically bolt it on, set the ignition timing, maybe make a few outer adjustments, and go! That was my case when I bought mine 2 years ago. I did NOT know my cylinder head and camshaft specs, so he asked me to record my vacuum readings for him at varying rpms. I installed the Qjet, did some fine tune adjustments per the included instructions (ANY carb will require that), and 2 days later drove my rig from Denver to Moab. The carb never stalled, choked, sputtered... not once. Did another four wheeling trip to Ouray, CO this past fall. The highest elevation on one of the trails I saw a sign for was 13,000 feet above sea level. Again, the Qjet did great; no complaints. It was around $500, which is basically what a Holley 750 costs. But I didn't have to mess around with rejetting the Qjet. Years ago, a friend of mine put a Holley Street Avenger on his HT383 crate engine, and has never been able to get it to perform to his liking; even after multiple times rejetting, etc.

I know your truck is a 2wd, so it'll only see the pavement. But I thought my experience with my Qjet at varying elevation and being almost nose-up and nose-down on some trails would give a good testament to the design of the Qjet and the expertise quality control of SMI. Plus... since you're already motivated to keep the "numbers matching" 350, the Rochester Qjet will look right at home sitting on top of it. It sounds so cool hearing the Qjet's massive secondaries open up when you drop the hammer!! And the small primaries will help with fuel economy too; that's all by design.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[76k5blazerr]

That's probably a good setup. Sounds like the exhaust end of things is solid, and the engine is fresh too.

Personally, I've never been a fan of Holley carbs. But that opinion isn't worth much, as there are many who ARE fans of Holleys. I have become a fan of SMI carbs. https://www.smicarburetor.com Sean Murphy hand builds Rochester Quadrates (and Holleys) to your engine and driving specs. Since you know the specs of the cylinder heads and camshaft, he has a formula to build the Qjet so you that you can basically bolt it on, set the ignition timing, maybe make a few outer adjustments, and go! That was my case when I bought mine 2 years ago. I did NOT know my cylinder head and camshaft specs, so he asked me to record my vacuum readings for him at varying rpms. I installed the Qjet, did some fine tune adjustments per the included instructions (ANY carb will require that), and 2 days later drove my rig from Denver to Moab. The carb never stalled, choked, sputtered... not once. Did another four wheeling trip to Ouray, CO this past fall. The highest elevation on one of the trails I saw a sign for was 13,000 feet above sea level. Again, the Qjet did great; no complaints. It was around $500, which is basically what a Holley 750 costs. But I didn't have to mess around with rejetting the Qjet. Years ago, a friend of mine put a Holley Street Avenger on his HT383 crate engine, and has never been able to get it to perform to his liking; even after multiple times rejetting, etc.

I know your truck is a 2wd, so it'll only see the pavement. But I thought my experience with my Qjet at varying elevation and being almost nose-up and nose-down on some trails would give a good testament to the design of the Qjet and the expertise quality control of SMI. Plus... since you're already motivated to keep the "numbers matching" 350, the Rochester Qjet will look right at home sitting on top of it. It sounds so cool hearing the Qjet's massive secondaries open up when you drop the hammer!! And the small primaries will help with fuel economy too; that's all by design.

That's my 2 cents.

So does that guy you are talking about build your Q-jet to spec if you send him your carb? Because I do have a q-jet on the motor at the moment, it has always had a bog when you floor it but it does get good mileage. I feel like having it built to my "new" motor would definetly be more economically than buying a new carb. And I do like q-jets I am just not experienced with tuning or rebuilding one.

 

[Snoozer]

So does that guy you are talking about build your Q-jet to spec if you send him your carb? Because I do have a q-jet on the motor at the moment, it has always had a bog when you floor it but it does get good mileage. I feel like having it built to my "new" motor would definetly be more economically than buying a new carb. And I do like q-jets I am just not experienced with tuning or rebuilding one.

I think they do. I do know that some Qjet models were better than others. Maybe record the model number off yours so you can run it by them to see if that's a good one to work with. I have tried to rebuild Qjets a few times, and have always been disappointed. Plus, SMI does other mods to it that would require special tools to do. There's more to it than getting a "rebuild kit" from O'Reillys.

The one I got from SMI was updated with an electric choke, yet still had the APT (Adjustable Part Throttle) that was discontinued in the later year models. -So basically, I got the best of both worlds as far as adjustability and no-fuss engine warm-ups. And it looked brand spanking new when I opened the box, like I bought it from the parts dept. at a GM dealership.

Give them a call or email. They were good guys to work with.

 

[76k5blazerr]

I think they do. I do know that some Qjet models were better than others. Maybe record the model number off yours so you can run it by them to see if that's a good one to work with. I have tried to rebuild Qjets a few times, and have always been disappointed. Plus, SMI does other mods to it that would require special tools to do. There's more to it than getting a "rebuild kit" from O'Reillys.

The one I got from SMI was updated with an electric choke, yet still had the APT (Adjustable Part Throttle) that was discontinued in the later year models. -So basically, I got the best of both worlds as far as adjustability and no-fuss engine warm-ups. And it looked brand spanking new when I opened the box, like I bought it from the parts dept. at a GM dealership.

Give them a call or email. They were good guys to work with.

I am going to give them a call.

 

[Snoozer]

Oh... one more thing. They preach about Qjets needing a very specific fuel pressure, otherwise it can hamper performance. Qjets (and probably true of most/all carbs) like "volume" not "pressure". So expect them to suggest installing a fuel pressure regulator.

 

[1-ton]

The list of parts from Eldelbrock you listed is a lot of stuff for only $1500. If you can get that Edelbrock kit for $1500, I would go for it. I say KISS. Once you start going with Vortec heads and EFI it starts getting complicated with intake manifolds, head gaskets, and sensors.

 

[Bowtie85]

What is the deal with the vortec heads? Are they aluminum? They bolt right on to a gen 1 sec I assume? What cam would I want to run with them? And can you bolt a standard SBC intake to them?

Vortec specific intake. One of the better stock iron heads you can get. Not sure what's done to your motor, so as far as cam choice a guy needs to know more.


I've had good luck with Holley street avengers, my personal carb of choice. Although like said a good qjet is pretty good too!

 

[76k5blazerr]

Looks like I'm going to go for the edlebrock kit. Going to pull the motor and trans tomorrow and then start ordering parts.