My brain hurts...

[shaun89]

Hey guys.. i am posting here on my bro's name.. (thanks shaun). I have a stock 88 350 in my truck. I recently got a hold of a 4bolt 350. It was a carbed motor. The numbers so far off of it are pointing at a 69-72 block i believe and just some 1.94heads. It was a remanufactured motor (has the aluminum tag) but i would like to build it up. It needs new cam bearings so some machining is needed. I am going to strip it down to block and send it out.

My question is should i leave the stock piston size? and put the money into heads? Or bore it .30 over and get ok heads? My goals are about 300hp and roughly same for torque all on TBI. So far i know i need to bump up the injector pressure and get the chip burned. I have NO clue what a good/cheap set of heads are tho. I am more concerened with having a motor that is very reliable, strong DD, but still can put down a bit of power over stock 100hp im getting now .

I have been reading on thirdgen.org and there is just sooo much info its overwhelming. I would like to go w/ the best torque cam i can for stock tbi. I guess my main concern is not having to do a TON of custom tuning, i'd like to basically tell tbichips.com what my specs are and have them ship me a chip if that was needed. Sorry that all of this seems sooo scatter brained i am taking in a lot of info on this stuff!

Sooo what cam/head/intake combo would you guys best recommend for a stock tbi other than injectors/chip to get some decent power? thanks

 

[British Slave]

It probably already bored over if it's a rebuilt. I would tear it down and mike everything. No telling what the rebuilder did to it.

 

[bigblock72]

You need to pull the motor down and see what you have to work with. Some of the reman motors are scary and you may very well have a pile of scrap on your hands.

IF the bore and pistons are still ok then just leave it alone. At your power levels you don't need anything crazy just the basic rings and bearings will be fine.

Don't waste your money on the stock heads! A set of new vortec heads will cost about the same as having your original heads rebuilt and put you right where you want to be power wise as well. You'll need center bolt valve covers and self aligning rocker arms to match the heads.

As for a cam you won't need much something like this will work fine with the stock vortec springs and still be happy with the TBI computer.http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=CRN-113931&autoview=sku

You'll need to step the fuel pressure up to around 20 PSI with stock 350 injectors to keep everything in check. I'd recommend a big throttle body from http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/454-...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories


Mount that on a performer rpm with an adapter (you'll need to open up the adapter for the big TB) and you'll easily be 300 horse and 400 ft lbs with the right tune.

 

[dyeager535]

Might want to skip the Vortecs and simply go with an aftermarket head that is better all around, like EQ or someone along those lines.

Vortecs are thin castings, pressed in studs, weak springs, and use the Vortec specific intake bolt pattern/intake port, which all adds to decreased reliability and decreased compatibility compared to other aftermarket options, as well as hidden costs such as different intake manifolds, TBI adapters, etc.

 

[shaun89]

awesome thanks guys. What heads other than vortec r great heads that dont require some special intake? I'd like to have the EGR valve still bolt up too.

 

[dyeager535]

If you need emissions legality, you'll probably have little to choose from, so easy choices.

Look at EQ cylinder heads, I bet Summit or Jegs sell them.