SBC 350 help:

[ridingreiss16]

Was going to do the LS but after making choices going to rebuild the 350 up so I can get my truck down quicker. A good buddy of mine and I were planning on building my motor up to be able to be a daily driver in the day time but a racer at night. Was planning on putting some new heads, cam, intake, carb, etc. Mostly top end. Any opinions or recommendations? Thanks a lot!

[Marv D]

It's all about budget

You can make a 350 unbelievably fast... and $'s fly out of your wallet in the similar fashion. I know one NMCA guy that held the n/a world record for 2 years in his 69 camaro with a 950+HP normally aspirated, 9800rpm, single 4150 carburated, gasoline burning 355 cu. in. small block. But he had nearly $30k in the motor alone.

Only 2 recomendations I'll make for a daily drive that sees track time,,
AFR heads are a great entry level street/strip head. One of the few companies that will guarentee flow numbers to be within 1% of advertised,, Dart, World, Broidix,,, all of them inflate their advertised numbers for 'out of the box' heads.Using pipes and adapters to unshroud the valves has become SAP (standard ADVERTISING proceedures) these days. It's refereshing to see someone like Tony Mamo say they flow 280,, they flow 280 within 3fcm on any reputable flowbench. And it's not all about flow numbers. Keeping port volocity in a street motor is WAY more important than brute flow capabilities. Look for a head that has the better flow in the mid to mad lift of the cam you plan to run

And on that subject,, hydraulic roller or solid roller. PERIOD! Flat tappet cams are a thing of the past. Don't waste your time (or $) on anything but a roller. Reliability and power potential is unparalleled by the 70 year old design of the flat tappet pushrod motor.

You don't build castles on sand... If your not starting with a FRESH block and rotating assembly,,, you fooling yourself thinking you can slap a cam and heads on a old tired short block and have it anything but a oil slobbering , cylinder pressure leaking pig with a dress,,,, you should seriously reconsider your whole plan. Making power is about cylinder pressure. If the cylinders are leaking because of worn rings, and stock cast pistons in a so-so bore with high cylinder pressure,, and tired bearings,,, is a time bomb. You'll find lots of used parts and pieces all over craigslist and evelbay at 1/3 the cost from people who thought it wasn't.

[ridingreiss16]

Thank you very much! What would be a good cc head from AFR for street/strip?

[Marv D]

Originally Posted by ridingreiss16

Thank you very much! What would be a good cc head from AFR for street/strip?

That depends on how much power and how high of a RPM you are willing to tuen.
A 355 spinning 6000rpm may be totally happy with a 180cc head
One spinning 7500 and making 450-500+HP may want a head more in the 195cc range.

Lift, airflow, duration, compression, intake, exhaust.. it's a 'combination'

$1500 will buy you a entry level head,, be prepared to add for springs, rockers, a set of head bolts with washers, the required gasket for aluminum heads,,, ..... $1500 just became $2100 and you don't even have the roller rockers, a roller cam, pushrods, lifters, carb, intake, exhaust, converer, gears tires... If your under the false impression this is anything other than a VERY expensive money pit of a hobby.... think again!! LOL

There is this thing called the faster faster gaster afliction... Once bitten... it's a very slippery slope to the bottom sitting on a street corner with a sign saying...

"will work for race gas

[ridingreiss16]

Im 16 and working pay check to paycheck for this motor lol, if I spent $1,500 on heads and put just the heads on, could you tell a dramtic difference? I would like to get the heads before I buy a cam, carb, etc.

[Captainfab]

I agree that it does depend on your budget, but also exactly what you want from your truck and how soon you want to drive your truck.

If you're wanting an all out bad a** 350 in your truck and you don't mind waiting a couple years before you drive it again, then by all means go the route suggested by Marv D and Super73. They know how to build an engine, but it will cost you and take a while for a teenager on a tight budget to get there.

What I would suggest is first checking out the bottom end and make sure it is in decent condition. Then I would add a good set of cast iron 'entry level' heads. I like the Vortec heads. I will agree that a roller cam is the best way to go. Start out with a cam appropriate for the rest of the combo, and you can reuse the lifters when you decide to step it up some more. I would top this with a Edelbrock performer RPM intake and a 650-670 cfm Holley. IMO this would be a good starting point and you can either build this same engine as funds and experience grows, or pickup another engine to build slowly as you can afford and then swap the engine on a weekend.

Originally Posted by ridingreiss16

Was going to do the LS but after making choices going to rebuild the 350 up so I can get my truck down quicker. A good buddy of mine and I were planning on building my motor up to be able to be a daily driver in the day time but a racer at night. Was planning on putting some new heads, cam, intake, carb, etc. Mostly top end. Any opinions or recommendations? Thanks a lot!

Originally Posted by ridingreiss16

Im 16 and working pay check to paycheck for this motor lol, if I spent $1,500 on heads and put just the heads on, could you tell a dramtic difference? I would like to get the heads before I buy a cam, carb, etc.

[Money_pit]

Go find a set of the old double hump heads the 2.02/1.60's throw a hyd roller in it drive it till you got the dough to drop 1500 on heads alone. Cause roller rockers are a couple hundred a good manifold,stall,and headers screams money money money

[Super73]

My advice would be.. Instead of spending $1,500 on the heads, put it in the bank and keep building a truck savings. Figure out your goals and start adding the numbers up. When you have enough in savings to pay for the combo that will meet your goals, then drop the coin.

There are very few things I would buy used. Heads are NOT one of them. Guides could be worn, springs might need to be replaced, install height might be off, valve job might be off. With fixing a used head, you could be in it way more than a nice new set.

[Blue Rat]

I'm thinking a strong bottom end. Forge pistons balanced assembly. A good set of vortecs with matched valve springs for the camshaft.Then of course later the bug will just bite a little deeper.

Camshaft http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cc...42-2/overview/

Intake Performer rpm or the air gap intake an Holley 650 DP or 750 VAC.

Ignition MSD setup.

[Super73]

I do not disagree with building the bottom end to start.

Buy a set of hydraulic roller retro lifters and and put a roller cam in it. However what you choose for a cam today well most likely change when you poor a good set of heads on it.

[Blue Rat]

Originally Posted by Super73

I do not disagree with building the bottom end to start.

Buy a set of hydraulic roller retro lifters and and put a roller cam in it. However what you choose for a cam today well most likely change when you poor a good set of heads on it.

I just tried to come up with a little more reasonable option for him. Because I don't know what his budget is like. I do agree too Super73.