Alright, so I'm looking to upgrade from my 305HO to a bigger motor. My question is, am I smarter to go the route of a 355, or a 383 stroker? My biggest concern is reliability, as I drive my Monte Carlo almost every day in the summer. I'm leaning toward the 355. My second and really only other concern is cost. I have a lot of money sunk into my 305 and would like to try to keep this a little friendlier on the wallet. Whatever you guys could suggest as far as heads, and a good lopey cam to go with it. I've already got an Edelbrock Performer Air-Gap Intake, and Headers, and a 750 cfm Edelbrock carb...but am open to any and all suggestions! Thanks a lot!
Need some advice!
- Thread starter Garrow215
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Well, the intake, carb, and headers will swap over to whatever you choose. It really depends on your budget. A 350 or 383 could both be used in a daily driver. My last 383 was a daily driver and the one I'm getting ready to drop in my car now will be a daily driver, too.
Reliability shouldn't be a concern with either the 350 or 383 as long as both are built right. For a daily street engine, forget about horsepower numbers. Look for the highest torque numbers in the idle - 5000 rpm area. That's what makes a fun street engine.
As far as heads you have numerous choices. Vortecs, aftermarket iron heads, aftermarket aluminum heads, they all really depend on how far you want to go and the expected output.
Same situation with the cam. Flat tappet hydraulic, hydraulic roller, solid roller, and power range. Honestly, *lopey cam* is a subjective term meaning what we both call lopey may be very differant. Pick the cam for the power range you want. A cam that's *too small* will always be better than having to live with a cam that is *too big*, especially with an automatic transmission.
Reliability shouldn't be a concern with either the 350 or 383 as long as both are built right. For a daily street engine, forget about horsepower numbers. Look for the highest torque numbers in the idle - 5000 rpm area. That's what makes a fun street engine.
As far as heads you have numerous choices. Vortecs, aftermarket iron heads, aftermarket aluminum heads, they all really depend on how far you want to go and the expected output.
Same situation with the cam. Flat tappet hydraulic, hydraulic roller, solid roller, and power range. Honestly, *lopey cam* is a subjective term meaning what we both call lopey may be very differant. Pick the cam for the power range you want. A cam that's *too small* will always be better than having to live with a cam that is *too big*, especially with an automatic transmission.
Cool. I'd like a real torque monster. Say I went with the vortec heads, .030 over...will my intake still bolt up? I read that with those heads you need a "vortec" style intake. I've also heard good things about the xe262 (not sure if that's the right number) from Comp Cams. If anyone is running one could you post a link so maybe I could hear what it sounds like? Any other suggestions or tricks? Thanks a lot!
The Vortec heads do need a specific intake for those heads.
Here's the recommended rpm ranges of a few hydraulic flat tappet cams:
XE 262 - 1300 - 5600 218* - 224* duration 110* LSA
XE 268 - 1600 - 5800 224* - 230* duration 110* LSA
279TH7 (smallest Thumper cam) 2000 - 5800 227* - 241* 107* LSA
287TH7 (middle Thumper cam) 2200 - 6100 235* - 249* 107* LSA
I ran a Comp 262 cam in my 350. It is a fairly mild cam. I don't have a sound clip but there's not much to listen to. Here's one on Youtube of the XE262 cam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsCh0HVsQXk
If you're wanting some lope, I'd suggest going up one level to the XE 268 which is a very highly recommended cam. Here's a clip of it in a 355: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kukI2LnxrqY & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wleOWrue2Bc
The Mutha Thumper cam are usually higher duration on a tighter Lobe Seperation Angle (107* vs 110* - 112*) which kills lower end torque. It can also have engine vacuum so low that it affects your power brakes. Sounds meaner than hell though! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKOvjClqC30 & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOGQ3M2flso
I had a Can Dynamics 3/4 Race Cam (Yeah, that was the name of it) with 230* @ .050" duration and .465" lift on a 106* LSA. Sounded real good. Until you got over 3000 rpm the engine was a dog. Good thing it had a 4 speed.
Here's the recommended rpm ranges of a few hydraulic flat tappet cams:
XE 262 - 1300 - 5600 218* - 224* duration 110* LSA
XE 268 - 1600 - 5800 224* - 230* duration 110* LSA
279TH7 (smallest Thumper cam) 2000 - 5800 227* - 241* 107* LSA
287TH7 (middle Thumper cam) 2200 - 6100 235* - 249* 107* LSA
I ran a Comp 262 cam in my 350. It is a fairly mild cam. I don't have a sound clip but there's not much to listen to. Here's one on Youtube of the XE262 cam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsCh0HVsQXk
If you're wanting some lope, I'd suggest going up one level to the XE 268 which is a very highly recommended cam. Here's a clip of it in a 355: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kukI2LnxrqY & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wleOWrue2Bc
The Mutha Thumper cam are usually higher duration on a tighter Lobe Seperation Angle (107* vs 110* - 112*) which kills lower end torque. It can also have engine vacuum so low that it affects your power brakes. Sounds meaner than hell though! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKOvjClqC30 & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOGQ3M2flso
I had a Can Dynamics 3/4 Race Cam (Yeah, that was the name of it) with 230* @ .050" duration and .465" lift on a 106* LSA. Sounded real good. Until you got over 3000 rpm the engine was a dog. Good thing it had a 4 speed.
Doug, that xe268 is exactly the cam I was looking for! Do you have an exact part #? I checked on Summit and saw a few different ones and I wasn't sure. If I could also pick your brain about some heads...I thought about some aftermarket aluminum heads, or if I could find a good set locally and have them re-done. What would be the best bet in your opinion for a real torquey 355? Thanks so much!
The cam depends on which block you have. There is one for the 2 piece rear main seal block, and one for the 1 pc RMS block.
As for the heads, I'd look at some made by Patriot or Edelbrock's. If you can swing it, I love my AFR's but they are pricey. Maybe keep an eye out for some used ones but have them checked out for damage! Keep the volume down so the velocity is high. Something in the 180-195 range. Anything smaller and they won't flow enough and anything bigger will have lazier airflow at lower rpm's. Keep the compression in the 9.5 or 10-1 range. You basically want to optimize your engines effiencieny in the 1500-5000 to 6000 rpm range. Leave the big heads (210+) and big cams to the guys who run their engines in the over 6000 rpm range. You want strong flow in the rpm range you will be operating in.
Get lots of books on engines and read them. Read them again. And again. Lingenfelter (RIP John...) wrote an excellant book on engines and so did David Vizard. David has several books out but I'd start with these...
http://www.amazon.com/Build-Chevy-Small ... 094&sr=1-3
http://www.amazon.com/How-Rebuild-Your- ... 094&sr=1-6
http://www.lingenfelter.com/mm5/merchan ... y_Code=P03
Even if you have somone else do your engine, you'll know what's needed to acheive your expected goals :wink:
As for the heads, I'd look at some made by Patriot or Edelbrock's. If you can swing it, I love my AFR's but they are pricey. Maybe keep an eye out for some used ones but have them checked out for damage! Keep the volume down so the velocity is high. Something in the 180-195 range. Anything smaller and they won't flow enough and anything bigger will have lazier airflow at lower rpm's. Keep the compression in the 9.5 or 10-1 range. You basically want to optimize your engines effiencieny in the 1500-5000 to 6000 rpm range. Leave the big heads (210+) and big cams to the guys who run their engines in the over 6000 rpm range. You want strong flow in the rpm range you will be operating in.
Get lots of books on engines and read them. Read them again. And again. Lingenfelter (RIP John...) wrote an excellant book on engines and so did David Vizard. David has several books out but I'd start with these...
http://www.amazon.com/Build-Chevy-Small ... 094&sr=1-3
http://www.amazon.com/How-Rebuild-Your- ... 094&sr=1-6
http://www.lingenfelter.com/mm5/merchan ... y_Code=P03
Even if you have somone else do your engine, you'll know what's needed to acheive your expected goals :wink:
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