?'s about 96-00 vortec 350's

[G_Body_Enthusiast]

I was thinking of getting a 96-00 vortec engine from the local pull a part but I have some questions first.

is the EFI worth keeping? I wouldn't mind going to EFI but is it worth the added expense of getting the wiring harness and computer for it?
Could I use a GN in tank fuel pump to get fuel to the engine?

How does the factory roller cam act with a carburetor? could it be retained for use with a carb or should another roller cam be used with a carb? By carb I'm thinking a Qjet.

Does the accessory drive system fit under the hood of our cars? I can get a complete engine with accessories for 225 bucks so if the accessory drive system will fit that'd be great.

What about the fuel pump boss? how easy is it to make it functional for a mechanical fuel pump?

If the cam is changed how much lift and duration should be I looking for to replace it with a similar cam? like if I need one to use a mechanical fuel pump.

I'm sure I'll have more questions soon enough.

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

Here is a list of what to look out for when buying junkyard Vortec heads but also works for whole engines, this is from Crankshaft Coalition.

When buying Vortec heads from junkyards (or any head for that matter), the chances increase that the heads will be cracked. There are ways to tip the odds in your favor, though.
To find heads from an assembled engine that have a better than average chance of being uncracked, look for:
heads from a wrecked vehicle. These stand an excellent chance of being good, as long as the other things listed here pass inspection.
engines that do not have the thermostat removed. A missing thermostat is an indication the engine was running hot.
engines that still have antifreeze in them. Engines with straight water, or without any coolant showing, may well have been losing coolant. No one replaces leaking coolant with antifreeze- they will use straight water "until I fix it". By then, it's often too late.
engines with water in the oil or oil in the water. This is a sure sign of a blown head gasket or cracked casting, either of which can lead to overheating and cracked heads.
vehicles that do not have antifreeze receipts or antifreeze or water jugs laying around inside the vehicle. That's another sure sign there was a problem with the cooling system.
Look for heads having a spark plug (or spark plugs from adjacent cylinders) with no unusually colored deposits- or a lack of deposits that were removed by coolant getting into the chamber(s). Head gaskets leaking or a cracked casting that lets coolant into the combustion chamber will make the plugs look a lot different than a normal plug- look for uniformity.
Look for engines that do not have evidence of stop leak in the radiator/cooling system. If it has stop leak, it was leaking. If it was leaking there's too big of a chance it overheated and cracked the heads.
Signs of stop leak use is a sludgy or copper/silver colored metallic accumulation inside the radiator fill neck, the same thing under the radiator cap, and possibly even in the overflow tank.

Personally I would just run the stock CCC system on it, alot of people use in tank fuel pumps for GNs and TBI V6 MCs.

Stock Vortecs have a Max. Valve Lift: 0.420” which allows 0.030” retainer-to-seal, you can either machine the bosses down for more lift, or use Crane Cam p/n 10309-1 springs to gain 0.550” lift.

If you go with a carburetor, it would make sense to change the EFI cam out for a carb one. GM makes a Qjet Vortec intake with EGR provision, GMpartsdirect has about the best price for them.

 

[beeterolds]

What I used with great success is a set of Comp retainers Part # 787-16 in conjunction with a set LS1 beehive springs.. The keepers will run ya $50 and people basically throw away stock LS1 beehives... I was only able to get .455 lift out of my springs before the keeper hit the seal... The comp retainers are thinner and after a few quick measurements I was able to obtain .535 lift ability allowing us to run a healthy roller cam without the worry of interference and without a trip to the machine shop.

 

[G_Body_Enthusiast]

I'm not concerned with more lift, I'm wondering which roller cams will fit without necessarily having to change springs but I'm not opposed to changing out springs.

what are the specs on a factory roller cam?

 

[beeterolds]

I'm not concerned with more lift, I'm wondering which roller cams will fit without necessarily having to change springs but I'm not opposed to changing out springs.

what are the specs on a factory roller cam?

Depends on the cam, early L98 variants were between .410 to .430... Very mild..
Even the Vortec cams weren't anything to write home about..
Theres also the LT1 cam .450-.460 but you are still risking interference.

 

[G_Body_Enthusiast]

I was thinking .430-.450. I thought that might be good without going too big. Doesn't need to be an all out kind of cam.

 

[ssn696]

GM says that the new in the box Vortec heads (for the 'R' engine) are good to 0.460" lift. I would not recommend the R engine injection system...not much support for changing the engine performance. The TBI systems were simpler and easier to work on, although still not a performance-oriented engine (lok for 'TBIchips' on EBay.) With any OEM EFI experiment, the best way is to start with a complete running motor in the vehicle. Then you are sure it runs, and you have all the various knick-knacks necessary to make it run. Including belts, sensors, brackets, wiring etc. If you are starting from zero, you'll waste a lot of time an money chasing bits. Sometimes one thing is missing and the whole thing won't run.

I'd suggest your consider the EX-EFI system. I've read good things about it, but it's a chunk of change. The advantage is you can swap in better and better performance stuff and the system will 'learn' the new settings all by itself.

Vortecs seem to have the best flow characteristics of all the iron GM heads short of Bow Tie stuff. You need the special intake with the 8 corner bolts...the EZ EFI bolts on in place of the carb, so you can start simple and add EFI later.

If you decide you want to try old school EFI, I have two pairs of refurbed heads, one TBI 350 and one TPI 350, decked and 3-angle valve job. I have the TPI computer and runners, plus other stuff...but I told you that stuff above 'cause I learned the hard way...

There was a recent post of someone selling a pair on new in the box Vortecs yesterday...