SOT - Chev V8 Info, Want to educate myself on engines Options

[riverman]

Before I go out and buy my motor for my conversion, I want to be sure I'm getting what I want and I also need to learn some things so I know what I'm talking about.

First off, I'm not a real 'motor-head' and everything I've learned about 914's I've just picked up as I've gone along. This forum has been an awesome resource so far. Now that I'm getting ready to buy my motor, I need to get educated on Chevy small-blocks. I realise that this forum isn't the best place for this discussion, but if one of you more experienced and knowledgable members could push me in the right direction, I would really appreciate it. What I am looking for are websites or forums that can provide me with general knowledge about SBC's and what performance up-grades are available.

My initial research has me leaning towards a 305 because it's torque characteristics seem to match up best with the 901 tranny. I'm not looking for a super powerful engine, just something in the 225hp (or higher) range that revs high enough to match up well with the 901's stock gearing. I would also like to keep the low-end torque relatively low to help perserve the tranny. I would also like to learn something about aluminum heads, different cams, fuel injection, and other mods that can be done to small-block Chevy's.

And before all you Suby guys chime in here, I already have the adapter plate, starter, and engine mounts for a Chev conversion so I probably won't turn back.

[byndbad914]

QUOTE (ewdysar @ Mar 24 2006, 09:57 AM)

QUOTE (riverman @ Mar 24 2006, 05:38 AM) I found an engine shop yesterday run by these three old-timers.  I ended up having an in-depth conversation with all three of them about the project.  After some intitial bewilderment (You're doin' what?) they all got totally stoked on the whole concept.  Their opinion is that a slightly modified 327 would best serve my puposes.  The three of them  said that they would put their minds to it and I am going to to a little more leg work and then we're going to sit down and talk it all through. IMHO, 327 is a pretty good answer (check my sig). Eric (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif)

yeah - what he said. If you are really hell-bent on having an engine built instead of going the easy route, I highly recommend this combo for a streetable/fun AX/DE car (should be great HP) - cheap and good (hey, cheap is a good thing!)

Later model hyd roller 350 2-bolt block (already designed for a hyd roller is why). Have them refresh it and deck/square the block to 9.00" exact.
Add ARP studs to the mains.
3.25" stroke cast steel Chinese crank (I have built the forged Chinese stuff in a 347cube Ford that ran in the upper 8s in a 10" tire class when that stuff first hit the market, so don't knock it - the cast stuff is pretty strong too, plenty strong for 350-400HP)
6" Chinese H-beam rods - cheap, and then have the machine shop resize the big end to better match whatever the crank journals are.
flattop off-the-shelf SRP pistons - what I have in mine, nice price and solid design. 1.375" compression height.
AFR 195cc CNC heads (the 280+cfm intake set) bare (don't get them assembled as the components are crap, but the heads are priced great). Use a decent quality intake/exh valve (REV/SSI are reasonable price v. quality and some more expensive valves aren't better and can flow worse in fact). Add a good dual spring (rates will have to be set to match the cam choice in the end) and titanium retainers are cheap enough to be worthwhile. Typical hyd street roller (the 230deg cam I will mention shortly) you want about 120lbs on the seat and 320-ish lbs at max lift.

To keep short valve covers in the car (for firewall clearance), there are some cheap shaft mount rocker sets out there for these heads - Jesel has them, but Probe is cheaper and plenty strong for this application! No need for tall poly-locks or stud girdles. I have Probes on my race engine (though the Canfield heads arbitrarily increased the price 40% to my dismay due to the intake valve offset). They aren't as cheap as roller rockers, and are overkill, but they're bitchin nonetheless. Low profile though and don't go out of adjustment as often as poly-locks without a girdle.

Hyd roller cam grind will depend on what you really want to do with the car frankly. Lift need not go over .550" as the heads won't benefit from it. Duration around 230 @ .050" is a nice streetable grind that will bump a bit but feel good on a track day. I assume carbed, so a 108 l/c with 4deg advance. If fuel injected, maybe a 112 l/c with 4deg advance. If you like bump, 236 to 240 at .050" will do the trick, but hurt the bottom end at the higher side of that range.

For reference, I have a tappet cam 256/264 at .050" on a 105 l/c with 6deg advance = super lopey, idles around 1100rpm, sluggish below 4500rpm, but comes unglued at that rpm all the way to 7500. I had a 302 cube SBF with a 225/235 int/exh hyd cam and it bumped really nice and came alive around 3500rpm and shifted at 6500. A few more cubes to 327, probably work great above 3200rpm without totally ruining the bottom. And the car is so damn light, you won't even notice the "sluggishness" I saw with a 3300lb Mustang fastback!

Dual plane with a slight rise would be nice if it will fit under the lid. otherwise, a simple dual plane Edelbrock mani won't hurt the power, but stick to the smaller duration cam.

650 speed demon with mechanical secondaries - don't futz with that vacuum secondary crap. All the BS rumors you will hear about why vac is better is all horsesh!t - and the outta the box Demon stuff nearly bolts right on. In fact, my Mighty Demon was ordered, I gave them my engine and cam specs, and outta the box in the end is the best setting. Made more power at sea-level with larger jets on the dyno, but I am going back to their settings as at Willow, that puppy is rich.

That combo will last forever, be more car than you have ever driven, and simple to work with and tune.

My .02. You don't want to buy the stuff stateside or I would hook you up with a great place to buy all those parts for good pricing in Anaheim, CA. If you think you might (just get the block locally), all those parts are available from Pacific Performance Products. Ask for Troy - tell him Tim with the V8 914 sent you and rattle off the combo to him. He will get you set up right. 714-773-4176 (or 714-773-4177) If you can't find a block, he will probably have one of those too, or talk you into a 4-bolt block converted to hyd roller (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/aktion035.gif)