Help me pick a combo

[ravenmetals]

Alright guys I got my transmission finished and reinstalled. The next phase of my updates is a new head and cam combo.

This is a fun car/weekend car/ whatever car. I drive it to work on mess off days and when I'm done building it to the track. It has a 700r4 transmission with updated parts like beast sun shell ect ( done as much as I can to make it stronger and took out lockup I'm using a clutches converter and the pump/ valve body have been modded to go with this) with a 8.5 ten bolt with 3.73 and posi. Currently I have 28 inch tall tires. And to the current motor:

Ht383 block
stock forged crank
forged rods
forged pistions I don't recall if they are flat dome ect. the stock ones where hyper dishes and stock compression was 9.1:1
stock vortec heads
stock roller cam (.431 intake / .451 exhaust)( 196 intake / 206 exhaust)
rpm air gap with a avs thunder carb

looking to do an upgrade in power I have a lt4 hot cam (sitting in floor not in motor) from my brother here when this motor was his and he didn't like how sluggish it was I have no idea if there is any truth in that but he swapped to a thumpr cam and was happier.
Would like something low end torque and mid power. Any ideas for what I should look at would be appreciated and any other info needed let me know.

 

[Doober]

Being a 383 I think the hot cam will be almost a perfect match. I (and a few others) are running a Comp XE268H cam with Vortecs on a 350, and it does quite well for fun driving. You didn't say what stall your converter is, but you likely won't need much, maybe 2000 with the 268. You would need to either have the heads machined for springs, or get a set of beehive springs though. The engine I based mine on made 377hp/415lb.ft., then they upgraded to the hot cam (still basically a stock Vortec long block), and it made 401hp/428lb.ft., so you'll be well into that with a 383. I just finished putting a 383 in my truck last week... 9.6:1, 193 (TBI) heads, Comp XR264HR cam (212º/218º, .487"/.495", 110º LSA, 1,200-5,000), 700R4, 3.08 gears and 28" tires. With a stock converter it has trouble getting traction at ½ throttle or more, and I still have to finish tuning it :shock: Myself, I'm more of a down low, torque kinda guy when it comes to engine builds, so I'm all for making a lot of torque when possible. The hot cam is a little bigger than what I have, but should still be a blast on the street, and it should still run well with overdrive.

Here's the article I was talking about:
http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0403_350ci_small_block_chevy_engine/index.html

I'm also running TBI with a twist (EBL) on mine, and it idles like a stock TBI small block.

 

[Jaypaso]

Hey raven congrats on the trans, I have these heads listed on cr list that were awesome and i think are a perfect fit for what your trying to do. http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/pts/2127898583.html
I did have a isky 280 mega cam (hyd flat tappet) that worked well with the combo and converter (2800- 3000). I have since change to a comp cams solid both cams busted azz on the street (just showing off). Im going retro roller now heading more towards the track. Do some research on the heads you'll find they do good things for a 383. if interested pm or call me even if not look at thoes heads and cam (isky 280 mega) for your combo for the price even new those are great heads. **** you will need to change from a vortec intake with the sportsman 2 heads*** look at the edelbrock rpm's i may have one of thoes to. good luck

 

[Doober]

I guess that would be another thing to look at is budget. The Vortecs are a good design, and if everything is basically new you could probably get a decent penny for the stock Vortecs, and upgrade to a set of Bowtie Vortecs, they have a 185cc intake compared to the stock 170cc which is a little on the small side for breathing on a healthy 383.

 

[slimbo]

I guess that would be another thing to look at is budget. The Vortecs are a good design, and if everything is basically new you could probably get a decent penny for the stock Vortecs, and upgrade to a set of Bowtie Vortecs, they have a 185cc intake compared to the stock 170cc which is a little on the small side for breathing on a healthy 383.

a little on the small side? a 195 is a little on the small side...those are ridiculously small.

 

[ravenmetals]

The stall is 2000 if i'm not mistaken. I did forget that I'm doing this on the cheap as I've got a 66' chevy I'm trying to get ready to replace the elky as a DD. I've got a couple of intakes for both vortec and regular sbc heads that I've just ended up with.

doober I'd be interested to see how your truck turns out. As my car sits it hooks up so well the tires just chirp on dry ground and with the new transmission it does it at every shift. But nothing as radical as yours.

jaypaso I'll do a little digging Saturday and I may end up contacting you about just the heads

Slimbo you think I should be looking into the 200-210cc range?

And as this has gotten me thinking if I should be looking into a larger runner size should I also be looking at a 70+ cc combustion chamber or stay with a smaller 60-something?

 

[slimbo]

dpesnds on your piston choice. your gonna want to keep the compression under 11:1 to keep it pump gas friendly if your gonna run alum heads and under 10:1 if you want to run iron heads. i would go 195-200 or if you plan on making more power go right to a 210-215. A 215 on a 383 will easily support 500hp up to probably 6k. Obviously this also depends on cam and intake choice. if your gonna try to stay on a budget go with the 185's with an rpm air gap but rpm will be limited. i doubt those heads would support over 5400@400 hp. As rpm/hp increases so does runner size. Rmember an engine is just an air pump...if you cant get the air in then it has nothing to burn. There are so many variables...then you get into converter neeeds and gearing and its just endless. it really depends on what you want to spend and what you already own.

 

[ravenmetals]

does all this seem to be a good combo.

AFR 195cc SBC Eliminator Street Heads
Cylinder Head Material Aluminum
Combustion Chamber Volume (cc) 65
Intake Runner Volume (cc) 195cc
Exhaust Runner Volume (cc) 64cc
Intake Valve Diameter (in) 2.050 in.
Exhaust Valve Diameter (in) 1.600 in.
Maximum Valve Lift (in) 0.600 in.

LT4 hot cam (using 1.6:1 rockers)
Cam Style Hydraulic roller tappet
Basic Operating RPM Range 1,800-5,800
Duration at 050 inch Lift 218 int./228 exh.
Advertised Duration 279 int./287 exh.
Valve Lift with Factory Rocker Arm Ratio(1.5:1 rockers) 0.492 int./0.492 exh.
Valve Lift with 1.6:1 0.525 int./0.525 exh
Lobe Separation (degrees) 112

 

[slimbo]

yes and yes.

 

[ravenmetals]

If all sounds good I'll try this and it saves me some coin as I've got some 1.6:1 roller rockers around here somewhere and the lt4 cam is in a box again somewhere. what kind of a power bump would you expect from this?