tman-420

okay here's what i'm after, everybody says the 193 heads are crap.... but im not after a high reving engine im after doing insane smoke shows with incredible low end torque to mid range 5500 rpm maximum... The engine i got is a 1976 4 bolt 350 0.02 nickel block numbers 3970010. right now its a great engine very very powerful in the high range 7200rpm daily lol.Takes awhile for it to hop up into the 5000 rpm range during a break stand. Its in a 1981 Pontiac Parisienne dropped with 20" tork thrusts and 3.08 rear gears its weight is 1900kg with 4 adults in it, now i know the 193 heads are crap for high rpm applications. but can i achieve the low end hp id need to make that boat go nutz from a stand still with these heads? and would i need to run a computer cam with these heads or can i run a normal flat tappet with a 4bbl intake manifold. The 350 these heads came off had bad *** torque it was a 3/4ton and it would hop up like no buddies businuss from stand still.

Damon

Not exactly 3rd gen F-body-related, but we'll pretend it is for now. So I'll take a shot at this....

Yes, you can make good torque with swirlies. Flattop pistons plus the 193s will put you around a healthy 10:1 compression. A modest performance flat tappet cam should do the trick for making torque, without blowing the budget. Given that the swirlies actually have a half decent exhaust port, I've found that a single pattern cam works well.

Something like a Comp High Energy 260. It's 212*/212* @ .050 on a 110* LSA. The lift is .440 on both sides, which means you don't need to have the heads machined for extra lift clearance. Just install the recommended 981-16 springs in place of your stock ones (drop-in replacements reusing all your existing hardware) and you're good to go.

Fuel injection intake options there are better people than me to advise you. But for a mild/budget build, it's kinda hard to beat an old 4bbl carbureted setup. To that end.......

A relatively inexpensive 4bbl intake designed to work with the 87-up bolt pattern on those heads is available from Summit racing under part number 226016. It's an entry level performance aluminum dual plane intake designed to work in the same idle-5500 RPM range you're shooting for. (This intake is actually a Weiand 8024 with Summit's logo stamped on it- a quality piece, not a Chineese knock-off.) Combine it with the 600-750 CFM vacuum secondary carb of your choice (even a QJet) and you've got induction chores taken care of.

Exhaust.... shortie headers and a good flowing exhaust system from there back would be plenty. Even stock manifolds with a good flowing exhaust behind them would be acceptable, but headers will make more power.

The swirlies, torque-oriented single pattern cam, and relatively high compression will make boatloads of torque even way down low in the RPM range. You can run it against a stock stall converter if you want- it'll have plenty of ***** to pull against it. Something with about a 2500-2700 stall would really get the most out of it, though.

tman-420

good info thank you, and yes the car has full DRAG header set up complete long tubes w/ dual shorties. i got a 650 Edelbrock performer i was thinking of using it. also got a 750 holley sooo im debating.