i'm currently building an engine on a budget and could use a few suggestions; i'd like loads of low end torque (350 ft/lbs+) and decent HP (350hp+) on regular fuel.

it's going in my 5300 lb jeep, (TH350, NP205, 4.56 gears, 35" tires)


parts I have:

-4 bolt block with 4.030" bore (casting 14010207)
-stock 350 crank
-stock 350 connecting rods
-flat top pistons (i'm putting the rings on today)
-vortec heads
-edelbrock Performer Vortec intake
-center dump corvette exhaust manifolds

parts to get: (this is where i need suggestions)
rv cam - what sort of lift, duration etc. do i look for?
should i have my crank balanced?
roller rockers - what's a reasonably priced good set?

would a TPI choke this engine?
what else should i keep in mind while building this engine to get the desired HP and TQ?

 

Forget the term "RV cam", it's meaningless. Your cam choice is going to be limited by the max lift available on vortec heads. You also mention TPI, which would mean that your cam would have to be computer-friendly as well.

If you're replacing parts in the rotating assembly that are different in weight than the parts you took off, then you should balance it.

You don't need roller rockers for a cam small enough to fit vortec heads. You could use roller-tips if you want.

 

i haven't changed the rotating assembly, this engine had a complete rebuild only a few hundred miles ago. the last guy to put it together used moly rings and didn't hone the cylinders. the rings never seated properly. it was taken out and stored until i bought it for cheap. i tore it down and now i'm rebuilding it. I'm reusing the entire rotating assembly using new main/rod bearings/rings. the journals on the crank are spotless, but i'm sending it to get crack testing and was wondering if i should have it balanced while there.

the difference in weight between the old and new rings i think would be negligible enough to not worry about balancing would it? a harmonic balancer would help wouldn't it?

 

You can have it balanced if you want, but it's not necessary.

 

i mentioned TPI because i have one of those minus the harness and computer.

i'm going to put the engine together with the carb because it's cheaper but i'd like to put the TPI on later with a vortec PCM and harness

 

Your choices are limited to a handful of "computer compatible" cams then, unless you're planning on burning your own chips.

 

i thought OBDII PCM's were programable?

i should just stay with a carb and save the tpi for a later project shouldn't i?

 

I don't know about the OBDII, but TPI never came on an OBDII system so there'd be some custom work there anyway.

 

Lot of non third gen related questions coming up lately.... Not terribly helpful to us when it's about a TRUCK motor for a 5200lb vehicle, using an ODBII system....
Aren't there forums more well suited to what you're doing?

 

If you open your eyes in the TPI forum their is a complete sticky about TPI being run by the LS1 silver PCM. I have done it with the vortec truck/LT1 PCM myself.

 

I think a lot of the questions you're pondering largely depend on how big of a challenge you like to give yourself. If you're in a hurry to get it up and running, I'd say you definitely want to go with a carb setup to start off with. An OBDII TPI system is no walk in the park to do, plus it's expensive and time consuming to do. If you do want to use TPI eventually, you do want to make sure to use a cam that's compatible, like the other guys said. As long as you put the right cam in it initially, you can run a carb while you round up the parts and knowledge to swap over to OBDII TPI eventually. If you're ready for some reading, there's a HUGE message thread on the boards here about using the LS1 pcm with TPI. S10 Wildside, a member here, has a list of all the parts needed, and he also builds the harness needed to run it. Click on the EFI Live link here on the site for more info.