AJHECK95

im wondering what cam and stall converter i should use in my 385 engine,

also wondering what estimated compression and power might be

this is my first time building a performance engine so anything will help

my engine build
385
vortec heads with ls6 valve springs
1-5/8" tubes and 3" col. headers
dual quad air gap manifold with dual 500 cfm carbs
MSD Street Fire Distributor and street fire wires
flat top pistons
92 non roller 350 block

my transmission
turbo 350
rebuilt with monster transmission rebuild kit

rear end
modified 7.5 10 bolt
3.42 posi

AlkyIROC

Converter needs to match the camshaft. Cam choice depends on how you intend to use the engine.

Headers are too small. 1-5/8 are barely enough for a 350. 383+ should be using 1-3/4" primary tubes.

Too much carb. A couple of 450's would work better or a single 850.

AJHECK95

my plan is too build something with some good power not a daily driver
but still be streetable.

can this combo make me break 400 hp?

what about an edelbrock single plain air gap and an edelbrock 800 cfm carb

also i have seen a few post on here about using a lt4 hotcam. Do they make a non roller lt4 cam?

midias

Are you plans for the street?

yes you can break 400 easy. For a street build I would go for a 750 cfm and a dual plane.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

92 non roller cam block? Need to stick with a flat tappet or do a retrofit hyd roller.

Hotcam is a roller for oem roller blocks.

With the small vortec heads, something like a single carb performer RPM vortec intake would work good. You can try the dual quad but I dont have any experiences with setups like that.

Cam should be around 224 deg duration or so with those heads and intake. Could go to a 230-ish cam too on a higher side but the heads will keep rpm range to about 5500 and a 220's deg grind will make more midrange power up to that point.

Alot of guys like vortec heads with rpm intake and cams like the XE268 or 274.


EDIT: Other problem I see here is flat top pistons in a 383 wiith iron heads. If those are around 64cc chambers, you are at 11 to 1 compression and thats abit much for a iron headed motor. To get that to have a chance at living on pump gas you'll need to cam up alot higher than would be required. Need to bleed compression off in the cylinder. I'd rather see aluminum heads or dished pistons to keep compression at or below 10 to 1 with iron heads.

redneckjoe

streetable,....id go with a cam between 262-278 advertised duration. a 2,800 stall would work fine.

AJHECK95

i haven't got my engine kit yet thanks for the info when i get it ill opt for the dished pistons

AJHECK95

street yes i plan on driving it to school and shop class on nice days

midias

Check this tool for compression

I think around 5cc dished pistons should give you about 10:1

http://www.summitracing.com/expertad...on-Calculator/

Stick with a dual plane manifold and an edelbrock 750

AJHECK95

thanks for the link i got 10.5:1 compression using the calculator

Anti-Venom

Landslide agreement that you have way to much carb, and headers are way to small.

Dual quads are nothing more than bling on an NA motor to impress the ignorant, a reason for the aftermarket to yank more money out of your pocket, and serve no functional purpose other than to make you chase your tail around in circles as to why your motor run's like crap. All the while giving you twice the carb to have to tune and sync at twice the parts, money, and teardown time. Ask yourself why is this necessary when a single carb will meet the airflow and fuel needs of most any motor? Sell that setup if you currently own it and you should have plenty of cash recouped to do it up right.

As the others have stated get yourself a nice 750cfm carb, vortech RPM air gap intake, and some 1 3/4 headers. Stay away from single planes also. A single plane will pick up some peak HP but will sacrifice alot of pwr under the curve where the engine lives the most.

Stick with a cam around 220 duration to work within the heads airflow capability and your gearing and you will have right around a very respectful 400hp (with a retro-roller cam) out of this setup with enough torque to keep you changing tires.

AJHECK95

i agree i can get a 750 carb and rpm intake for less than a third of the cost of the dual quad setup

AJHECK95

so far i have decided to use 1-3/4" tubes and 3" col. headers

dished pistons to reach 10.5:1 compression

the xe274 cam

is an edelbrock 750 a good carb or should i get a holley instead

also what stall do i need with this cam and also what dual plane edelbrock intake would work best with this setup

midias

Personally I like 10:1 for street because of chances of bad gas. For the 274 most people run 2500-3000 stall

AJHECK95

im new to picking a converter so what would the difference be with running a 2500 and a 3000 stall

AJHECK95

what carb would be better

http://www.northernautoparts.com/Pro...tModelId=29166

http://www.northernautoparts.com/Pro...CartId=1573486

redneckjoe

JMO, edelbrock carbs run good for a newbie or off-road truck. streetable, auto tranny, ...id go with a holley vaccuum secondary. a 3310-4150-4160 would work great if you know how to tune it. picking up a book about holley carbs would really help alot. anybody can bolt a carb on, but can they tune it? its really not that difficult.

your asking all the right questions. see what a few other members have to say.

AlkyIROC

Edelbrock carbs are like the old AFB's. Although they work fine, I was never a fan of them. Any Holley or Holley style (Barry Grant etc) will be a better choice. The Holley's are much more adaptable and tunable.

The trouble with reading a lot of books on doing performance buildups is that they all talk about using older technology. Even here on TGO, we redirect people who want to use old Camel Hump heads to something much better like the Vortec. Not a lot of the books are geared to more modern buildups. Cams, heads, pistons, rotating assemblies have all gotten better in the last 3-4 decades. Aftermarket parts are now very affordable and most people can now throw some inexpensive aluminum heads on an engine. Many years ago, that was an expensive luxury.

Carbs are still an easy way to go but EFI has gotten inexpensive and relatively easy to do. A couple of TBI's on the dual quad manifold is easy to do and keeps it streetable while keeping that coolness look. Roller cams and retrofit kits are big improvements.

What you want to use for parts and what works best isn't always the same. At least you're starting off with examples but are willing to consider better alternatives to meet your goals. Just because something works well on one car doesn't mean it will work for you. No matter what advice we give you, the final decision is still up to you.

AJHECK95

thanks for all the info i like the fuel injection idea but i dont have a lot of luck with fuel
injection

i think im going to go with a holley carb but now i need to decide vaccum or mechanical secondaries im thinkin mechanical but i would like some other opinions

Anti-Venom

Street motor = electric choke, vacuum secondary.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

I'm with this guy... most dished pistons will give 9.5-10 to 1 compression with a 64 cc chamber head. These are around 16cc dishes. 10.5 to 1 is still abit large for iron heads and if gas is bad, it could have detonation. Flat tops are usually 4-7cc of valve relief cuts. You want a D-shape dish or a reverse dome type piston in the 16-20cc dish range.

274 cam will like atleast a 2800-3000 stall. If you drive it more than you race it, 2800-3000 is good. For more fun at the strip, 3400-3500 would be nice.