383 Build input request (E85)

[xxdabroxx]

Hello all, I've been lurking and reading on here for a while now and there seems to be a lot of collective knowledge on the board. I'm planning on rebuilding the 350 in my 73 olds this winter (its been sitting for a few years with a blown trans). Little info on the car, 73 Omega, manual brakes, narrowed 9" rear with spool and 4.88, mini tubs, roll bar, caltracs. TH350 is going to be rebuilt with a transbrake and the same 3500 stall converter. Front end has tubular control arms, not sure if going coilover or trick springs yet. Car ran a best of 12.17 @ 112 on foot brake. This is mostly a track car that gets driven to cruise nights from time to time.

Existing engine spec's
350 4 bolt main block (0.030 over)
flat top pistons
stock crank and rods
milodon oil pan
Edelbrock Victor Jr. heads, 2.08 intake 64cc chamber (part no 77589)
Edelbrock Super Victor intake (pn 2925) w/ 1" cnc spacer
Holley HP750 carb
Roller rockers with girdles (1.5 ratio)
Cam: Int lift .518 Ex lift .536 Adv. dur 280/288 lsa 106 (solid flat tappet)
1-7/8" primary tube hooker headers
MSD 6AL ignition

What I'd like out of the new motor is to shave about a second off of my ET but getting into the 10's would be killer. I'm on a budget so I plan to re-use many of my old parts but I think that will work out OK. I'm shooting for about 13:1 compression on the rebuild and running E85. I'm open to suggestions for rotating assembly and cam kits but so far I like the looks of Speedway rotating assembly and an Isky cam noted below. Rotating assembly listed goes for $2200 and the cam kit from Isky is about $1500, don't really want to spend much more that that as the rest of the car needs quite a bit of work to get it back on the road.

Future engine spec's
Same 350 4 bolt block (maybe .040" over if necessary)
Scat superlight forged 3.75" stroke crank
Scat forged I beam 6" rods
Mahle dome pistons (12cc dome)
Same oil pan
Same Heads (might do a light home port clean up job)
Same intake
Holley HP750 sent to Pro Systems for E85 conversion
Same Rockers
Isky Cam (201602) Dur at .050 260/260 Adv. Dur 300/300, Lift .602/.602, LSA 108
"Good cam for 3.500 lb. bracket racing drags. 3,000 stall. 4.56-4.88 axle ratio. 11:1-12:1 compression. Up to 800 cfm carb."
Solid Roller Lifters w/ rev kit and valve springs to match cam.
same headers
same ignition

Thanks for any input, I really appreciate the help,
Dave

[lefty o]

you might get a better cam pick if you asked mike jones, owner of the site, and supposedly knows 2 or more things about cams.

[PRH]

Having some work done to the heads should be worthwhile.

A converter that has an actual flash stall speed of 3500, and a cam that’s 260@.050...... are two items that aren’t really on the same page imo.

Heavy-ish bracket car with a 383 in it? Should have an 8” converter........ and cam accordingly.

[Lizardracing]

I remember when I used to pick my own cams and then Jones Custom Designs proved to me I had no idea what I was doing. My stuff has never ran better. Id go with a custom cam and a custom convertor. Both are well worth the money in performance per dollar.

[xxdabroxx]

I'll definitely have to get Mr. Jones opinion on the cam. I haven't contacted yet as the engine is still in the car and I hate to bother a company before I'm ready to order. I also hear "custom" and think $$$ but that may not be the case, I am on a bit of a budget though.

I'd definitely like to revisit the torque converter but the car is very likely to go back together with the old one for a while; custom torque converters aren't cheap and I only have so many thousand dollar bills to throw at this project over the winter. If that costs me some ET for a a few months before I can afford an upgrade so be it. It is a bracket car so ET isn't everything but it sure is fun to go faster.

Thanks for the input so far.

[Monza355]

How does it do in the 60ft today and how fast does it go jn the 1/8 mile ?

Your combo would probably benefit from a good 5500-5800 stall 8” converter as is.

The super victor 2925 intake is not the best out of the box. At least the older ones. A much better choice would be the Holley strip dominator 300-25.

Custom camshaft may cost a little bit more. But it’s a lot less guess work and you will probably be happier with the final outcome. At least theres a lot to be had over that isky camshaft. Especially for the money.

[skinny z]

I'll definitely have to get Mr. Jones opinion on the cam...

I'd definitely like to revisit the torque converter but the car is very likely to go back together with the old one for a while...

This raises an interesting dilemma and one which I may find myself in for the same reasons.
How does one get a cam spec'd for a combination with converter "x" when ultimately it will be replaced with converter "y" ?

[xxdabroxx]

How does it do in the 60ft today and how fast does it go jn the 1/8 mile ?

Your combo would probably benefit from a good 5500-5800 stall 8” converter as is.

The super victor 2925 intake is not the best out of the box. At least the older ones. A much better choice would be the Holley strip dominator 300-25.

Custom camshaft may cost a little bit more. But it’s a lot less guess work and you will probably be happier with the final outcome. At least theres a lot to be had over that isky camshaft. Especially for the money.

It's been a long time since the car has been at the track but I dug up an old time slip. The car had home made traction bars that didn't wheel hop but weren't great at getting separation. It will have caltracs when it rolls out of the garage in spring.

The super victor and vic jr. heads are pretty old, early 2000's.

60': 1.762
330: 5.045
1/8: 7.784
MPH: 89.27
1000: 10.161
1/4: 12.170
MPH: 112.41 (right around 7000 rpm at 1320 if memory serves correctly and shifted at 7k)

I'll definitely have to get Mr. Jones opinion on the cam...

I'd definitely like to revisit the torque converter but the car is very likely to go back together with the old one for a while...

This raises an interesting dilemma and one which I may find myself in for the same reasons.
How does one get a cam spec'd for a combination with converter "x" when ultimately it will be replaced with converter "y" ?

Story of my life. Working with what you've got while trying to plan for the future. I'd guess you shoot for what you want ultimately and live with under performing hardware in the meantime.

[6.50camaro]

I would rethink reusing the same converter the trans brake will probably ruin it . Id go for jegs 10" 3800to4100 XHD model with anti-ballon plates not really the best pick but would be happier on the street and closer to what you need for the track . Dan

[DeezNutz]

Whats the current fuel system, pump and regulator? Any plan for upgrading?

[skinny z]

60': 1.762

Just based on that I'd agree with those that suggest more converter.

My heavy street car (3650 lb 86 Camaro) has a personal best 1.71 60' on old school McCreary Road Stars. That's with an off the shelf 10" TCI converter and foot braking to about 2000 RPM (the max before I push through the beams). 12.4x @ 109 (corrected). And I've no where near the engine you have. Or chassis for that matter.

[xxdabroxx]

Whats the current fuel system, pump and regulator? Any plan for upgrading?

Current fuel system will be replaced front to back. New fuel cell in place of the old one, new stainless filter, new Holley black pump and all new -8 line with a bypass regulator.

60': 1.762

Just based on that I'd agree with those that suggest more converter.

My heavy street car (3650 lb 86 Camaro) has a personal best 1.71 60' on old school McCreary Road Stars. That's with an off the shelf 10" TCI converter and foot braking to about 2000 RPM (the max before I push through the beams). 12.4x @ 109 (corrected). And I've no where near the engine you have. Or chassis for that matter.

I was foot braking to a similar rpm at the time but with 12.5x 28 et streets. I think the converter was of decent quality I can't remember who made it off the top of my head. A buddy bought it for his big block Chevelle but replaced it with a higher stall unit and have it to me with little use. A new converter is definitely a good idea. I'll have to see where my budget lands when we get closer to tearing it down. I've heard a good custom higher stall can be ok at street rpm over an off the shelf unit. I'm sure I could go 4500 stall without issue but I wouldn't mind going a little higher if it's still Street able for a say 20 mile hwy cruise now and then.

[skinny z]

I can say this from experience. The 82 Monte had the TCI 10" converter I have in the Camaro now. When that was swapped to a properly spec'd Yank 9.5" (with lockup for the 4L60 in the Monte), it gained 2/10ths (may have been more but I'm going on memory here and don't want to exaggerate). Interestingly, whereas the trans would previously have a large 1-2 shift RPM split due to wide ratio, something along the lines of 6500 rpm 1st gear shift to 3500 in 2nd, with the Yank, RPMs never dropped below 5000. Very enlightening. 60's improved and as a result so did the ET.
For the record, these are far short of track cars. Heavy with stock suspension. No capacity to dial in shocks or struts. The Monte has a full on slick (26x 10).

[Ericnova]

Am I the only guy who thinks a Superlight crank isn't the best idea for a transbrake'd drag car, and a waste of money??....the superlight is marketed for restricted class,Naturally aspirated, 2 barrel circle track, 450-470 hp. ultralight pistons type of build.

I'd want just a standard weight crank in there for durability, and cost.

[xxdabroxx]

Am I the only guy who thinks a Superlight crank isn't the best idea for a transbrake'd drag car, and a waste of money??....the superlight is marketed for restricted class,Naturally aspirated, 2 barrel circle track, 450-470 hp. ultralight pistons type of build.

I'd want just a standard weight crank in there for durability, and cost.

The only reason I was looking at the lightweight crank is because it's what came in the speedway kit. From what I've read speedway does a pretty good job balancing their assemblies and I'm not sure about how good a balance job I'll get from a scat or eagle kit from say summit. I'm in a pretty rural area in central CA and don't know of a good machine shop to do balance work if I buy an unbalanced assembly.