To be more budget friendly, install the main caps with your brand new main studs, torqued down without bearings then check the bores with a bore gauge for roundness and that they are in spec. If they are don't waist the funds on line honing if the mains also pass the straight edge test. More often than not it usually isn't the studs that cause the need for a line hone. Usually the need for the line hone was there before the studs were added 99 times out of 100. That is a substantial savings if you can skip that process. So for this 500 HP build maybe go through that process of checking the mains before you commit to the line hone? Check with a straight edge first with the caps torqued on with the bolts. Then check for roundness with the torqued bolts. If it passes do the same with the studs. If it passes with the bolts 99 times out of 100 it will pass with the studs.😎👍
If you can find a 350 out of a Big chevy truck, they have nodular 4 bolt center mains, numbers , 2482 on the mains, the cast mains are number 3412, you can tell the 2482s are a different color, kind of brown, Hope this helps.
Great info here. I’ve been watching while planning to build a dirt circle track engine for a class with the rules being 358cid, iron 23deg heads and no roller cams. It’s nice to see in dyno testing that 500hp+ is achievable with these heads and simple budget parts, especially if I disregard pump gas and street manners as there’s no compression rule. Keep up the good work.
It doesn’t matter what gm block you use! All you need is arp studs on 2 bolt Mains M I have made 480hp on.vortec truck one. Must have good 280 cfm heads with hyd roller or easy with solid roller camshaft . Most need240@050 plus camshaft . Springs to support to rpm range
400 block crack tested and line bored plus sonic bore checked . internal balance forge crank and H/duty I beams pistons Mahle Power Pak pistons 1.2mm rings less drag more Hp /Tq pistons budget Weisco Pro Tru street 1.6mm rings roller cam /lifters ,, 2 236/ 242 on 110lsa mild street 195 cc or larger cyl head 2.05 inlet valve minimum single plain manifold 1 3/4 headers or big heads big cam run 17/8 primary Want more better heads,, big cam etc etc
Hey Pat great video. I see in the background you have a B&D valve refacer. I was wonder if it is still relevant into today's era of everything "controlled by a computer "equipment. Im putting together sbc for Suburban(2wd) with my grands sons for hopefully D&Dr events.This project seems up my alley for the engine part. Along time ago (1978) I went through a tech school for my apprenticeship and learned how to machine the various parts of an engine. That valve refacer was probably state of the art at that time, lol. I collected the seat refinishing kit and now need the valve refacing side. Would love to know if Im just dreaming about doing it myself, if so I'll stop searching. Also thought it might trigger some to learn these skills.Sorry for the long post.
Im thinking 1pc roller block....3.750 Scat crank...Scat rods...hyperuetetic pistons...roller cam big enough...ported vortec heads...compression around 10 to 10.5....A low budget is the challenge...
The 'easy' 500HP for you would be to throw a set of smaller chambered Aluminum Heads on the Dingle Ball 2.0 479HP motor (brand X's 23deg "210" or "215" 2.02/1.60" heads), raising the compression ratio a bit in the process (afforded by the switch from iron to aluminum heads, anyway) and call it a day. I bet that Dingle Ball 2.0 with 0.6:1 - 1.0:1 of compression increase added back into it and the aforementioned heads would be knocking on the door to 600HP very easily.
Roller cam 350, 327 large mains is the same block, use small main version to build a 302 without hard to find spacer bearings or expensive line bore procedure, Vortec blocks are not soft bores, watch for worn lifter bores, bore for AMC/Magnum lifters is easy fix, get cam ground for larger lifter
Marketplace is full of circle track 602 880 blocks with vortecs steel and also 604 which is same bottom aluminum heads. Can get em cheap from circle track guys..
@@cuttersperformance its been a while since i measured it but i also believe the 880 was a tad shorter than the 638. If i remember correctly one was more square at the bottom where on the other the cylinders were longer on the non thrust sides.
Great video, as usual. 👍 I've read on FB that the 880 blocks came with PM rods. Is this true? I thought only Gen 2 blocks got them up until the Gen 3 blocks.
My 880 block is a GM replacement engine that came with PM rods, 4 bolt mains and the fuel pump rod provision. Not many production blocks had the trio if any at all.
@@shredfest30 Yea. I wasn't sure. I have a 638 block that came out of a HD2500 with the roller cam provisions and the hole for the mech fuel pump (which I don't use), but definitely not the PM rods. I feel shorted, now. :( LOL
@@shredfest30 They were pre-a lot of stuff. They were used universally across the F-body, the Y-body, trucks, Cadillacs, etc. Honestly, it doesn't. They've been changed to aftermarket rods, anyway.
been looking forward to this video i'm building a 350, machine work is done flat top 4 valve releaf hyperutechic pistons using parts that have been setting around cam 535 kift lsa is 108 202 camel hump stock bottom end true roller one piece rear main roller rockers duel plane holley 750 double pumper MSD destrubtor 6AL box hoping to obtane 350 HP? openioun please? deck height .015 down. steel shim head gasket .015 thanks
Cool video and new Subscriber. 1970 Chevy 350ci Bored .040 for cylinder perfection and a few more ci. 2 bolt mains. About to be a full hydraulic roller. Will be running 11-1 compression, with FloTek 200 aluminum heads. Airgap intake with Holley 750cfm and Dougs 1 3/4" tube long headers. Reaching for 435-450hp. We shall see. Thoughts ??
Any of them can make 500 easy. If you make more than that, 2 bolts are still better than 4 bolt ones. Theyll make all the power you want til block rigidity comes into play. One piece rear, roller cam.
What is the part numbers for the beehive springs retainers and locks to run a .510 to .530 lift cam in vortec heads thank you love watching your channel
inspired me to get a vortec, mild port, screw in studs ls6 (summit) springs, summit hot cam .525/.520 lift, quadrajet, dual plane, very drivable and fast!
I have a question that I been kicking around. I have a 1968 pontiac lemans. I'm still trying to decide if I go with the 455 or get a 400 pontiac or a 6.0 ls or a sbc. Right now it ha a 5.3 in it. Which do you think? I also have a torqstorm supercharger. Should I use that or go turbo. To many choices to decide from.
I'd definitely go 383. But yes, with a properly selected combo, you can make 450-500hp and still have good drivability, power brake friendly and decent fuel mileage for a daily driver
I’m really on the fence with building a 4.8 “LS” or a 4 bolt Main 350sbc ( either or I’d be running a carb) it’ll be a street car nothing crazy… would love to hear some insight y’all!
the 350 will make more torque than the 4.8, but the biggest issue with the SBC is the intake manifold design. It just can't be as consistent by design for balanced cylinder filling and equal fueling compared to the LS carbed intakes that don't have the siamese intake ports. that 4.8 will rev another 1200 rpm past the 350 with ease though and make comparable peak hp
Hey will the regular 4l80e trans fit on the gmc L31 block out of the 2001 Savana. Found a Savana he wants 400$ for the whole van but I don’t know what trans is in it. Its a 5.7
I would like to hear your experience with cap walk / cap bounce. I have a 400 “509” block with a 3.48 crank. Stock main bolts, 2 bolt main. Maybe 450 hp. When I disassembled it recently there were pock marks on the main caps and mating block surface. I believe this is “cap walk”. I am putting it back together with ARP main bolts.
Was the assembly balanced? Possibly a detention issue from too much timing? Was the mian alightment good? I'd be surprised to see cap walk with that setup as long as the main bolts were never torqued past yield, and torqued properly and the caps fit properly in the block.
@@cuttersperformanceGood questions, yes it was balanced, yes it was align bored and honed. Caps fit tight. The shop I took it to most recently said ‘detonation’. It was 11.3:1 with vortec heads, so I think I pushed it too far on pump gas. It’s going back together with Brodix IK200 heads and 10.5:1. So hopefully with that and ARP bolts, it will be good.
I did this same build yes had main cap walk and chatter had splayed caps installed no more problem it's worth the investment that combo is a beast. good luck
They have the 880 and the 638 are stronger the are made of graphite iron and they were also used as a marine 6.2 377 that’s right a standard bore 383 yes the already stroker clearanced the sgi “880 and 638 engines are 200% stronger I teach a class on this on Thursday nights I’m currently working on a video on this
@@cuttersperformance do they pull well from the tank? I need a fuel pump for my 385, seems like all mechanical pumps has went to trash. Did RU-vid bitch enough to make you drop the piss out of piss cutters, or did you just take it out on your own? Just curious.
I remember back in the day if you were going to build a 400, you wanted the 509 2 bolt block as they were tougher than the 4 bolt block in the journal webbing.. that being said, I bet most bottom failures of 30 years ago are more due to poor crank quality and flexing in the journals than blocks moving around. I read that a 2 bolt block with aftermarket billet 4 bolt caps is much more rigid than a factory 4 bolt with cast caps.
I busted my crank in a 4bolt main 350 1pc rear main, ported & larger valve 193 heads & a B&M 144 supercharger. I have a boost retard box & jackobs ignition system. Along with running 93 octane. Water meth was next till I busted the crank. Oh & twin tbi's... off 5.7L but with injectors off 4.3L engines. Prob was I couldn't tune an 0BD1.... Turbo City was who burned or flashed my EPROM chip. Would have been sweet with an intercooler.... still be a pain to build a cooler to fit between the blower & intake. Any suggestions there? I have 2 b&m's I could use on different builds. Since moved onto vortec builds & LS. Towing I run Cummins
Where did the crank break? Superchargers cause a massive frontal load on the crank but I didn't think q 144 would be so bad. Was there any detention issues? Does the blower spin freely without binding?
Hey Pat, yea the front of the crankshaft was fine, my crankshaft busted at an angle across the 3rd main under the cap. I actually missed it the first time I had the pan off while moving the crank from the front harmonic balancer bolt. It was making a ticking noise but still ran fine. The way it broke it interlocked & had such a tiny differences I missed it visually. Had a friend move the front while I put a hand on the crankshaft fore & aft, felt a difference, with the 3 center mains off I was able to gently push the crank against the thrust & the front forward. The counter weights didn't allow much movement but enough to see the crack. Stock 1 pc rear main, std rods & main. They were all in perfect condition. Large 35in tires, 6in lift setup for towing our snowmobiles. Ken the founder of AFR was a friend & who talked me into porting my stock 193 TBI heads, I had no clue how much GM invested in those heads but their production fell short of expectations. The larger valves, staggered rocker ratios ect all helped.... best b4 lifted ect on grampa tires was 11mpg, after 15+ & the speed kept creeping up on me, found myself constantly letting off to stay at speed. Ken was a hoot to chat with, our first conversation lasted 6.5hrs. He enjoyed the fact I could follow his line of thinking without him having to explain. We both jump around alot that way. How smoke swirls count clockwise in the NW hemisphere, how a toilet swirls ect. Ken loved & really paid attention to physics! It was as if we had known each other for years. Kelly at Brodex is who hooked us up. At first I had no idea he was the founder of Air Flow Research, but it became clear he knew way more than the Average guy. I miss talking to him! If we could only download our minds into a new, or younger body.... how great that would be! He was going to hook me up with D Vizard... pre internet back in the 90s, that's how I started reading his tech books... was asking Ken about cams & David's name came up. We joked how great it would be to have 3-4 life times in a row to live where we could accumulate knowledge...... another guy I wanted to meet was Christopher Jackobs, his design of using the resistance of each sparkplug to tell if the cylinder was still burning or misfired was brilliant! Acting like a sensor.
Hmm, you are making 480 hp and you want to get to 500hp easy add compression and airflow, your 480 hp engine is pretty much a street build, the same eng8ne on good gas and 12:1 compression will make well over 500. If you want to keep lower compression good set of heads either rhs or sportsman's or aluminum will put you over. The voters are great but they have their limitations. Also you run a very mild cam in this engine going to a cam with 230 to 240 degrees duration at .560 lift with help the engine get there.
@No1414body the cam was 235/241 108lsa with .580 lift e/1.6 rr. The point of the series is to show what it takes to make 500 without breaking the bank to much and also run on pump gas
@cuttersperformance I see your point man I'm just saying that at 480 there are a couple things that will get it to 500. I have bought several sets of good heads cheap on marketplace, in my area you can pick up sportsman for less than 500 bucks also I've picked up good name brand aluminum heads for about the same price You have to look for deals
@@cuttersperformance okey,am building a 1995 lt1 355 forged piston,stock rod with arp bolt,stock crankshaft,arp main cap stud,arp heads stud,stock ported heads,tick performance stage 2 cam,650 brawler my goal its 400 to the wheels all motor and 500+plus to the wheels with 150 shot on a 94 sonoma
@@christianmorales8026 just figure on as much as 20% power loss through the transmission and rear. So, if you can build a 355 LT1 that makes 480, you'll be very close to your goal of 400 at the wheels. Just wondering, why not go 383 with your LT1?