Hot Rods Which Way Should I go? (56 Chevy 210)

Hey guys, I bought back a '56 Chevy 210 2 door from a friend I had sold it to about 10 years ago. At the time, it had a 327/Muncie, everything else was stock.
Well my buddy went crazy buying everything he could find for it.
Engine: 1968 Camaro 350 cubic inch, bored .030 over. TRW .030 over cast pistons with 9.5 comp ration. Henry Velasco polished crank. 3,000 miles on engine. Schneider Cams Billet Roller tappet with cast iron distributor gear. Engle Cam with roller tappets with Smith push-rods. Camonics Cams triple springs, with lash caps. Complete Pertronics breakerless distributor with MSD style cap-adapt. With Pertronics 2nd Strike Electronic ignition control. Donovan gear-drive camshaft system. Chevrolet over-the counter "492" angle-plug heads with PC oil seals, bronze guides, swirl-polished stainless steel 202 intake & 194 exhaust valves. Mild porting performed by Engine Prototype Development, Canoga Park. 7/16" screw-in rocker studs with Norris Aero-steel/stainless 1.6 ratio roller rocker arms. Heads are secured by studs & nuts with hardened washers. Head gaskets are steel shims. Engine was machined and initially assembled by Bob Lambeck, Northridge, Calif. Decks were trued and surfaced, bearing surfaces were align honed and cylinders were finished with Sunnen machine system. Engine is currently equipped with Weiand "142" supercharger, set for 6 lbs of boost at 4500 rpm. Blower is topped with Holley 750 cfm "Racing version" 4 barrel and has no vacuum provisions. Fuel pressure at the tank, is provided by an Aermotive Fuel pump, pushing fuel forward at 15 lbs, which arrives at 12 lbs in the engine compartment and is set to enter the carburetor at 6 lbs. 3/4 length headers.
The transmission was built by John Kilgore, Burbank, Calif and is a Turbo-400, equipped with a variable-pitch torque converter. There is a GEAR-VENDOR 25% Overdrive unit, attached to the transmission. There is a brand new INLAND-EMPIRE, 4 " diam aluminum driveshaft connected to the 1961 Corvette 3rd member, equipped with Auburn 3.55 ratio gears, bolted to a posi-traction unit. Both Axle bearings, seals, are new. Car has Baer Brakes, on all four corners, using a proportioning valve to regulate stopping power between front an back.
Spindles are CPP, with 2" drop for lowered stance.
30 gallon CPP gas tank, no spare tire well. Rear mounted Optima battery.
Rear sway bar.
And that doesn't cover the suspension and a ton of other swell stuff.
When the blower was put on, he also put on a Snow water/meth system.
It worked bitchen on my test ride. It gave up on my way home from Tehachapi to Ventura.
I cracked a piston or broke ring lands. Haven't done the autopsy yet.
Should I:
1-Rebuild the motor with 8 to 1 pistons (assuming that's the only problem), a milder hydraulic cam, drop the boost and get rid of the water/meth crap.
2- Do as above, but with some new small port Vortecs. The 492's were a good head but don't flow like the new ones.
3-Go with what my son is saying, and go LS. It's easy for him to say, he's not paying for it.
Don't have a ton of $$$ I wasn't planning on buying the car in the first place, but I got a good deal, and couldn't pass it up.
I'm selling my '29 roadster on '32 rails highboy, to do paint and interior. I just want to get it running.
Your ideas, or helpful criticism would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

No LS! Keep a traditional appearance please.
Cast pistons on a blower engine was unfortunate. Seeing he spent a lot on other good stuff. Fix what you have IMHO. Find what didn't survive (block, head) and rebuild. be sure your static compression is actually 8:1 with whatever heads you use. Cometic gaskets are a must also.

 

No LS! It’s not a late model Chevy Pickup. I would get a set of forged blower pistons, then figure out the compression ratio. It seems like something around 8:1 would be good for it. The combustion chamber on your current heads may be too small. You might also check into your current camshaft specs, if this engine was originally built for natural aspiration, the lobe centerline might be too tight for a blower.


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Unfortunately, you found the weakness of the build. Time to tear it down, evaluate and then decide what you want the car to be. Sounds like it could be a great tourer with a milder engine, but please No LS!

 

Put the 327 back in it and have fun.

 

No LS. I think that point has now been made.

 

Bring it back to where it was when you used to own it.
Find another 327 and Muncie, sell what you have for the purchase.

 

Either go back to the 327 or fix what you have, but make it a milder build so it is more drivable.

 

Indecision is the key to flexibility.

 

what no pics?

 

NO LS. First it's not appropriate for this forum. As to what to do with your car, you have to be honest with how and where you want to drive it. Do you want to take it to local cruise nites and Goodguys type events where there is more parking than there is driving? Or do you and a couple of buddies want to jump in the car and take a trip several states away to visit new places or attend a different event?

This will generally dictate how the car is built. I would rather do the latter trip, so my builds tend to be milder (think, if it breaks in Resume Speed Wyoming, can I get parts?). I agree with the others here, you should install the 327 and the 4 speed.

 

Trying

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That engine sounds like a money pit to me. I would put another engine in it...even a crate motor and sell that engine to a racer to fund the changes you need for a car you can rely on.

 

Here are a couple of pics

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Dress the 350 for success and don't tell anyone what it is and drive the bitch. When the engine takes a ump on ya find another one and drive it some more.

 

Well, that's another option. Hate to give up all those swell parts,
but there is definitely something to be said for reliability.


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Put a 327 in it like I have in my 56.

 

Your's isn't as stock as it it first appears, I don't think. A vacuum pump off the P/S and that manifold say sleeper.
I don't know if my pics came through. I have a lot of gizmos, and I've always liked the KISS principle. This thing came with all this, and so far it hasn't benefited me at all.
Hell, I'm thinking about ram's horns, so I can get to the plugs.

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LS ALERT!!LS ALERT!!!

 

327 my ass! I like your camo job! The coolant cross over line is a dead give away if you know what to look for.


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More like a 323 c.i.

 

I should have looked closer! Good job.

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Do you want a blower?

Rebuild it with forged pistons, consider of you want to keep that cam.
Vortec heads are great, step up from the 492, but youll have to spend getting them to handle that cam, will also require a little machining to your blower manifold. If you keep the blower theyll shove as much air as you need thru the 492's

 

You mean you don't like the fake fuel rails and the fake cross over lines I put on it to make it look like an ls motor lol? I just put this pic up for fun, can't believe it hasn't been taken down yet. When I go to a show and someone asks me what it is and I tell them its a 327 or a 350 I'll be 60 or 70 percent of the people believe me and don't even question it. Just goes to show you alot of "car guys" don't have a clue.