SBC is there a preferred year to use?

68 69 70 52 csb

 

those 88 vette / ZZ4 heads are really nothing special performance wise other than the aluminum looks good and is lighter. replacing the aluminum vette/zz4 heads with the Vortec heads will make an honest 25 or 30 more hp at least with no other changes ( well you DO need a Vortec specific intake ) Vortec 350 motors were introduced in 96 and went through 2000 or so ( not sure of the last year but 96 is the first. the heads casting number will end in 906 or 062.
PS: the 350 Vortec motors only came in trucks, they are totally different from the pass car motors

Doug

 

Doug is right and I'm wrong on the Vortec years. 92-95 were just basic smog motors; the 96-2000 were the good Vortec heads.

 

Has anyone read about the new Dart 400 HP block? Set up for a hyd roller cam, all cooling issues resolved, 4 bolt mains, and they retail for about 1400 bucks. Speedway has em. That will be my next purchase.......after the Giant carboard lotto check shows up.

 

Personally I would run a 327 with a 283 crank for a '60's feel. These little strokers are hi-reving horsepower builders. Don't forget the rockcrusher 4-spd.

 

Thanks Duece Roadster, I was told that it was a 350 but I was not sure. B&B

 

Thanks for all the replies on the Vortec heads. I've got a 350 TBI in my truck (daily driver) 88 K1500 short bed. Bought it new in Sept 87, and I like it, so I still use it.

Anyway, I've heard that the TBI heads were the worst flowing heads Chevy ever made. I have often wondered:

a) what this truck would be like with a switch to Vortec heads and manifold, keeping the TBI?

b) what kind of mileage numbers (in other words, pounds of fuel per brake horsepower [or however you dyno boys measure it]) you could pull on a 350 SBC maximized for fuel mileage in the 1800 to 2300 rpm range?

 

Stagernwings- I realize a lot of the discussion here concerns circle burners however my comments concerning the destroking of the 350 block to achieve 327/331ci. is related to a light street hot rod. A very light rod will not need the torque generated by the 350 but will most certainly feel good with the short stroke motor and a light rotating assembly which will get upstairs brutally fast. If torque was the only criteria then the 400 would be a no brainer and of course neccesary in a heavier car. Its not so much where it will run at but how fast you will get into that "sweet spot" where you can use it. My roadster which weighs in at about 1,800 lbs. only starts to feel good at about 6,000 RPM. It will cruise all day at 2,500 but if I want to take care of buisness I have to run upstairs. Hence my comment about the light flywheel and rotating assembly.

 

I'm not a Chevy guy by any means, but what I've picked up over the years may be useful information...

Not quite. The 'pecker tracks' as we call them (metal transfer between the block and cap) is from MASSIVE detonation. Usually accompanied by the cap no longer fitting tight in the register on the block (cap seem to have gotten narrower) if you ran it that way for any length of time.

My favorite professional head porter (learned his craft porting for Carrol Shelby back when Shelby was building the first Cobras to stomp Ferrari) says no one can make a pre-vortec production head keep up with a un-modified Vortec head, within the realm of the practical ($$$). But the $300 Australian made EQ iron heads stomp the Vortec heads, and I think you can get them with perimeter valve cover bolts.

To positively ID Vortec heads, just look at the roof of the intake port - there is a fin running down it. Not all fast burn heads are Vortecs. The Vortec head, by definition, has the fin (and some other stuff) to cause the mix to swirl - creating a vortex going into the bowl behind the valve to dramatically increase flow. The vortec port design is one of the VERY few things on a pre-LT1 regular production SBC that was actually both a good idea AND well executed.

And Mexican blocks have higher nickel content (rumor has it).
An '75-newer blocks seem to be less likely to have cylinder warpage in the 2-4-6 holes due to the water jacket design.
I think the 1 peice rear main is '86-up, but I could be mistaken.

So for a traditional street car you want a '75-'85 block not made in the USA.
Although the 1 piece rear main is really nice and no one would ever notice it in an assembled car...

- 4 bolt main blocks are weaker than 2 bolt main blocks.
- most 2-peice rear main 4-bolt blocks have been wiped out by the dirt track guys, and are anything but cheap these days.

Well, in a road race car (or any competition where you are DOWN shifting during the race), the fact that all things being equal, a shorter stroke = faster FREE rev can shave seconds off your lap time. Also, all other things being equal, more cubic inches = the car accelerates faster, so if you aren't downshifting while racing, there is no logic behind de-stroking an engine, just old wives tales.
Flame on

All in all, only an expert could tell a '75-up Mexican or Canadian 350 block from a '60's 327 block when it's in your car covered with stuff. Anyone looking at your ride that close just so they can give you crap is just a chalk-mark resto freak in hot rodder's duds, so you can safely ignore them. A 350 is the most common for aftermarket parts (which makes it the cheapest) of all of the SBCs. Lots of cool traditional bits to be had that will bolt right on. Throw in some EQ heads and a set of KB pistons, a good Isky stick, some cheap roller rockers, with traditional outside stuff, and go play.

There are a number of problems with that plan. But this is the wrong forum for that discussion. Find an EFI or late model truck forum.

 

If it were a gas motor, I would agree, however, the motor didn't show any other signs of detonation, not to mention it's pretty damned difficult to make a methanol burner detonate to start with.

Now, it's entirely possible that it picked up the "pecker tracks" (as you so eloquently put it) in the few revs between when it broke the block and when it finally spun the bearings. Since the front and rear mains where the only two still intact, they bore the entire load for a short time. The caps were still on their registers and at the correct torque spec when we tore it down though. Those caps went to live on another block as well, so they didn't really suffer much damage.

I doubt very seriously that the motor was detonating, 'cause that entire rotating assembly went back into a Dart block with same heads and lived a long and productive life. No broken parts, just had to have two journals ground. It was real funny, locked up dead tight and spun me out, but when we pulled the caps, the bearings popped right off the journals and it all came apart real easy. Just a 0.010" grind and a new block, and it was right back at 'em again.

If detonation had caused it to come unglued, those same parts, with the same carb, fuel pump, and headers would have done the exact same thing when we put it back together again.

It just had too much grunt for that stock block to handle.

 

Yeah, I know. That's why the damn thing still has the stock heads.

What are Australian EQ heads? Never heard of them before.

 

I just don't understand this mindset.

Why not just explain it to him and be done with it?

You won't burst into flames from posting a few OT sentences, and it will help a fellow hot rodder do his thing a little better.

 

what is all this "leaker" shit... I love playing with my small journal 327's and I don't have any leaks....are you thinking of fords? -

 

I have a 76 350 block with Vortec heads in my 32 Ford roadster. Good runner. But there is no way to make it really look traditional. Wish that I had used earlier heads and an intake with an oil tube.

Just scored two 283s. They are going to the back in the shop where I am collecting parts for a true to tradition 57-58 era Model A coupe.

It all depends on what you want to do. But if you want a traditional SBC you need to start with a 55-57 265/283. Distinctive because they don't have side motor mounts. And use heads that don't have accessory bolt holes.

 

oh shit.....


thought this was a traditional board...

so 88-up centerbolts,vortecs,LT1's(not the REAL LT1) and LS1's(etc) are better than the real thing,,,,




maybe on paper some of those are...,,,but this isnt what this site is about...

 

Sam F. I agree about the traditional board. I run a 65 327 030 / 331sbc 4 speed 3.00 rearend in a 39ford sedan get 22 mpg and it is bullet proof for having fun. Send that new stuff to a different forum!

 

Hey John ,

You started a good one this time,

Man this thing could go on for ever..........

It was great to see ya the other night ,Thanks for stopping by....

 

there is no fin in a vortec truck head that I have ever seen. You may be thinking of an earlier design chevy played with. and to run a pair of Vortec heads on a TBI motor, you would need to get a Vortec specific intake from GMPP then the throttle body would bolt on, Vortec heads have much taller ports and a completely different intake bolt pattern to use an old school tbi intake on. its probably better and cheaper to put the real Vortec stock intake on and use the Vortecs efi computer/ecu and harness.
If the motor has anything but a stock cam in it then the efi calabration /tune up will be off and it wont run right. But tuned properly it will rock.

Doug

 

62 to 67 327 is the motor of choice for me...Light hot rod with 4.11 gears and look out big block pro-streeters. The older blocks have the breather on the back of the block and you can run the solid valve covers like cal-customs.Good luck! The coupe that Von Franco owns now was mine and I had a 327 in that and it would absolutely scare the hell out of you!