grumpyvette

the smart way is to MEASURE THE CRANKSHAFT JOURNAL but just for your info:look http://members.aol.com/rovabr/bearings.html CB663P =std CB663P10 =0.010 10thousands undersize http://www.engineparts.com/products/HDBearings.html http://www.engineparts.com/products/Bearings.html http://www.engineparts.com/motorhead/techstuff/brgselec.html

no the 210cc heads will work fine its just that if your only looking for about 400hp those heads cost about $1700 and there are cheaper aluminum heads that will get you to over 400 hp much cheaper look here, http://www.canfieldheads.com/sbc_2600.html about $1150 thats about a $550 savings for aluminum heads that are similar. or http://www.dartheads.com/sbpro215.htm

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- look here,more info http://www.prestage.com/carmath/calc_headerlength.asp http://victorylibrary.com/mopar/header-tech-c.htm http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~allan/fluids/page7/PipeLength/pipe.html http://www.feuling.com/randd/articles/art11.htm

look here, http://www.prestage.com/carmath/calc_headerlength.asp http://victorylibrary.com/mopar/header-tech-c.htm http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~allan/fluids/page7/PipeLength/pipe.html http://www.feuling.com/randd/articles/art11.htm

formulas to play with http://www.performancesimulations.com/transmission.htm http://www.prestage.com/carmath/dynochart.asp [

http://www.automotiveengine.com/EngineTech/gm.htm

180 deg headers are great but a hell of a lot of work because some of the cylinders on one side of the engine must feed the collector on the oposite bank of cylinders, 180 deg cranks are just not worth the extra expences involved in changeing the engine to run a 180 deg crank.

if your only looking for 400hp theres no sence in spending big bucks on AFR 210cc heads on that 377 engine,look here http://www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com/combos.html build combo #10 but on your 377 short block with 6" rods and the 215-220 cc IRON EAGLE HEADS,10.3:1 cpr AND substitute a crane# 114051 cam for that comp cams roller cam,add a 750 cfm carb on a victor jr intake and 1 3/4" headers, that combo will get you a good 400hp plus cheaply

here , from the canfeild site, http://www.canfieldheads.com/sbc_2600.html and those numbers are for heads with a mild pocket port job (something anyone serious does to racing heads) the chp site uses flow # as cast

bbbowtie what you just described is a classic symptom of an oil pump pickup mounted to close to the bottom of the oil pan or in some cases a partly plugged oil pump pickup screen.pull the pan and replace the oil pump with a new high volume standard pressure model with a bolt on pick up , and have a large screen extension welded on the pickup screen so that it can,t get any closer than 1/2" from the pan bottom.

most of those engines are for replacement of daily driver low performance engines,they are basic cheap rebuilds the cheapest parts available are used at all times,and as many reused parts as possiable are used in their construction, thats not to say they are not a reasonable engine for the money spent but your not getting a high performance engine in any way, the engines are normally built with reused rod bolts, cast reground cranks,used valve springs, resurfaced/rebuilt lifters, and in some cases reground cams., they are NOT BALLANCED and the clearances are(IF IT CAN BE BOLTED IN OR PRESSED IN IT FITS)in some cases, figure your buying a block and a cast crank, and rebuildable cylinder heads for the price. they will get your car running and they normally come with a 1 to 3 year warranty that basically says (if it blows up and we can,t convince you it was your fault we will give you a second rebuilt engine,) I think you would be much better off buying an engine core from a salvage yard and rebuilding it yourself! we used to buy 400 chevys when they were hard to find in salvage yards from DISCOUNT AUTO, strip them down, replace the rods,rod bolts and pistons, and rebuild them correctly but the quality of even the blocks we got varied from great to total trash, you will not know what your getting and the store in most cases will at best just swap it for another just like it if you complain long enough! the G.M. target master engines are far better average quality and brand new and can be purchased for, http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=128&pid=110 http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=130&pid=383

first thing is Im well aware that getting the damn headers to fit can be a real P.I.T.A. but why you guys don,t just make your own custom headers if you have the ability to weld has me confused, read this, Ive done it many times and since you have all the tools its not that hard. heres what I do, get some of that plastic smurf tubeing in the 2" dia size and some ceiling hanger wire and some of that hard set constuction isulation foam. now weld 1" stubs of the exhaust tube to the header flange exhaust ports and bolt it to the cylinder heads. clamp the collectors to a 6 foot section of 2x6" wood and jack it up solid under the car (collectors not touching the car anywhere)to position them where you want them under the car, now cut (8) sections of smurf tubeing about 36" long(theres a formula to figure the exact length)slide 4 pieces of ceiling suspension wire in each tube with the ends looped over inside the tube. now startin with the upper inside collector position and the rear exhaust port, bend and fit the smurf tubeing to fit, the next forward exhaust port goes to the lower inside collector port the next exhaust to the upper outside collector port and the furthest forward to the lower outside collector port , once they are all bent to fit shoot the tubes full of hardening construction foam, let it harden and then pull each individual tube off one at a time and have a mufler shop duplicate it in steel tubeing, this method REALLY makes the fit and try time minimal. and assures equal length tube headers. heres a quick way to figure your true primairy tube length (use 1250f degs(950k) and 5000rpm for race cars, 1200 degs(922K) and 3000rpm for street cars) http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~allan/fluids/page7/PipeLength/pipe.html http://www.prestage.com/carmath/calc_headerlength.asp or if your really lazy if you want other temps look here, http://www.convertalot.com/downloads.html and the answers in meters (about 39"=1 meter) but if you just use 36" it will just move your tuned rpm level up or down slightly, not enough to make much differance except on a very peaky engine combo in a very light car.and this assumes your tube dia. is the same size as your exhaust port size.(never smaller, slightly larger dia. is ok.) btw mild steel is much easier to work with than stainless steel. BTW SMURF TUBEING IS flexable plastic electrical conduit thats normally BLUE and COMMONLY called smurf tubeing by contractors its a plastic version of that metal GREENFIELD tubeing that electrical contractors use but its cheaper and easier to work with, it resembles a canister type vacuum cleaner pickup hose but stiffer, its available at big hardware stores,and electrical supply houses dirt cheap in 10' lengths about $6 each or les you will need (3) the 4 wires act like rebar in concrete, the loops keep the wires from moveing in the foam while their incased in the construction foam, the hard plastic foam is what keeps it stiff and no it will not be exact you will still need to tweak it to get it to fit but it will speed up the process of making the tube pattern shapes. just keep in mind that you can buy headers fairly cheaply (under $300 in many cases) for most cars its when you go and get an odd ball combo this comes in handy, like putting a 502bbc in a 57 vette or a 392 hemi in a 63 falcon, or you need headers for a LS1 in you 67 camaro

well we went thru this before, heres the flow numbers performer rpm......canfield 223 cc trickflow .200......130/108...145/105.....136/99 .300......183/144...206/146.....191/136 .400......226/169...252/184.....230/163 .500......229/175...288/203.....253/177 .600......232/182...301/219.....254/190 http://www.canfieldheads.com/sbc_2600.html http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/head_flowdata.html now the formula for figureing potential hp from head flow is flow at max cam lift x .257 x #cylinders= max hp ) so the edelbrock rpms top out at 232 x .257 x 8 = 477hp without port work but the CANFIELDS are 301 x .257 x 8 =619 hp potentially its not a fair comparison because the edelbrocks are for hot street/strip use on a 350 chevy but the canfields , while they can be used on the street are really racing type heads, now canfield does also make a street/strip head,but even that head has a 50hp advantage over the rpm heads. http://www.canfieldheads.com/sbc_2500.html but thats almost the same price as the race type and it still seriously out flows the edelbrock heads, 259 x .257 x8=533hp potentially so either way the canfields win no contest. Id get the larger canfields, true youll lose some low rpm torque with the larger ports lower air velocity at low rpms but they more than make up the differance in high rpm power by having over 140hp more potential. and just for your info a 383 spinning 6500rpm will need a head flowing about 280 cfm to fill the cylinders completely at that rpm so you can see a small head kills high rpm power. btw heres more head flow #s but be carefull which heads your compareing its very common for a head to just be labled (edelbrock or canfield ) without them telling you what part # your looking at!! http://home.earthlink.net/~hennad/results.html http://www.topher.net/~bearman/gmheadcomp.html http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/techinfo/heads1.html http://www.kendrick-auto.com/head_flow_figures.htm

even that combo your discribeing will cost about $10,000-$11,000 by the time you add a good carb,intake,rev. kit,oil pan,windage screen tray,headers, oil cooler, roller rockers, valve covers,high volume oil system designed for those higher rpms,cam gear drive,hardened push rods,flex plate and ARP bolts everyware, as stock parts won,t work that well. "about $5000 using a truck block, forged crank, H-beam rods and lightweight forged pistons. $1000 for solid roller valvetrain and a set of the Pro Action ported cylinder heads for $2300 that flow 300+ CFM and you have the recipe for a 7500 rpm motor that should provide quite a few years of service." and those "GM forged connecting rods" can,t be trusted for constant 7500rpm use. even you suggest (," forged crank, H-beam rods and lightweight forged pistons.") please understand I am in no way trying to start or win an arguement , I am trying to point out that if you keep the engine rpms under 6500rpm and use the largest stroke that keeps the piston speed under 4000fpm (3.75" like in a 383 or 406 sbc)that results in the largest displacement for the size block your useing the engine you build can keep mostly stock type parts and give you far more hp per dollar spent!! its just that a 406 that turns a max of 6500rpm can be built to give you 475 reliable hp while that extra 1000rpm-1500 rpm gains no real hp but costs you at least $2000-$3000 more to get and maintain

olook here http://www.classicalpontiac.com./ http://www.gtoheaven.com/ heres a few others http://www.pontiacwarriors.com/ http://www.classicalpontiac.com./ http://www.wauknet.com/douthitt/ http://www.boyleworks.com/ta400/musclecar.html http://www.pontiacs.org/phead.html http://mem.tcon.net/users/5013/5800/Homepage.htm heres trans info http://www.drivetrain.com/gmt56inst.html http://www.pro-touring.com/t56/index.htm

those NASCAR ENGINES that spin 9000rpm all day long cost $26,000-$30,000 last time I checked and a cheap stock car claimer type engine will not last long in a street car nor will it turn 9000rpm, yes a 327 can be built that revs to 7500rpm fairly cheaply but hold that rpm for more than a few seconds and something will break, perhaps not the first or the 100drth time but much sooner than you might think. stress is cumlative its just a matter of time REMEMBER theres a HUGE differance in letting the tach hit 7000 for a fraction of a second on a shift and trying to reliably produce hp at 7000 plus rpm. look http://www.gaerteengines.com/latemodel.html IF THEY COULD BUILD AND SELL DEPENDABLE HIGH RPM ENGINES ANY CHEAPER THEY WOULD!!

there several factors to keep in mind,the first is as the engines rpms double the stress on parts squares, to give you a better grasp on that theres about 8 times as much stress at 8000rpm as there is at 2000rpm, and after about 6500rpm- 7000 rpm the cost of reliable parts doubles every 1000rpm, the most hp per dollar spent in a sbc is going to be a properly built 377-406cid engine,it comes down to the most effective use of the sbc as far as cylinder head air flow limitations,piston speed and part costs all point to building the largest engine that will not require super expensive custom parts and spinning it no faster than 4000fpm of piston speed if you intend on letting it live a long health life,while a 302 0r 327 looks great on paper the valve train useing stock style parts limits you to about 6500rpm, so if your limited to that rpm you might as well get the largest engine that maintains a piston speed under 4000fpm at that rpm also and thats a 406 with its 3.75" stroke, a 377 will give you another 650rpm but will require more expensive parts, trying to use that extra 1500 rpm that a 302 seems to provide will cost you about $2000-$4000 extra if you intend on reliably buzzing that engine to 8000rpm. also keep in mind that the cams,light weight valves, and intake systems necessary to pull the effective hp from an engine spinning 8000rpm are not well suited to daily driveing while an engine that turns almost 6500rpm can be built with much less expensive parts and can be tuned to work fairly well in the 2000rpm-4000rpm range, something an engine set up to run 8000rpm efficiently will not do. the short answer here is that the greater displacement, wider torque curve and less expensive parts all make a 377-406 a much cheaper and easier engine to build yet still retain the same or greater hp levels of a high rpm engine.

buy these FIVE books, it will be the best money you ever spent, read them, and you will be miles ahead of the average guy. HOW TO BUILD THE SMALL BLOCK CHEVEROLET by LARRY ATHERTON&LARRY SCHREIB . HOW TO BUILD MAX PERFORMANCE CHEVY SMALL BLOCKS ON A BUDGET by DAVID VIZARD . JOHN LINGENFELTER on modifying small-block chevy engines how to build & modify CHEVROLET small-block V-8 CAMSHAFTS & VALVTRAINS BY DAVID VIZARD SMOKEY YUNICK,S POWER SECRETSby SMOKEY YUNICK

http://www.diy-efi.org/diy_efi/oem/gm/tunetip.html http://www.smokemup.com/utilities/calc/fuel_injector.cfm http://www.customefis.com/ http://www.fuelinjection.com/portinj.html http://www.tpis.com/ http://www.speartech.com/ http://www.customefis.com/index.html

look here http://rshelq.home.sprynet.com/calc_hp_dp.htm http://rshelq.home.sprynet.com/cf.htm http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/ccus.html http://rshelq.home.sprynet.com/density_altitude.htm

I use these on my personal engines , http://www.totalseal.com/totalseal3.html they cost more but I feel the GAPLESS RING SETS ARE WORTH IT

a 283 can make plenty of power for a daily driver in a 2500 lb car , and yes 300hp-350hp is a possiablity from a 283 but it will take good parts to get that hp level, a set of vortec heads heavly modifyied with a good solid lifter cam, 1 5/8" full length headers, and a good 600cfm carb and a performer rpm intake will get you close!

the victor jr (edelbrock #2975) and a 750 carb are about ideal for a hot 383 combo if theres any chance of hood clearance problems (its still fairly tall but it works very well with those heads) a 700cfm carb works slightly better on a 350 BUT be aware you may need a drop base air filter and possiably a hood scoop with any high rise intake,look here, http://www.ramairbox.com/

sorry guys I have not checked this forum lately; look here, Exhaust Valve When the exhaust valve opens, a compression wave is sent downstream and reflects back as a rarefaction wave when an opening in the exhaust system is encountered. Experimentally it has been found that the optimum position of the piston when the wave returns is 120o. At this position the remaining exhaust gas can be scavenged from the combustion chamber. The required length of the exhaust pipe can then be determined. http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~allan/fluids/page7/PipeLength/pipe.html Exhaust System Diameter and Engine Horsepower- A popular idea is to select/size the exhaust system components to the engine's horsepower output. This idea typically attributes a header diameter or an exhaust system diameter to a particular horsepower level. To resolve this, look at how an engine operates and consider one cylinder. The cylinder will move a volume of air based on its crankshaft geometry, rpm, and sealing capability. The amount of air that can enter the cylinder is dependant on the intake flow capability, crank geometry, rpm, and valve timing as a minimum consideration. Likewise, the amount of air that exits the cylinder is dependent on the same characteristics. An engine's output is usually thought of in terms of horsepower. Actually, an engine produces torque, and the horsepower is calculated through a units conversion. The amount of torque an engine can produce is directly related to the amount of cylinder pressure generated. This is all affected by the same previous characteristics (intake and exhaust capability, crank geometry, rpm, valvetiming, etc). So basically an engine's power output is about air exchange capability. Using this line of thinking, look at the exhaust path again. The exhaust system is more reflective of the engine's ability to move air, as opposed to horsepower numbers. Engine output does not address the breathing aspects of the engine and is probably not a good rule to use for exhaust sizing. There is a very good reason that tuners/engineers/specialist have attempted to assign exhaust to intake relationships around 70-80% for a typical natural aspirated set-up. In non-detailed terms, it is a range that offers a good balance for power capability. Other relationships, such as 1:1, are used and they work very well, but these methods have to be applied and tuned for very specific circumstances. This relationship does not stop on the flow bench, it goes all the way from the intake path opening to the exhaust system termination. In short, try to maintain exhaust sizes that are inline with the intake capability. Also, do not stop your analysis at the intake and exhaust paths. If the engine already has the camshaft, look at the valve events. If the specs favor a restricted exhaust (indicated by early and wider exhaust openings with wider lobe separation angles), then size it accordingly by using exhaust components with smaller cross-sections. If the valve timing specs favor the intake, then the engine needs some serious exhaust flow capability which is only possible with larger cross-sections. This section was written with natural aspirated combinations in mind. However, by using the 'air exchange' rationale, it becomes apparent why forced induction engines typically benefit from increased exhaust flow capability. Also, look at the nitrous combinations. The intake system remains virtually unchanged, yet with the major increases in cylinder pressure it acts like a substantially larger engine on the exhaust side, requiring earlier exhaust openings and/or higher exhaust flow capability first look here to get an idea of the pipe lengths necessary, http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~allan/fluids/page7/PipeLength/pipe.html now the short answer is that the inside header dia. should be the same size or slightly larger than the exhaust port on your cylinder heads so as not to cause a restriction in the exhaust flow and a length determined by the engines displacement and rpm range but read these exerts from other articles. http://www.burnsstainless.com/TechArticles/Theory/theory.html ust flow capability. How much hp can a 1 5/8 header support? When should you "graduate" to a 1 3/4? Are there other factors besides hp that determine primary tube size? Thanks here this will get you a ballpark idea on what size header to use,..as a general rule your going to make more hp and torque with a 1 3/4" header size in most cases if the engine flows more than 660 cfm useing this formula (displacement/2 x max rpm /1728) example#1 (a hot 383 that spins 6500rpm racing) 383 /2=191.5 x 6500rpm=1244750/1728=720 so this engine would be better off with 1 3/4" example#2 (a 350 tow engine that seldom if ever sees 6000rpm) 350/2=175 x 6000rpm=1050000/1728=607cfm so this engine would benefit more from 1 5/8" headers

utvolman99 (yes there are exceptions, I knew that when I posted this) I can see where you could get confused and Im sorry I did not make that clearer,most people let auto transmissions shift themselves so I was not talking about them,I should have removed them from the chart but if you have a manual overide control on your auto trans, normally shifting when your about 500-700rpm past your hp peak will get you in the ballpark, and of course gearing and your engine combo will have some effect here but the main concept is that if your engine spends almost all of its time in an rpm range with the engines torque peak at its low end and the engines hp peak at about 2/3rds of the way up to your shift point you should get the almost ideal torque curve overlaping your transmissions operateing rpm range and yes thats also assumeing a normal engine torque curve where the peak hp is about 1000-1500 higher than the torque peak and the hp peak is someware in the 5500-6500rpm range like your average high performance sbc over the years Ive seen way to many people that ALWAYS take the engine to just under the redline rpm on every shift while racing and in almost every case that slows the car down! utvolman99 thanks for pointing that out as most people don,t take the time to think everything through and Im sure that your bringing that up will help someone.