rsicard

Vega: Apparently you did not read my recommendations. Go back and read my post CAREFULLY. Solid Roller Camshafts can have significantly more aggressive profile to them. Personally, I would go with a '96 - '99 350 Vortec Block and build from there. The 327 will have to be wound up ALL THE TIME in order to make any decent power. The Vortec block castings are more consistent and CNC machined. Then use the light piston and rod combination. Best to stroke the 350 to 383 and get MORE TORQUE at LOWER RPMs as it does not cost that much more than a 350 rebuild. The Torque gained is well worth the minimal cost. Do a LOT of RESEARCH before spending ANY MONEY.

Vega: Before spending monies on the items you have sighted, the 327 block should be sonic tested for TOO THIN cylinder walls. It should also be tested for any cracks before outfitting it with parts. If you are hard over on the 327 then you will have to Rev it to high RPMs to get the HP out of it. That will require an appropriate camshaft, solid roller lifters, good pushrods roller bearing rockers, stud girdle etc. Hydraulic lifters go wacky at 6000 - 6500 RPM. Care should be taken to get the appropriate squish/quench by decking the block. The crankshaft and con rods should be x-rayed also. Also need good pistons. The pistons you have picked are likely on the heavy side.

Johnc: I would imagine that you paid to have the FEA computer analysis done for the Rusty Old Datsun. Don't understand what the triangulated STB is. Would you be so kind as to spell out this acronym and any further suggestions you might have in increasing the torsional stiffness of the Datsun. Thanks for all your help.

Logan1: It is doubtful there are drawings for the stuff the John C. mentioned. It would be interesting to conduct tests of torsional stiffness. One test prior to each of the modifications recommended by John C. The one that may be the most significant is Custom triangulated front strut tower bars. It would be interesting if there were a FEA computer analysis of the structure of the Datsuns to see which mods have the most impact on torsional stiffness. It would appear that more than a roll bar is needed to increase torsional stiffness. It would take a properly designed Roll Cage with diagonal torsion stiffners not only at the main roll bar but also further forward. Comments on these aspects are welcomed.

bjhines: I really like your system of evacuating the crankcase. Noticed that the two AIR evacuation tubes and valves are "Td" together at the front. Question 1: Does the common AIR evac tube "T" together with the manifold vacuum line going to the PCV valve? Or something else? Question 2: Have you cornered your Datsun hard enough, at speed, to have the accusump discharge oil to keep oil pressure into the Engine? Please elaborate.

bjhines: I may be faced with the same oil starvation issue. Would like to Road Race my 1971 Datsun 240Z with a 383 stroker. A racing pan is installed with windage tray, pan baffles and 8 quart capacity. Also have a pressurized oil reservoir on the shelf that can be installed. Have you cornered you Datsun hard enough to have the accusump discharge into the Engine?? Also is there a re-stricter in the PCV line to the manifold vacuum?? If so what size is the re-stricter??

Datsun switches the negative or ground side of the headlights. The positive side runs directly from the two fuses to each of the headlight sockets. The high/low beam switch connects to ground/battery negative for either high or low beam.

Yes. Don't leave the key in the chuck and pull the work from it or tighten the chuck to the work. Where are you located in Arizona. I am in Tucson. Your picture shows you sitting in a T6 Aircraft with a F4U in the background. Where was the picture taken? Please advise. Thanks.

Logan1: Strotter answered your question. What has been done to your short block as of now? Cylinder heads, camshaft and intake/induction will determine what HP and TQ will be.

Horsepower TV had an issue with Low Oil Pressure on a LSx engine. What was found was an Oil Pickup tube that was not mating correctly and letting in air in the pumping path. The pickup tube was reoriented and the issue eliminated for what it is worth. If that is the problem it may be wise to replace the oil pump.

HowlerMonkey: Thanks for the insight of the bent parts of the CTS-v. Such an "ODD" case.

Gollum: The fact still remains that the more moving parts in an engine, the greater the chance of part failure. This is based on "all things being equal" wherein same materials and same quality used in the piece parts to build the engine. As for the modern LS engines, they are not that high tech. GM went back to the rectangular intake ports in the heads after using the cathedral intake ports design. The rectangular intake port design has been around for MANY years. Gen I, Gen II, GenIII engines with the same (all) specs for displacement, cam specs, cylinder head flow number and fuel injection yield nearly the same results.

mditt8671: Also suggest the Crane Cams Distributor with electronic vacuum and mechanical advance adjustable curves. Allows adjustment of both advance curves. http://www.cranecams.com/view.php?s_id=14

Pyro: You are correct about buying a rebuilt Qjet. I bought and read Cliff's book on Qjets and purchased some parts from him. I rebuilt and modified a Qjet for myself. It was a bit tricky but not that bad. It worked as it was supposed to and did very well on my 383 stroker on the run-in stand. Got the Qjet thrown in on the purchase of a 350 SBC engine. Also reworked a Holley and it became extremely evident the superior engineering used in the Qjet. The Qjet has so many configurations it is hard to know exactly how to rebuild them back to factory. Good Qjet cores are getting hard to find especially the 800+ CFM configuration.

Yes, there is one part number of Vortec Heads that are prone to cracking. There is a second part number that is not prone to cracking. The numbers in the Goodwrench Quest should not be that hard to achieve.

mditt8671: If you ask most people they will say that the Holley is the better Carb. That is NOT TRUE. The Rochester Quadrajet is a very good Carb. The secondaries on that carb are opened based on manifold vacuum. You can purchase books on the Quadrajet to rebuild and modify them. The primaries are small and very economical in normal driving. Step hard on the pedal and the Secondaries should open up and add considerable power. All four barrels have squirters. The holley is crude and thirsty in comparison to the Quadrajet. Clean up and modify as necessary the Quadrajet and you will be money ahead. There is gentleman in the midwest that wrote the book on Quadrajets and uses on to drag race his car. He has a Web site of parts for the Quadrajet. He is a wealth of information on the Quadrajet.

Pyro has the right idea. The used Vortec 350 engines from '96 to 2000 have fuel injection and are usually very clean and little wear because of it. The Vortec heads need to have the valve guides milled to a shorter length to allow more valve opening. A good valve job, good valve springs and good cleanup will make for a good set of heads. An aggressive solid roller lifter camshaft, solid roller lifters and 1.6 ratio rockers will yield HONEST good valve lift to take best advantage of the Vortec heads. Since the stock Vortec short block will likely have pistons .025" in the hole, use .015" head gaskets to get the best squish/quench.

A Generation 1 SBC would be the most compact and cheapest to outfit with aftermarket parts. They can be rebuilt to be very strong on HP, TQ and reliable depending on choice of parts, machining and assembly.

Cartesian: The relay you pictured is probably out of production made in Japan. The American Standard Automotive Relay is either 4 contacts for Single Pole Single Throw (SPST) or 5 contacts for Double Pole Single Throw (DPST) and the sockets for same are most likely 5 contacts and compatible for either SPST or DPST American Standard Automotive Relays. Since the relays that you pictured are 5 contacts they also are DPST Relays. Relays are specified by coil voltage and contact current ratings. The most standard American Automotive Relay is 12 volts coil and 30-40 Ampere rated contacts. Suggest modifying your relay box to accept American Standard Automotive Relays. Bosch and Tyco are two of the primary manufacturers of these relays. Trying to find the Japanese replacements is like finding hens teeth.

If your getting a junk yard 350, it likely will have to be bored .030 over. If the appropriate connecting rods are purchased there may be no need to clearance the pan rails or bottoms of the cylinders. If the 5.7" original rods are reused (not recommended) then clearancing must be done. To do things right, the block should be bored .030 over, decked and crank bores line honed. Then use Scat 6" rods, pistons and 3.75" stroke cast crank. Then you have a very good bottom end.

Don't be so hasty to throw out the stock electrical system. Most of it may good and what it needs is to beef up its weak points. The headlight switches on the steering stalk are subjected to heavy current and go bad after a period of time. Best to have them refurbished and install relays that take the HEAVY current instead of the switches. The other weakness I have discovered on my 240Z us in-line splices that have corroded. With appropriate small changes can restore the stock wiring to good condition. If there are any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to ask.

Logan1: If the target is 300/350tq, for a little more cost those number will be more easily achieved by stroking it to a 383 cu in engine. For $200.00 a cast stroker crank can be had. Either way you will likely have to buy new Pistons anyway. The machining and cylinder heads will make the real difference in how the engine will perform.

Gollum: For equivalent technology and quality between a Ford Coyote and SBC engine, the Coyote will have more parts than the SBC and have a greater failure rate. Using the same casting techniques and equivalent quality parts internally, both the Coyote and SBC will last the same and likely the SBC will outlast the Coyote till death of either engine. The point is to use equivalent technology and quality parts. Metallurgy being the same among parts being used in both engines. Where is the test of the Ford Coyote documented such that I can see the results even though there may be some non-truth in what is presented as fact. With the advent of Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) and Synthetic Oils the longevity of engines is much different. EFI is so much better than carbs there is light years difference. EFI does not wash down the oil in the cylinders on start-up or gas pedal mashing. With EFI the cylinder lubrication is much better for better longevity. Add to that using Synthetic Oil which does not break down at higher temperatures and the longevity goes up exponentially. Likely this is the way that Ford ran the Coyote engine and it is no wonder that it ran so long without fail. The same holds true with a SBC equipped the same way. Typically the Detroit manufacturers do not design the engines to last a million miles at 100% rated power as this is not the way they will be used in service.

Steve260Z: .003 interference fit is a little TOO MUCH. See if you can get it down to .001 to .002 interference fit. If there is a wood-ruff key then there does not need to have such a tight interference fit.

44 magnum: Looked at the link you provided. The important things to ask about are the rear drive-train, rust, suspension mods and brake modes. For 8.5K this deal may be a steal.