dr_hunt Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 When building a 383, watch 2 and 5 rods for cam clearance. Rotate the engine several times and watch the cam lobes as at some point they will be right in the path of the rotating crank/rod assembly. If you are using 350 rods or any 5.7 stock rod they will need to be clearance on the cam side (All 8 for balance reasons). Any competent machine shop that knows anything can do it. Don't do it yourself! Block clearance can be a problem and you want .080 between rotating parts and the block. Internally balance the crank if you can, it's worth the 150 bucks for mallory metal not to have to worry about 400 balancers and flexplates/flywheels. Not to mention that you can "forget" what size engine it has after you blow somebody in the weeds. Heck run a 327 balancer or even better a 80's model 305 balancer and tell them it's only a 305 with a mild cam, intake and headers. Build it right once rather than wrong twice! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jap tin Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Your right about the little dampners. I run the 6.325" ATI dampner on my sbc and have fooled a few people on the engine displacement. Wow, I didn't know a 283 could run that fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_hunt Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 Ditto, I run 6.25 inch fluidampr's on all my sbc's. If you are going to spin over 6K I strongly recommend aftermarket balancers. If you have ever seen one blow up or come off you'll know what I mean as they can do significant damage. I had a stock one come off my 400SBC back in '93 at cruising speed down the highway. It cracked the crank portion and just came off, didn't tear up anything on the car just went 'yonders out in the field and wiped out the crank snout, very costly to fix. A buddy of mine had one come off his 67 chevelle drag car, 406, went through the passenger fender, that's right folks, through the fender well, then fender, then bent the front bumper, then went down and hit the wheel center cap and smashed it, and he shifts at 6K. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corzette Posted October 10, 2004 Author Share Posted October 10, 2004 Roger that guys....well Im getting a 6 inch Damper with the kit. Another question is will a 6 inch rod clear everything with the simple Block notching etc. I was told something about having to have a small circle base cam??? Im running the CompCams XR282HR cam retrofit 12-432-8. Is this a small circle base cam or will it work out ok? Any suggestions? Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corzette Posted October 10, 2004 Author Share Posted October 10, 2004 Are REV kits over rated or a good investment? CZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_hunt Posted October 10, 2004 Share Posted October 10, 2004 It's not the length of the rod that is the problem its the bolts. 400 rods have a shorter bolt and corresponding shorter rod bolt shoulder area for cam clearance. Put the two side by side and you'll see what I mean. The 6 inch rods will definately have a problem as do the 5.7's. Small base circle cam is a definate plus, but if it hits it hits the lobe itself next to the peak not the base circle, however small base circles allow for smaller lobes. If you look at the bottom of the rod when the nuts are on. That portion where the remainder of the threads stick out and the corners of the nuts will sometimes hit the factory notches in the block along the pan rails on both sides in several places. Be carefull adding clearance here cause it isn't too far to water and by water I don't mean the kind you can drink. You want .080 to allow for growth, flex, bearing wear etc. Rev kits for hydraulic rollers such as the AFR kit are marvelous, simply marvelous. If you haven't run one then you won't know. I've built both with and without and with they will definately make more power above 6K. If you are not turning over 6K then leave it out. Also they make putting the heads on a two man job most of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zfan Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 Terry, I am receiving my Edge converter tomorrow and will be putting the motor in thursday and friday. I should be back on the road by friday evening. Question for the motor heads. What kind of break in time should I look at. It is a roller cam 385 sbc. I in the past have usually gone 500 miles of reletively easy driving then I start to push her harder but not all at once. Maybe 500 rpm incriments. I know I spelled that wrong Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_hunt Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 8) roller cams don't have break in. Rings do, but if it's honed with 500 grit, it won't take long. I give mine 35-60 minutes before WOT under load. If you built it right, it'll stay together David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zfan Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Thanks for your input David! I got the motor back in today and will drive it tomorrow. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_hunt Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Well, at least your going to drive yours, ours is still parked. Got the parts back today from the machine shop. AFR should be here next week. Got the powerglide built this week. Should stuff it in the car in the upcoming weeks. Going to try to take it to the track for the last race in Nov, but we'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corzette Posted October 16, 2004 Author Share Posted October 16, 2004 Man this post is getting big Well I went to the track tonight and set another personal record with the 350. I hit a 12.31 ET and a 114.28 MPH Man Im pissed because thats enough MPH to get in the 11s but my 60 foot is suffering. I could only get 1.9s tonight. I walked everyone down that were getting 1.7s 60 footers. My MPH was higher than thiers but some would beat me because of the hole shots....so if I put my battery in the back will that help? Also putting PIZZa cutters up front, will that help? Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zfan Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Terry, Your 60 ft.'s are suffering due to one of two things. 1 your not hooking up well out of the hole or 2 you do not have a good converter. You need at least a 3000 rpm stall converter, say a 9.5" type 3000- 3600 rpm type. My friend could get no better than high 1.80's to 2.0's. He went to M and H slicks and a Edge 3500 converter and even with fuel stumble problems out of the hole he still got 1.62 60 ft.'s. He will get 1.50 easily when fuel issues are fixed and I think he did that this week. I just put a 3500 rpm 9.5 Edge converter in mine and I hope to seee some gains next time at the track. I have never done better than 1.74 for 60 ft's. If you get a good converter run a big trans cooler. Price is steep as well. Art Carr, Vigilante, Edge and others run anywhere from 550 to 800 bucks for a 9.5 Lock type converter for a 700r4. If your going to do a lot of cruising as well as racing do the lock up for sure. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corzette Posted October 17, 2004 Author Share Posted October 17, 2004 Mike I have 800 bones to spend. I would like to get a battery relocation kit and a 3500 convertor. What does this look like? Is TPI a worthy manufacturer? Can you give me the place where you got your convertor? 700R4 3500 STALL PERFORMANCE CONVERTER NONLOCKUP TPI22-35$619.95 SPLINES: 30 Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corzette Posted October 17, 2004 Author Share Posted October 17, 2004 I also found this.. The Yank 9" Super Thruster is a hard hitting version of the Super Yank 3500. We take the competition-bred 9" converter housing and bring the efficiency up to Super Yank standards with a proprietary stator. This means you'll get a 3500 stall converter with high efficiency, but with a much harder hit to the tires at the starting line. This converter is a logical step up for individuals wanting something a little more aggressive than the traditional Yank 3000, but don't want to go to a full race converter. http://www.fasttoys.net/yank.html Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zfan Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 Terry, Give Andre a call at Edge Racing converters. He will tell you everything and ask as much. He is very knowledgable. I have read where some guys who did a group buy compared performance numbers of the Edge converter to the Vigilante he had and the edge beat it out. 542.00 shipped to your door. Edge racing 1-888-350-edge. Either way you go let me know what you go with and how it turns out. Best of luck. Oh by the way my car is running and sounds awsome. I installed the 385, Edge 3500 9.5" converter, flushed my tranny and differential, installed and plumbed and wired in the Holley blue electric fuel pump. Much to my suprise this one is much quiter than my previous one. Re bushed the front end. Also worked on the front end I damaged. Man what a busy last 3 days. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corzette Posted October 17, 2004 Author Share Posted October 17, 2004 Mike, thanks..Im all over it. I will order tomorrow... 542 is hard to beat Cant wait to get it in.... Let me know how she feels.. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zfan Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 Terry, If you decide to give Andre a call at Edge racing you will need the following info ready. Engine specs, cam size, intake type, heads, tranny type, lock up or no lock up, tire size, rear gear ratio. What type of driving/racing your doing and what your after/results. Also vehicle weight I believe too. Most anyone worth a hoot will want all this info because they will custom build it to fit your needs. If they don't ask drop em in a hurry. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_hunt Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 I put the battery in the back, ran again, ran same ET. I put pizza cutters in front, again no difference. However, "the feel" of the car changed with the pizza cutters, not as good as with regular 215/75/15's, sacrifices too much front end control for a little weight. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corzette Posted October 18, 2004 Author Share Posted October 18, 2004 Thanks for the info. I was not wanting to change the front tires personnaly either for that reason. However I do notice that when I have a full tank of gas I get better traction. The battery weighs what 50 pounds or so? It should help with that factor at least by relocating it to the back. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_hunt Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 Relocating the battery doesn't hurt, do all you can do, shifts weight proportions to the rear more, however 50lbs is a huge battery, mine weighed 32 lbs. If your traction is that bad, I'd bet that 100 or 150 lbs in the right place would net you some tenths on the 60ft, while costing you only 1 or 2 mph. In circle track we used to take a stock chevrolet sbc valve cover and fill it with lead, weighs exactly 100 lbs and bolt it in the rear bumper. Run some weight bias calcs with one inch of engine trans set back from what you have now, if it'll fit. WOW! Now we are talking some serious proportional weight changes, since we take it off the front and add it to the back. Funny, women don't like rear weight gain, I wouldn't either if we had to take it off the front and add it to the back. I'm thinking of putting a dog house in my firewall to set my engine back even further, probably matches the dog house I stay in most of the time anyway. Don't have the hood latch anyway and I do have a 12 point cage, so I'm legal to modify the firewall. later, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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