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Building on a Budget - Chevy SB 350

4K views 23 replies 6 participants last post by  454C10 
#1 ·
I would like to build a Chevy 350 Small Block for my Nova. Eventually I will change it over to a 383, but for now I just want to rebuild my current engine as cheap as possible but decent.

Here are the parts I'm thinking of:

Edelbrock Air-Gap Intake
Comp Cam 286H Magnum & Lifters
Keith Black Pistons Flat Top KB228?
Fel-Pro Full Set Gaskets
Rings and Bearings

What type of compression would I have with stock 350 heads and the KB 228 Pistons?
 
#7 · (Edited)
If you have the ability to go with the AFR 195's, you can go quite a bit bigger on the cam if you wanted to, as long as your compression was high enough. You would also gain signicantly over a set of stock heads. As was stated, the 64cc 195's would put you at 10.2:1. Depending on how much and what kind of cam you want to run, you could get as much as ~500 hp out of that 350. Before buying AFR's though, I would recommend reading this article, it may be in your best interest to wait.

http://airflowresearch.com/articles/article113/A-P1.htm

If you buy the AFR heads, order them FROM AFR. You will be getting the new eliminator heads. I am sure other places will have old stock that they are trying to get rid of. You will be looking at a 8 week wait, but it will be well worth it.

Adam
 
#8 ·
Would it be crazy to run the 292H Comp Cam? .501 lift

The 195cc heads say they will support a .550 lift.

Basically I want to build this engine for now and then later rebuild it as a 383. So I want to experiment with an awesome cam. I think the 292H would be insane. Very rough idle makes me drool. :mwink:

I'm thinking of going with the 68cc heads and flat top KB 228 pistons. Compression ratio would be in the range of 10.0 - 9.8, I think.

With all of this stuff can I run my old pushrods, rods, crankshaft?

I will have to read over that article. Can you give me the short version?
 
#9 · (Edited)
Those heads could easily handle the 292H cam. I would actually recommend a set of 1.6 rockers on top of it. If you used that cam though, you would need around a 3000 stall. The 68cc heads would be a good choice for that combo. I dont know about using the old pushrods, but old piston and crank should be fine. It would be good insurance to get the crank and rods freshend up and use some good rods bolts though. The article pretty much says that AFR cam out with a totally redesigned head that is way better than the old one, and the old ones were great. If you ordered a set of the AFR 195's from jegs or something like that, you may be able to get a set relatively soon, but they will be the old ones. The new ones will be 8 weeks out. As far as flow, the new street 195's cost the same as the old ones, but flow like the old comp 195's. Below are flow numbers for the old comp and street 195cc heads, but you can see the difference of the new heads by comparing them.

http://www.airflowresearch.com/195sbc_sh.php

I would also consider having the heads milled to 64cc to get the compression up.

Adam
 
#10 ·
I have the 292H in my hotrod, 355 sb, 10.5 c/r. It's a street rod 48 pickup with a/c etc., and it does really well. With vacuum advance tuned up (manifold vacuum), carb set right, the idle is not as "radical" as you might think (although you could tune it to be more wicked sounding". It'll make a 350 haul some serious butt, though. You'll like it.
have fun
 
#11 ·
hotrodf1 said:
I have the 292H in my hotrod, 355 sb, 10.5 c/r. It's a street rod 48 pickup with a/c etc., and it does really well. With vacuum advance tuned up (manifold vacuum), carb set right, the idle is not as "radical" as you might think (although you could tune it to be more wicked sounding". It'll make a 350 haul some serious butt, though. You'll like it.
have fun
Good to hear how the 292H cam works. Does it seem tough? :evil:
 
#12 · (Edited)
What are the 1.6 rockers gonna do for me?

edit: (So now that I have researched this, they will give me more lift.)

Do you think I need 3/8" or 7/16" rod bolt?

edit: (ARP-134-6003)

I will have to wait for those AFR heads to come out. :D That will make it even better.

When I get ready I will take the block down and have it bored to .30 over and get the crank and rods checked out.

:mwink:
 
#14 · (Edited)
firestone said:
I called AFR, the heads are available now, but there is a 6-8 week waiting list.

Adam
Guess I have a little time before I pull the engine then. :mwink:

So I'm gonna run stock rods, and crankshaft. Guess I can't really run the stock pistons if I'm having the block bored out to .30 over. :rolleyes:

Just :mwink: Are the piston pins pressed in or ?

Can I do this if I have a press? Might save me $64.00

Here is a list of engine machining from NAPA:

$136.00 Bore Block to .30 over
$50.00 Clean Block
$30.00 Install Cam Bearings
$20.00 Install Soft Plugs
$64.00 Rods Put On New Pistons
 
#16 · (Edited)
I dont know about the pins, mabye someone else on here could help you with that. According to the kb site, the kb106 would put you at 9.7:1, I would try to get above 10:1. I would recommend the KB105. That would put you at 10.6:1 which will require premium fuel, but I dont think that would matter that much on a motor like this. You might as well take advantage of the fact that you would be running aluminum heads. As far as machine work goes, I would see if they recommend getting the crank turned and/or the rods resized. Also, it would be well worth your money to get a good set of rod bolts. Go to the sites below and type in 68cc in the little white box on each to find the compression. As far as getting the heads sooner, I would call AFR and see if their time table is any sooner.

KB106
http://kb-silvolite.com/performance.php?action=details&P_id=156

KB105
http://kb-silvolite.com/performance.php?action=details&P_id=51

Adam
 
#17 · (Edited)
Wonder what AFR means by this:

The 68cc chambers are designed for flat top or dished pistons; domed pistons will require additional machining.

That is why I'm not sure about the .100" dome KB105 Pistons.

10.6 CR? Am I asking for trouble running 10.6 CR, or will I be ok since I'm running the Aluminum AFR head?

:welcome:
 
#19 ·
The 292H cam works great but will require a 4.11 gear and a 3000 stall. And the 280H needs a 3.73 gear and a 2500 stall. A 270H would do well with a 3.55 gear and 2200 stall. What gear and stall do you have?

Just get some flat top pistons and a set of 64cc heads. If you are going to run a smaller cam, like a 270H, then use a piston with 4 valve reliefs to drop compression, otherwise use only 2.

The Edelbrock RPM heads work very well and only cost 1000.00. In a recent chevy high performance article they make 451hp and 490 ft lbs of torque with a fairly mild cam. Check out chevyhiperformance.com to read the article.

I don't like the RPM air gap intake because it takes too long for the carb to get warm enough to run correctly. I would just get the regular RPM intake and save some money plus it works so much better on the street.
 
#20 ·
After all this I'm thinking that I might as well get the crank to make it a 383. If that is the case and I go with the new AFR heads which are 65cc, I can run the KB 197 pistons with a CR of 10.2.

The other alternative is KB100 but the CR is 10.8 Yikes, that makes me really nervous. Would I be ok with AFR Aluminum heads and 10.8 compression running the Comp Cam 292H?

What does internal balance mean on a Crankshaft? Do I still need a harmonic balancer?

One more question, how do I know if I need a 1pc seal or a 2pc seal?
 
#21 ·
A couple of things, first off, where did you hear that the AFR heads have 65cc chambers? According to the site, they are either 68 or 76, but the new ones could be different. That will make a difference in compression calculations. As far as 10.8:1, it should be ok, but you may want to get some other opinions. I had a AFR headed 383 with 11:1 and a 236 242 @.050 hyd roller cam that ran fine on pump gas. You will just want to make sure your quench is good. you still need a harmonic balancer with an internally balanced motor. The balancer has more to do with damping out vibrations than balancing the motor.

Adam
 
#22 ·
I called AFR to find out about using the .100 dome pistons and then during the phone call I decided to make my 350 a 383. I was asking about the new heads and I said something about 68cc's and he said the new heads were 65cc's and 75cc's.

I think I like playing on the safer side of 10.2 CR instead of 10.8. :D Any objections to 10.2 CR?
 
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