How's it going? I'm new to the forum, looking for some advice on the engine in my 1980 Corvette. A quick background, I bought the car when I was 16, and have been resto-modding it for the past 13yrs. I've gone through the entire car at this point from chassis, to drivetrain, to body and interior.
It started like this:
And has become this:
Anyways, on to my question.
I'm considering do an upgrade to my top end and I'm looking for some advice from some of the more experienced engine guys on here.
First, is it worth doing? Since building my first engine 7 years ago when I was 22 I've second guessed my head choice after talking with some different people. I'm running Edelbrock E-tec 170's which I had bought as part of their "power package" so it came with a matched cam and rpm air gap intake. The motor is a full roller 383 stroker (all the details below).
I've been happy with it, it's great on the street and it's run a best of 12.044 @ 112 with a 1.6s 60'. This wasn't under the best conditions, track prep wasn't great, I'm pretty sure it has more in it.
Alas, with all the nay-sayers saying the 170's are too small for a 383 stroker, I've spent the last 7yrs wondering if I've left a lot of power on the table. I built the short block strong and the engine only has 11k miles on it, so it should easily take more power. What I'm wondering is if it would be that much of a difference to make it worth doing... I'm leaning towards it probably is, I know there's WAY better head/cam combos out there, but I'm in no way an expert.
So, in addition to your thoughts on whether the Etec 170's are sufficient or I should go to something else, I'd also like to hear your recommendation on what heads I should look at.
As a side note, the current setup has developed some little external coolant leaks from the head gaskets and intake gasket... so it gives me a decent reason to justify a head swap to myself :mwink:
I know head choice depends on a lot, so if you need more info than what's below just ask, I definitely have it.
Thanks for any help!
Specs:
11.0:1 CR
-Bare 1987 hydraulic roller 350 block-Eagle Crank
-6" Forged Eagle Rods -Forged Mahle flat tops
-Aluminum Edelbrock E-tec 170s, 64cc chambers, 1.94" int/1.55" exh valves.
-Edelbrock Roller cam .539/.548
-Crane Cam Gold Race Extruded 1.5 rocker arms
-Comp Cams high energy hyrdaulic roller lifters
-Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake
-Edelbrock Thunder Series AVS 650cfm
-XSPower Side pipes
-Built 700r4
-Rearend setup out of a '78 with Richmond 3.90 gears.
It started like this:
And has become this:
Anyways, on to my question.
I'm considering do an upgrade to my top end and I'm looking for some advice from some of the more experienced engine guys on here.
First, is it worth doing? Since building my first engine 7 years ago when I was 22 I've second guessed my head choice after talking with some different people. I'm running Edelbrock E-tec 170's which I had bought as part of their "power package" so it came with a matched cam and rpm air gap intake. The motor is a full roller 383 stroker (all the details below).
I've been happy with it, it's great on the street and it's run a best of 12.044 @ 112 with a 1.6s 60'. This wasn't under the best conditions, track prep wasn't great, I'm pretty sure it has more in it.
Alas, with all the nay-sayers saying the 170's are too small for a 383 stroker, I've spent the last 7yrs wondering if I've left a lot of power on the table. I built the short block strong and the engine only has 11k miles on it, so it should easily take more power. What I'm wondering is if it would be that much of a difference to make it worth doing... I'm leaning towards it probably is, I know there's WAY better head/cam combos out there, but I'm in no way an expert.
So, in addition to your thoughts on whether the Etec 170's are sufficient or I should go to something else, I'd also like to hear your recommendation on what heads I should look at.
As a side note, the current setup has developed some little external coolant leaks from the head gaskets and intake gasket... so it gives me a decent reason to justify a head swap to myself :mwink:
I know head choice depends on a lot, so if you need more info than what's below just ask, I definitely have it.
Thanks for any help!
Specs:
11.0:1 CR
-Bare 1987 hydraulic roller 350 block-Eagle Crank
-6" Forged Eagle Rods -Forged Mahle flat tops
-Aluminum Edelbrock E-tec 170s, 64cc chambers, 1.94" int/1.55" exh valves.
-Edelbrock Roller cam .539/.548
-Crane Cam Gold Race Extruded 1.5 rocker arms
-Comp Cams high energy hyrdaulic roller lifters
-Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake
-Edelbrock Thunder Series AVS 650cfm
-XSPower Side pipes
-Built 700r4
-Rearend setup out of a '78 with Richmond 3.90 gears.