Just for fun, I was wondering what all might be involved in running Dual Overhead Cams or even a Single Overhead Cam with an early model Chevy 350 CID engine. Has this ever been attempted? Is it even possible?
I see DOHC 5.7L Chevy's at car shows all time. Parts aren't easy to come by, but they have to be easier than one-off aftermarket pieces. Here's a pic I took of one at a cars and coffee in Las Vegas.
And as posted in this thread about three years ago, that's NOT an SBC. It's an LT5 designed by Lotus and built by Mercury Marine. The only thing it has in common with an SBC is the bellhousing bolt pattern.
Corvette ZR1 LT5 Information and Specs
Here's a link to Corvette heads from the early 90's. They were apparently all aluminum engines, but they were also 349 CI DOHC engines.
Yeah, the only thing is that they made about 7000 total, only in corvettes, and the only thing they share in common with a sbc is the 4.4" bore spacing.
Guys talk about the limits of hp for DOHC SBC's not even being able to produce the same HP as the push rod engines and how complicated they are.We know that one part of how fast a engine rev's is related to how light the valve train is.Given a DOHC is a substantially lighter valve train,they get to the 375 hp limits(in some cases 375 hp)lightening fast.
I built a lot of SBCs back in the day. It was not too hard to run with the big block muscle cars, if it was in a light body, and had some simple mods. What is the reason you are thinking of the OHC design? It would not yield any appricable RPM gain... and would probably be a lot more expense than to adding a turbo or supercharger. The only thing that seems a real gain from my experience is the visual impact.
If you are looking for something more visually stimulating... maybe a set of custom milled valve covers with some creative design work... and maybe an unusual intake of some sort.
I've seen some locals doing experimentation with designing electronic injection setups. and getting a visual boost in the process. Unless you could find an aftermarket setup, you might search for local talent that is sophisticated enough to build something with computer control.
It has the same 4.4" bore centers. I believe is missing one bellhousing hole (similar to Gen3/4) but pattern same otherwise. Last I heard, parts of most any kind were very hard to get from GM. The aftermarket hasn't supported it, and why would they? Six years and less than 7000 units doesn't make much of a market.
It has the same 4.4" bore centers. I believe is missing one bellhousing hole (similar to Gen3/4) but pattern same otherwise. Last I heard, parts of most any kind were very hard to get from GM. The aftermarket hasn't supported it, and why would they? Six years and less than 7000 units doesn't make much of a market.
You're right about that, though I've seen some that can really get up and move for an orphan engine in a long-dead platform. The particular one above was actually in a ZR-1 that was painted to look like a GS, interestingly enough. It may not be a "real" sbc, but I'll be damned if it isn't the coolest motor you could purchase in a production Corvette.
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