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Input on a 540cu build?

4K views 28 replies 7 participants last post by  K and K 
#1 ·
Hello, nice website, a couple of questions please? This motor is for a 67 Camaro, approx 3500lbs+/- It will be turning a T56 6speed, 12 bolt 383 rear. The pistons are 9to1 (Left room for something in the future and just street gas) That being said, what are your thoughts for this application (Being a pump gas weekend street car) on single vs dual plane intakes, carb style (4100/4500) size, any suggestions on anything? Thank You
Engine
Engine Block: 540cubic inch Dart Big M block/Iron 4 bolt splayed caps
Bore: 4.5”
Deck Height: 9.8”
Crankshaft: Eagle Forged 4340 Steel
Stroke: 4.25”
Connecting Rods: Eagle “H” Beam Forged 4340 Steel
Length: 6.385”
Rod/Main Bearings: King Alecular Pro Series
Pistons: SRP 1.270 C/H -3cc Flat single valve relief
Rings: JE Plasma Moly file fit

Cylinder Heads: Dart Pro 1 Aluminum
Chamber Size: 119cc
Runner Size: 345cc
Intake Valve Size: 2.300”
Exhaust Valve Size: 1.880”
Valve Springs: 1.625” K-Motion Roller Springs
Retainers: K-Motion 10degree Titanium

Cam: Crower #01486
Grind# 290R
Intake Lift: .649
Duration: 290 deg
Clearance: .026
Exhaust Lift: .677
Duration: 306 deg
Clearance: .028
 
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#2 ·
DAM!!!
this is going into just a w/e car and not a drag car, cause the engine you just described is easily 10k+, don't all the prices but i would say that is the low end, the cam (sound like a mech roller) i can't find the cam card for it to see all the specs but i looked at similar ones and with alike lift and duration (what is the duration @ .050, this means a lot) and you will need atleast 10.5:1 with this cam.
why are you going with a drag cam, when you plan on driving it on the steet regularly, go with a hyd. flat tap cam (low maintenance)
and you plan on running this with a stick, you better buy one heck of a clutch,
i don't have a way to dyno sim this (+ you need to provide the cam duration @ .050 for anyone to, and center line) but i would easily emagine that your talking 650hp i would say likely more if built by someone who is good, but for the street that is no engine i would want to run, in a 3300-3600lbs car with the right set up your talking easy 9's in the 1/4
i would seriously suggest rethinking what your going to do with this car and motor and then build and engine based on that
with that much hp/tq if your not running a decent tire with a good suspension you wont go anywhere besides sideways
oh and you would have to run a single plane intake with that cam
a 4150 carb is decent on the street, good for strip
a 4500 harsh on the street and great for the strip

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#3 ·
holy crap and an aftermarket DART block ????

up that price to 12k+ (easily)

why?

if a really good street car (fast street car) with a BBC is what you want find a 396 or 454 block, go with a cast steel crank, hyper pistons @ 9.5-10.5:1 you will still be able to run high test gas, stg-1 or stg-2 rods, a good set of steel heads (or alum if you must spend the money) with around 269-300cfm/ 2.19-2.250 int valves, 119cc, a hyd flat tap cam around 270-280/ .530-.580 lift and a dual plane intake you will still need a good clutch but this would be much more condusive for the street, you would get likely 475hp and tq out the yin-yang which on the street it's tq you want not as much hp, all of this and you would have spent half the money you would have if you go with the other motor

if you plan on going with the drag motor you better get a serious rear and i dont know as much about hi-po stick shifts (i have heard about the T-56 of coarse) but i dont know its limitations but i would certainly belive that you would be pushing if not well over doing it with that motor

you will end up spending 15-20k on the car before you could put that motor in

with a good street motor you wouldn't have to spend nearly the money

you could build a bad behind street car (given the camaro is in good shape already) for the price you would spend on just that street motor
 
#5 ·
Ha, believe me, I know the prices of the parts that have gone into this build, anyways maybe I should have said that this is an overkill street motor, but I know it, so with all do respect, please dont suggest that I need a 396 or 454, this motor is going in. You are correct, the cam is a mech roller, its numbers are high, but the numbers calculated out to still have some streetability.
 

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#6 ·
WOW have fun
streetability maybe!!!
9:1 NO, take a look at other brand cams with similar lift and durations and you will see that they all will say to use with 10.5: or higher, low gears, and high stall (i realize that you will be using a clutch)
how much are you or did you pay for this motor?
please tell me that you aren't going to run a stock diff (it will not! hold up)
and a stock suspension wont let you hook up EVER, someone with a decent 12.0 car would spank you cause you wouldn't be able to get the tires to grip

exp: a friend of mine has a 95' mustang GT with a new 347cid, x303 cam, great heads, and a paxton supercharger making around 550hp, 450tq, but hasnt put more than a couple hundred into his supsension and still runs the stock 16' P255/50R16's and wonders why a car running 13's can whip him, once the motor hits 3k he can't hook up, all this money and hp means absolutely nothing
on the street you want a car with more TQ than HP, how often on the street are you going to hit 7k RPM
HP makes money, but TQ wins races

take a look at this similar cam

http://www.compcams.com/Cam_Specs/CamDetails.aspx?csid=501&sb=2

it has less duration but yet is requiring a 11:1 or higher CR
 
#7 ·
Do you have the stock rear suspension? Before my car was back halved I used the CE slide-a-link set up. It actually helped quite a bit being able to preload the rear springs. I run the 1050 Dom and a single plane intake on the street with pretty good manners,{well as good you can expect} But it doesn't surge like alot of people complain about.

You might buy some extra rear tire's when you get a chance! :D

It will run just fine on the street!
 
#8 ·
he can run it on the street yes, he will need a decent set of tires, and he is claiming 9:1, with the cam it shouldn't be 9:1, now if it was 10.5-11.5:1 he may have to mix some 110 or maybe even just an additive to make it run right with out all the knock of 87 pump gas, which there is nothing wrong with that, and if he gets the suspension and the chassis right then yes that will be one heck of a motor/ car on the street, i mentioned that it would be a motor i wouldn't want to run on the street but that doesn't mean that he couldn't if he wanted to, i was saying that he can build a GREAT street car with a 6k motor and 6k into the car instead of 12k in the motor and another 5-10k to have the parts that could handle that and make it hook, but to each his own, good luck with the project, it will sound SICK when its done
 
#9 ·
my87Z said:
he can run it on the street yes, he will need a decent set of tires, and he is claiming 9:1, with the cam it shouldn't be 9:1, now if it was 10.5-11.5:1 he may have to mix some 110 or maybe even just an additive to make it run right with out all the knock of 87 pump gas, which there is nothing wrong with that, and if he gets the suspension and the chassis right then yes that will be one heck of a motor/ car on the street, i mentioned that it would be a motor i wouldn't want to run on the street but that doesn't mean that he couldn't if he wanted to, i was saying that he can build a GREAT street car with a 6k motor and 6k into the car instead of 12k in the motor and another 5-10k to have the parts that could handle that and make it hook, but to each his own, good luck with the project, it will sound SICK when its done
Good tire's will do NO good on the street anyway,It will never hook up! {insert disclaimer here} Save it for the track. My tires are BIG and sticky and there is no way it will get traction anywhere else but the track,any good ET will have to be done there.
 
#10 ·
do what you want

hey dude it's your money build what you want. I will say if you want all the horses out of that bb run the single plain intake. I think you'll need all the area you can get. In my opinion you will need to look at a demon carb. go to holley's web site and use their c.f.m. calculator.
You can make it stick with a little cash and alot of figuring on weight transfer. Heck i got a moderately built bb in a 67 pickup that is hooking up o.k. after afew chassis adjustments..Keep on rollin..
 
#11 ·
build

That will be a awesome engine for a weekend driver car. I can't comment on the cam becasue there is not enough info (and i don't have the time to look it all up) dur @ .050 LSA etc.

I would never even consider a dual plane intake for an engine like that. In my shop anything over 400ci, unless it's a pick up engine gets a single plane intake. There are no benifits to running a performer style intake on a big cube engine.

The T-56 could cause you some trouble depending on how you drive.

Never herd of a 3.83 gear for a 12 bolt???? did you mean 3.73???


Keith
 
#12 ·
prostreet6t9 said:
Good tire's will do NO good on the street anyway,It will never hook up! {insert disclaimer here} Save it for the track. My tires are BIG and sticky and there is no way it will get traction anywhere else but the track,any good ET will have to be done there.



my point exactly, so why all the overkill hp on the street, when you'll never get to use more than half of it, unless your on the track, so like i said a well built 12.0 car would eat him up, and he would be left feeling dumb for spending that kind of money on a street motor, when the guy who just whipped him spent half, now if he plans on hitting the track, with the right set up he would lite that 12.0 car up all day long

no one has commented on the compression ratio with the cam, which im suprised, i can't see that cam acting well with a 9:1 CR
 
#13 ·
my87Z said:
my point exactly, so why all the overkill hp on the street, when you'll never get to use more than half of it, unless your on the track, so like i said a well built 12.0 car would eat him up, and he would be left feeling dumb for spending that kind of money on a street motor, when the guy who just whipped him spent half, now if he plans on hitting the track, with the right set up he would lite that 12.0 car up all day long

no one has commented on the compression ratio with the cam, which im suprised, i can't see that cam acting well with a 9:1 CR
Why the overkill ? Because we can! Street racing don't prove anything except your a Idiot :rolleyes: And I'm not calling you that,just people that drive like Idiots on the street.

There is quite a few cars in my neck woods that can run in the 9's at the track {mine included} Do we worry about being fast on the street? NO! :nono:
 
#14 ·
prostreet6t9 said:
Why the overkill ? Because we can! Street racing don't prove anything except your a Idiot :rolleyes: And I'm not calling you that,just people that drive like Idiots on the street.

There is quite a few cars in my neck woods that can run in the 9's at the track {mine included} Do we worry about being fast on the street? NO! :nono:

i understand this, it's just that the guy said it was going to be a w/e driver, if he goes to the track and unleashes the beast than the money would be worth it, but if he has no plans on doing this than all that money will be for not IMHO, street racing is STUPID, and will eventually only get you in jail or DEAD, niether do i want, if the guy has been around cars like this and has actually ridin/ driven in cars like this than that is good, i guess in my first impression it sounded like someone going through a parts mag and picking the best of everything and wanting to run it on the street, I MAY BE VERY WRONG :spank: but if i was right i didn't want him to underestimate the capabilities of all the parts that he was putting together it sounds like a 700 horse motor which is a lot of power and if all you have ever felt is 300hp than you certainly shouldn't be building a 700hp engine, the motor is a beast and i just hope that he builds a beast car to put it in

still skeptical on the 9:1 though with the limited cam specs that he has given :confused:
 
#16 ·
still skeptical on the 9:1 though with the limited cam specs that he has given :confused:[/QUOTE]

I will usually stay out of the motor combo unless I've done it and had it work or not work. Personally I would run more compression also,but I'm not gonna say it won't work. I've seen many combo's that I didn't think they would run that well and they hauled the mail.If I was the OP I would get with K/Star and see what he say's about it.
 
#18 ·
if it works all the better to him, i dont want to see someone fail, that's not cool, all in all i hope that it does and that he "hauls the mail" ive never heard that one, good luck with the 540 im sure that who ever built it has a good bit more knowlege ( given the high projected numbers the motor should put out)than i do so they wouldn't have put something together that didn't work :D
 
#19 ·
build

I need the rest of the cam numbers to make a call on the cam.

Those big CI engines can take a big stick and still have good manners.

4500 carbs on the street are not really an issue anymore. On any given weekend you can find hundreds of cars at local shows with Dominators on them.

I have a customer with a small block ford with a Pro-Systems Dominator on it that you can reach in the window hit the button, it will fire right up and sit there for ever at idle.

Keith
 
#21 ·
Sorry to stir such a pot! :welcome:
As far as the motor was concerned, the cam was recommended by Crower after they had all the numbers. Playing phone tag with them and my machinist now. If I need to replace the pistons I will. Ive got the card and Ill put down the numbers at the end of this reply.
Sorry for causing a debate on what motor to put in a street car, but like I said, I know this is overkill. You wanna know the biggest reason Im doing it? Because with a first gen Camaro at a car show, if your numbers dont match and you want to stand out from the others you really have to do something. Thanks for those that said I wouldnt be street racing, cause your right!
Who cares about hooking up to the very last horsepower. Im cutting a first gen to a tube frame. Thats how hot rodding started remember? Sticking motors in stuff that wasnt meant for them.

Cam Card:
Part#01486
Intake: Duration: 290deg Lift: .649 Clearance: .026
Exhaust: Duration: 306deg Lift: .677 Clearance: .028

Rocker Arm Ratio 1.70
Valve Closed: 185/200lbs
Valve Open: 480/500lbs

Info below for degreeing cam only. Correct only at .050" tappet lift.
Intake Opens 27.0BTDC Closes 53.0ABDC
Exhast Opens 66.0BBDC Closes 24.0ATDC

Lobe Seperation 107deg
Duration at .050" Lobe Lift
Intake: 260deg
Exhaust: 270deg
Intake: .382
Exhaust: .398
Intstalled on 103deg centerline
 
#22 ·
540neverdone said:
Sorry to stir such a pot! :welcome:
As far as the motor was concerned, the cam was recommended by Crower after they had all the numbers. Playing phone tag with them and my machinist now. If I need to replace the pistons I will. Ive got the card and Ill put down the numbers at the end of this reply.
Sorry for causing a debate on what motor to put in a street car, but like I said, I know this is overkill. You wanna know the biggest reason Im doing it? Because with a first gen Camaro at a car show, if your numbers dont match and you want to stand out from the others you really have to do something. Thanks for those that said I wouldnt be street racing, cause your right!
Who cares about hooking up to the very last horsepower. Im cutting a first gen to a tube frame. Thats how hot rodding started remember? Sticking motors in stuff that wasnt meant for them.

:thumbup: Sounds like it's gonna be a nice ride!
 
#23 ·
http://www.compcams.com/Cam_Specs/CamDetails.aspx?csid=501&sb=2

http://cranecams.com/?show=browsePa...-454 C.I.&partNumber=138781&partType=camshaft

http://www.lunatipower.com/Product.aspx?id=2069&gid=253

i tried to find a few cams that were similar to the cower cam that you picked out, take a look at the recomended compression ratio's

you didn't stir a bunch of stuff up, i did, and although im a nice guy i don't always come off that way, but i never mean to sound like a butt, sometimes i do though
 
#25 ·
good luck i hope it all works just fine, it does deffinatly sound like a kick in the pants motor, what all do you plan on doing to the car, backhalf? mini-tub? or run what you can fit? do you plan on hittin the track from time to time, i know with a motor like that i would, not all the time just the ocasional footbrake comp or special events

i took the liberty of running some of your numbers on a crude online dyno site, and i looked up the your heads for flow and came up with around 371cfm @ .649 lift

9:1=665hp/ w/3500lbs and 12% parasitic hp loss = 10.70 (585bhp)
(i had to see)
11:1=808hp/ w/3500lbs and 11% parasitic hp loss = 9.99 (719bhp)

i really dont know just how much i would trust all these numbers though, but the site does claim to be extremly accuate, i think there would need to be a little more imput needed to actually get hp numbers, the only real way is with a true dyno pull do you plan on doing this?
 
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