I'll get right to the point.
Built a stout little 383 with the help of my friends father (local well known circle track engine builder),
cliffs on the short block:
79 4 bolt block fully race prepped including all stress risers etc.. removed, opened all oiling holes, smoothed all casting in and out.
main caps were replaced (where possible) with nodular iron pieces, and the front was strapped, all arp studs/bolts through out. rotating assembly is forged and balanced to .005 grams He knows all the tricks to make sbc's hold 8k rpm for many, many laps in his circle track motors running meth and making 600+ hp
has 13.5: compression currently has dart IE 215 angle heads fully worked with similar treatment as the block, comp xe286 flat hyd cam
intake is a rpm air gap and topped with holley 750dp with QFT e85 blocks.
the car is a weekend warrior at best, sits most of the time as it has collector plates and gulps fuel to the tune of about 100 miles per tank currently. so I dont drive it a ton other than for some fun
I want to dial in the "cruising" afr's to allow a bit better mpgs, and stop fouling my plugs currently running about 12:1 on my afr gauge (on gas setting) also leans out to 16+ sometimes on tip in and thats a bit scary...
The areas I want to address are: heads, intake, carb, and possible cam
My carb has made decent power on the dyno and was tuned for max power with current setup , but lacks fine tuning ability needed for the street and just runs pig rich all the time.
I Have decided to upgrade to a 850cfm billet baseplate and proform main body to allow the tuning needed to dial in the afr. I'll swap over my qft metering blocks and bowls and misc parts from the 750 and slap that on 1st.
I was next thinking of swapping out the intake. the airgap is nice, but I know its holding me back peak power wise as we picked up over 10 ponies with a 1" spacer that I am currently running. Suggestions based on the rest of my combo (now and and ultimately) would be great. victors? vic jrs? etc...
Then I am thinking heads and or cam. I know my current iron heads are decent, and they have been worked pretty good, but they are pig heavy and aluminum is more forgiving with the higher compression I am running. losing more that 50lbs off the front end is reason enough isnt it?
I keep reading AFR is the head to get, was recommended by an online retailer that if I take their 195 heads and add a big roller cam, I can pick up 100+ hp. realistic? not to sure there....
Based on my current compression, displacement and carb/intake intentions... should I get 195's or bigger? the comp series worth the extra dough?
with 1.6 rockers and my current cam, is it worth the extra dough to go roller cam (which will require retro lifters and all told cost an additional $8-900).
I am not a rich man, I have a wife, a mortgage, 2 kids as of today and sometime in the next few weeks, my 3rd daughter will be born)
I have to do this in stages that make the most sense. It may take me all of 2 yrs to be able to afford all of these upgrades, minus the carb which I fully intend to do this winter.
the car itself is a early 3rd gen Trans Am, has been converted to manual with a nice stout t-56 set up and a has a 9" rear with 3.70's and a locker. car was a nut/bolt resto mod with big wheels/brakes, wide tires and upgraded suspension. rides on rails now. we gutted alot of un needed metal and power accys and it scaled just over 2850 lbs with 1/4 of fuel and no driver. (full interior)
I dont intend to all out race this thing, and still want it drivable on the street, (choppy /high idle is fine as long as it does actually idle) it currently idles around 1100rpm anyway
Blast away guys.... :thumbup:
additional thoughts for much further down the road is a possible EFI system.
Built a stout little 383 with the help of my friends father (local well known circle track engine builder),
cliffs on the short block:
79 4 bolt block fully race prepped including all stress risers etc.. removed, opened all oiling holes, smoothed all casting in and out.
main caps were replaced (where possible) with nodular iron pieces, and the front was strapped, all arp studs/bolts through out. rotating assembly is forged and balanced to .005 grams He knows all the tricks to make sbc's hold 8k rpm for many, many laps in his circle track motors running meth and making 600+ hp
has 13.5: compression currently has dart IE 215 angle heads fully worked with similar treatment as the block, comp xe286 flat hyd cam
intake is a rpm air gap and topped with holley 750dp with QFT e85 blocks.
the car is a weekend warrior at best, sits most of the time as it has collector plates and gulps fuel to the tune of about 100 miles per tank currently. so I dont drive it a ton other than for some fun
I want to dial in the "cruising" afr's to allow a bit better mpgs, and stop fouling my plugs currently running about 12:1 on my afr gauge (on gas setting) also leans out to 16+ sometimes on tip in and thats a bit scary...
The areas I want to address are: heads, intake, carb, and possible cam
My carb has made decent power on the dyno and was tuned for max power with current setup , but lacks fine tuning ability needed for the street and just runs pig rich all the time.
I Have decided to upgrade to a 850cfm billet baseplate and proform main body to allow the tuning needed to dial in the afr. I'll swap over my qft metering blocks and bowls and misc parts from the 750 and slap that on 1st.
I was next thinking of swapping out the intake. the airgap is nice, but I know its holding me back peak power wise as we picked up over 10 ponies with a 1" spacer that I am currently running. Suggestions based on the rest of my combo (now and and ultimately) would be great. victors? vic jrs? etc...
Then I am thinking heads and or cam. I know my current iron heads are decent, and they have been worked pretty good, but they are pig heavy and aluminum is more forgiving with the higher compression I am running. losing more that 50lbs off the front end is reason enough isnt it?
I keep reading AFR is the head to get, was recommended by an online retailer that if I take their 195 heads and add a big roller cam, I can pick up 100+ hp. realistic? not to sure there....
Based on my current compression, displacement and carb/intake intentions... should I get 195's or bigger? the comp series worth the extra dough?
with 1.6 rockers and my current cam, is it worth the extra dough to go roller cam (which will require retro lifters and all told cost an additional $8-900).
I am not a rich man, I have a wife, a mortgage, 2 kids as of today and sometime in the next few weeks, my 3rd daughter will be born)
I have to do this in stages that make the most sense. It may take me all of 2 yrs to be able to afford all of these upgrades, minus the carb which I fully intend to do this winter.
the car itself is a early 3rd gen Trans Am, has been converted to manual with a nice stout t-56 set up and a has a 9" rear with 3.70's and a locker. car was a nut/bolt resto mod with big wheels/brakes, wide tires and upgraded suspension. rides on rails now. we gutted alot of un needed metal and power accys and it scaled just over 2850 lbs with 1/4 of fuel and no driver. (full interior)
I dont intend to all out race this thing, and still want it drivable on the street, (choppy /high idle is fine as long as it does actually idle) it currently idles around 1100rpm anyway
Blast away guys.... :thumbup:
additional thoughts for much further down the road is a possible EFI system.