Hot Rod Forum banner

What engine to choose?

3K views 30 replies 6 participants last post by  belairheaven 
#1 ·
Gidday, yous may think this is just the same old question everyone asks which it may be but its for my personal use.
I am choosing an engine for my 1500kg holden premier (new zealand car)
I have the parts to build either engine, Im not after the engine with the most horsepower, but more which will be the most fun to drive on the street, not easy to drive but fun to drive.
I am either going 350 or 307 although most dont like the 307.
The 350 has 30 over pistons ( a copy of an old trw piston) which should produce 10:4 comp with 64cc heads. 462 heads 2.02/1.6 ported out and milled. victor junior gasket matched. 750 vac.

307 would have 40 over pistons from local parts shop which supposed to put out 9.9 compression with 64cc. 291 heads 1.95/1.5 ported. performer manifold gasket matched 600 holley.

both engines will run basic hei ignition setup with flows. have both 1.5 and 1.6 roller rockers and 2 cams to choose from.

a local kelford cams grind adv dur 274/282 at 50"232/238, lift 500, and edelbrock performer cam 308/318 at 50"234/244 lift 488/510. i dont know what cam would suit what or even if they will but thats what I have. Both are hydraulic flat. What would be the most enginoyable engine to run in my street car, any idea of hp would be good to not that it matters. Will be running on pump gas 98 octane. thanks guys
 
See less See more
#6 ·
.

Cheers for that. Yeah everyone has said to me the 350 but my father always used 307 03 327, loves the way they rev or something and pushing me to go with 307. with what I have will it put out much power..
What does LSA mean when use asked for lsa of kelford?
 
#8 ·
LSA is lobe separation angle. LCA is lobe center angle. LDA is lobe displacement angle. They all mean the same thing. It's the average of the intake centerline and the exhaust centerline which are ground into the cam at manufacture. For instance, here's a cam from Comp that is ground on a 106* intake centerline and a 114* exhaust centerline. Add the two together and divide by 2 and you have the LSA, 110*.
http://www.compcams.com/Cam_Specs/CamDetails.aspx?csid=72&sb=0
Although a cam can be referenced to the crank differently (advanced or retarded), the LSA remains the same. It is ground into the cam at the time of manufacture and can only be changed by re-grinding the camshaft to a different spec.
 
#11 ·
I'd go with the 350 for 2 reasons. More cubic inches and bigger bore to unshroud the valves. Every little bit helps.
I was just fiddling around on the DynoSim for another fellow and still had most of the data in there that will work for your motor, so changed heads and cam and here are the results.....
This is with 10.4:1, your ported 462 heads, 750 carb, hi-flow 180* intake such as Edelbrock RPM or Professional Products Typhoon intake, #52021 ($130 on ebay) or Crosswind Air Gap, #52026 ($170 on ebay) and 1 3/4", long-tube, equal-length headers. CompCams Part #12-326-4, grind 286H, 286/286, 236/236, 0.522"/0.522", 110* LSA, install 4* advanced. This dynosim is less mufflers....
RPM HP TQ
2000 143 375
2500 197 415
3000 236 414
3500 284 426
4000 333 438
4500 373 435
5000 406 427
5500 430 411
6000 437 382
6500 434 350
 
#12 ·
.

Gidday, really. thats easily what I am after. Can an perfermer rpm produce that much. Probably better option than the victor jr then as it will give me a bit more down low and still up high. Well thats made my day, thanks for that. Gunna go try find a program like that for myself.
 
#13 ·
My old engine was quite similar to the 350 option.
It has served me well in a daily driver Camaro (about similar weight as your car) and I got 13.51/105 on the quarter on street tires. Invest in a 3000 rpm or so converter and 3.xx gears (I run 3.42) and you´ll have a daily driver with a lot of grunt that won´t ruin you for fuel
 
#14 ·
.

good to hear. looks like i'll be doing the 350 option.
now to decide on performer rpm or victor junior. take it the perf rpm will be more streetable? i was looking at a 2500 stall as more available on our local trading sites compared to 3000stall. was looking at about 3.5 rear end anyway as it only has 2.7 at moment. by changing the gearing will it feel much quicker down low or not really noticeable? also vac sec carb or should i look at a double pumper? cheers, this is awfully helpful, can start getting it all sorted out
 
#15 ·
I have not tried the Victor Jr but if you´re looking at a 2500 stall converter I would go with the Performer RPM intake. It will build a lot of power in low-mid range but still roar up to above 6000 rpm. I do run a Team G, similar to the Victor Jr but I have 3000 stall and a more agressive cam
There are two reasons why you should change your rear gear ratio.
1) You will get mor acceleration
2) If you run a stall converter on 2.73 gear it wil slip continously. This will build a lot of heat and may damage your tranny and converter. A separate radiator is recommended anyhow.
 
#16 ·
.

Yes, the Team G's are good. Ive used one before but none around over here at the moment and have Victor jr sitting in the shed. Our dollar has dropped big time and makes buying things in American to expensive these days. when you say a 2nd radiator, do you mean a radiator or trans cooler radiator thing? Well they are the cams I have, if you think I can go bigger without effecting my brakes and still being able to br driven on the street I'd look into it as i want it to throw my back in my seat and scare my mates who think you can't get a quick v8. Not many v8s getting around over here.
 
#17 ·
.

by the way I also have a couple of weiand single plane manifolds lying around which I had forgotten about. Common ones those, 7546? and another one that has its number cast on the underside and is slightly lower then the 7546.. would these be better or keep them in the shed
 
#18 ·
I wouldn´t go with a bigger cam than the RPM cam. In fact, my new 350 with Team G and Brodix IK 200 heads will run with that same cam.
But if you want real grunt go roller, if your wallet allows it.
I was a bit fuzzy in my post about 2nd cooler. Yes, I mean a separate tranny cooler.
Can´t say much about the Weiand intakes ´cause I don´t recognise them but I´d go with a Edelbrock RPM intake and skip the single plane ones. May sound a contradiction since I´m running Team G but that´s all I have on the shelf
 
#19 ·
.

Well I have put my victor jr on the net for sale so will go with the perf rpm option. pockets are deep but don't know much about the roller cams, a bit trickier to install ive heard. do they make much difference, like is it worth while going roller when its only going to be used 99 % on the street. also double pumper or vac sec better for this set up?
 
#20 · (Edited)
Banzai street motor and no worries about fuel cost=double pumper. More tractable street manners and a little better mileage=vacuum secondaries. 750 VS will work well with high rise dual plane on this motor. Try one of the Professional Products manifolds if it's easier on the wallet. They're touted to be knockoffs of Edelbrock. Don't forget the 1 3/4" long tube, equal length headers. The 750 and high-rise will get the air in on the top side. A good set of headers will get it out on the bottom side. :thumbup:
 
#21 ·
.

well i shouldn't need to buy another manifold unless ya's think there is a better one suited to my needs as I have the performer rpm manifold and victor jr unless it sells and some cheap old weiand single planes, just a matter of mixing and matching to make things work better together, don't want to mismatch any parts, would rather 380hp and have every thing working together nicely then look for big hirsepower. I own a couple of vac sec carbs 750 and 780's, but 650 and 750 dp's arent too expensive over here so would buy one if it suited my needs properly. got the equal length headers already in my car, from when it was running the 327. An air gap manifold won't make to much difference will it as the performer rpm isnt an airgap mbut the Vic Jr is, but shouldnt notice it would you..
 
#22 ·
Stick with your Performer RPM that you already own.
Put your 750 vacum on top and maybe a woodden spacer if you have clearence. If not, don´t worry about it.
Now for roller...
Short explaination. A roller cam is always the better choise. An ideal camlobe would be a square one and rollers ar closest to that.
Is it worth it? No, not for a 360-380 hp 350 but looking at 450+, yes.
Oh, don´t go cheap on your exhaust. 2,5" minimum and cross-over design if you are up to it.
 
#23 ·
.

Exhausts? what do you mean by crossover. It has twin 2 and 1/2. Would it be better if redone with a single 2 1/2" pipe.

Horsepower. I'd love 400 plus. Its always good to tell your mates and others who ask how much and you can say 400+ I am just not sure if my heads are upto it. I want to try get as close to one hundred percent possible power out of what I have got. for example i don't want to buy ner heads or crank. I just want as much as I can get out of a standard stroke 350 with 40 year old heads. Its just the kind of motor i am looking to build. everyone else down here have brodix/afr/dart heads and stroker cranks etc, I'm just a bit old school and don't mind sacrificing a bit of power and saving a few bucks here and there but dont mind spending a few bucks to try achieve optimum performance. I'll have to look into roller cam, as ik pressume you need to get different springs etc. What about a mechanical flat cam make much difference as dont all i have to change then is lifters or is that not enough to notice..
 
#24 ·
.

reason why this is what i want to do is my boss at work races a holden torana, about 1.35 tonne (dont know how many pounds sorry usa fellas), running a 308 holden v8.. not a high perf motor, just like the 307 chev, and he got his car down into the 10's with 150 shot of gas in street form with big tyres though but is a street car, and he had some calculations and reckons he couldnt squeeze any more power out of it.. so i thought i will see if i can get as much as possible out of mine, like the perfect cam to suit my heads and intake, best carb to suit, and right compression..
 
#25 · (Edited)
Crossover means a joining of the two pipes before the mufflers. With two pipes back, you would install a pipe between the two pipes so as to form an H, or you can merge them together in an X and then continue out with the two pipes. It aids low end torque a little and makes the exhaust note a little sweeter to the ear.

If it's easier to find a 2500 stall converter, then do that. Any stall over stock will be an improvement. Use anti-pump up hydraulic lifters.

"Anti-Pump-Up Hydraulics
Although the Isky patented SUPERLIFTER outwardly appears similar to a standard hydraulic tappet, there is a world of difference in the function of the internal mechanism and design. SUPERLIFTERS allow you to use a more radical camshaft without loss of compression and horsepower from valves being held off their seats, and because SUPERLIFTERS do not bleed down completely, they are far more durable than any others on the market.
Set of 16 SUPERLIFTERS
Part No. Description
202-HY For all Chevrolet and Pontiac V-8 Engines
Plus 1968 & later Olds V-8 (.842” dia.)

Change the rear gears to something in the area of 3.90 to 4.10, shift at 6500 and hang on.
 
#26 ·
.

Gidday, thanks for that. Yes my exhaust system already has a pipe joining them together before the mufflers, never knew why though so thats good to know. Anti-pump lifters, I was checking them on ebay. Do they make your cam act more like a solid/mechanical cam? excellent, think I have it all sorted, starting to sound very nice indeed.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top