[1979Malibu]

Do you have a listing for the pistons short block or do you have options on what pistons come installed? We can crunch some numbers to find an approximate compression ratio.

Generally speaking the compression ratio is going to dictate the cam choice. What kind of "cruiser" you're putting together will help to narrow things down too.

 

[1979Malibu]

Thanks for the input Bogie. I really didn't know it was that involved, this is one of my main issues I had with the last motor that was built. It ran really slick, didn't use any oil or smoke everything sounded good. But the engine simply did not perform. I had a huge investment but absolutely no performance. I was very disappointed. I don't want to do this again. For what I'm wanting out of this engine do you think the ik180 heads would be a good choice for a budget head to be similar to vortec performance?

Out of curiosity, do you still have this huge investment and performance lacking engine?

If so, do you have any information on what went into the build?

If you still have this engine, you may be able to really save yourself quite a bit here. Post up the combination of parts and information you have. If the performance was that lackluster, one or more contributing factors should reveal themselves. It's just a thought, not trying to hijack the discussion.