[Jake1966c10]

Ok, I have changed my engine plans for my 66 c10. I'm going to build a 355 I have a vortec block that I will use so I can use a roller cam. My question is I know the AFR heads are great. They are pricy, I had leaned towards the profiler heads. I came across some trick flow heads that are aluminum camel hump heads. And also saw they have a super 23 head with a bigger valves. So has anyone used the trick flow DHC heads? Which heads would be a good choice for me. The engine will have around 9.5 to 10.1 compression and going to get Jones camshafts to grind a cam for me. The engine might see the occasional 6 to 6500 romp. I like the idea of the trick flow DHC heads this would be closer to someone building a hotter 355 in the 70's. So which heads would be a good choice for me?

 

[Moosecountry]

re ask your question after I ask you what do you expect from this engine? A truck is not light and a 6500 rpm 355 will not be a lot of fun for daily driving in a heavy beast.
Think how a 360-400 hp 454 sounds? It will do truck stuff but boogie at wfo! We can make lots of hp with AFRs or profilers but you might after thinking about it actually want lots of torque. Torque comes easily from bigger engines,,,

 

[BogiesAnnex1]

Yeah if your going to do a big all real steel pickup and want to keep a small block the way to go is a 383. The extra 30 cubes coming mostly from a stroke increase on torque compared to a 350 is nothing short of amazing. The cost over a rebuild on a 350 is really just the crank and rods. That said you should redo rods anyhow they don’t last forever, especially if your having thoughts of turning 6000 plus revs.

Keep in mind that truck mammal trannies are not made with the thought of turning high revs either in the strength of parts or in the gear ratios in them and an automatic is not built for the manual shifting big cams require to match engine power to road speed nor for large amounts of power without a rebuild in light of those requirements.

Not having memorized your build it might be good if you included an overview of your plans.

Some of my own pick up history is rather summed in two of them. My 60 Ford half ton with a 292 got ported and milled head’s, an Isky cam and 57 Tbird intake and Holley 4 barrel. In the end the suitable solution was a 430 Lincoln. That made a fast and hard working truck out of it.
Next in my thoughts was my 78 Chevy, Scottsdale half ton with a 350, after milled, ported, and big valves camel humps, a Comp cam, Edelbrock intake, bigger Holley carb in the end it got a 454, that made a decent truck out of it. I both of these swaps it made trucks thst you could load up with camping gear, a camper, a trailer full of buggies and motorcycles and get over the mountains to the desert the same day left home. And running empty they could pretty well put any comers who want to test their rate of acceleration to shame.

Bogie

Bogie

 

[cerial]

I had a 5700lb 74 c30 with a 383 making maybe 350 hp.
But I had 5.13 gearing in the thing. This allowed me to dump the clutch in 3rd(1.7) and hold it to 5500 before shifting into 4th.

I have lost several sbc engines. They can rev with simple mods and a shortened lifespan.
The last 383 I had I lost the rear main after cruising at 3800 for over a hour running 4.56 gearing.

You can run high rpm for hours if you build it right.

You need a good cooling system.
Your going to be stressing your oil gaskets so pay attention to those.
Expect 6mph going 80mph. Its a squarebody after all.

But all that being said a sbc USE to be easy to find and cheap to make 300hp with. The sm465 can handle 300hp all day long and a 14 bolt comes with 4.56 gearing.

Now the sbc are harder to find. So a stock 5.3 makes more sense if you want to run 5500rpm everywhere.

The 94 s10 money pit is running a stock 5.3, sm465, and a 9". The reason for the 9" is so I can swap 3rds out instead of axles. If I want power I will throw 5.xx gearing. If I want cruising then I can run gearing in the low 3's.
I am building it with room for turbos and a water intercooler. But Iam keeping the idea of running $500 200k 5.3 bottom ends and making a majority of the power with gearing in the rear.
This also lets you run a cheap(er) clutch then one that needs to hold 5,6,or 800 ft lbs.

If I get 10,000 miles out of a clutch thats ok because its only $150 or so. If that clutch is $700 then I am not going to be as mean to it leaving power on the table.

Guys may love overdrive or having 6 or 8 speeds. But all that shifting takes time.

Treating the 465 as a 2 speed using the 1.7 and direct(straight back) gearing allows for some nice times once you get a feel for things.

I have 4 or 5 sm465's at this point. They can be had for $50 to $250. Yes it is a heavy girl and yes it has truck gears. But the 2wd ones can take abuse. You can rebuild them yourself and they can handle axle twisting, torque.
If you do sheer the input on a 2wd its probally because the bellhousing HAS been broke or the transmission was pushed forward(jumping). Your going to break alot of other things before you hurt a sm465.

As far as length goes the 465 is often a winner, strength per dollar another win, using it as a 2 speed works with the right rear gearing, and you still have a burnout gear even if your running a 3.08 out back.

The thing is heavy, has a horrible gearspread, and is a toploader so you have a hole in your floor.

The fact you already have one(I think) or can throw one in easily leaves the rear axle. Now a FF14 bolt is a heavy axle. But it is built tough and comes with 4.56 gearing. You can ditch the drums and 4 steel wheels for a set of wide tires then weld the diff and you have a tough axle often for cheap. Still heavy mind you and your stuck with the 4.56 gearing. But the thing can handle clutch drops, a welded diff going around corners, and no need to upgrade the axle shafts.

Or you can just run a ford 9" or toyota axle then switch gearing that way. Just plan on upgrading the shafts etc.

Before you look at building a engine that is going to require premium fuel or e85 and require a expensive clutch look at making the power in the axle with gearing.

 

[Jake1966c10]

The truck isn't super heavy, I think in the area of around 32 to 3500lbs. As far as Trans goes will either go with tkx 5speed or 4l80e Trans but leaning towards tkx. I have kept going back and forth and had really wanted to go with a 427 sbc short block from sharioff engines and have the engine set up for good street manners but was pushed in the direction to build a 355 with good heads. Had looked into the 383 but planning the cost of the 383 I wasn't far from the 427. My thoughts the 427 would be very torque strong to give me power in lower rpms so I would have to rev the engine as hard to make it work. The sheet metal is back together but no rush for a motor or trans at the moment. Just trying to narrow my plans down.

 

[RWENUTS]

You better take that lump to the scale house!
My old 65 swb ss weighed 4250. Tested on 3 scales.

 

[Moosecountry]

shafiroff and lukovich and a couple others have many choices of larger sbcs

 

[cerial]

You better take that lump to the scale house!
My old 65 swb ss weighed 4250. Tested on 3 scales.

He's talking about a 4k engine, another 4k for the trans, and I imagine 2k for the rear. Maybe the body is laid on a custom frame at this point. Or just has alot of carbon/fiberglass/aluminum.
Or 3200 could be just the rolling chassis with no engine/trans, interior, cage, etc.

 

[RWENUTS]

Ah! Yes!
The Swiss cheese c10.
‘it indeed weighs less than air!
But if it’s just a fantasy build then you can say it weighs whatever you like.
I was quite surprised the first time I scaled my 65!
Thought I was way overloaded.

 

[siggy125]

I didnt hear you say anything about being a competitive racer so perhaps some of the comments of the 355 being a poor choice are not applicable. Chevy put millions of 350s in pickups with much success. But torque is key so I'd put extra emphasis on intake runner volume and camshaft selection. I wouldn't exceed 180cc intake runner volume to achieve torque with your motor. Brodix makes a good 180 head but you'll have to wait a while for it.

 

[KAMjenII]

Use the TFS 200 super heads for cost effective torque. I would build a 369 -373 not a 383. Or a 360 cubic inch -And use a nodular iron offset ground crank or a forged one with short pistons and long rods. This keeps pressure off the cylinder walls and the sealing of your rings, very unlike a 383. And if you got a 400 i would build a 393 not a 406 or larger. Poor rod ratio. Get a good rod ratio. A 270 magnum cam with AFR 195cc race heads. NOT the street 195cc heads, and not the 180, 190 or 210cc heads, quite specifically the AFR 195cc RACE cut heads. Those shall get mid band torque out the yin yang. i show the 270 magnum cam as an example because even with a smallish cam such as the nice tight ramp rates of the comp magnum 270H10 , it still is FEROCIOUS and with torque. Dual plane RPM intake without the plenum divider cut. NON air gap. And a stall converter even a c10 shall be pretty formidable. imagine an XR264HR10 or XR276HR10 still have loads of mid band torque and very great horsepower also. And you may also want the part number of the street head to change your race head part number to. With the aluminum heads you can go 10 to 1 no problem. This is if you want the small block. trucks usually do great with big blocks for the rugged extra thick power. i would even consider the caddy 500 engine with some subtle changes to make it oil and live under heavy duty conditions. All that is needed is a cam and intake and headers with those things and they are as light as a smallblock 305 EFI with accessories. Although without accessories itself. An aluminum intake sheds 50 lbs probably hahah lol.