kick-butt and take names SBC street engine, on a budget

grumpyvette

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Staff member
I frequently get requests for a decent hot performance combo, to use in weekend toys, when your building a true performance car combo you'll naturally want the power to weight ratio to be as high as possible so think long and hard about selecting a reasonably light weight car, an impala will never produce the performance potential of lets say a vega , cobra kit car,or a t-bucket kit car that weights more than 800-1400lbs less
almost all the parts listed are selected with the lowest price,in mind, while retaining a good value as a key factor, theres no way to get good performance from the cheapest parts available but that surely does not mean that the most expensive parts are always the best value, with experience and some research, a compromise, can be found that will produce acceptable power at a reasonable cost level.
just as its a waste of time and effort to use some O.E.M. components,that were never designed for use in a high performance application, as they severely restrict power, its expensive and wasteful to go with the more expensive parts in some applications because the cost raises far faster than the power gains at some point.

IM going to assume you'll supply a decent short block of your choice here, theres numerous choices , in suppliers or you can add a rotating assembly with the required machine work to your current block if its in good condition

an engine like the components listed below, will produce, will produce about 440-470 plus fly wheel hp, at a reasonable cost, enough to get a light weight car well into the 11 second range, yet still remain reasonable street useful in a car with a matched rear gearing ratio, and transmission, matched to the engines power curve
Id strongly suggest the use of forged cranks and aftermarket connecting rods with 7/16" ARP BRAND rod bolts and a 4 bolt block, and having the assembly balanced, being used, as durability, is increased, but its not 100% mandatory at this hp level, but a DART OR BOWTIE BLOCK and a 5140, 0r 4340 forged crank and forged components goes a long way to increase duribility


http://ohiocrank.com/chev_sb_shortb.html

http://www.shafiroff.com/sportsman/sportsman_kits.asp

http://www.speedomotive.com/

but remember a 383-406 sbc will easily produce 40-60hp/40-60ft lbs more on average than a similar 350 engine will. you can reasonably expect somewhere in the range of 1.1-1.25 hp per cubic inch of displacement at the flywheel, depending on components,assembly and machine work done.

the cam you select is the brains of the engine and sets many of the engines characteristics, and will require matched components to function correctly
TO maximize performance theres compromises required and one is that the engine of this type is going to have a noticeable lope to the idle, require high test fuel and not work with a stock rear gear or converter stall speed.
a 350, will be operating in the 3500rpm-6700rpm band, a 383-406 will operate at about 400rpm lower or 3200rpm-6300rpm, to maximize the power you'll want a 10.5:1-10.8:1 cpr and match that to a 3.73:1-4.11:1 rear gear, a manual transmission or a 3200rpm stall converter speed
both these power bands match the engines displacement and limitations on valve train and piston speeds if matched to the correct parts which will be very similar in that the 350 will operate at a bit higher average rpm range, making the port speeds similar.

on any sbc engine you'll want to get the best heads you can afford
currently these BRODIX 200cc heads are a good value, giving about the most power per dollar

http://www.jegs.com/i/Brodix/158/102100 ... tId=760699

this is a good intake value

http://www.jegs.com/i/Weiand/925/8501/10002/-1

if your willing to trade some low rpm torque for some higher peak power this is an option
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HLY-300-110/

heres one of my favorite cams for building a hot 350-383-406,
http://www.cranecams.com/?show=browsePa ... e=camshaft

if you insist on both a reasonably low cost flat tappet hydraulic cam and you refuse to go with a flat tappet solid lifter design cam.
heres the solid lifter version, (preferred)

http://www.cranecams.com/?show=browsePa ... e=camshaft

that I truly prefer, as its got the potential to rpm several hundred rpm higher than the hydraulic version, if your not opposed to the minor inconvenience of adjusting valves every few months as you'll notice its noticeably more aggressive than many guys will have run, but remember the engine combos not designed as basic transportation, its designed to be street drivable , but basically a race engine in sheep,s clothing, thats designed to maximize power on a budget.

youll want decent roller rockers, Id suggest these
802-16
specs>> 1.6 3/8 $271.21
http://www.pbm-erson.com/store.php?catId=24

carb,(a decent 750 holley simplifies things)

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HLY-65-3310/

youll want a good oil pan as durability is key, naturally your chassis limits the selection but select a good baffled 7-8 quart design, with a windage screen.
I think the hamburger oil pan is a better value At $242 than most of the common mid priced oil pans
notice the better oil control features

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ham-1088/overview/
ham-1088.jpg




http://www.milodon.com/oil-pans/street-oil-pans-sbchevy.asp

http://www.jegs.com/p/Moroso/Moroso-Street-Strip-Oil-Pans/763991/10002/-1

https://www.summitracing.com/search/brand/hamburgers-performance/part-type/oil-pans

https://www.cantonracingproducts.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=1301

http://www.stefsperformance.net/ste...oil-pans/aluminum-oil-pans-pumps#!prettyPhoto
youll need a good ignition, theres many to choose from, vertex and MSD have some good products

keep the QUENCH in the .038-.044 range



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