tons of production SBC info

[Mr_Roboto]

please note this was written for a turbo site, but I'm reposting here so some of the stuff may be "over the top" for most swappers but it makes for interesting reading.

"How much power will my stock block small block chevy take"

While these are generally held conventions, your milage may vary. There are members making a lot more then 600hp off of a basic 2 bolt fully cast 350 short block.

Gen I 350 blocks
-basic 2 bolt 350-good to ~600hp
-basic (OEM style) bolt mains 350 block good to ~800hp
-Splayed bolt billet caps ~1000hp

One piece rear main blocks are generally considered weaker then earlier castings, and reccomended power levels are ~600hp.

72 and earlier castings are generally considered to be the strongest, while the 350 blocks with the "010" as the last 3 digits of the casting number generally are considered to be an excellent candidate for a performance engine due to the cosnsistency of the casting.

Production 400 blocks are generally considered to be on "borrowed time" for anything but a very mild turbo setup, they didn't use a lot of metal in the blocks and they can be plagued by consistency issues and cracking in the main web. The 2 bolt blocks are also said to be stronger then the 4 bolt blocks.

HEADS

There are 4 different OEM styles of head that will bolt on to a gen I small block chevy. These are pre 86, 87-95 heads, 96+ vortec heads and Gen II LT-1/LT-4 heads. LS1 heads will not work on a gen I/II motor.

Gen I heads-(pre-86)
Unless it's an ultra low buck setup avoid the castings that are 462624 and 333882. These heads are thin castings, and have heat issues as well. A turbo setup can excabate these issues, and cause these heads to be more crack prone as well. if you have a 400 SBC, don't forget to drill steam holes in your heads if they don't have them, otherwise you'll end up with heating issues.


Gen I heads-(87-95)

The biggest difference between these heads and pre-86 heads is the intake bolt pattern. The center 4 bolts are different, a lot of people mod the intake by slotting these bolt holes and using washers. All aluminum TPI (corvette) heads are pre-86 style, regardless of the year they were made. The TBI (L03, L05) heads are generally considered to be very poor performers, and while the intake won't cripple performance as much on a forced induction engine, TPI heads are generally considered better. These heads also use center bolt valve coves versus the "perimeter" valve covers.

Gen I heads (96-03 Vortec)

There are two different variants, most people think of the 350 version however if you're building a hot 305 motor they made a version that's very nice for 305s too. Avoid the 1996 castings, they are known for cracking. The intake on these has taller runners then 95 and earlier heads, as well as they do not share the same bolt pattern as either. You'll also need self aligning rockers or guide plates to use these heads. Like the 87-95 heads, these also use center bolt valve covers.

Gen II heads (LT-1, LT-4)

These heads put out pretty decent #s stock for flow, however they are unique to the LT-1/LT-4. The LT-4 has taller ports then the LT-1 heads, as well as using a different intake casting which is also not directly compatible with the Gen I motors (see above) These heads have reverse cooling ports in them, this makes them unuseable on a gen I motor without a lot of work, like plugging up the reverse cooling passages and milling the heads, it's been done but the effort is probably not worth it unless you get a set for cheap or free.

Production cam info:
http://www.engineparts.com/motorhead/te ... rolet.html
http://www.thirdgen.org/tech-data (scroll down)

Something to note is that the TBI 9C1 caprices used the stock TPI cam

(L31 Vortec) 96-03 similar to LT-1 B/D body engines
(I/E)
.414/.429
192/197

24502586 Hydraulic Roller (LT-4 Hot Cam)
.525 lift w/1.6 rockers
218/228 @.05
112 LSA

12551705 (LT-1 F/Y body cam)
.447/.459 w/1.5 rockers
205/207@.05
117 LSA

12551142 (Prod LT-4 cam)
.476/.479 w/1.5 rockers
203/210@.05
115 LSA

Please note you have to cut the pin shorter on the gen II cams to get them to work with a gen I motor since it's longer for the optispark. These will fit in a roller motor (87-2003 gen I) with no other modifications however.

If you wnat to edit this, go ahead or tell me if you'd like something edited just ask and I"ll take care of it. Glad to see you finally got it up. My real name is Alex btw.