help with ideas mod

[felon c10]

hey guys am trying to mod my truck its my first chevy i always had hondas and well its a different world here . am lost
a lil about the truck. its a 87 c10 with a stock 350 and 350th. my goal its simple 13 sec truck daily driven.
for now all i want to do is bolt ons and a cam

any suggestions for example the truck is fuel injected not sure what intake manifold to go with.what cam would be good for what i want?i really appreciate the help.

so far in the list is
hooker headers and a transgo kit

[BigDan3131]

Your in smog restricted Cali. I would find out what is legal for you, my meaning is any and all mods need to be 50 State Legal for you to make any changes because the smog police will kill you otherwise.

Welcome, to the real world of hotrodding.

[felon c10]

Originally Posted by BigDan3131

Your in smog restricted Cali. I would find out what is legal for you, my meaning is any and all mods need to be 50 State Legal for you to make any changes because the smog police will kill you otherwise.

Welcome, to the real world of hotrodding.

Not worried about smog
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[Boogie_Man]

13 seconds is a nice realistic time attainable with a 350. That being said, it'd be pretty hard to do it with that tbi setup and stock heads. I'd carb that sucker with a Holley 670 street avenger, Edelbrock Performer RPM or RPM Airgap intake, Vortec heads are pretty cheap and flow decently for what you want with some mild porting, maybe this cam http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-CL12-211-2/ or something similar, stall convertor, and gears. I think that'll get you there. If cost isn't an issue, I'd probably go for a set of Dart Iron Eagles.

[felon c10]

Originally Posted by Boogie_Man

13 seconds is a nice realistic time attainable with a 350. That being said, it'd be pretty hard to do it with that tbi setup and stock heads. I'd carb that sucker with a Holley 670 street avenger, Edelbrock Performer RPM or RPM Airgap intake, Vortec heads are pretty cheap and flow decently for what you want with some mild porting, maybe this cam http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-CL12-211-2/ or something similar, stall convertor, and gears. I think that'll get you there. If cost isn't an issue, I'd probably go for a set of Dart Iron Eagles.

Thanks for the input am even thinking of putting a bigger piston making it into a 355
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[Rannos]

For about the same price you would have in a reman'ed set of vortec heads you can get a set of Engine Quest (EQ) heads. They are cast in the same plant that cast the Pro Action heads before RHS bought them out and use the same molds as RHS did before they dropped their line of cast iron heads this year. For a mild 350 I would use the 180cc intake runner head. You may could get away with a 200cc runner but you would start to loose low and mid range torque with that size runner on a mild 350 ot 355.

The 270 Magnum by Compcams is a good cam but it is also 30 year old cam profiles. I feel you would be better of using something like the XE274H or if you are going to punch it out anyway Replace the dish tops with a flat top and run the XE284H. If you have it in your budget to upgrade to a retrofit hydrualic roller I have used the XR288HR with very good outcomes. It maybe a little more then you want if you are runnign power steering and power brakes tho.

Also none of these cams will work well with TBI nor will you ever see the potential of a SBC with factory style TBI. Like was mentioned before the RPM air gap is a great instake for mild street engines and the 670 street avenger is a great street carb.

If you are going to bore it .030 over to make a 355 I would strongly suggest upgrading to atleast a Hypereytectic if not a lower end forged piston like the Probe FPS. You can also get rotating assemblies with Hypereutectic and Forged pistons really reasonable now days.


Here is a video link to the 350 I had the XR288HR in. It was a stock LT1 out of a 95 z28 I converted to carb and installed this cam in.

1964 Chevrolet Truck Rat rod. - YouTube

[felon c10]

Originally Posted by Rannos

For about the same price you would have in a reman'ed set of vortec heads you can get a set of Engine Quest (EQ) heads. They are cast in the same plant that cast the Pro Action heads before RHS bought them out and use the same molds as RHS did before they dropped their line of cast iron heads this year. For a mild 350 I would use the 180cc intake runner head. You may could get away with a 200cc runner but you would start to loose low and mid range torque with that size runner on a mild 350 ot 355.

The 270 Magnum by Compcams is a good cam but it is also 30 year old cam profiles. I feel you would be better of using something like the XE274H or if you are going to punch it out anyway Replace the dish tops with a flat top and run the XE284H. If you have it in your budget to upgrade to a retrofit hydrualic roller I have used the XR288HR with very good outcomes. It maybe a little more then you want if you are runnign power steering and power brakes tho.

Also none of these cams will work well with TBI nor will you ever see the potential of a SBC with factory style TBI. Like was mentioned before the RPM air gap is a great instake for mild street engines and the 670 street avenger is a great street carb.

If you are going to bore it .030 over to make a 355 I would strongly suggest upgrading to atleast a Hypereytectic if not a lower end forged piston like the Probe FPS. You can also get rotating assemblies with Hypereutectic and Forged pistons really reasonable now days.


Here is a video link to the 350 I had the XR288HR in. It was a stock LT1 out of a 95 z28 I converted to carb and installed this cam in.

1964 Chevrolet Truck Rat rod. - YouTube

Wow that truck sound nice . But I think does cams might be too aggressive
I was thinking more like comp cams high energy duration is 268/268 lift 454/454 or at the most magnum hydraulic duration 270/270 lift470/470
As for the intake am looking at edelbrock 3704 performer tbi this is gonna be a daily driven truck a carb will leave me with no money
Also I been looking at eagle rotating assemblies balanced rotating assembly cast iron crank,hyperevtectic pistons I beam rods .i really don't want to get too crazy here. So what do you think does that sound decent
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[Rannos]

I would use a cam cut for EFI if you are set on running TBI. This will serious limit what you can get out of your motor and with just about any cam upgrade you will need a chip to be burnt for your computer. By the time you get a chip burnt and pay for a TBI intake you could have easily bought a carb and intake.

If you still want to stay with TBI I'd run the comp cams 268XFI HR13 if you can afford the retrofit hydraulic roller set up. If you want to stay flat tappet run the 268XFI H13. The cams you mentioned are cut on 110 LSA and are harder to get to run with EFI. These 2 cams are cut on an 113 and are more EFI friendly. Not to mention with a wider LSA they should have more vaccum at idle.Typically most mild EFI cams are short durration & high lift. The reasoning behind that is you get the most of the shorter time the valve is open by having the valve opened by a larger amount and lift does not effect the computer like durration does.

When selecting your cam keep in mind what heads you are going to run. A set of stock Vortecs will only handle .480" of lift. With springs and offset retainers and locks you can get up .525" before needing to machine the stud boss. That is another reason I would look into the EQ 180cc or the Dart Iron Eagle 180cc. Both are good heads and they have more clearance for a little more lift. Not to mention that they are not much more if not cheaper then buying a used set of Vortecs, having a Valve job and what ever machine work you need done. I have seen brand new EQ 180cc heads set up for .550" lift cams for $550-$700.

When you do all this don't forget the simple things that help like a decent set of roller rockers and good set of headers. a decent stall convertor. even someting as small as a 2200-2500 converter would make worlds of difference in the performance of the truck. IMO a decent convertor is one of the best upgrades you can do to a stock to mild truck/car.

[felon c10]

Originally Posted by Rannos

I would use a cam cut for EFI if you are set on running TBI. This will serious limit what you can get out of your motor and with just about any cam upgrade you will need a chip to be burnt for your computer. By the time you get a chip burnt and pay for a TBI intake you could have easily bought a carb and intake.

If you still want to stay with TBI I'd run the comp cams 268XFI HR13 if you can afford the retrofit hydraulic roller set up. If you want to stay flat tappet run the 268XFI H13. The cams you mentioned are cut on 110 LSA and are harder to get to run with EFI. These 2 cams are cut on an 113 and are more EFI friendly. Not to mention with a wider LSA they should have more vaccum at idle.Typically most mild EFI cams are short durration & high lift. The reasoning behind that is you get the most of the shorter time the valve is open by having the valve opened by a larger amount and lift does not effect the computer like durration does.

When selecting your cam keep in mind what heads you are going to run. A set of stock Vortecs will only handle .480" of lift. With springs and offset retainers and locks you can get up .525" before needing to machine the stud boss. That is another reason I would look into the EQ 180cc or the Dart Iron Eagle 180cc. Both are good heads and they have more clearance for a little more lift. Not to mention that they are not much more if not cheaper then buying a used set of Vortecs, having a Valve job and what ever machine work you need done. I have seen brand new EQ 180cc heads set up for .550" lift cams for $550-$700.

When you do all this don't forget the simple things that help like a decent set of roller rockers and good set of headers. a decent stall convertor. even someting as small as a 2200-2500 converter would make worlds of difference in the performance of the truck. IMO a decent convertor is one of the best upgrades you can do to a stock to mild truck/car.

ok so to go carburated all i have to do is change intake manifold and get the carb?then what i can cam the motor and have no computer issues?

[Captainfab]

When you switch to a carb, there is no need for a computer anymore. Of course the distributor also needs to be changed from the computer controlled unit to a standard HEI. IMO this is still the better way to go if you are after performance on a budget.

Originally Posted by felon c10

ok so to go carburated all i have to do is change intake manifold and get the carb?then what i can cam the motor and have no computer issues?

[redsled87]

Originally Posted by felon c10

ok so to go carburated all i have to do is change intake manifold and get the carb?then what i can cam the motor and have no computer issues?

You will also have to change around your fuel lines alittle as well as, get rid the in tank fuel pump. The swap is really easy if you can turn wrenches and do alittle wiring. I just ran my feed for my HEI from the ignition slot in the fuse panel. They are in the top left of your fusebox. If you anymore questions, just ask. I did this swap about 13 years ago.

[redsled87]

Originally Posted by captainfab

when you switch to a carb, there is no need for a computer anymore. Of course the distributor also needs to be changed from the computer controlled unit to a standard hei. Imo this is still the better way to go if you are after performance on a budget.

x2

[felon c10]

Thanks guys am a little worried about this I thought that it was gonna be easy
I wish my truck was an 86 and not a 87 lol.
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[Rannos]

You can pick up a MSD Streetfire HEI for just over $100. They are very nice for a mild street build. I used one in my black 64 with great results. As for the fuel pump you can swap over to mechanical. Holley has some really nice mechanicals for $50-$90 that would be more then enough for the motor you are tlaking about. A few of them dont even require regulators. You can get a tubing bender and flare tool at your local parts suppler and just modify your existing fuel line.

As for wiring the HEI you need one wire that is hot when the key is on and not when it's off. Really simple conversion.

Hope it all works out for ya and feel free to ask more questions you need answered.

[Captainfab]

Changing the intake, carb and distributor, wouldn't really be much different in an '86.

[felon c10]

So I made up my mind after all I chose to go carb. Now the problem is that I thought I had vortec heads and I don't . Boo so now I don't have an idea I see that there's a lot of vortec heads out there. Is this one the best one to go with
14101083 am really running out of funds so I need something good an cheap.also does it need to be roller or can I go flat tapper ?
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[Rannos]

You can run a flat tappet. Just make make sure you use the right oil with ZDDP or it will wear out the lobes on the cam.
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[felon c10]

what do you guys think about this heads
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Patriot-Perf...06e578&vxp=mtr

[Captainfab]

I didn't find anything with that part number, but they are not the Vortec heads. Here are the Vortec heads......

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-12558060/

These are some pretty decent heads, and are a real good buy IMO......they are on sale right now. They are hard to beat for the price. I have heard that these heads are made by Dart for Summit.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-151124/

Originally Posted by felon c10

So I made up my mind after all I chose to go carb. Now the problem is that I thought I had vortec heads and I don't . Boo so now I don't have an idea I see that there's a lot of vortec heads out there. Is this one the best one to go with
14101083 am really running out of funds so I need something good an cheap.also does it need to be roller or can I go flat tapper ?
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[felon c10]

ThankS buddy
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[felon c10]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

I didn't find anything with that part number, but they are not the Vortec heads. Here are the Vortec heads......

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-12558060/

These are some pretty decent heads, and are a real good buy IMO......they are on sale right now. They are hard to beat for the price. I have heard that these heads are made by Dart for Summit.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-151124/

The only bad thing about the summit heads vortec style and am not 100% sure but I don't thing you can use the edelbrock rpm air gap manifold with those heads
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[redsled87]

Originally Posted by felon c10

The only bad thing about the summit heads vortec style and am not 100% sure but I don't thing you can use the edelbrock rpm air gap manifold with those heads
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You can use the Edelbrock 7516. That is the RPM air gap for Vortec style heads. Summit sells them for $255.95.
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[felon c10]

so i found a set of heads eworked RHS 190cc stainless valves and springs for $400 for the set am just wondering what the hell is eworked does that mean they are rebuilt.or should i just stick to the summit heads thanks

[felon c10]

Originally Posted by Rannos

For about the same price you would have in a reman'ed set of vortec heads you can get a set of Engine Quest (EQ) heads. They are cast in the same plant that cast the Pro Action heads before RHS bought them out and use the same molds as RHS did before they dropped their line of cast iron heads this year. For a mild 350 I would use the 180cc intake runner head. You may could get away with a 200cc runner but you would start to loose low and mid range torque with that size runner on a mild 350 ot 355.

The 270 Magnum by Compcams is a good cam but it is also 30 year old cam profiles. I feel you would be better of using something like the XE274H or if you are going to punch it out anyway Replace the dish tops with a flat top and run the XE284H. If you have it in your budget to upgrade to a retrofit hydrualic roller I have used the XR288HR with very good outcomes. It maybe a little more then you want if you are runnign power steering and power brakes tho.

Also none of these cams will work well with TBI nor will you ever see the potential of a SBC with factory style TBI. Like was mentioned before the RPM air gap is a great instake for mild street engines and the 670 street avenger is a great street carb.

If you are going to bore it .030 over to make a 355 I would strongly suggest upgrading to atleast a Hypereytectic if not a lower end forged piston like the Probe FPS. You can also get rotating assemblies with Hypereutectic and Forged pistons really reasonable now days.


Here is a video link to the 350 I had the XR288HR in. It was a stock LT1 out of a 95 z28 I converted to carb and installed this cam in.

1964 Chevrolet Truck Rat rod. - YouTube

so i was considering to go with XE274H. i did get different heads pro topline 190cc and 64cc bigger valves 2.02 i forget the other one i think 1.90 my question is do i need to get the 1.5 rocker arms for this cam.i was told this heads can take a 600. lift.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Ok well you guys can cover the engine stuff.

If you want to go faster you also need better gearing. This alone will make the biggest difference. If your truck is all stock it prob has 2:73 gears or 3:08s with that kind of gearing even if you have a strong engine grandmas Camry is still going to be tough to beat at the stoplight. Next you need a higher stall converter. And the shift kit. If your truck is a 700r4 also pair that with a corvette servo as well
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