ONN20

To all the Chev guys,

What's a good, BUDGET SBC combo? Something that makes upwards of 400hp on pump fuel and costs a max of $5K.

mrprem

Best thing to do on that budget is get a crate motor from the states, the dollar is really good at the moment so importing one yourself would be the cheapest way. Sharioff build pretty good crate motors so I hear.

PRO-GMH

Aaron,

Im currently doing this.

350 2 bolt block, steel caps with studs, balanced bottom end, flat top pistons, you could use fuellie heads but I opted for cast darts with manley valves etc, solid cam, victor jr manifold... Its made up of parts that were lying around at a work shop.
Aiming for 450 - 500hp and 450ft-lb.
That comes in at around your budget... but then factor in carby and IC&E ignition too... adds up a bit.

Youd probably opt for fuellie heads to keep the budget down unless you were doing all of the assembling yourself.

You going to build another one?

Brett

PRO-GMH

Oh, jam a crate motor up your clacker! Theyre lazy and low on power... build one with more power for less money!

Eagle are selling 400hp engines that only make 300hp (Ive seen one dyno'd) and eagle are having to pay for it to get up to spec!

ONN20

Just weighing up some options at the moment and trying to think what I will repower my HX with if I sell the HQ turnkey.

I already have a complete, but very mild 383 SBC that was meant for my ski boat sitting in the shed and figured it could be a good start for a cheap tuffy. It's already got flat tops and double hump fuellies(straight plug). I figure bump up the comp and spend some $$$ on the valve train and a decent intake(it's got a Performer EPS atm) and it might be a good thing.

ONN20

. . . . or leave it as is and just add a hairdryer!

PRO-GMH

Let me know if you like.. I know where theres a 400 chev crank rods and pistons for $500... so you'd have another 383 bottom end.

NOZ350

ONN20: I have what is left of my old motor you would be welcome to for a modest fee

60thou 4bolt 350 block (just needs a slight hone or maybe not)

327 crank 10/10

standard rods

forged pistons 60thou

Would have a bottom end at least. if you are interested make me an offer

Cheers
Noz

ONN20

Sorry Noz, not realy interested as like I said I already have a complete(fresh) 383. Maybe If you had a solid cam somewhere around 240@ 0.050" and some valve train parts

NOZ350

I will ask my mate at Proaction , he may have a cam and valve train.

It would all be truly second hand but as I said earlier $$$ would be small.

I will let you know re cam and so on.

pro068

Just don't do what I did and spend way to much on it. I just went to an engine builder and told him what I wanted.
Should have sourced all the parts myself, would have saved 4 grand.

ONN20

Just checked the heads out, they are 462's. Anyone got any info on 462's?

Surly

Mr Google says:


SMALL CHAMBER PRODUCTION "ON CAR" CYLINDER HEADS -By Racerguy..I just borrowed the page from him..
"462" – Could be 3890462, 3891462, 3990462. The 462 is one of the best flowing production SBC heads. They were used between 1962-1968 on various HP versions of 302, 327, or 350 engines. They could have come with either 1.94/1.50" or 2.02/1.60" valves, had 64CC combustion chambers, DO NOT have accessory holes, intake port volume should be 161CC's, exhaust port volume should be 65CC's. These heads have double hump casting marks.
"461" – Could be 3782461, or 3782461X. These were an excellent performance head. The regular 461 casting was used between 1964-1966 and could be found on 327 engines. They had 2.02/1.60" valves, a 64CC combustion chamber, DO NOT have accessory holes, intake port volume of 161CC's, exhaust 62CC's. These heads have double hump casting marks. The "X" castings had the same port configuration, but had larger port volumes, they DO NOT have accessory holes. The intake port on the "X" casting was 172CC's, and the exhaust port was 62CC's, valve sizing was 1.94/1.50". The "X" heads had double hump casting marks as well.
"291" – Could be 3912291, or 3917291. This is another good performance casting. They were found on 1967-1968 302, 327, or 350 engines. They could have either 1.94/1.50" or 2.02/1.60" valves, 64CC combustion chambers, DO NOT have accessory holes, intake port volume should be 161CC's, exhaust port volume should be 65CC's. These heads have double hump casting marks.
"492" – 3991492. Another good performance head. They were found on 1970 LT-1 engines. They had 2.02/1.60" valves, 64CC combustion chambers, DO have accessory holes, intake port volume should be 161CC's, exhaust port volume should be 62CC's. These heads have double hump casting marks. This particular casting head was also available as an "over the counter" head from GM in straight or angle plug configurations.
"186" – 3927186. Another good performance head. They were found on 1969-1970 302 and 350 engines. They had 2.02/1.60" valves, 64CC combustion chambers, DO have accessory holes, intake port volume should be 161CC's, exhaust port volume should be 65CC's. These heads have double hump casting marks.
"292" – 3917292, or 340292. Both are good performance heads. The 3917292 was found on 1968 327 and 350 engines, had 1.94/1.50" valves, 64CC combustion chambers, straight plug configuration, not sure on the accessory holes, and I do not have any port volume data on these heads. These heads have double hump casting marks. The 340292 was available from GM "over the counter". This version had angle plug configuration, 2.02/1.60" valves, 64CC combustion chambers. These were known as the "Turbo" heads.
"041" – 3947041, also 3947041X. A good performance head. They were found on 1969-1970 302 and 350 engines. They had either 1.94/1.50" or 2.02/1.60" valves, 64CC combustion chambers, DO have accessory holes, I don't have port volume data for the regular 041, the 041X intake port should be 165CC's, the 041X exhaust port should be 65CC's. These heads have a single somewhat triangular shaped casting mark (slope on the upper left).
"040" – 3947040. A good performance head (I have read). Supposedly these heads came on 1968 327 truck engines. They had 1.94/1.50" valves, 64CC combustion chambers, DO NOT have accessory holes. I do not have any port volume data for these castings. These heads also had a single triangular shaped casting mark (slope on the upper left).
"187" – 3927187. Another good performance head (I think). They were found on 1969-1970 350 engines. I believe they had 1.94/1.50" valves, 64CC combustion chambers, DO have accessory holes. I do not have any data on port volumes for this casting. These heads have double hump casting marks.
"414" – 3973414. A good performance head. They were found on 1970 350 LT-1 engines. They had 2.02/1.60" valves, 64CC combustion chambers, DO have accessory holes. I do not have any port volume data for this casting. These heads have double hump casting marks.

LARGE CHAMBER PRODUCTION "ON CAR" HEADS
"487" – 3973487, OR 3973487X. The regular casting was found on the 1971-1972 350 LT-1 engines, had 1.94/1.50" valves, 76CC combustion chambers, DO have accessory holes, intake port volume should be 161CC's, exhaust port volume should be 65CC's. The 487X had 2.02/1.60" valves.
"441" – 3932441. This head was found on the 1969-1970 350 engines (255hp 350), it was a decent flowing large chamber head. It had 1.94/1.50" valves, 76CC combustion chambers, DO have accessory holes, intake port volume should be 161CC's, exhaust port volume should be 61CC's. Not to be confused with 3923441, which was a 1.72/1.50" valve, 327 truck head.
"624" – 462624, 426624, or 458624. The 458624 was a truck head, with 1.72/1.50 valves – non performance. The other castings were used mid 70's and up on 350 engines, they came with 1.94/1.50" or 2.02/1.60" valves, had 76CC combustion chambers, DO have accessory holes, intake port volume is 161CC's, exhaust port volume is 62CC's. These heads are made of thinner castings and are prone to cracking.
"882" – 333882. These heads were found on early-late 70's 350 and 400 engines. They had 76CC combustion chambers, 1.94/13.50" valves, DO have accessory holes, intake port volume is 160CC's, exhaust port volume is 60CC's. These heads are made of thinner castings and are prone to cracking as well. The exhaust port on these heads is rather weak in my humble opinion, and is not considered to be a good performance head. I have read some flow numbers on the internet regarding the 882's, and I have a hard time believing some of the flow numbers people are posting on these particular castings. I did extensive flow testing on several of these particular castings, and was not very impressed with their flow characteristics. The 441 or 487 are a much better large chamber head (in my humble opinion). The 882 intake port is very close to that of the 624, the exhaust side is where the 882 is weaker.

OVER THE COUNTER GM IRON HEADS
"492" – See listing above.
"3973370" – A good over the counter head. They had 64CC combustion chambers, supposedly straight or angle plug configuration. Used a set of these on all 3 of my 383 strokers, they originally came with 1.94/1.50" valves. We did some major port massaging and installed 2.02/1.60" valves, they responded very well to the modifications and worked very well. The combustion chambers were 64CC's. These were a decent iron head, with a lot of potential for performance. "3965742" – Another over the counter GM iron head. I have no data on these particular castings, other than they were angle plug configuration.

cheers
Surly

ONN20

Thanx very much Surly! Excellent info there


So what can a mildly ported set flow? 1.94 & 2.02? Cheers.

MCEcomp

A 462 head with 2.02 intake and some bowl porting will easily flow 500hp of air.
If you have a flat top 383 short, stab a crane F-260 in it with a holley strip intake and you should make 500HP all day long...