Well it seems in one of the rare instances I let someone else touch my car it has lead to my engines demise. The air cleaner stud was attatched to my carb with a lockwasher underneath and that lock washer has found its way into my number 6 Cylinder. I assumed this because the engine felt like the throttle was stuck, I punched the gas it came back to idle and then it started running rough making noise and other such stuff. When I popped the hood the air cleaner was loose so I assumed the worst. I pulled the plugs and number six the ground electrode was bent over and chewed up. Hopefully not too much damage was done but either way I have a feeling its time for a total rebuild since I have wanted to do that anyways. Any ideas?:beer
The main things I am looking at is where I should be with my SCR and what cam will work best. I want a streetable car that won't be a pig on the highway but I am not shy about a lopey cam and running 91 octane. I'd like to do some mild home porting but I'm not sure if I will be able to use a flow bench to optimize things as I hear it gets pricey. What do I realistically have to do to have a solid 300whp build? I am trying to set a budget of around $2000 with all assembly done by myself and the advisement of some friends who build performance engines. Who do you guys like to use for full rebuild kits? Any oil passage mods I should look into at this mid level range? I am really using the recent FOD as an excuse to tear apart the engine instead of waiting for later in the summer. The boroscope and magnet come out tomorrow to see how bad things are. I don't imagine too much carnage as it was a very small lock washer and the spark plug was intact but anything can happeno No:
TA 212 cam, 9:1 comp, some home porting / gasket matching and a 750 or 800 CFM quadrajet with a nice dual exhaust / headers will put it a little above the 300 hp mark at the flywheel. Should be well within your budget as well seeing as you allready have the exhaust. Just dont skimp out on replacing the cooling system. If the radiator is questionable now's the time to upgrade, and I'd never put a used waterpump on a new motor. Oiling mods wouldnt hurt, but dont need to go crazy with them either. Sean can better advise you on those.
Luckily my cheapo autozone aluminum rad seems to be pulling its weight. once the thermo opens this car never sees more than 195. I figure with a 7blade clutch fan and water pump I should be set. Is there anymore power to be made by going with a bigger cam than the 212? I know it is an amazing choice on a stock lo-comp engine but I always assumed if you had the compression that you would run a hotter cam like a ta284 or 310. A Quadrajet from everyday performance is definitely on the list and luckily the exhaust is already ready and waiting like you mentioned. Now off to the shop to see how bad the damage isray:
Yes, you can gain some HP with a larger cam, but you will trade off some low rpm performance. The 284 looks to be a great cam, in between the 212 and the 310. The choice is yours, here is some info to help guide you: http://www.tworock.com/mjd/buick/350/ta-212.jpg http://www.tworock.com/mjd/buick/350/ta-310.jpg I have had both the 310 cam and the 212 cam in the same engine and the difference is night and day. I ran both cams at 9:1 static compression with home ported heads. For my 9:1 engine the 212 was way better from 2000-3500 rpms. From 3500 to 5600 the 212 pulled great but not as strong as the 310. Over 5600 the 212 and power fell of quick. The 310 was great from 3500 to the hp peak of about 5600 rpms. It ran well to 6500 but dropped off in power over 5600 rpms. My point is that 95% of buick 350s make peak power at or under 5600 rpms to matter what cam you put in them... Why not get strong torque down low and good HP vs peaky hp and soggy low rpms. Now, if a person used a 310 in a 10.5:1 static compression engine, well ported heads, 3500 stall converter and 4:11 gears the 310 cam can make a fast quarter mile car. Even then you will not likely peak at hp any higher than 6000 rpms unless you run a single plane intake.
Here is another good view of how the Poston 114 cam one of my favorite cams for a street car! It makes good torque and good HP... I am going to be running the 114 cam with the twin turbos so the HP should be up a few hundred LOL. Look at the 118 and how much torque it gives up.... http://www.tworock.com/mjd/buick/350/PostonBest4torque.jpg
I plan to do a slightly higher compression closer to 10:1 static, but not real anal about it and run the 284 cam or similar.. I think it "splitting hairs".. From what I've read the gains are really in the porting of the heads intake and exhaust..
This is true! The "Finshline stroker 370" made 420 hp NA with about 8.5:1 compression! Bill M's "355 cube" engine made peak HP of about 550 HP NA with about 8.5:1. Sonny seal ran 11s NA with the ported iron heads and a full weight car. Here is some desktop dyno info on a TA roller cam that I have. It is hitting the track this summer in a 1/4 mile NA race car for R&D. First I want to see what this cam would do in a stock type engine: 800 cfm Q jet, TA intake, 10.0:1 compression, stock heads, 1.55 ratio rockers, 1 5/8" headers, 34 degrees timing:[/quote] About 370 hp @5500 rpms and 400 ft of tq 2. I would like to see what the engine would do with a 850 cfm Holley, sheet metal single plane intake, 12:1 Compression, ported heads, 1.6 ratio roller rockers, and 2" primary headers, 34 degrees timing:[/quote] About 440 hp @6000 rpms and 440 ft of tq 3. I would be interested to see what would happen to the above combo if I ofset ground the crank to get 369 cubes with a 30 thou overbore About 450 hp @ 5500 rpms and 460 ft of tq, a gain of about 10 hp and 20 ft of tq. over build #2
I ran the 310 in my 69 Skylark. It really needs around 10:1 compression to bring it to life, but did sound very brutal in my 8.5:1 comp 350. Here's a link of it running.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPtt8ewrCCk It had an 800 CFM Quadrajet off of a 455, TA Stage 1 aluminum intake, 8.5:1 comp on stock 1970 heads, headers, dual 2.5 inch exhaust with H-pipe and 40 Series Flowmaster mufflers. Didnt really have any power till around 2500 RPM, and even TA reccomends atleast a 2500 stall converter. It really needed one.. Very aggressive lumpy idle that scared away most ricers with a simple rev, and was mistaken for a big block more than once. Had to cut the engine off when sitting in drive throughs so I could hear the speaker. I had a chance to play with a desktop dyno and the 310 cam awhile back, the above combo rated around 330 HP and 385 lbs of torque. Even with some pretty extreme flow numbers, compression, and etc in the dyno program the TA 310 cam seems to top out at 400 HP. I no longer have the car, but if I was to redo it again I'd probably go with the 212 or the 288. I've never played with anything in my previous Buicks but TA cams, but I've heard Comp Cams makes some pretty good grinds for our 350s.
Awesome information guys! I checked out the car yesterday and I got very lucky. Every time I put a plug in number 6 the ground electrode would get all chewed up and the car would intermittently misfire. We tried using a magnet to get the pieces out but nothing was getting picked up. We did a cranking compression test and got 180psi on all cylinders so no damage was done. Removed spark plug from #6 and fired up the engine for a few minutes covering our eyes and ears:eek2:. Reinstalled the plug and the car runs great:TU: My theory is that the pieces were getting caught in the plug intermittently and shorting it out casing a misfire. I still want to do some engine work but I think it would be a darn shame to rip apart an engine with 180psi of compression so I think some headwork and a ta212 cam is in order. With a 2004r 2400 stall and some 3.73 gears in the back I'm sure I won't miss having a higher SCRo No:
Great news! You can gain compression ussing low comp pistons just have the heads milled to gain compression. Be sure to check the valve to piston clearance after your new cam is degreed... Then you can tell how much you can mill the heads. Here is the kit I have used a few times. $425 for Master rebuild kit and then I use a TA cam and lifters as well as timing set... Yes I end up with a few spare parts but the kit is a great deal and you are left with spare cam etc. http://www.flatlanderracing.com/
Video of a 212 cam in a 350 in here: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=205800&highlight=212+video
How much would the heads have to be milled to reach 9:1 compression and in your experience have you had clearance issues after milling with the 212 cam? Also with a stock block height and heads do you need a set of new length pushrods since the stock valvetrain isn't adjustable? That kit sounds like a great deal have your tried deleting the cam, lifters and timing set and seeing what it costs? Or upgrading the cam and timing set through them?
Unfortunately the album is private now so the videos don't worko No: I am surprised there aren't many videos on youtube of 350s with a 212 as I am sure it is a popular cam choice
