Who's still running a SBC ?

[70TWO NOVA]

Curious who is running a small block Chevy in their pro touring car. Either carbed or FI and how it does in the PT duties (road trips, corner carving, driving around town, auto x etc). Seems there is more and more pressure to swap in an LS motor nowadays and I'd like to hear some stories against that argument

[1BADBET]

ALL engines are air pumps so as far as manners on the street and performance at the track goes it's all about how the motors built not what it says on the valve cover. When it comes to power per dollar nothing beats an old school small block!!!..... Except maybe a big block lol. The money you save can go towards more power and performance. Carb vs efi I'd go carb all the way. They're just easier and cheaper then you can spend moooore money on performance! You can build a carb motor with street manners and just as reliable as any FI system. You might give up some MPG and idle quality but in a hot rod who cares about either of those things.

[WallaceMFG]

Got a small block in the Chevelle with an old Holley carb. Motor does great in the car, always starts easy, plenty of power for autocross. I have no complaints with my motor at this point.

Going to put EFI on in the future, and hopefully someday pull it out and rebuild it for boost and some twin turbos. BUT, if I had an unlimited budget I'd be calling Hendrick Racing for an R07 NASCAR motor haha

[TheJDMan]

I'm running a 383 stroker based on a 1st gen 4 bolt main 350 block with all sorts of goodies including all forged Scat rotating assembly, Edelbrock hydraulic roller cam, RHS 210 aluminum raised port heads and MSD Atomic throttle body EFI all adding up to about 530hp. Building from a bare block still cost me significantly less then the cost of an LS conversion. I don't feel I give up anything to LS guys in terms of drivability including my T56 Magnum and old school Z-bar clutch. The engine is a bit lopy at idle but will cruise all day long as smooth as any LS and I can drive in stop and go city traffic in 100 deg weather without overheating. There were many sleepless nights thinking about what engine to go with but in the end it was just too economical to not go with the SBC. The ONLY downside is that I cannot attend LS Fest, Oh well.

119988

[Motobrewmaster]

I am running an old school SBC 355. Simple stuff actually, steel heads (Bowtie II's) matching Vic Jr intake, Holley carb, 11.5:1 an aggressive cam and some decent stuff inside for spinning around. No idea of power but guessing about 400ish at the wheels. It fits my current budget and gets the job done for now. Idles decent (sounds great) and is very streetable. Once I put together the electric fan setup she keeps cool even in stop and go traffic during the summer.

I have had to do a few things to get the carb to deal with the higher g-forces due to cornering and braking. Seems the old Holleys (Dbl pumper) were not exactly ready out of the box to deal with those things. I would also consider lowering the CR as the timing is backed off to run 93 and have to run high octane to allow full timing when playing hard.

Once I start doing more auto crossing and track days it might become the weak link...but will wait and see if that is the case or not.

[rchaskin]

My car is a "stage 1" PT car.
DSE bolt on suspension, Coils and leaf springs, ridetech adj shocks, quick steering box, Bear brakes.

I use it for everything.
I drive it to work everyday it is not raining, I cruise it, I drag it (12.80 1/4 mile), and I autocross it.

Ive got a GM crate. I bought a used "604" race motor.
This is basically a ZZ6.
350, Full Roller, Fastburn Heads, Forged 4 bolt bottom end.
I did a cam swap and put a comp XR 282 in it.
It has a Bill Mitchell Hardcore 750 carb on it.
I would say its got like 425hp.

The rest of the drivetrain is Mcleod Clutch, LT1 style T56, Big 10 with 3.73s.

This thing does awesome.
Not the fastest, but it puts a grin on my face everytime I crank it.

The only downsides are cold starts and mileage.
It has got 15mpg once, but it is typically 10-12.

I would like to add some cubes, and go with a Terminator setup.

Take a look at my vids. There are a little bit of everything in there.

[70TWO NOVA]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Im currently running a 355 sbc in my Nova. About 9.5:1 alum knock off heads, decent cam and just installed FI (microsquirt). Although I still have quite a bit of tuning to do I occasionally feel like it still lacks the street manners that the LS engine have. (my dad has an LS swapped 80 Camaro) I hate to ditch such a reliable and time tested engine and appreciate the motivation you guys give to keep it.

[minendrews68]

I'm running a carbureted 383 stroker with roller, forged internals, and Holley carb. I'm liking mine.

[70TWO NOVA]

My real goal with my drivetrain 355/th350 is to have decent power (not looking for 800hp), nice idle, something that doesnt overheat in traffic, cruises nice on long trips (currently turning 3400rpm at 65mph :( ) and can take the abuse of occasional auto x racing. I know that is asking a lot of any engine lol but unfortuanley the way it is now does nothing but discourage me from driving it.

[TheJDMan]

Brian,
I hope you don't mind, but I have to comment based on your last statement about being discouraged about cruising on long trips. A lot of people these days are making the change from 3 and 4 speed direct drive transmissions to newer 5 and 6 speed overdrives both manual and auto while retaining the early SBC/BBC engines. Going from a 4 speed to a 6 speed OD, I can't even begin to adequately describe how dramatic of an improvement the OD transmission makes to the overall drivability of the car with the same SBC. To be honest, I think a large percentage of the improved drivability claims attributed to LS engine swaps is actually the result of to the fact that virtually all LS conversions I have read about also include some form of OD transmission. When you stop and think about it, when was the last time you heard of someone installing an LS engine and a 4 speed?

Before, with my ST10 4 speed I was running a 3.55 rear gear and you were well over 3000rpm at 65mph and that was really pushing the comfortable cruise limit. Cruising long distances with the 4 speed was just not enjoyable or fuel efficient. Now with the installation of the T56 Magnum with a .80 5th and .63 6th OD and a 3.89 rear gear, I can comfortably cruise at 60mph in 5th at 2500rpm or 70 in 6th at 2500 all day long while getting a solid 19+mpg.

I really feel like your best move would be to keep your existing SBC and install some form of an OD transmission either manual or auto. I think an OD trans swap offers you a greater potential for improved drivability than an LS engine swap.

[Twentyover]

Sounds to me like you have more tuning development time needed.

And it's really not asking alot for a pleasant high performance SBC- I have a ZZ4 in a 70 Camaro w/ an early Edelbrock Pro Flow FI system. Motor is a real sweetheart, always fires, acts like a modern motor. Not really a killer motor, but it makes me smile...

The deal with MS systems is that you need to spend time tuning. The higher the spec of the motor, the sharper the edge of the tune, and the more dramatic the issue when you are off the edge.

Been a while since I looked at MS, but think I'm going to need to with the MGC engine. Because I'm pretty sure no one makes a system to drive three throttle body injectors beside MS

[70TWO NOVA]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. i know I have a long way to go with my MS tune to get my engine in teh "sweet spot". She runs okay now but not much better than when the carb was on it. I also definately plan on an OD. I know that will make a huge difference with the car. Right now the drivability of it is pretty sucky but I am confident with some work and $$ of couse it can be what I want it to be.

[dale68z]

I have a 408 SBC, with a Holley carb. I run HPDE's a lot, some autocross, and believe in the car enough to travel longer distance to do track days...6+ hours of cruising, beat on the car all day and jump back in and drive it back home. The engine did 416 RWHP in vegas, at nearly 100 degree temp. Car gets 17-18 mpg, turns 2500 rpm at about 85 mph..
Would I like an LS?, sure but it costs money.
For 40 years a SBC was the engine that moved the world, it is still a very capable engine
Overdrive makes cruising soooo much nicer.

[70TWO NOVA]

I have a 408 SBC, with a Holley carb. I run HPDE's a lot, some autocross, and believe in the car enough to travel longer distance to do track days...6+ hours of cruising, beat on the car all day and jump back in and drive it back home. The engine did 416 RWHP in vegas, at nearly 100 degree temp. Car gets 17-18 mpg, turns 2500 rpm at about 85 mph..
Would I like an LS?, sure but it costs money.
For 40 years a SBC was the engine that moved the world, it is still a very capable engine
Overdrive makes cruising soooo much nicer.
What tranny do you run?

[RichardSIA]

Add me to the SBC list, even smaller since I'm building a fairly hot 327 for the '68 El Camino.

[SSLance]

GM Crate HT383 here, fed with a mechanical Quadrajet and MSD programmable ignition. It's a truck engine with low compression 9.1:1 and has a small cam with vortec heads, so it builds huge torque down low and runs out of HP after about 4500 RPM. It'll cruise all day long in 100 degree temps with the AC on and never overheat, get 18-20 MPG on highway cruises, averages 16-18 MPG with mixed driving. The T56 helps keep the RPM in the optimum range for both power and MPG.

The carb was set up and tuned by a good friend and has been flawless, the only downfall vs FI is if it sits for more than a week or so you have to crank on it a bit to get fuel back up to the carb. Other than that, you wouldn't know it's not fuel injected. The Q-jet is a fantastic carb if it's set up properly for your engine. Smaller primaries provide great mileage plus good off idle performance and once the secondaries are opened up it flows 800 CFM which is plenty for most streetable engines. One concern I do have is I'm thinking about doing the Optima event at Pikes Peak and air\fuel ratios at the higher elevations are something to think about.

This combo has done several HPDEs, Optima events, 150 autocross runs a year, and 4-5000 street miles a year with zero issues. I do get out run on the straights or longer more wide open autocross courses but can generally make most of that back up by letting the 400 ft lbs at the rear tires dig hard coming out of the corners.

I used the money I saved by not doing the LS swap to make the car corner much better and enjoy that just as much as going fast in a straight line.

[nicks67camaro]

Small block 400 here. I would agree with the above the T56 makes it SO much nicer to drive.

[ilikeike]

I thought about going with the 525 hp LS crate engine swap,but thought I'd save some $ building a SBC with the same HP, so I'm just finishing up a 421" Dart based small block for my 68 Camaro. In the end,I don't think I saved any money..lol.
Thinking about going with the Holley Terminator TBI. I want as clean an idle as I can get,and go from 100' elev up to 4000' with minimal issues.
I'll be using a 5spd.

[dale68z]

What tranny do you run?

Close ratio T56 magnum

When we change elevation I don't mess with jetting I change ignition timing. Here in Phoenix 1100' elevation I run 32 deg total when we run in Wilcox 4500' elevation I run 36 deg.

My daily driver is a 68 Camaro with a 327 Qjet and a 700r4. It runs fantastic, gets great fuel economy. It only cranked out 194.6 RWHP :) with 245' # of torque.

We are building a beater 73 Camaro with a AFR headed 383 and t56. I bought the engine cheap from someone doing an LS swap.

[nokones]

I stayed with the SBC in my 89 C4 Corvette. I gave the LS a serious thought and I elected to stay old school. The SBC has been trued and tried successfully for many decades and I kinda like the old school stuff. My engine is an all aluminum Lingenfelter 427 SBC with AFR Heads, TPIS Fuel Injection, Aviaid Dry Sump Oil System, and Holley HP EFI ECM System. The LS are great engine but, I thought it would be best to stay with a SBC. I like the LS engines and I have two other cars with LS engines (LS3 & LS6).

JD stated the only drawback on having a SBC is that you can't attend LS Fest. I think you can now. I think they changed the rule this year to if you're complicating on doing a LS swap you can run your SBC. Also, there was a Gen 1 LS3 and it was a 402 cubic inch. I was thinking about claiming my SBC as a Gen 1 LS3 so I can say I have a LS and I would be eligible to enter LS Fest. I'm not sure if the 402 was a SBC or a BBC.

[Skip Fix]

I'll throw out some thoughts one of my buddies had(he just sold and LS powered Chevelle)
"How many Chevy TPI motors did you used to see? How many now? They were the LS motor of the 80s. Hard to go wrong with the motor that came in the car and opens up more potential buyers-the ones that want a tweaked motor but factory appearance"

[70TWO NOVA]

I'll throw out some thoughts one of my buddies had(he just sold and LS powered Chevelle)
"How many Chevy TPI motors did you used to see? How many now? They were the LS motor of the 80s. Hard to go wrong with the motor that came in the car and opens up more potential buyers-the ones that want a tweaked motor but factory appearance"

Good point, you don't really see them much anymore. They are great motors (I owned an L98 TPI powered 1990 Iroc) but their weakness has always been them TPI intake being a big hp restriction.

[nokones]

I'm using the TPIS Mini Ram with the 1250 CFM Monoblade Throttlebody on my all aluminum SBC 427 CI. The throttlebody and mini ram setup will handle over 600 HP with no problem.

[Interceptor5588]

I run a 383 TPI with a T56 in my Formula. Runs great, dead reliable, 20+ mpg hwy @ 80 mph, probly about 400 hp. A little down on power compared to the average built LS, but if I weren't so lazy I would install the FAST setup I have in the garage and it would probably come close.

In the end it came down to time and budget -- instead of buying swap headers, mounts, PCM etc I just used what I had. And I got it together in one winter -- never would have pulled it off with an LS swap.

[Skip Fix]

An old school SBC with good heads and parts can still be a performer especially with an aluminum block!

[HandOverFist]

Who the frick uses an aluminum sbc block?

[nokones]

Who the frick uses an aluminum sbc block?

I am. Crank horsepower 630/torque 505 at 6600 and peak torque 574 at 5400.

[HandOverFist]

Let me re-phrase - Who the frick needs to spend 5K on an aftermarket aluminum block for a street engine?

[AKlowriderZ71]

I'm keeping my SBC. And personally, I think the SBC is a better looking engine than the LS.

Don't get me wrong, the LS engines can also be great performers(see my sig). But they aren't the end-all answer for everybody.

[nokones]

Let me re-phrase - Who the frick needs to spend 5K on an aftermarket aluminum block for a street engine?

You're going to spend it somewhere. I elected to put that kind of money in reliability rather than the cost of the conversion. I wanted a reliable block that will withstand the abuse of spinning the motor over 6 grand. I heard that the LS engines do not have the longevity as a high revving engine like a Dart SBC all aluminum block.

[sanman]

ZZ383 TCI 350 w/ gear vendors and loving it. Have a Holley EFI on the shelf just waiting to buy a EFI tank and we will be switching over from a Holley Ultra Street Avenger 770.

[minendrews68]

Old school 383 SBC, naturally aspirated. I still like them after all these years, although, I would like to maybe someday put FI on it.

[no_go nico]

+1 for sbc. 427 stroker with fitech fuel injection = best of both worlds IMO. TKO600 for the cruise nights.

[nokones]

I also have a TKO600 behind my all aluminum SBC 427. I like the tranny and it is 65 pounds lighter than the OEM 6 speed

[raustinss]

What's a SBC lol

[Kenova]

I have a foot in both worlds.
I have a 400 SB in my Nova and my Vega will be getting an all aluminum 5.3, hopefully
in the next year and a half.
The 400 is kind of a bottom of the barrel build. It still has the original rotating assembly,
a used hydraulic flat tappet cam (236 @ .050), and an ancient POS Holley ProJection4
"unit". If there was ever a computer with a mental defect, this is it :screwy:. The heads
are '91 'Vette aluminum with springs to match the cam and I haven't a clue as to what
the compression ratio is :dunno: . The transmission is a $300.00 (Canadian dollars) T10,
and yes, it has issues. Best of all I am having the time of my life beating the crap out
of it. The sooner something breaks the sooner I get to upgrade something.

Ken

[kimosabi]

All new Dart SHP 400 SBC waiting for final batches of parts here. It has a forged bottom end, custom Jones hydraulic roller cam, Morel lifters, AFR 210 heads. With todays great gaskets the common oil leaks of the old sbc should be gone.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/08/400sbc-1.jpg (http://picturepush.com/public/15145495)

[no_go nico]

All new Dart SHP 400 SBC waiting for final batches of parts here. It has a forged bottom end, custom Jones hydraulic roller cam, Morel lifters, AFR 210 heads. With todays great gaskets the common oil leaks of the old sbc should be gone.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/08/400sbc-1.jpg (http://picturepush.com/public/15145495)

Great set up! mines almost the exact same. I recently removed the Holley dp for a fitech fuel injection - really helped the motor come alive

[kimosabi]

Thanks, I have the Edelbrock 7104 intake coming in so I'll see how I can make it run with my tweaked Qjet on top with a little AFR gauge "cheating". I like being a little old school. lol

Right now chomping at the bits for a set of custom length rockers so I can FINALLY determine the pushrod lengths. Standard Harland rockers were too long for my liking.

[Kenova]

All new Dart SHP 400 SBC waiting for final batches of parts here. It has a forged bottom end, custom Jones hydraulic roller cam, Morel lifters, AFR 210 heads. With todays great gaskets the common oil leaks of the old sbc should be gone.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/08/400sbc-1.jpg (http://picturepush.com/public/15145495)

Hey! Yours is the exact opposite of mine. LOL
Yes, the newer gaskets are great. My POS doesn't leak a drop of anything. Now the transmission.........

Ken

[Decline]

That black accented motor looks sweet! Mike jones makes awesome cams from what I've read on yellow bullet. I almost just bought one but since I'm on a budget I had to settle for a lunati voodoo roller.
Needed that money for all the other roller swap parts(of which there are many)

Here's why SBCs rock.. I found some barely used aluminum Gm fastburn heads and matching vortec intake on CL for cheap. After my hyd roller swap I should be around 425-450 at the crank for about $2000. It would have been less if the heads didn't need stupid self aligning rockers.
2ndly, I'm not super mechanically inclined. I just watch YouTube videos and read the Internet and since these motors are so simple and well researched I can do all my own work.

My car gets 17-18 hwy and 14-15 around town with a 650q jet and a th350 auto. It's a 9.5:1 355ci with 3.25 rear gears. Would I like an LS? Of course, but is it necessary? Not really. Plus the money I saved not doing a swap can go towards a T56 magnum which is what my car really needs!

Being a young buck(34), I feel the pull towards the LSswap like Luke to the dark side. But I have to respect the original. I've nearly killed my SBC multiple times due to inexperience and stupidity. But it just takes the lickin and keeps on Tickin. How can I not love that? My good friend has rebuilt his 1jz single turbo twice in the same timespan..lol not a fair comparison cuz that motor is in a drift car and gets beat on pretty hard. You see my point tho. The more I've gotten into my old school small block, the more I learned to love and respect it.
One caveat withstanding, if the son of a B leaks after I replace all these gaskets and fresh parts it's days are friggen numbered!

[nokones]

What's a SBC lol

It is whatever you can punch out of a SBC. Now, I am curious, how far has anyone punch out a SBC either an all aluminum Dart/Bill Mitchell/Brodix, etc. or a cast iron OEM block?

[Zspoiler]

I run a 364 cubic inch supercharged 500 HP small block Chevrolet in m y 1979 Z-28 RS Camaro Pro-touring car.Ans I also run a 290 HP small block Chevrolet crate engine in my 1981 El Camino SS as my daily driver. It nice having cars that have parts that interchange.

[ULTM8Z]

I've been EFI since 1996 on my car when I installed the TPI. Swapped to ZZ4 in 2000 and have changed the heads and cam, probably making ~400 hp. I'm also getting 27 mpg on the highway. This is all on 30 year old EFI technology and essentially 50 year old engine technology. Not to mention Mrs. ULTM8Z thinks I'm already off my rocker for wanting more power than I already have! :razz:

My next engine upgrade in the (hopefully near future) is going to be a 454 sbc with around 525-550 hp.

So why am I sticking with the sbc rather than going LS?

1.) The car is already set up for the EFI system I already have and the 454 will swap right in under it without having to mod the car. I also know the TPI ECM fairly well, so re-tuning for the 454 should be a snap.

2.) I'll probably still get 25 mpg out of it after re-tuning which is still phenomenal for a nearly 50 year old car.

3.) I simply don't want any more than 550 hp (which is already ridiculous for how I'll be driving the car... literally 100% street/highway driven.... and I don't race people on the street... but it's cool having fun with it on my own from time to time... and I've dreamed about an engine like that for a LONG time).

Yeah, I know the LS engines can make more power w/o sacrificing driveability (but again, I just don't want/need any more power).

So bottom line... if I was building from scratch, I'd probably go LS. But for my circumstances it makes sense to keep with the sbc.

[ULTM8Z]

I'm using the TPIS Mini Ram with the 1250 CFM Monoblade Throttlebody on my all aluminum SBC 427 CI. The throttlebody and mini ram setup will handle over 600 HP with no problem.

Me too on the Miniram set up. Awesome manifold....

What cam and heads are you running and what are your power numbers?

[ULTM8Z]

I really feel like your best move would be to keep your existing SBC and install some form of an OD transmission either manual or auto. I think an OD trans swap offers you a greater potential for improved drivability than an LS engine swap.

Agreed. Back in 1992, I swapped to a TH700R4 from my TH350. Was running 3.42's and HATED driving on the freeway.

Mind you I still had a carburetor at that time, but after putting the 700 with lock up converter, it was such pleasure to drive on the freeway (particularly since I started commuting 38 miles to college each way). I also immediately bumped by fuel economy up to 21 mpg.

Yes, for driveability, the transmission could be your biggest bang for the buck. Well built TH700's can be had pretty inexpensively these days. If you're ambitious, you can even go 4L80E and take advantage of the tunability that comes with a fully electronic transmission. Plus, even a mildly built 4L80E would be able to handle a future 500hp engine (so you'd be preparing for the future in that case).

[F-Body International]

Good thread...I appreciate SBC, BOP and other traditional engines more after seeing all the LS swap stuff these days.

[kimosabi]

I can understand why people modernize their cars. LS with a direct port sequential EFI has much better fuel and timing control. I noticed a couple of knock sensor mounts on the back of the Dart SHP block and that kinda sealed the deal on my EFI thoughts in the future. If I'm not 100% happy with the Qjet, sequential EFI is next. I don't care much for the glorified carburettors though so a true EFI for me is probably another $3-4.000...

Will make a soild effort on the Qjet, have a dual Daytona Sensors wideband on the short list and also vacuum gauge.

[SIK02SS]

My 67 Camaro build finished in 2006. When I bought the car it had a new built SBC motor (that I had to rebuild- great parts but the guy couldn't build a motor) with gear drive and 650 double pumper. Has a great power band up to 6500 and has been reliable. Mated to a TKO600 I've gotten 28mpg on long cruises or I can watch the fuel gauge go to E around town. I built the car around a resto-mod restoration, lots of the original look, feel and sound- but with updated motor, braking, suspension and overall performance/reliability.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/12/64831692965972886677-1.jpg

As I go through the 66 LeMans restoration it will be a modern high performance build with a modern engine.

[FJ4JAKE]

I have a Dart SHP 400 in my 67 Camaro (525ish HP). The car has a Magnum T56. I recently added a Holley Terminator system too... Like others have stated, the addition of the modern 6spd makes all the difference that people "feel" when they do an LS swap. Would you really know which engine was under the hood if you just hopped in a strange car and it ran strong? I have been impressed with the increased drive-ability once I got my Terminator dialed in. Not as pretty as my 950cfm carb but the car just purrs now... and actually makes me want more cam..
Given the choice.. I would take a SBC/T56 any day vs a LS/4spd... Besides... beating an LS with a SBC is WAY more fun!

[kimosabi]

Yeah I don't feel the need to run an LS after firing up and do some initial tunes. Everything looked good. Should make just shy of 500 horse. Cam is a hyd roller 232/232 .540/.529ex on a 108LSA installed at 106. 10.7:1 compression. Should make for a snappy 400. Can't wait to get it in the car!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/12/400testkjC3B8ring-1.jpg (https://picturepush.com/public/15325036)

[nokones]

Me too on the Miniram set up. Awesome manifold....

What cam and heads are you running and what are your power numbers?

Sorry for the waaaay late reply.

I am running a Comp Cam with a special Lingenfelter custom grind and AFR 245 heads. 646 horsepower at 6600 and 570 torque at (I can't remember now and I don't have my fingers on the sheets at the moment).
135277
135278

[Randy67]

Very nice setup, Kenny. Not helping my desire to pickup and hotrod a C4 either.

[Zspoiler]

i would go on what you are more comfortable with .Both my cars have small block Chevys in them. My 1979 Z-28 RS Camaro has a 500 HP 377 cubic inch Supercharged small block,Ans my 1981 El Camino SS has a 290 HP 350 crate engine in it. Of which is my daily driver . Both are pro-touring cars. Thats what I grew up with and are easy to hop*up as well.

[nokones]

The LS definitely has its place in the Pro-Touring world and so do the SBCs. In my opinion, the LS engine will not look right in a real hot rod such as a deuce coupe, one of the Tri 5s, or a bucket "T" nor would a SBC look right in a late model muscle car. Both engines are very reliable and can be massaged to produce the power you need for your ride. That is what makes hot rodding fun, you get to do what you want and enjoy.

[camuchi]

I will have a 408 w/ performer rpm heads / comp roller cam etc
and a Muncie 4spd m21 with upgrades from autogear manufacturing/oversize bearings/cast iron mid plate /hd synchros
The ls stuff is awesome but on a budget you can't beat the SBC for $/power imo
Would love to have an od translation but dad and I swapped our car from a turbo 400 to 4 speed
Back around 1979 ( at dads suggestion) so for finally getting it ready to come back on the road there was no choice but the Muncie. I hope to have it on the road by summer.
135343

[H2Ogbodies]

We are building a 72 Vega with an 80's vintage TransAm Series 350 aluminum GM block with a TPI top end-kind of a different animal but the owner wants to keep it quasi-80's retro.

[HandOverFist]

Hot 327 in a '67 El Camino...it'll do.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/12/1220bolt20007_zpsfvsuexgd-1.jpg

[SPLATT71MC]

I really want to go to a LS but the fact that I have everything already to swap in a hotter SBC without any headaches or surprises is steering me towards going with a 383 stroker or even going to a 400 based SBC.

[camuchi]

135439135440135441

Getting ready to put my 406/M21 in this week
I hope!

[HandOverFist]

The junky 4-speed is gonna break, so I didnt touch it...lol!

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/12/image202_zpspozucjtu-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/12/image201_zps7hfdrajg-1.jpg

[camuchi]

Thanks Rich!
I have always been told I was a couple gears short anyway ;)

[Shawn01754]

Sorry for the dumb question, but LT& LS motors are all Chevy small blocks correct? If not then what are they? Big block =
How many CI/motor bolt patern? And small Block = how Many? 454CI is a big Block & 350CI is a little guy.

[HandOverFist]

Sorry for the dumb question, but LT& LS motors are all Chevy small blocks correct? If not then what are they? Big block =
How many CI/motor bolt patern? And small Block = how Many? 454CI is a big Block & 350CI is a little guy.

I believe the OP was posing the question regarding first gen conventional small blocks vs the LS versions.

[garvir]

i used the same cam you did, but i did have it ground to a 108 LSA, sounds good, runs good.this is my road race 88 monte carlo (3000 lbs) i just run between 3000 to 6000 rpm. this cam is great off the corners