What cam and heads for a 396 small block

[Joe_Rocket]

Hi guys,

I'm excited! I just ordered a 396 stroker small block from Speed-O-Motive.

http://www.speedomotive.com/550hp_sbc_racing_stroker_engine_.htm

I have the option to go with their advertised long block with Dart Pro 1 heads and Crane Cam or pretty much anything else before it's complete. I was thinking of going with a slightly less agressive cam...

mainly, I'm looking for other cam and head suggestions. I'm willing to go with the expense of a roller setup as well.

I want something steady and reliable for regular street use and would only rarely spend time at a track or strip.

I have a Holley 750 and Performer RPM Intake I can reuse from the old motor if adequate.

Rear gears are 3.73's and trans is a T56

Any suggestions?

[Lowend]

Joe
I'm off topic here... but you need to cancel your order...
Speed-O-Motive has the worst reputation of any engine builder in the USA.
I have never met anyone who has had a GOOD experience with them

[Joe_Rocket]

Wow, that pretty much killed my excitment... Thanks Lowend for your input. It is definately something to be concerned about.

Interestingly, I had told the guy at Speedomotive what a great site Pro-touring.com is and that he should take a look some time. It'd be nice if he does, just to have info from both sides. He seemed like a good guy and I'd reserve judgement long enough to hear input from both sides. You never know, maybe there were issues they resolved.


I did do a search and found some info, both good and bad.


The negatives:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I found a couple of issues related to "banged up" cranks which I took to mean they were cranks that saw too hard of use in a previous build and perhaps shouldn't be used.

Also, I found a couple cases where the motors seemed to work OK, but burned oil a lot. I found a couple cases of the power numbers not being what they claimed. I found a couple cases of some setups with one part or another wrong.


Most of these postings in other forums were from 2000 to 2004. Someone did mention they thought there was a change in ownership in the past at some point, too. I don't know.


The positives:
------------------------------------------------------------------
There were equally some people out there who've had no issues with their Speedomotive engines. Someone mentioned they were a bunch of very nice people. I had that same feeling when I talked with the guy there yesterday morning. He answered all my questions, and just seemed like a real genuine nice guy. He walked me through the shop and when discussing block colors I mentioned I would repaint it when I got it home because I wanted to match the color of my car. He offered to let me bring my own powder coat gun and use their oven so I could paint it before they do any assembly.

A coworker of mine has a speedomotive engine in his car and drives it regularly to all the shows he can. I've not heard anything bad from him.


Conclusion:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
As far as the issues mentioned above, I wish there were more details on each. Of course proper selections of parts and proper machining and assembly is what we are concerned about in the end. I hope more people will chime in and give some feedback.

[indyjps]

whats a 396 small block consist of a 350 block with a ??? crank?

[Joe_Rocket]

3.875 Crank... See the link in my original message. It has the complete description.

[rocketman]

I run AFR's on my 396 lt1 with a solid roller

[Joe_Rocket]

Rocketman, which size ports on your AFR heads. What cam is in yours?

[rocketman]

They started as 220's they around 250.The cam is a custom ground s/r with 264/268 @.050 with 6xx/6xx lift,I run 12.1 comp

[Joe_Rocket]

Wow, big ports, Rocketman... I want to keep my RPM's down to good street motor. DO you think the Dart Pro I's with the 215 ports would be a good street cruiser?

[rocketman]

Wow, big ports, Rocketman... I want to keep my RPM's down to good street motor. DO you think the Dart Pro I's with the 215 ports would be a good street cruiser?


215's will be ok.I am not a Dart fan,I would recommend Brodix's or AFR's.