On this episode of Engine Masters presented by AMSOIL
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00:00 Watch Put Up or Shut Up, the newest show coming exclusively to Motor Trend On Demand July 20th,
00:04 hosted by me, Brian Lowe.
00:09 You've got a small block Chevy in your car and you need more power on a budget and that's
00:13 what you're going to find out about on this episode of Engine Masters.
00:16 [Music]
00:39 This is Engine Masters presented by Amsoil and man am I going to get a lot of flack for
00:43 this episode because yes, it's another small block Chevy and this is going to be real basic.
00:50 But here's my defense.
00:51 I meet with a lot of aftermarket manufacturers and I ask them what's your biggest selling
00:55 part number and invariably it is some tchotchke for a small block Chevy.
01:01 LS engines may be super hot, Fords and Mopars may be cool, but the fact remains that the
01:06 small block Chevy still outsells everything else in the muscle car marketplace and we
01:11 still get questions from people going man I just want to hop up the 350 in my truck
01:15 or whatever.
01:17 This engine is based on the architecture founded in 1955 and they made these things all the
01:23 way through 2003 in some vans and Chevy still sells them as crate engines.
01:29 The 350, which is what this is, started in 1969.
01:32 There's a zillion of them.
01:34 Now let's look at the absolute basic package that we're going to be running on this show.
01:39 The engine is a crate motor from a place called First Mate Automotive.
01:42 I bought it from Summit Racing for $1,399.
01:46 I mean it is basic.
01:49 Cast pistons, cast crank, minuscule flat tab at camshaft, nothing trick.
01:53 But for that price you get everything from the long block including a camshaft, front
01:59 cover, oil pan, valve covers, but not the accessories.
02:02 Let's me show you how I package this thing out.
02:05 Up top, Holley's most affordable and basic carburetor.
02:08 This is an aluminum version of the 1850, which is a 600 CFM vacuum secondary single feed
02:15 carburetor.
02:16 Our intake manifold is a basic low rise dual plane from Speedmaster.
02:20 That's $152.
02:22 The ignition system is an HEI, which GM came out with in I think 1974.
02:28 It means high energy ignition.
02:30 It has a coil and a module and the trigger and everything right there.
02:33 That's your whole ignition system, $136.
02:36 The Excel 4000 series wires are about $40.
02:40 These are Flowtech 1 5/8 inch headers for an early Chevelle, $152.
02:46 So we're talking pretty cheap, pretty basic, and watch this because it is going to make
02:51 power like you've never seen.
02:55 Really.
02:57 So we started at 2200.
03:13 My torque number is way wrong.
03:19 Whoa, what a dog.
03:20 It's a dog.
03:21 It made a lot more torque than I thought.
03:23 Call up the numbers.
03:24 What was that?
03:25 You know what?
03:26 It's like a train, doesn't it?
03:27 Yeah.
03:28 It's like, "Brrrrrrrrrr."
03:32 So our torque is 334.9 at 3200 RPM.
03:37 I guess it was going to peak at 2800 RPM and our horsepower is 235.7 at 4100 RPM.
03:44 We're going to find out what happens when we add a point of compression, a better cylinder
03:48 head and 35 degrees more cam time.
03:51 35 degrees?
03:52 Well, yeah, we're going to that 230 Magnum.
03:55 This is a 194 at 50 cam.
03:57 We're putting 36 degrees intake.
03:58 We might be able to make one horsepower per cubic inch.
04:00 I think we're going to make it better than that.
04:03 More than one horsepower per cubic inch?
04:05 Yeah.
04:06 You think we're going to pick up 100 horsepower?
04:07 There's a good head in the cabin.
04:08 We shouldn't just make 350 horsepower.
04:10 We'll have to do another bed sheet.
04:12 Yeah.
04:13 I don't know.
04:14 You ready to wrench?
04:16 Sure.
04:17 Dude, that was bleak.
04:21 Can you imagine stabbing a brand new 350 Chevy into your car and then telling your
04:25 friends that you got less than 240 horsepower?
04:28 Awkward.
04:29 I hope we're going to fix that right now though.
04:32 Here are the key problems with that engine.
04:34 First of all, miniscule camshaft, almost non-existent.
04:37 194 degrees of duration at 50,000th lift.
04:41 Less than 400,000th lift on that turn.
04:44 We're going to solve that with a Comp Cams 280 Magnum, which is 230, 230 degrees of duration
04:52 at 50, and it has 480,000th lift.
04:54 It's a flat tap, just like the other one.
04:57 It's fairly affordable.
04:58 It's 195 bucks if you want to get the cam and lifter package.
05:01 So depending on what you need, you can decide which kit you're going to buy there.
05:05 Next up, we got to look at the cylinder heads.
05:07 Now these things appear almost identical, but there are big differences.
05:11 On my left here, I've got the swirl port head that came off of our crate engine.
05:17 This was used in '91 and earlier Chevy trucks, and basically it's a complete turd.
05:22 Even though it looks like a Vortec head because it has those center bolt valve covers and
05:25 stuff, it's not.
05:27 This is a Vortec head.
05:29 These were used on 350 Chevys with the L31 designation from 1996 to the year 2000.
05:36 They were only in trucks and SUVs.
05:38 And the thing is, you can still pick them up in junkyards.
05:40 That's the great thing about them.
05:42 There are some drawbacks though.
05:43 The biggie is that they won't handle a lot of valve lift without machining because the
05:48 bottom of the retainer hits the top of the valve guide.
05:51 You can only put about 450,000 lift in them before you run into a problem.
05:55 They also have press in rocker studs, just like this swirl port head.
05:59 And you get a lot of valve spring pressure on them, those tend to pop out.
06:02 So you want to modify them to have a screw in stud, just like this one has been modified.
06:07 The other thing is you'll often find in the aftermarket heads that they'll put bigger
06:11 valves in them.
06:12 Blueprint Engines actually did this set of Vortecs for us and they've got a 2.02 inch
06:16 intake valve instead of the stock 194.
06:19 The really big deal here though is that the intake port on the Vortec is so much superior
06:26 than it is on the swirl port.
06:28 It's ridiculous.
06:29 And if you look at the chamber, this is your standard smog era garbage bathtub of a combustion
06:37 chamber.
06:38 Whereas here on the Vortec, you've got a much nicer heart shaped chamber, more of a modern
06:42 design.
06:43 And this is 64 CCs instead of 76.
06:47 That means that we're going to take our crate engine from 8.25 to one with a swirl port
06:51 head to 9.2 to one with the Vortec head.
06:54 And that is going to be a really big deal.
06:57 Next up, you're going to have to consider your intake manifold.
07:00 If you're changing from a swirl port head or an older one to a Vortec head.
07:05 Now this is a Speedmaster intake manifold.
07:08 It is designed to run both the TPI pattern or the classic old school pattern that you'd
07:14 find in like a 69 Camaro, a 74 Monte Carlo.
07:18 The old school pattern, all of the bolts go in at the same angle.
07:21 The TPI pattern on this swirl port head is different in the middle, just like it would
07:26 be on like an 87 TPI Camaro.
07:28 The Speedmaster intake has adapters to do both, but it won't fit a Vortec head because
07:32 the Vortec head intake has bolts that go straight up and down and they also take a different
07:38 intake gasket for that reason.
07:40 Now this intake manifold for the classic setup is about 152 bucks.
07:45 This one for the Vortec is almost 170.
07:48 So you do need to keep that in mind if you're being budget conscious.
07:50 Speaking of which, if you don't want to scrounge the junkyards for your Vortec heads, I like
07:55 a place called Skagen Dickey.
07:57 It's a Chevy dealership and they offer a package of brand new heads with all of these upgrades
08:01 on them.
08:02 They're only 90 bucks, but you can do it much cheaper if you scrounge on your own.
08:06 And when you do, you're going to make a whole bunch more power, or at least that's the theory,
08:10 and we're going to go find out if it's true right now.
08:12 Let's go.
08:32 Out with the world's smallest camshaft.
08:35 I got this Comp Cam's what they call a K-Kit, which comes with a cam, lifters, timing chain,
08:39 some valve seals, and springs and retainers.
08:43 Everything that you need.
08:44 Just guide that cam in, and boom.
08:48 No fancy installation tool required.
09:00 Dots are lined up, simple as it gets.
09:02 No degreeing of the camshaft here.
09:04 These three bolts here on the end of the cam, sometimes you'll see a locking plate on them,
09:07 which was a really good idea.
09:08 In this case, I would brake clean them and get rid of all the oil and use Loctite on
09:12 them.
09:13 Really don't want these backing out.
09:15 Alright, we just slapped the cam in, and as usual with a flat tappet, you have to break
09:20 in the cam with a special oil.
09:22 Anzoil makes that break-in oil.
09:25 Once that's been run through the engine, this time we're using an oil you've never seen
09:29 on Engine Masters, the OE line from Anzoil.
09:32 It's a 1030.
09:33 This is an affordable synthetic oil.
09:35 It's about five bucks a quart, and that's why they thought it would be the perfect thing
09:40 for our low-buck little small-block Chevy here.
09:42 But first up, you've got to make sure that this cam doesn't go bad.
09:47 Ah, so much easier with no valve cover, right?
09:52 Winning.
09:54 Intake manifold.
09:55 I pre-fit it, so I'm pretty sure this is going to work.
09:59 And goop.
10:00 Ooh, perfect squish.
10:02 Perfection.
10:03 Here's the difference between a vacuum secondary and a double pumper carburetor.
10:06 See this vacuum pod right here?
10:08 It senses air speed through the venturi up here, which creates a pressure drop, which
10:12 opens up the secondaries.
10:14 On this thing, it's all mechanical.
10:16 And this thing, the 1850 carburetor, only has a primary accelerator pump discharge nozzle,
10:24 which we also call a squirter, whereas a double pumper pumps twice.
10:27 It has one in the front and one in the back.
10:30 Way more better.
10:32 So now, once again, Brulé has been through the tuning process.
10:35 He knows the answer.
10:36 I have my numbers written down, but let's wait until we actually pull it to see who's
10:40 right.
10:41 You congratulate there?
10:42 I never get to play, because I always have to tune it first.
10:44 I know.
10:45 Not always, only sometimes.
10:47 So to review, different carburetor, the same CFM, slightly different intake manifold, essentially
10:54 the same.
10:55 Better cylinder head, much more camshaft, one more point of compression.
11:01 And both were stock heads, too.
11:03 Yeah.
11:04 Production OEM heads.
11:05 Production OEM heads.
11:06 Yeah.
11:07 All right, let's see what we pick up.
11:08 All right, you guys ready?
11:09 Rolling.
11:10 Killing it.
11:11 Wow.
11:12 That's a lot of improvement.
11:36 That's a lot of improvement.
11:39 That's totally worth it.
11:41 That's way over 100 horsepower.
11:42 Let's see what it did.
11:44 Wow.
11:45 We just made 397 pound feet of torque at 4,000 RPM and 364.9 horsepower at 5,500.
11:55 We made 130 horsepower.
11:58 Look like heroes, huh?
11:59 It's like a 50% gain.
12:00 Almost 40% gain.
12:01 But see, if we had something that made one horsepower and turned it into two, it'd be
12:07 100% gain.
12:09 So we had some room to grow.
12:11 62 pound feet.
12:13 Let's see the overlay before and after.
12:14 That's like a whole different engine now.
12:17 Wow.
12:18 Obviously, these lines way down here are our baseline with the original heads and everything
12:25 on it.
12:26 And up here is everything we just did.
12:28 There is no way to overstate the difference this feels like in the car.
12:33 It's ridiculous.
12:35 It's 125 shot of nitrous.
12:37 Yeah.
12:38 All the time.
12:39 All the time.
12:40 Okay.
12:41 So, are you?
12:42 Yes.
12:43 The envelope, please.
12:44 Don't pull out the wrong envelope.
12:45 Let's hear yours first.
12:46 Academy Award style.
12:47 385 torque at 4,200.
12:48 So I was 10 foot pounds off and 100 RPM off.
12:53 Okay.
12:54 That's good.
12:55 What about you?
12:56 For torque?
12:57 Yeah.
12:58 402 at 3,900.
12:59 Ooh.
13:00 You're closer than me.
13:02 Yep.
13:03 At what RPM?
13:04 I called 3,900 and it did it at 4,000.
13:06 So you're 100 off as well.
13:07 Yeah.
13:08 So I was 100 off.
13:09 There you go.
13:10 375 at 5,600.
13:11 365 at 5,500.
13:12 Why do we need a dyno?
13:13 Why?
13:14 That was dead nuts.
13:15 Boom.
13:16 Nice job there, Fryburger.
13:17 Should I tell them?
13:18 Oh, no, you didn't.
13:19 You cheated?
13:20 You got me again.
13:21 You were close, but you know what though?
13:22 You didn't know the torque.
13:23 No, I didn't know the torque.
13:24 And now you're telling me that you're going to tell me that?
13:25 I'm not going to tell you.
13:26 I'm not going to tell you.
13:27 I'm not going to tell you.
13:28 I'm not going to tell you.
13:29 I'm not going to tell you.
13:30 I'm not going to tell you.
13:31 I'm not going to tell you.
13:32 I'm not going to tell you.
13:33 I'm not going to tell you.
13:35 You were close, but you know what though?
13:38 You didn't know the torque.
13:39 No, I didn't know the torque.
13:40 I guessed the torque.
13:41 That was a good shot.
13:42 That was a good shot on the torque within just a couple of pound feet.
13:43 So, excellent job.
13:44 He told me the power number.
13:45 He said 360.
13:46 Oh, really?
13:47 And then I went from there.
13:48 Oh, dude.
13:49 But still, so you math calculated?
13:50 Amazing.
13:51 Way good.
13:52 And you know what?
13:53 That's not really an expensive thing to do.
13:56 Well, I did all the math on that.
13:58 I'll tell you exact numbers on how much that all costs when we do our wrap up.
14:02 Okay.
14:03 Ready?
14:04 Let's go.
14:05 Go.
14:06 So, here's the cha-ching on the whole deal.
14:09 Okay, let's hear it.
14:10 So, I added up every dime it cost to duplicate this.
14:14 I mean, gaskets, everything.
14:15 With the exception of the electric water pump, the two-piece front cover, and the water neck.
14:19 Okay.
14:20 Everything.
14:21 So, step one that made 237 whopping horsepower.
14:24 Wheatly.
14:25 $2,250.
14:26 Pretty cheap though for all new.
14:28 Actually, it is.
14:29 This though, and the 365 horsepower configuration, $3,550.
14:34 It's a difference of $1,300.
14:36 You know, for the power gain?
14:37 Totally worth it.
14:39 I don't think there's any way you can get it cheaper than that.
14:41 The thing is, I know a lot of people are going to look at those numbers and go, "I could
14:44 put a turbo LS in my car for that."
14:47 And you know what?
14:48 With scrounging, you probably could.
14:49 But what do you think you could put this together with?
14:52 What are you spending?
14:53 You can find the heads in classifieds or machine shops or even a wrecking yard.
14:57 You could get all this stuff a lot cheaper than your retail price.
15:01 Yeah, I bet you we could make this happen for $1,800.
15:05 Something like that.
15:06 Oh yeah.
15:07 Probably.
15:08 That was really my point, to show people if you've got your '82 Chevy truck driving around,
15:12 this is the type of package you can look for.
15:14 And it's the cheapest way I think you're going to get 350, 360 horsepower.
15:18 Practically any small-block Chevy, 350 can take these parts, even an old one.
15:22 Like you told me, you can never go wrong with a 350 Chevy.
15:25 I like it.
15:26 Yeah?
15:27 Now.
15:28 Now?
15:29 It was a turn before.
15:30 I didn't like it before.
15:31 But now it's good.
15:32 But wait till you see what we do with this thing next.
15:35 It's actually going to be really good.
15:37 I'll just give you a hint.
15:39 Boost.
15:40 Oh boy.
15:41 Yeah.
15:42 I can't wait.
15:43 See you next time on Engine Masters, presented by Amsoil and supported by Mr. Gasket and
15:46 Earl's Vapor Guard Plumbing.
15:48 So why do they call it Polyblock?
15:51 Polyblock.
15:53 Because it has more than one part.
15:55 It's two parts.
15:56 Poly means more than one.
15:59 It's from ancient Greek.
16:01 (crunching)
16:03 (explosion)