350 383 400 SBC Chevy - Which one should you build?? What will work best in this 1968 Chevelle??

This video is about which cubic inch best suits your needs. #chevrolet #sbc #350 #horsepower #350sbc

[edsmachine]

The hole is to let air out of the oil Gallery and to oil the distributor drive gear.
So basically it is a bleed hole serving two purposes.
I could go into this and other engines that do the same thing.
The .0625 or 1/16 is a little big.
I do them around .037 to .043.
Sometimes smaller, depends on the application.
Oldsmobile did it to stop the air being trapped in the oil gallery to stop the lifter clatter.
Hopes this helps.
The 383 is my choice for torque and horsepower mix.
If you need the cubic inch the 400/406, 421 or larger.
Problem is getting a good 400 core.
The 350 is the standard and a very versatile platform.
Great topic.
Have a gread day Alan.
Take care, Ed.

[bobbytarte]

Great info. When i was younger there were so many guys like you who knew so much about engines. Whenever i was working on a small or big block i could just pick up the phone and call a friend. Sadly nowadays it seems that a lot of these guys aren't around.

[ericuncapher]

Im excited to follow the build. In the process of redoing a 400 and this should be helpful for me..

[hallwest]

I haven’t but always wanted to build a 377 sbc

[alexgolovchenko]

In my '69 Camaro I ran a .030 over 350 with 68 cc heads, 10.5 compression, hydraulic cam with .480 inch lift, 284 degrees duration. Combined with the M22 and 3.73:1 posi out back, it was plenty.

[anthonypaules]

400. Anyone who's run one apples to apples knows. It is a 383 with more displacement isn't it? There's no replacement for displacement.

[mrdarkwolf]

Looking into building a 283 for my first small block but love the info!

[yarrdayarrdayarrda]

I would certainly lean towards the 170 cc runner heads, (on a 350) that is a heavy car and I would much rather sacrifice a few horsepower above 5000 RPM for a better torque curve from 2500 to 4500. Torque is king in a true street engine, he'll spend 90% of the time below 3500 RPM. Although I would lean towards a 383 in this application, the 350 will be a nice improvement over the 327.

[scottshumaker]

Had a 68 Chevelle deluxe 300, original 6 cylinder with powerglide. Had 400 sbc with turbo 400 transmission, engine had a qjet with headers. It was a 1 wheel peel and fun for a 17 yr old to drive. If car is matching numbers I would pull 327 and store it on a stand, drop in a nice 400.

[larryw]

Really doesn't cost that much more to build a 383 than a 350 and use a 880 block! But if you can find a good 400 block it will make more power but cost you way more to run roller lifters ect! Personally For that Chevelle I would put a big block in it with aluminum heads! Them cars are chunky and need lots of torque to be really quick!

[patrickwendling]

We would drill a hole in the galley plug 15 thousand to squirt the distributor gear if it was bronze for roller cam

[joe-hpnk]

I like the cam choice with the 108LSA, It'll will suit the 10+CR better than a wide LSA. The lift can always be increased with higher ratio rockers, ie 1.6 on the intake. The build is very similar to my 355 but I use flat tops that are .025 in the hole with a .015 steel shim for a .040 quench. I can use steel shim because my heads are old school bowtie cast steel heads, steel shims won't work on aluminum heads. The other option I would consider is solid roller lifters if he doesn't mind setting the lash. They're lighter and you don't have to worry about pump up. I use them all the time on hydraulic cams with a tight lash setting around .080-.010 the engine will spin quicker and higher, love them. My cam of choice was a hydraulic roller big mutha thumpr with 1.7 rockers on the intake and 1.6 on the exhaust. The lift is too small on the thumpr cams, that's their Achilles heel. For what it's worth, all the best.

[GNaron]

I'm a 355 type guy, they run really good, are reliable and can still get ok fuel milage. I never been able to get any type of fuel economy out of a 383.
If the OG 327 block is a large journal, your short block build sound pretty good to me. If it's a small journal block, not much can be done with it. If the block is all ready .040 over and 2 bolt main .060 over is pushing a little in my book.
With to days pump gas I like to keep the LSA 112, around .500 lift, it's just seems to be more reliable. Maybe 1.6:1 full roller rockers. The Brodix IK 200 heads make good pump gas power, the build quality is second to none at that price point. Also Brodix IK 200 heads are a good fit for other components. Most air gap intakes bolt right on with no fuss and the exhaust ports are low enough that long tube headers are not rubbing the collectors on the floor of the car. A fluid damper is nice if it's the budget.
A quality installed Edelbrock Pro-Flo 4 port fuel injection is worth the cash for reliability. It brings a SBC into 2024!!!

[brandonpriest]

I really dig the sleeper stock appearance builds. Nice Rig !!!!

[leonardfoster]

AG, I don't believe people realize that when you put a higher ratio rocker to get more lift, it also changes the duration on the cam and the timing of the valve opening sooner to get the lift. Not many people build 350's anymore, it's better to build a 383 since the rotating assy. cost is the same to get better benefits with hp and tq.

[JimTurner-wp]

Hello Allen, love your videos. The hole drilled in the back freeze plug is for additional oiling to the distributor gear, it's a common hp upgrade to Pontiac engines.

[matthewewing]

I like the head choice for an original car. I built a 406 with trick flow double humps. The 200’s weren’t available so I had the 175’s cnc ported to 205. My engine looks like a factory DZ motor in my 69 Camaro.

[joedale]

Same old , my little brother built one in 1982 after learning about it from Joe Sherman engine builder. Torke Twisiter elbrock manefold and a Q -jet carb. No One Messed with him

[cliffwright]

IMO if you need a a complete rotating assembly definitely go 383, parts nominally more but gains are enormous. Allan you could go 396 with a 3.85 crank but those are better for clearance on the LT1 newer roller blocks.

[shadvan]

the price difference between a identically built 350 and 383 is only about $500 dollars. the torque output is of the 383 is significantly more and worth the extra money. hands down worth the extra money and time. if you need more than a 383 can provide, you need to step up to a big block. even the best modern heads are not enough to properly feed a 400+ inch small block built for high performance. be careful with that 327 block, there were 2 different main journals used on 327 engines, i believe the early pre 1968 327s used a 2.300 main journals, late 327 used the 2.450 main journals. i believe only 68 and 69 327s used the 2.45 (aka 350 size main journals.) but i don't know exactly when they made that change in production. this looks like a great engine combination with the exception of 3 things.

1. chevy piston usually sit around .015 in the hole. so, cutting the deck down for a .005 deck Clearence means shaving .010 or more off the deck. this will destroy the factory numbers on the block. if this is a numbers matching block, it kills the value of the car should he ever decided to sell it. a thinner head gasket accomplishes the same thing as decking the block. i would use a Cometic C5270-030 head gasket. you still end up with the .045 quench but save the numbers on the block. Also, the MLS gaskets work better with aluminum heads than the fiber gaskets that FEL-PRO usually sells.

2. I don't like the LSA for the cam you chose, everything else is great. a 108 LSA will make more power, but the engine will be "peaky" with peak torque and peak horsepower very close together. they make that same camshaft in a 110 LSA and would widen the rpm range between peak torque and peak horsepower. if this is a street driven car then i would choose the 110LSA. in fact, i would prefer 112 LSA Cam for a car that heavy. Comp Cams Extreme Marine retrofit CL12-418-8 is a hydraulic roller that offers similar specs with a 112 LSA. the 110 and 112 LSA cams would make more engine vacuum for power breaks and have much better street manners. if i was only going to be a show the car or a track car, then the 108 LSA cam would be fine.

3. I know lots of people that have had p[roblems with the Bravex/Voltstorm HEI distributors from amazon. also, they don't put out anywhere near 65000 volts as claimed, it is closer to 30000 volts. even the top-of-the-line MSD Blaster HEI coils are only putting out 45000 volts. the ignition module in the Bravex distributer is junk and burns out very quickly. Additionally, some of those old cars don't have fire wall clearance for an HEI. My preferred distributer for retrofitting electronic ignition in a classic chevy is the PerTronics Flame-Thrower D7104600 and a Flame-Thrower III Coil. it looks like a factory distributer, and is the same diameter cap and rotor, but it has the Ignitor III electronic ignition module with a rev limiter and uses the same magnetic pickup as an HEI, it has both mechanical and vacuum advance for street use, and the ability to lock it out, should anyone decide to use it with computer-controlled ignition with retro throttle body fuel injection like a sniper EFI or FAST TBI setup, and the Flame Thrower III coil is one of the best coils on the market. I have run them in 1600 and 1776cc Baja Beetles where the factory horizontal mounting and bouncing over rocks would destroy a normal coil within a few miles of off-road racing. the addition of the rev limiter built into the ignition module in the distributer is also a saving grace if you are running a manual transmission and miss a shift when at the track or off road. shifters in VW's suck even on their best day. and hurst shifters tend to wear out the Bushings and its easy to miss a shift. it's just a little extra insurance. it also has multi spark like an MSD box, without all the hassle of an MSD box and it only needs the factory wiring. I can say enough good things about this distributer.