Planning and pre purchasing for rebuild of my 68 350. Wondering if there is a con census about best bang for a buck HP "gainer" on a sensible budget mind you...... I am considering a set up with the roller stuff on top of a stock short block. Doing the obvious too- move up to a 4v, EB intake, summit 650 vs carb, headers. My goal is a focus on torque and off the line power as well as tire chirping shifts into 2nd gear ( th 350).

 

there is merit to the roller rockers, they do reduce friction and heat and will free up a few horsepower... how much hp is up for debate. i think the biggest benefit is the reduced friction and potential of improved camshaft life for flat tappet cams. they have really reduced the lubricating quality of motor oil for the sake of reduced emissions. my response has been to switch to delo 400 for all my engines, it has a great aditives package, as does mobile delvac and rotella T...

i think flat top pistons, mild cam and headers with a performer rpm intake and a good 4bbl. of your choice will make a real nice street engine for you. i wouldn't get too carried away with the cam since you are looking for bottom end performance, the comp cams 260H is an excellent cam for the 350 (i've run it in ford, amc & olds and been very happy with all aplications!!) it'll work great with your stock torque converter too, but a mild converter would certainly benefit your build so that is something to consider.

 

The biggest "bang for your buck" with a 350 motor is compression.

Everything after that is just a bonus.

 

Thanks for the input. I am buying a new Monster th350, how best to determine which torque converter?
Is there agreement on J stating compression is the best improvement?
Thanks!!

 

What gear are you running? Compression helps but it also requires higher octane fuel which is more expensive. Depends on how much of a budget you are talking. There are a lot of other improvements I'd make before going roller if on a budget. Headers and a stall will give you torque along with compression.

 

This is going to depend heavily on the motor setup,especially cam, and final gear ratio.

 

I'd spend the money on a camshaft. I see no reason for roller rockers with your build strategy.

 

If you bump a regular ol 350 up to 10.5:1 compression, put on some crappy headers, and a cam in the 235 @ .050 range......You would probably be at 1hp per cubic inch already, without any work to the iron heads yet.

Find a stock intake for 20 bucks, and sawzall the center out of it.
Find a cheap set of heads with tight valve guides for 100 bucks, and have a shop mill the crap out of them. Get a decent valve job.
Probably a $600-800 project if you want to do it the cheap-o way.

If your stock pistons suck, you might have to increase the budget by a significant amount, but a 68 motor usually had some decent slugs.

650 carb is too small. Never mind the cfm calculators.....these motors came with 750 carbs from the factory for a reason.

 

what is the general condition of your engine? boring an engine & new pistons is an expense but the leap in piston technology is large. BTR has a good price on CP bullet pistons & rings, they are a modern lightweight flattop design that are worth a serious look. i would aim for 10:1 compression and then work the cam around that number...

 

I would say the engine is in fair condition, strong runner and starter but burned a bit of oil, certainly in need of an overhaul. Happen to have a link to the BTR stuf? have not come across that co. yet.....

 

[url]http://www.btrperformance.com/[/url ]http://highperformanceolds.com/phpbb2/index.php first is site second forum. look for two books wild about cars and Btr's olds book on ebay both have good info on some different comb's you might like
were are you located ? Btr is in NY I have 455 half tore down both books have been good reading and useful for me .