poor boys sbc alky nitro build help please

I have a 350 standard bore stock block trw 2441 pistons eagle 5.7 rods steel 3.75 crank vortec heads 10 qt pan a few camshafts, a 671 unstripped big bore blower, enderle super bird hat, gear drive, ronco mag that Pat Mason will rework for me, that I would like to install in a 240" spitzer rear engine dragster to do some racing with once in awhile. 1.76 shorty glide 4.10 gear 32 tire. I have a 6500 convertor and a 3500 convertor. I have never done anything with alky or nitro but am interested in going that route. Any guidance would be much appreciated. I can sdjust the compression but am just looking for a reasonably solid combination to learn the fuel system and have some fun. Maybe someone can chime ion with a old school set up that will get me started.
I have not bought the pump or any of the fuel system outside the hat and I have a barrel valve that has no number on it. I know this is a big learning curve but I would like to keep it as painless as possible. Thanks for any help.

 

Well...hmmm..tall order. Your weakest point at the moment is that block. Keep it under 600-700 ponies and it will live .... for a while. See the problem? I think either go blown alky, keeping the first sentence in mind or NA injected nitro with the same restriction in mind.
Blown nitro? Not even in the picture.

You may want to spend 40 bucks and land here to get up to date on several areas of your desire. Lot of small block folks there in various trim. http://www.hre.com


Dave Koehler
http://www.koehlerinjection.com

 

Call Spud Miller www.fuelinjectionenterprises he has a fed that has gone high 6's at 200 ish with a n/a smal block on nitro

 

Thank You very much for the replys. Any one else please feel free to chime in. Not looking to make max horses here just that I have a good test bed and want to learn nitro a little and do it safely. I have stronger engine combinations but not the cash to blow them apart. I do have lots of mouse motor stuff that is cheap these days so I though they would be a good test bed for tuning and safety equipment test. LOL Great site good info. Thanks again.

 

Whatever you try to do I would not push the parts you have beyond 600 HP. 500 would be better.

 

No matter what you do you will always have block problems. These blocks were built to make 250-300 something horse originally. Your best bet even on a low buck project is to start with an aftermarket block like a Dart little m. If you are serious about blown injected save your money and get a hemi!

 

I built a 377" small block a few years back using a stock 400 chevy block and a stock 5140 chevy 3.48" stroke crank, it made about 650 hp on 110 race gas at 14 lbs of boost with a bds street blower 8-71 at 5% overdrive, the other pieces were a set of Manley h-beam rods, and ross pistons with about 7.75:1 comp and at 5% under and 8 lbs. of boost I would run 91 octane pump gas and drive it on the street.

keep in mind this is roughly 1/4" shorter stroke and had decent rods and good pistons.

I would atleast invest in some better rotating assembly pieces


Building low budget engine twice is about the same cost as building a strong engine once.

I might have some pieces I will be able to help you out with if You live close enough. or wanna pay some shipping. We all had to start somewhere My Man.

 

Thanks to all of you that have answered this. I am now second guessing my self again; that maybe that dog just won't hunt. I sure like the hemi but it is actually way above my means. If Mr. Henson could tell me how to contact him though' I might be able to pay some shipping on whatever we decide. I simply and truthfully have my chassis in a storage barn with a drop cord running the lights. No lie just fact. But I do love the sport of auto racing and the minds it has inspired through our history. Thank you again.

 

Since the parts you have are in line with a blown gas street machine how about putting the blower on 10-15% under, with a couple of carbs on top? This will put you in the 400-500 range. You can get your feet wet, keep the engine alive and not break the bank. While not as exotic sounding as nitro or alky it will still be fast and fun. I did the exact same thing long ago and had a blast.

As far as blown alky, yes you could do that too but you have to resist temptation and keep it under the HP mark to get any time out of what parts you have. You are going to need more injection parts obviously and some flow bench time to get it going in the right direction on day one.

Just kicking it around but I am beginning to think the "mild" blown alky might be the right choice IF you see yourself stepping up the parts program down the road. By then you will have everything else set up for injection and will be comfortable with the systems involved.

With a Dart block, alum rods, decent heads, crank, a blower in good shape, etc. you can hit the 1000 hp mark easily and still treat it like a bracket car with the exception that you have to actually change oil and do some maintenance from time to time.

Dave Koehler
http://www.koehlerinjection.com

 

Agreed ^^^^^

 

If you wanna contact Me. www.hensonracingengines.com

 

definatly need aluminum rods on fuel.... like everyone else, i got some sbc stuff from my jr fuel (injected alky) days..... mike 708_205_9052

 

Just a thought, why not put less stroke in it. You dont need the inches, a shorter arm is better at keeping all your parts in the motor and you dont have the stroke clearance issues.

Another idea, look around for a used aftermarket block to come up, just make sure it dont have problems.

 

Is it possible to go the 10-15% under driven and go with the injector? And can you send email through this site. This is the first post ever for me on any site and I am unfamiliar with how it works. I see the private message button is that a messenger or a email. Sorry for the unfamiliarity I think it has something to do with age. LOL. I know that people leave there contact phone numbers on here. But frankly my telephone service here is guided by the weather so email is better for me. Thank you

 

Mr. Henson I sent a email to you from your site but I guess maybe I did not do it right and I have not figured out how to email here.

 

Is an old hemi like a 58 392 worth replacing the small block with?

 

blown sm block chevy is a money pit..been there and did it..dave

 

I ran a SBC for a couple years in my altered. 406ci,stock block,billet splayed caps and filled,eagle crank,RHS 235 iron heads,H-beam rods,billet rotor 6-71. It made 1050hp on the dyno with 20psi boost. It was hard on bearings......
I split the cylinder walls on the stock block so I went to a Dart Little M and switched to aluminum rods and the last pass I made with it it made around 1200hp from the ET I ran. It was at its limit so I switched to BBC. SBC's are fun but get VERY expensive if you want to make serious HP. Know your limits and you will be fine.

 

I have been running a Blown mouse for better than 20 yrs.The trick is dont run it on the edge and buy the BEST parts you can buy.Dont even try a gm block it WILL break.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6ZpXkwcmqc

 

I run a sbc too, and can attest to the must have the best parts you can have. some times even aftermarket alum. blocks find there breaking point. Got all the goodie i could out of this block, ran a 4.16 in a altered the last pass didnt kick the rods or hurt anything to speak of, spun one main bearing..so i would save up and get good parts to start with.

http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g416/tony2005/