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Looking for some advice on a stock sbc 350 build
Cliff Ruggles:
In most cases here I'll simply have the blocked decked and squared for zero and use a Felpro .039" thick head gasket. This gets me .039" quench distance and the Felpro stock blue gaskets are EXCELLENT parts. I am NOT fond of most of the others out there, unless you get into really high end stuff like Cometic or multiple layer shim type gaskets.
Nothing at all wrong with stock steel .020" shim SBC gaskets, just be aware that the "finish" on the block and heads MUST be pretty fine/smooth or they may seep some coolant even if they are a coated variety or you spray them with High Tac.
In any case I don't want to write a book here on engine building. Even so it is worth the time and expense to do these steps. Your new engine will last longer, less prone to detonation, increased power, running cooler, LESS timing required to make peak power, and using LESS fuel to make the power, plus improved fuel economy.
So it's a no-brainer, IMHO. I'll also add that I get all sorts of inquiries from folks who just did an engine "build" and did NONE of the above. Instead they put it together with the pistons WAY down in the holes at TDC, added a thick "builder" head gasket, some aftermarket short seat timing fast ramp cam on a tight LSA. A high rise aluminum intake, headers, and very disappointed with the end result. They can't figure out why it's a complete "turd" everyplace, runs hot, overheats, pings on pump gas, and wouldn't spin the rear tires if you dropped it off a floor jack at WOT!
Good results start with good engine building practices, attention to detail, and making good choices for compression, head flow and camshaft events. Tight squish is NOT an option, neither is not establishing equal distance from the deck to the crankshaft centerline on both banks.
Since I tune for a living I could put up HUNDREDS of stories hear where I get involved with these engine builds after very poor decisions were made. At that point way too much quench, not enough compression, and a poor cam choice only allow us to "crutch" the tune to get things to work well, and the end results are NEVER nearly as good as they could have been......hope this helps some.......
tschmitt:
Thank you so much for the advice and education Cliff, as always I truly appreciate learning from you and take your advice to heart. This place is an amazing place to learn from and hopefully someday you will have time to right a book on engine building and tuning, I am sure it would be a great success! Thank you again!
Cliff Ruggles:
I've been asked to write a couple more books but don't have time for it. It takes a year to do one, and that's putting quite a few hours into it each day. The parts business is keeping me a LOT busier than I want to be, so for now no book writing on the horizon......
tayto:
these heads don't like more than 30* all in timing. i built a 350 w/ flat top pistons and these heads and nake peak hp/tq @ 25*
Cliff Ruggles:
Since I started establishing tight quench with these engines and making good cam choices almost all of them make best power at heavy/WOT at 28-32 degrees total timing. That's a good place to be instead of clear up at 36-38 degrees and tells us we've done a good job with our choices for the engine.
I also add in about 10-15 degrees vacuum advance, almost always from a ported source simply because a well thought out engine with optimum compression for pump gas and well chosen cam is not going to like, want, need or respond well to a butt-load of timing at idle speed.
Most of my engine are fine with about 10-12 degrees initial timing, 28-30 total, and 40-45 at cruise/light engine load.......
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