Car Craft Magazine Homepage Car Craft
Get Adobe Flash player

440hp Budget-Built Vortec Small-Block

Dollar For Dollar, It's The Bargain Of The Century
By Tony Nausieda
Photography by Matthew King, Tony Nausieda
P156691 Image Large
The foundation of our budget-built... 
   
  read full caption
P156691 Image Large
The foundation of our budget-built vortec small-block is a $1,150 short-block from Wheeler Motorsports.
P156692 Image Large
It’s always a good idea... 
   
  read full caption
P156692 Image Large
It’s always a good idea to properly torque the oil-pump bolt on a small-block Chevy, especially when you’re using a high-volume pump that exerts added stress on the fastener. Our affordable Melling pump produced a stout 25 psi of oil pressure at idle and climbed to 65 psi by 3,000 rpm. Before you tack-weld the pickup to the pump body, remove the bypass spring and ensure the pickup is oriented correctly to the pan.
P156693 Image Large
We used a trick Comp Cams... 
   
  read full caption
P156693 Image Large
We used a trick Comp Cams three-piece billet-aluminum timing cover for our motor because we had frequent cam changes in mind for future dyno-testing. It’s convenient for adjusting cam endplay on a roller setup or indexing the cam in conjunction with an adjustable sprocket (see “Cam Swaps Made Easy” in this issue). You can save a couple hundred bucks by using a stamped-steel cover.
P156694 Image Large
The King slathered a very... 
   
  read full caption
P156694 Image Large
The King slathered a very liberal scoop of assembly lube on the cam before stabbing it into the motor. In this case, too much is just enough, and it just may prevent a wiped lobe during break-in. We didn’t degree the cam or check piston-to-valve clearance, but it’s always a good idea to do so.
P156695 Image Large
In a serious time crunch,... 
   
  read full caption
P156695 Image Large
In a serious time crunch, we picked up a set of head gaskets from NAPA. The high-quality Victor Reinz gaskets are designed for use with the Vortec heads. The application we asked for was a ’98 Chevy pickup.
P156696 Image Large
Vortec heads use a clever... 
   
  read full caption
P156696 Image Large
Vortec heads use a clever reusable intake gasket that virtually guarantees leak-free sealing. Silicone rubber is bonded to a hard, non-compressible plastic skeleton. The correct GM shouldered intake bolts allow a precise amount of gasket compression before bottoming out, ensuring a correct installation every time. As directed, we didn’t use any sealant on these gaskets, and we didn’t find any leaks.
P156697 Image Large
We’ve found the 750-cfm... 
   
  read full caption
P156697 Image Large
We’ve found the 750-cfm Edelbrock Performer to be an excellent fuel-metering system for high-performance street use. Although it’s ultimately not as tunable as a modular-style carb, ours ran great right out of the box on this relatively mild motor. Should you need to tweak the mixture, the metering rods are readily accessible and available from Edelbrock. The carb’s $219.95 price tag (Summit Racing) kept within our budget.
P156698 Image Large
The initial dyno-testing revealed... 
   
  read full caption
P156698 Image Large
The initial dyno-testing revealed that the Edelbrock carb was a little lean, so Brulé swapped out the stock 7147 metering rods for a thinner-tipped 6842 set, and we gained a little power and torque from optimizing the air/fuel ratio. The numbering convention is easy to understand: Take our original 7147 rods as an example. The end of each metering rod is tapered, so the numbers reflect the dimensions of the tip from its thickest to thinnest point. The “71” refers to the 0.071-inch diameter of the shank of the tip, and the “47” means it tapers down to 0.047 inch at the very end.
P156699 Image Large
In the never-ending quest... 
   
  read full caption
P156699 Image Large
In the never-ending quest for power, we swapped the stamped-steel 1.5:1 rockers for full 1.6:1 aluminum rollers. Original equipment on the limited-run LT4 engine, these rockers utilize the self-aligning design required for the Vortec heads. As shown on the dyno graph, the 1.6 rockers really let the engine breathe at high rpm, and we saw impressive gains in power and torque.
Comp Cams Summit Racing Equipment
P.O. Box 909
Akron
OH  44309
(800) 230-3030

www.summitRacing.com
Edelbrock Wheeler Motorsports
Jacksonville
FL  32205
Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center

Discuss in Our Forums
Dodge Charger Research
Dodge Charger When looking for your next vehicle, think about the Dodge Charger, a stylish car with nice features. With available rebates and prices, you can find a new Charger for $25,080.00. It comes with a standard Automatic transmission, and RWD drivetrain. You also might want to research the Pontiac Grand Prix and the Chrysler Crossfire.
Related Articles
 
The '09 Car Craft Summer Nationals
Read about all the action from our annual show in St. Paul... more
 
Metalflake Paint Job - The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby
Rooftop metalflake is way better than a vinyl roof, in our opinion... more
 
Twin-Turbo Big-Block Chevy - Horsepower!
We check out Mike Moran's twin-turbocharged big-block Chevy Pro Mod engine... more
 
Blown Big-Block Chevy - Horsepower!
How about 2,700 HP from 500 inches? We likey.... more