Poor life choices - C4 content

you should make all the other vette owners angry and swap in a Grand National motor...

In reply to petegossett:

This seems to have your answers.

http://corvettecraft.blogspot.com/2013/03/c4-conversions-intake-to-carb-1984-1991.html

For some reason you then have to click on "C4 Corvette conve..." About half way down on the left.

They say the Performer and Torker II work but read the whole thing cause it looks like they have all the answers.

Of course there's always this answer.

In reply to AClockworkGarage:

I'd love that.

In reply to Stampie:

I've been reading that article nightly, it's the most thorough overview of the conversion I've found, but I've not been able to figure out if either the Performer or Torker II are dual plane or just single?

An Edelbrock Performer is a dual plane while the Torker 2 is a single plane.

petegossett wrote: I've been reading that article nightly, it's the most thorough overview of the conversion I've found, but I've not been able to figure out if either the Performer or Torker II are dual plane or just single?

The Performer is a dual-plane, the Torker II is a single plane. Although according to the Edelbrock website a Torker II won't fit a LT1 and a Performer should be used.

In reply to Ian F:

Awesome, thanks! Looks like the Performer may be the best choice, although that article states the Torker II is better with a cam & headers? Since this is an L98 it should fit.

The end goal is a reasonably wide & flat torque curve, so it sounds like dual-plane is still the better choice?

Edit: Poking around the Edelbrock site they state the Performer will not clear the stock Corvette hood.

Maybe the bigger question is which intake is better for autox - the Performer is listed from idle-5500rpm while the Torker II is from 2500-6500 - will I miss the power from idle-2500rpm on corner-exit if I go w/the Torker II?

Possibly. Might depend on how you tune the automatic. If you run a higher stall converter that generally keeps the engine in a higher rev range, the Torker 2 might be better. I'm no expert on automatics (or anything...), so more research...

What class do you plan to build the car for? If replacing the intake, sounds like BSP?

If you run a higher stall converter that keeps the engine higher in the rev range, you also need to consider if you'll be below lockup after braking and turning...then you're faced with either shifting, LFB'ing like keeping a turbo on boost, or when you get back on the gas the engine has some room to rev up before it whacks the converter and breaks the tires loose.

That last one is a E36 M3load of fun on the street though!

I'd go for the lower rpm / wider powerband or the Performer.

They make a Performer RPM you can buy? Those make a little more power up top without sacrificing the midrange IIRC.

In reply to Ian F:

Short-term I'm not too worried about class, though with used r-comps I think BSP would probably be best.

In reply to RedGT:

No plan to swap the converter at this point. I'm honestly not sure if a higher stall would be benificial to autox? I tend to LFB anyway, so that wouldn't be an issue.

Sadly the Performer RPM won't clear the stock hood.

Edit: Just thinking that if I do the cam swap that would take me out of BSP, so probably SSM?

Torker os just fine for a street car. Should be fine for autocross as well. Hell, ive had no problems with single planes on the street, and they seem to make MORE power down low than the dual plane intakes ive run.

petegossett wrote: No plan to swap the converter at this point. I'm honestly not sure if a higher stall would be benificial to autox?

I wouldn't swap it. I was saying IF you did as in Ian's post, then consider blah blah blah.

In reply to Dusterbd13:

That's great to hear, thanks!

Didn't Mr. Nelson have some SBC intakes he was willing to bring to the Challenge? Maybe he'll have one or both of those in his stash.

I know nothing about V8s, but I did watch the manifold challenge that Engine Master's did, might be worth a watch on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XjDq2DcZk0&index=17&list=PLGvTvFzdMg_O2T3UdUEt5dIHutSOu7srE&ab_channel=MotorTrendChannel

I tried to post this earlier but my intertube got clogged or something:

I've purchased 2 SBC Edelbrock Performers (and one SBF one) in the past couple years for $40 each by posting want ads on Craigslist.

If you find that it'll work for you...at least they're cheap.

And after I post that I start to wonder if maybe a factory aluminum manifold would be a suitable compromise of hood clearance and performance. Like one from an L69 (high performance 305 in the F-bodies) maybe? That manifold might suck...but I bet someone here might know.

In reply to ClemSparks:

Good ideas Clem. I've been watching Craigslist & the Facebook for-sale groups, and found several Performers, but the sellers are asking $100 for each of them. I might have a line on one for less though, so I'm waiting to hear back on it first.

Day-27(1.5-hours):

Another short night because I had to run out and get long enough bolts to mount the engine to the stand. It took almost an hour to get the torque converter off - the angle the crank is seized at put thw top bolt directly behind the lip of the cam cover, but it's on the stand now.

I also pulled most of the lifters off, though the #1 & 3 cylinder's wouldn't budge. I did a quick hone & sand of the cylinders too to get the rust buildup out. I didn't feel any ridges so I tried rotating it, but still no luck. I even tried tapping a block of wood placed on a few of the pistons, but no rotation yet.

I'll pull the pan tomorrow and investigate the bottom end.

I just had anouther thought: now that I'm getting down to the detail work, are there any online step-by-step how-to instructions for rebuilding an SBC? I found some general overviews, excerpts from books, and instructions that presumed you'd already done this before, but nothing for a novice like me.

Maybe this?

In reply to conesare2seconds:

Thanks, of the plethora of Chevy SBC books that's the most applicable one to my situation I've seen so far.

This is the book that I used when I built my Vortec: How to Rebuild a Small Block Chevy

The SBC is kind of interesting in that it was around for so long in so many slightly different forms, that it can be hard to find consistent information. This is especially true of the 1996+ engines, but may not effect your build as much. There are also so many choices that it is easy to get lost in all the decisions along the way. If you can get past that, they are a lot of fun to build because you can make them basically whatever you want.

gearheadE30 wrote: This is the book that I used when I built my Vortec: How to Rebuild a Small Block Chevy The SBC is kind of interesting in that it was around for so long in so many slightly different forms, that it can be hard to find consistent information. This is especially true of the 1996+ engines, but may not effect your build as much. There are also so many choices that it is easy to get lost in all the decisions along the way. If you can get past that, they are a lot of fun to build because you can make them basically whatever you want.

I have this same book (though, I have not yet rebuilt my own Small Block Chevy). I've read it through and it is thorough and I would recommend. Others may also be great, but this is the only one I have. And GearheadE30 is right...there were a LOT of variations of Small block Chevy. When you start thinking about things like PCV, Rope Seals, Two piece/one piece rear main seal, Perimeter bolt valve covers, harmonic balancers, etc, etc, it can get confusing. I think your rebuild should be pretty straight forward, though.

So is it hard not buying a running, iron block, LS engines from a truck with that crusty, non rotating slug sitting there lookin' ugly? It would be a can of worms... but...