Thread: Thinking of some ideas for my 81 vette engine.

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16 years ago, $2,000.00 bought a whole lot more then it does today!!!!!

Don't knock the dyno syms till you've tried them!!! In matching projection off one of Richard's sims that he did for me a few years back, his computer dyno was less then 4% off the actual engine dyno results, and even my weak skills on another sym program indicated the car would run a 10.54---it ran 10.55 with a 6!!!!

The sym programs will allow you to try a huge variety of parts combinations--even if you should choose to not believe the numbers the program yields, the comparison of the numbers from different combinations will show what combinations work better then others...

Anyway, the Pro Comp heads leave a lot to be desired in the performance department, seen a lot of people buy them to save the big bucks and be terribly disappointed with the results! Heads and cam really make a small block, or any engine for that matter! Lots of good choices for a SBC in the heads would yield more value then the Pro Comps! Friend of mine just last week picked up a set of Dart cast iron heads used off Craig'slist for $400.00, installed some better springs, hand lapped the valves and they're done....Don't forget the used market, lots of good heads show up, sometimes very reasonably priced....

For a cam, there again I finally got out of the heresay and 3rd hand gossip and used the numbers from a sym program that was loaded with what the engine really had in it for parts and specs and picked the correct cam first time around....IMO far better a way to decide on which cam is best for a specific combination then taking a guess based on what a concensus of opinions think SHOULD work, or that "trick cam" that made someone's 2nd cousins neigbor's car into a barn burner!!!!

The sym programs are like any other computer generated product, the more accurate and detailed the information you put in, the better the product that comes out!!! Just another tool to use when planning an engine build!!!!

Thank you for your input, and I happen to agree with engine simulation. My responce was due to the way in which my question was answered.

And yes, I also agree that 2k did buy alot more back then.

I had called 2 different cam companies, and got different answers, then I called them back, and got different tech support guys, and now I have 4 different answers.

Anyway, I guess the bottom line is that I have to raise the compression ratio in order to be able to use a bigger cam to get this thing to run a bit better.

What do you guys think of the 64 cc fuelie heads and a shim gasket? Maybe run flat tops? (cast) and a any suggestions for a cam with a turbo 350 w/ stock converter as of now? Am I going to far with a higher stall and even bigger cam?

Best upgrade for a grand on an older SBC? I'd go with Vortec heads, a Performer RPM intake for the Vortec heads (Airgap if available), and a matching cam. Might even have a few $$ left over for a burger.