Best setup for low-midrange torque on a stock 2 bolt main L05 88 350, with stock trans and converter?

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Slade88

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I’m not really pulling anything, at least not anything of significant weight. I want a nice torquey gear ratio for speed in the mid to low range, this is a strictly street vehicle. I’m looking for a hot rod gear ratio to put it simple
 

95burban

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95burban

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I’m not really pulling anything, at least not anything of significant weight. I want a nice torquey gear ratio for speed in the mid to low range, this is a strictly street vehicle. I’m looking for a hot rod gear ratio to put it simple
Can’t go wrong with 4.10 gears and a 700r4.
 

The_Family_Tahoe

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Congrats on the new job!
I'd recommend the following order of mods to increase your ability to do burnouts and still keep the rig driveable around town:
1. Increase your gear ratio from 2.73 to 4.11 (you might consider 4.30 or 4.56 but the higher the ratio (numerically) the more rpm required when cruising the interstate at 70 mph)
2. Install long tube headers and a free flow exhaust, get a good y-pipe
3. High stall torque converter 2500 rpm (this puts the engine closer to torque peak when accelerating from a stop - it will be easier to "break-the-tires-loose"
4. Engine mods -
a. You're on the right track already to improve the heads cam and intake
1. Most in this thread are recommending the iron vortecs for good reason: it's a great head and readily available. As an upgrade you might consider the AFR Enforcer or AFR 195s , but the latter can't really be maximized on a stock short block because the pistons limit valve lift and the 195s will flow way more camshaft than the stock pistons will allow, so think of the 195s as an investment for a future short block build with a bigger cam than you choose in phase 1 with the stock short block
2. Camshaft: I don't build street motors with flat tappet cams anymore, I've had two go flat and the time and expense associated with the repair is too much for me to risk again. Summit has relatively new roller lifter offerings for gen I small block that would work well for your purpose. Lookup Summit part number SUM-8801. Summit also offers bigger cams for the same price, I think a 218 and a 230ish intake duration versions which would push the power curve up higher in the rpm range, which may be counter to your intent for low end grunt
b. The 700r4 can be upgraded to hold a lot of power, as much as 600hp regularly, but the stock unit starts to fail quickly under as little as 400hp. Keep this in mind when you start increasing the hp on your 350. Upgrades to prolong the life of your existing transmission include a transmission cooler, corvette 2nd and 4th gear servos, and a transgo transmission reprogramming kit. Don't be surprised if the current unit fails before you find a suitable power level for burnouts
 

Slade88

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@The_Family_Tahoe thats a good budget street recipe. A 350-400hp truck will put a smile on your face all day. I Remember how much fun it was to bang the gears in the old 5.0 mustangs, and they didn’t make much Hp.

I’m tired of main stream media making people thank they need 700+ street cars to have fun.
It’s funny because the bar keeps going up, I’ve definitely felt bad about my rig and myself because of the money and time I’d have to spend to get it to have “good” or “impressive” numbers. When you see countless videos of guys making 1500 horsepower supercharged engines with an unlimited budget. It’s disheartening to say the least
 

Slade88

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Congrats on the new job!
I'd recommend the following order of mods to increase your ability to do burnouts and still keep the rig driveable around town:
1. Increase your gear ratio from 2.73 to 4.11 (you might consider 4.30 or 4.56 but the higher the ratio (numerically) the more rpm required when cruising the interstate at 70 mph)
2. Install long tube headers and a free flow exhaust, get a good y-pipe
3. High stall torque converter 2500 rpm (this puts the engine closer to torque peak when accelerating from a stop - it will be easier to "break-the-tires-loose"
4. Engine mods -
a. You're on the right track already to improve the heads cam and intake
1. Most in this thread are recommending the iron vortecs for good reason: it's a great head and readily available. As an upgrade you might consider the AFR Enforcer or AFR 195s , but the latter can't really be maximized on a stock short block because the pistons limit valve lift and the 195s will flow way more camshaft than the stock pistons will allow, so think of the 195s as an investment for a future short block build with a bigger cam than you choose in phase 1 with the stock short block
2. Camshaft: I don't build street motors with flat tappet cams anymore, I've had two go flat and the time and expense associated with the repair is too much for me to risk again. Summit has relatively new roller lifter offerings for gen I small block that would work well for your purpose. Lookup Summit part number SUM-8801. Summit also offers bigger cams for the same price, I think a 218 and a 230ish intake duration versions which would push the power curve up higher in the rpm range, which may be counter to your intent for low end grunt
b. The 700r4 can be upgraded to hold a lot of power, as much as 600hp regularly, but the stock unit starts to fail quickly under as little as 400hp. Keep this in mind when you start increasing the hp on your 350. Upgrades to prolong the life of your existing transmission include a transmission cooler, corvette 2nd and 4th gear servos, and a transgo transmission reprogramming kit. Don't be surprised if the current unit fails before you find a suitable power level for burnouts
Thank you for the advice! Putting in my cam was the most complicated thing I’ve ever done to an engine. I did it by myself and made just about every mistake you can make when breaking in a cam, even started a fire on my headers in my garage, and drove it around with the valve lash so tight that black smoke billowed out both the exhaust pipes, but after I realized my mistakes it still didn’t go flat at least to the naked eye all the rocker arms appear to move the same with the engine running. I’m still undoing my mistakes now, cut two support bars that I thought were “welded” on to the accessory bracket.

Will these mods still carry me into 400 horsepower?

Now gentlemen I know it’s a stretch but my dream is to smoke a Dodge Challenger with a non supercharged 5.7 hemi, those older challengers crank out 400 horsepower on a good day, but they are heavy as ****. My single cab truck weighs at least 1000 pounds less. Would it be possible to beat such a car with my setup if I’ve got a new trans gears and done up engine etc? Would be nice to see old school beat new school!
 

The_Family_Tahoe

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@Slade88 make the mods and let us know if the truck will outrun a 5.7 hemi! It might, but remember, the Hemi guy is going to install nitrous or headers or some mod to make the hemi faster.
The truth is, if you outrun a hemi, it won't be enough to satisfy the human condition. In my experience, after the initial goal is reached I mod the car or truck to a higher level. Just get outside and have fun with your rig. That's the most important thing.
 

L31MaxExpress

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Thank you for the advice! Putting in my cam was the most complicated thing I’ve ever done to an engine. I did it by myself and made just about every mistake you can make when breaking in a cam, even started a fire on my headers in my garage, and drove it around with the valve lash so tight that black smoke billowed out both the exhaust pipes, but after I realized my mistakes it still didn’t go flat at least to the naked eye all the rocker arms appear to move the same with the engine running. I’m still undoing my mistakes now, cut two support bars that I thought were “welded” on to the accessory bracket.

Will these mods still carry me into 400 horsepower?

Now gentlemen I know it’s a stretch but my dream is to smoke a Dodge Challenger with a non supercharged 5.7 hemi, those older challengers crank out 400 horsepower on a good day, but they are heavy as ****. My single cab truck weighs at least 1000 pounds less. Would it be possible to beat such a car with my setup if I’ve got a new trans gears and done up engine etc? Would be nice to see old school beat new school!

Those Hemis respond well to mods. I had one with a 212/212 @ 0.050 cam, long tubes, 3,400 rpm converter and 4.56 gears. It pushed a 5,300 lbs quad cab Ram to low 13s on drag radials and mid 13s on 305/50R20s. I later put 09+ Eagle heads on it with a SRT8 intake manifold and Jeep SRT8 exhaust manifolds and 2.75" cats into a SRT10 quad cab Ram dual 2.75" exhaust. It was quicker but at that point I could not keep a 545RFE in the truck.

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