Engines 101

[NCBrochacho]

Does your state have emissions/

1996 and newer are checked. Thinking in 4 years the truck will be classified as "classic" and moot point

 

[NCBrochacho]

For sure doing the comb over for potential issues (stay tuned for questions re that potential).

Any word on the long vs shorty header debate?

 

[Road Trip]

The book "John Lingenfelter on Modifying Small-block Chevy Engines" might be of interest to you. It's been out of print for a while but isn't too terribly expensive and goes through all the basics of what stuff does and how adding power in the EFI Gen 1 SBC era was done.

I second Komet's recommendation - this is a great first book that helps translates what
you want to feel behind the wheel into engine design and parts tradeoffs. Check out what
he has to say on page 2 of his book:

You must be registered for see images attach

(taken from the Google preview of this book: 21/182 page preview)

Can be found for a reasonable price either directly from a online used book store
or sometimes ebay: Google link

Thanks to the sheer volume of conflicting claims in the land of internal combustion,
you will do yourself a favor to read this book first in order to be able to sort through
the good stuff vs the clickbait. And if after reading this book you find that you have
an even bigger appetite for knowledge about the SBC, then you will want to look at
books written by David Vizard, Smokey Yunick, and Grumpy Jenkins.

Caution: This stuff can become a lifelong addiction. :0)

 

[NCBrochacho]

I second Komet's recommendation - this is a great first book that helps translates what
you want to feel behind the wheel into engine design and parts tradeoffs. Check out what
he has to say on page 2 of his book:

You must be registered for see images attach

(taken from the Google preview of this book: 21/182 page preview)

Can be found for a reasonable price either directly from a online used book store
or sometimes ebay: Google link

Thanks to the sheer volume of conflicting claims in the land of internal combustion,
you will do yourself a favor to read this book first in order to be able to sort through
the good stuff vs the clickbait. And if after reading this book you find that you have
an even bigger appetite for knowledge about the SBC, then you will want to look at
books written by David Vizard, Smokey Yunick, and Grumpy Jenkins.

Caution: This stuff can become a lifelong addiction. :0)

Excellent. Thank you for the link! $20 used. Check! Hopefully important pages aren't missing

 

[Road Trip]

Excellent. Thank you for the link! $20 used. Check! Hopefully important pages aren't missing

Recently I've been replacing a few classics that I had lent out over the years and then lost
track of them. The good news is that the used book repositories have been a really good group
of people to deal with. So far so good. (Knock on wood!)

The nice thing about these books is that instead of being written as a nostalgic walk down
memory lane, instead they are written from the cutting edge perspective circa the early '90s.
And especially John Lingenfelter, his focus on street rpm torque generation is a *perfect* match
for what you need in order for your new (to you) truck to become a more willing traveling companion.

Best of luck with your book purchase.

Enjoy --

 

[Hipster]

1996 and newer are checked. Thinking in 4 years the truck will be classified as "classic" and moot point

Has to be 30 years old, no safety, no emissions

 

[Erik the Awful]

How good/bad are your roads? If you have good roads, you can swap up to 17" or larger wheels with a shorter sidewall for a sportier suspension feel. My roads suck, so I'm sticking with 15s.

Brakes before HP.

If you're wanting a sporty vehicle, these trucks really aren't a good starting point. There are a lot lighter chassis that can fit a big engine, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. Lose weight where you can. Tighten up the steering as best you can. Lower the center of gravity. Then capitalize on what's good - the engine. A nicely hopped up 350/454/LS is what makes these trucks good, and it's cheap to do it, which is likely why you're asking for Engines 101.

Better exhaust.

The stock cams in our trucks are milder than a newborn puppy playing with flowers on a blanket, but upgrading cams requires retuning. Worth it if you can find someone with the tools and expertise. Since you're not planning on it being a daily driver you can take it a little wilder. How wild do you want it? Are you willing to pony up for crappy gas mileage? Are you willing to deal with an engine that requires more tinkering? Do you want to use as many stock parts as possible?

Things to consider.

 

[Pinger]

5.7 Vortec 350

And how's it running?
If it's in good health, my advice is to do nothing more that keep it that way (expect to change inlet manifold gaskets though).
IMO, mass produced engines are configured to be the best compromise of many conflicting aspects. Occasionally there is low lying fruit to be had but invariably to gain something here means to lose something there. Just about anything you do to a 350 Vortec requires retuning and I'm not 100% convinced that's within the grasp of a novice. Go deeper and one change requires a bunch of other changes with considerable scope for error and often with dire outcomes. I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't - but be aware that it's rarely as simple as it first appears.

There are so many people I see who really should have spent their money on driving tuition rather than their engine if being quick across the ground was their aim. Often enough, just spending the money that engine tuning soaks up on gasoline and enjoying driving what you have makes more sense. Other opinions are available - but that's mine.

 

[Schurkey]

The stock cams in our trucks are milder than a newborn puppy playing with flowers on a blanket

Thanks for that.

 

[Erik the Awful]

You're welcome. How else do you think GM got away with putting 4L60s in these?