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Rebuilding my tbi 350

tanman_2006

tanman_2006

Just a farm kid...
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Seiling, Oklahoma
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Ok so this thing still had 140psi compression across the board but spun a rod bearing.

I am going to swap in vortec heads and a marine cam but what rebuild kit will be best. Anything else I should do to the engine internally?

This will be in a 94 c3500 5 speed with 4.56's.
 

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Looks like green got mixed with red coolant at some point and that makes a nasty sludge. There's green crap that says 'add to any color' and that's a lie. I'd put some roller rockers and guide plates on those heads if it was me.
 
Yes, just dropped the block off to get drilled for rollers and crank turned.

Put in a new rad and heater core in when I flushed. It had been sitting a year when I started tear down and the coolant had separated out. It was really nasty when I got the truck.
 
What are you trying to do with this rig? You say drill the block for rollers, your pick showed them already drilled. Picking the right parts can make or break your truck. Myself personnally, for towing, I'm a fan of the stock swirl port heads. I've built 2 now, and both dyno'd over 240HP to the wheels with torque close to 325 iirc. These were badic builds, ported heads, cleaned up intake, tbi mods, comp flat tappet cam for efi, and stock tuning. If you go vortec heads, tuning is mandatory if you want it to make more than stock. From personnal experience, the comp tri power torque cam is a pulling SOB if you want the truck to actually pull. I would set down and lay out your build list before I started buying anything if it was mine. You can also buy the ch350g heads that use the vortec combustion chamber, tbi head bolt pattern, and a hybrid runner design. Then run the edelbrock performer tbi intake, have it bored for a 2" throttle body, and add a 454 throttle body later. But 1st thing isto decideif you're staying tbi, if you are, are you staying stock or getting it tuned. Simple things like this can make a HUGE difference in how you aproach a build.
 
It will stay tbi and be tuned.

I'm not dead set on a cam. The cam I posted is the only cam recommended on other pages.

I will be pulling a 24x6 cattle trailer weighing 14-16k.

I guess I don't know what holes need drilled and tapped in the block for roller lifters.

No one around here ports swirl port heads. If you have a set you want to port for me and I'll send you mine as a core or something then I'm open to that.
 
btfarm said:
Heavy towing means iron heads instead of aluminum to me because of the big heat cycle swings
Click to expand...

That's the kind of info I need. Never built a gas engine and very few people are willing to help with some of the info.

The only reason I considered them is the 6.0 uses aluminum heads and is solid. If I could find someone to work with my oem heads I'd love to use them.
 
In all honesty, if you're getting it tuned, run a hydraulic roller cam. With our crappy oils we have today, why chance losing a cam lobe if you can afford the cam upgrade. I would look for a set of the new zealand casting vortec heads(clearwater cylinder heads have them) with stock 1.94/1.50 valves to keep air speed up down low. They're supposed to be a good bit thicker in the deck than stock vortec heads(they weigh almost 6 lbs more than stock heads). An edelbrock performer intake with a tbi adapter plate on top. Run the stock dished pistons for a 96-02 truck and keep it pump gas friendly 9.5:1. I've used this comp cam before with excellent results(run comps springs because it pops the valves open QUICK) http://www.jegs.com/i/COMP-Cams/249/08-530-8/10002/-1 . I like the Comp double roller camshaft, I believe it's the magnum series(have a few in use with over 100K miles, rock solid timing, and still quiet). Stay with a 1 5/8" header for towing, do the extreme tbi mods(or better yet get a 454 tbi unit as this combo can easily flow 670 cfm), and call it a day. That combo should get you around 325-350HP, and around the same torque with a nice flat power band.

I have a set of swirl port heads sitting next to my bench, but I couldn't port them right now with all the back problems I'm having. My wife is already on my back after my last ER trip for my back. Got an mri scheduled for tommorrow.
 
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Another very viable option for you to keep things cleaner and easier isto run the ch350g heads. They're hybrid heads that use a vortec combustion chamber, a hybrid intake runner that is like a vortec, but lower to work on 87-95 intakes, they keep the heat riser port for egr and to heat the intake quicker(tbi's tend to suffer from fuel puddling, so you WANT the intake to run warm to prevent this), and they have all the 87-95 bolt holes and matching intake pattern. Then get an edelbrock 3704, have it bored for a 2" tbi unit, and let it eat. It would make slightly less hp than true vortec heads because of the lowered runner, but should help the off idle torque some as well as everything bolting in like stock instead of having to adapt some of your accesory brackets with an aftermarket intake.

Clearwater cylinder head carries the ch350g heads. Only thing I would do to these is ask for screw in studs so you could run some roller rockers.
https://m.ebay.com/itm/NEW-GM-CHEVY...760210?hash=item236c88cd92:g:X4MAAOxy4dNS9A1N
 
tanman_2006 said:
I will be pulling a 24x6 cattle trailer weighing 14-16k.
Click to expand...

Why a 350 for pulling this? Not pulling that often? Flatlands :D ? With the diesels you have around.. and even then maybe just drop in a fresh 454. Sure a 350 is better at towing than a 4.3 V6, but, I would spend the money on something else. Never towed with a modified 350 so maybe your build can inspire me. The stock 350 towing experience for me is 'I have towed with worse'...
 
THEFERMANATOR said:
What are you trying to do with this rig? You say drill the block for rollers, your pick showed them already drilled. Picking the right parts can make or break your truck. Myself personnally, for towing, I'm a fan of the stock swirl port heads. I've built 2 now, and both dyno'd over 240HP to the wheels with torque close to 325 iirc. These were badic builds, ported heads, cleaned up intake, tbi mods, comp flat tappet cam for efi, and stock tuning. If you go vortec heads, tuning is mandatory if you want it to make more than stock. From personnal experience, the comp tri power torque cam is a pulling SOB if you want the truck to actually pull. I would set down and lay out your build list before I started buying anything if it was mine. You can also buy the ch350g heads that use the vortec combustion chamber, tbi head bolt pattern, and a hybrid runner design. Then run the edelbrock performer tbi intake, have it bored for a 2" throttle body, and add a 454 throttle body later. But 1st thing isto decideif you're staying tbi, if you are, are you staying stock or getting it tuned. Simple things like this can make a HUGE difference in how you aproach a build.
Click to expand...

Similar to what I posted a link for above then? Just cheaper...
 
WarWagon said:
Why a 350 for pulling this? Not pulling that often? Flatlands :D ? With the diesels you have around.. and even then maybe just drop in a fresh 454. Sure a 350 is better at towing than a 4.3 V6, but, I would spend the money on something else. Never towed with a modified 350 so maybe your build can inspire me. The stock 350 towing experience for me is 'I have towed with worse'...
Click to expand...

I'm going to run it head to head against my 6.5 and see what I think. I have a 32x6'8 behind my duramax and a 32x8 behind a 450hp single axle IH with a 13 speed.
 
WarWagon said:
Why a 350 for pulling this? Not pulling that often? Flatlands :D ? With the diesels you have around.. and even then maybe just drop in a fresh 454. Sure a 350 is better at towing than a 4.3 V6, but, I would spend the money on something else. Never towed with a modified 350 so maybe your build can inspire me. The stock 350 towing experience for me is 'I have towed with worse'...
Click to expand...
Back in the day I pulled one helluva lot of 16k+ loads of hay with my 2 350s. 69 SWB stepside and an 83 Shortbed. Both 2wd and both with around 300-350 HP 4 bolt blocks. They did the job just fine.
 
btfarm said:
Back in the day I pulled one helluva lot of 16k+ loads of hay with my 2 350s. 69 SWB stepside and an 83 Shortbed. Both 2wd and both with around 300-350 HP 4 bolt blocks. They did the job just fine.
Click to expand...

It'll do the job I'm sure. I got the truck for cheap and wanted it for a back up but might as well have some fun with it too.
 
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