Originally Posted by edvancedengines
Few suggestions;
If you tear into it, change rod bolts to ARP and get rods resized.
Keep the cam and intake and headers you have. Buy a set of Open chambered Oval port heads from a 402 that have the same combustion chamber size you have nows. That way you can use your same pistons. Get 2.19 Inatke and 1.88 exahust vlvs put in them with Hardned seats if they don't have them. a few did and most didn't. That should pick you up some without much money spent.
Ed,
The rods already have ARP chromeloly bolts in them. :wink: The main caps are also secured with chromeoly bolts.
The rods were reconditioned....not sure if that's the same as "resizing" them.
Never heard of a "set of Open chambered Oval port heads from a 402 that have the same combustion chamber size I currently have"....the heads I have now have a 101-105 cc chamber...isn't that why they're called "closed chambers"?
Open chambers are like 119 cc's....at least all the ones I've seen.
I've gotten mixed thoughts on the 2.19/1.88 valves....some say they help others say it's a waste of time on a small bore bbc.
I had considered getting a short block 454 and transferring the heads and intake...the thing is this is an actual 1970 Chevelle SS 396 engine, so i kinda wanted to keep it all together....maybe one day someone will be the owner of the car it went to and would be willing to pay some money to get the original engine back.