so i might be getting a vortec 350 out of our 1994 silverado pickup. its 2bbl TBI HEI but its just the improved version i guess of older 350s? kinda wondering difference between vortec and non.

why i might be getting it is because rear main seal is going out/oil pressure going down and its a tired engine in our pickup. use to be a tow rig for horse trailer and boat. but my idea is go .030 over and cross over what i got from my 305. to this 350. put a mean cam in it and Port polish my heads/rebuild them and run without computer straight carb. i think it could be a mean motor in my 79 in the next coming years if i get it. my dads going to get a used vortec 350 to replace it but what can you tell me about them.

 

thats the same motor that my uncle david used in his monte carlo a good thing about them you can get crazy horse power for not that much money and they are bullet proof. his was a 98 vortec 350 bored 60 over with trw flat top pistons ,gmpp crank, it had like a .700 lift cam, gmpp fast burn aluminum heads, 1.7 roller rockers, 5 inch air gap intake and a 850 holley carb. and he raced the same motor for five years on a hundred and seventy five horses worth of nitrous on a throttle switch. so he was sprayin off the line. it ran 7.20s all day long on the eighth mile spinnin half way down the track on twenty nine by 10.5 mickey thompsons. he had about 550 to 600 horses and anywhere from 650 to 700 lb feet. so yeah dude if you can get a vortec 350 for cheap i would get one and the difference is that a vortec is a roller motor and thats all i really know but i do know that the vortecs has a higher power band than a non like my uncle davids monte used to tach out around 8500-9000 rpms

 

I didnt think the vortec came out until 1996?

 

theres a few different generations. its the generation 1-E vortec and before that was just the standard LT1 style. GM used the LT1 twice. one of the LT1s is vortec and one is like my dads motor from his 1970 camaro. the one we have im almost positive is a L31 350. which is of the Gen 1-E family. but i think if i rebuilt it it could make me some serious power in a lighter camaro than what it was in our CK.

 

If that engine is a 1994, it's not a Vortec. The Vortec is a truck engine that came out in 96. The biggest difference is with the heads. Vortec heads are cast iron, but resemble the design characteristics of the newer style LT1 aluminum head, but they aren't reverse flow like the LT1. It also requires a Vortec specific intake manifold. The LT1 (either the early 1970's or 1992-up) is not a Vortec engine, they're a different animal.

 

yeah i guess this L31 is really close to what the original LT1 is just more updated. correct?

 

The L31 is the 1996-up 5.7L Vortec engine. Are there some markings (code stampings, etc) on your engine denoting it as an L31?

 

If you buy a Vortec to get the good heads, but pull the heads and use other heads, then you've defeated the purpose of going to a Vortec. It would be better to just get any good 350 and build it up, rather than toss the heads after installing a Vortec.
Since the '94 is not a Vortec anyway, it would still be a good choice to use, but not with your 305 heads. Get a good set of aftermarket heads if you're planning on reusing your aftermarket manifold and carb.

 

yea im pretty sure vortec was only since 96. i wouldnt even bother getting better heads then the vortech ones... they are cheap and give you a pretty good increase already, i mean to get anything that is a decent upgrade from those would probably get pretty costly. thats just me tho

 

yeah i would need to look at it. its odd cause i read everyplace that its a vortec gen 1E then they went to the gen 2 vortec in 96 like everyone has been saying. why i said i would get new heads is i would have to do alot of # looking but i wonder if being it was bought in California it has some California smogger crap heads on it and then i would just find non if they did that in 94. but all the looking i did, says the 1994 CK came with a gen 1-E vortec. its got the center bolt valve covers too but when my dad gets home with it ill go look for some numbers.

also talked to someone. told me there the BB of the SBC kinda. lower RPM but a ton more torque so that might be the perfect balance to what i was wanting.

i wanted to put a Pontiac 350 or 400. i just want torque i never wind or rev on engines. i kinda hate it i want tons of power off the line and enough rpm to get me someplace but not relying on 1st gear at 5,500~rpm to make my seat of the pants feeling.

i also drive a 98 firebird V6 and today i went up to 3K rpms before it shifted and i was like put off cause i drove the camaro for a few months and it would shift at 2k or lower. so yeah there all different.