Ah, but part of that pathetic drop was only a difference on paper.
Prior to 1972, engines were rated in brake h.p. (gross), which means they were rated with test headers, barely any (or none at all) belt driven accessories, and while under ideal atmospheric conditions. Basically, a bare engine on a stand.
Starting in 1972, engines had a "Net" rating, meaning with all accessories hooked up, full exhaust, emissions, and air cleaner. Basically a fully choked out engine like how it sits in the car.
As you might guess, the h.p. ratings between the two would differ greatly, even if the actual gross h.p. output of the engines were the same.

 

you are correct about net HP which btw, is still how it is measured. I was not comparing 60's to the 80's. I was pointing out how pathetic the v8's were from 72 through the early 90's. Technology allowed HP increaes while still meeting CAFE requirements.

I provided specs about the 1975 350 cid engine so he could compare it to his 1997 3.8 liter which is rated at 200HP.

I believe he will be disappointed dropping in that engine, especially with all the work he is going to perform just to find out he may have an inital snap of the neck with low end torque vs his 3.8, but it will stop "pulling" real quick and he may even see a reduction in performance over his 3.8.

I suggest that if he is hell bent on using the old 350 he somehow found, then he should build it to at least comparable performance of a stock LT1

 

i never said i was going to keep it a stock 350. i already planned on changing to cam, heads and of course go with msd ignition system. i already ordered the cam set which comes with all the lifters and rods. im going to order the heads maybe next week. and i planned on putting a tunnel ram intake on it with two holley double pumpers. already have those im just beefing up the engine so it can handle it. and im not going to have all that smog crap on it and the only accesory im going to have on it is the power steering. so my engine wont be chocked. you ppl assume alot sometimes. i already did all the research on this and it should be puching around 500hp after i do all this.

 

wait... you said you were going with stock heads and cam because you can't afford otherwise...now you say you already ordered a cam and are about to order heads and 2 holleys? so confused here. we're not assuming anything, we're going off of what you say(and i mean what you don't say) and those are the conclusions we come to

 

One four barrel on a normal height intake requires cutting. How in the world do you plan on getting a duel four barrel setup like Camaro69 has to fit in there? Your going to be 4 inchs into the windshield.

If you plan on building a 500HP SBC the only part of the whole engine you could use is the block. There will not be a single bolt you could use from the factory. Why buy a complete engine if all you needed was the block? Course you are looking at a 4-6 K build.

 

You can get a low profile dual quad intake manifold like what Chevy put on the old Vettes. The carbs will sit a little lower than a typical aftermarket dual plane intake. But that back one is gonna get stuffed in the cowl.

 

are you also redoing the bottom end of the engine ie crank pistons rods

 

also what kind of heads and cam? do you have exhaust? what kind of tranny? are you redoing your rear end?

 

you beat me to the punch.

I too can only go on what he said. OK, I'll bite

tell us about the cam and heads

what size carbs and I gather you are going dual quads but then could be mistaken because I'm going on what you posted.


Now, back to one of my initial observations, please tell me about that stock mechanical fuel pump which you said you were keeping and how it's going to handle 500 HP.

 

LOL this is great... Wow I would love for you to tell me what I need to take a tarball looking engine (the intake galley looks like it is well used) and turn it into 500 HP with just heads and cam, oh and throw a couple of 4bbls on just in case. Yea right... How is the oiling going to be handled? what size carbs 750 Holley Dominators X2 = pwnage. yea this is great.

The last 350 I built cost me and my Dad about $3500 after parts and machine work, and we put about 450HP gross at the crank and after all said and done bolted into the truck and at the rear wheels we were running about 350 through a turbo 400 (we would have had less loss through a TH350 or 700R4 but this is the tranny Dad wanted in the truck.) That engine had 10:1 forged pistons, forged rods, Crane Cam (I cant remember the specs on it but it had a nice lope to it at idle) high volume oil pump and restricted pushrods to keep the oil pressure on the cam and mains. Roller rockers (again cant remember the ratio) the heads were 2.02 Aluminum performance heads (wedge heads if I remember correctly) and a gear drive to keep it all timed correctly. The ignition system was a Mallory Unilite module in a billit HEI style distributor. This was not a cheap build and it didnt get the HP you are claiming from your engine.

Dont just spit crap out to try to impress us. It will not fly here or on any other forum. I can fathom why anyone would want to ditch the modern tech for something that was invented in the Late 1800's. Yea I know carbs have come a long way since then and one of the best that GM produced was never put on a camaro, why? FUEL INJECTION is so much better. The last of the E4MC carbs (computer controlled 4 bbl) was allowing for good milage, and relativly low emitions and a near perfect A/F ratio. It was expensive to produce and tune. Once it was tuned properly it ran great until GM killed it and the Olds Rocket engine series in 1991.

You say that the new FI and computer stuff is too hard to repair and that it is expensive... what the hell are you talking about? I spend less money on my camaro's engine than I ever did on my old 1960 Chevy Shorty with a Tri-powered 327 running an Edelbrock tri-power mani and 3 Rochester 2jets with progressive linkage. Fun truck (and after beating my Dad in a drag race it prompted him to build the engine discribed above). The new tech is just different, it is not always more expensive. You achieve the same thing as a carb with FI but you use different methods. The learning curve is not that bad and you gain alot more for learning about injector pulse width and what the trouble codes that pop up actually mean. I can (as with most mechanics worth their salt) diagnose an OBDII engine problem faster than a carb engine and an ALDL (OBDI) problem just about as fast. Oh yea did I mention that I only worked as a light line tech at a GM and Ford dealer and not for all that long? I learned most of what I know by reading tech pubs and tech articles in magazines, researching how the new systems work together and with some simple experimenting ( like what happens if I unplug this) I have become a pretty good mechanic. Oh and if you didnt know a light line tech is the guy that changes the oil, rotates tires and fixes the small defects in vehicles that come into the dealership. I can today hold my own with master techs all from doing research on my own and asking questions. Give it a try.

Massey