H/C/I questions and supporting mods...

Sklander · Oct 1, 2006

I have a full MAC exhaust in the mail and am now thinking I may aswell install the heads, cam and new intake that I had planned on doing in the future along with the install of the exhaust.

I have some questions, though.

I am going with AFR 165 heads, Edelbrock RPM II intake, and e303 cam. The car has lots of miles, but my dad doesn't care and just want to see what will happen with this combo.

Are there any supporting mods for the above combo that I should get? Hardened pushrods? Hydraulic lifters? Et cetera... Anything with the fuel system that should be updated? What about a throttle body, what throttle body would y'all recommend going with to optomize this setup? I am think 70mm BBK. Would that suffice?

Sklander · Oct 1, 2006

If I can get a great deal on, lets say, some 30lb injectors would that be ok? I know injectors can be too small, but can they be too big too?

What if the eventual plan is to supercharge this motor? Would bigger injectors be better for that application?

Sklander · Oct 1, 2006

WHEN something lets go inside the motor, which I am sure will happen before the blower is attached a 331 short block will be bought and all the goodies that I am currently buying will be transfered. That is possible, right?

My dad is stubborn and doesn't want to jump into a shortblock right away. Shit, he may even be satisfied with the power addition that the HCI combo offers. I don't know, we'll see...

I will just go with 24# for now and see what happens.

ryclef331 · Oct 2, 2006

Everything will transfer over just fine to the eventual upgrade to a stroker motor. As for supporting mods, new lifters will help. Pushrods...they may need to be a length different than stock. Mock up a valve with a stock pushrod and see where the tip of the roller rocker (you ARE switching to roller rockers right?) sits on the face of the valve stem. Usually, stock length will work fine but if you have a decked block, you may need a shorter rod by like .10". If you buy push rods, I'd spring for the chromoly push rods and no just hardened steel. You're running guideplates on those heads so hardened is a requirement at minimum. I have had a poly lock come loose and the push rod stabbed the rocker arm to death but never bent the rod (chromoly). Fresh lifters help. You didn't say how many miles were on the bottom end. BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!!!! Find out if the bottom end is even worth putting your high dollar parts on it. DO A COMPRESSION TEST. For your combo, 24lb injectors will be fine. An adjustable fuel pressure regulator should be a must on ANY modded 5.0...mild and up. You will need a calibrated MAF Sensor for those injectors. Why choke off a H/C/I car with a STOCK MAF just to save a buck?? 70mm will be perfect for your combo. As for the cam, it will be an improvement. Its a tried and true cam thats been around for years. There is a reason for that. Don't get me wrong...the BEST thing for your combo would be an Ed Curtis (FTI) Camr hands down but if thats out of your budget, an E303 cam will do fine for now. With a GOOD tune and a healthy bottom end, there should be no reason that your combo won't hit 300 rwhp. Again, a healthy bottom end and good tune is KEY. As for replacing the oil pump and timing chain...well, that kind of defeats the purpose of just putting this stuff on with out tearing into the short block. Depending on miles, the oil pump is probably still fine. As for the chain, its a double roller...I doubt its going to jump teeth on ya but it may have some slop in it giving you inaccurate cam and ignition timing. I see that you're on a budget which is why I'm contradicting a little of what Jperran said. He isn't wrong by any means I just don't think you NEED to do all that stuff to get it on the road. As far as splitting the block....you aim for 500rwhp and you're about to split it.

SvtBlack95 · Oct 2, 2006

ryclef331 said:
Everything will transfer over just fine to the eventual upgrade to a stroker motor. As for supporting mods, new lifters will help. Pushrods...they may need to be a length different than stock. Mock up a valve with a stock pushrod and see where the tip of the roller rocker (you ARE switching to roller rockers right?) sits on the face of the valve stem. Usually, stock length will work fine but if you have a decked block, you may need a shorter rod by like .10". If you buy push rods, I'd spring for the chromoly push rods and no just hardened steel. You're running guideplates on those heads so hardened is a requirement at minimum. I have had a poly lock come loose and the push rod stabbed the rocker arm to death but never bent the rod (chromoly). Fresh lifters help. You didn't say how many miles were on the bottom end. BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!!!! Find out if the bottom end is even worth putting your high dollar parts on it. DO A COMPRESSION TEST. For your combo, 24lb injectors will be fine. An adjustable fuel pressure regulator should be a must on ANY modded 5.0...mild and up. You will need a calibrated MAF Sensor for those injectors. Why choke off a H/C/I car with a STOCK MAF just to save a buck?? 70mm will be perfect for your combo. As for the cam, it will be an improvement. Its a tried and true cam thats been around for years. There is a reason for that. Don't get me wrong...the BEST thing for your combo would be an Ed Curtis (FTI) Camr hands down but if thats out of your budget, an E303 cam will do fine for now. With a GOOD tune and a healthy bottom end, there should be no reason that your combo won't hit 300 rwhp. Again, a healthy bottom end and good tune is KEY. As for replacing the oil pump and timing chain...well, that kind of defeats the purpose of just putting this stuff on with out tearing into the short block. Depending on miles, the oil pump is probably still fine. As for the chain, its a double roller...I doubt its going to jump teeth on ya but it may have some slop in it giving you inaccurate cam and ignition timing. I see that you're on a budget which is why I'm contradicting a little of what Jperran said. He isn't wrong by any means I just don't think you NEED to do all that stuff to get it on the road. As far as splitting the block....you aim for 500rwhp and you're about to split it.

very well put :thumb: