Discussion
OK I am going to build an Ultima but my workshop is not built yet but I do have enough room to start building the engine. What water pump,oil pan,flywheel alternator bracket or any other Ultima specific parts are used. I asume it uses a short water pump. I would also imagine any flat bottom road race pan (Canton?) would work. Any info would be appreciated. I found a great site for SBC engine combos.
www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com
www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com
I think these guys are one of the best
www.beckracingengines.com/
They mailed me some of their SBC spec sheets. the have SC motors making about 850hp. and N/A motors making about 650hp.
E-mail them and ask for a SBC brochure or fill out the form on their web site.
www.beckracingengines.com/
They mailed me some of their SBC spec sheets. the have SC motors making about 850hp. and N/A motors making about 650hp.
E-mail them and ask for a SBC brochure or fill out the form on their web site.
Are you wanting to build your motor or have someone else do it for you? I'm just curious about how much of the engine rebuild and assembly you are wanting to do. Also, what horsepower level are you aiming for, and will this be a high performance street car, street car with moderate track use, or track car with moderate street use(i.e.my car 
)? The ryan's chevy bible is good, but it does not have any of the real radical stuff that can be done. Let me see if I can answer a few of your questions though. Yes, the Ultima needs the short water pump and finding the right size oil pan was a bit of a challenge for me. The stock 6.5" depth GM oilpan is the only thing I was able to make work. I have a canton road race pan that's either 7" or 7.25" deep (I forget which), and I was never able to get this to work. However, I'm told that the factory have a spacer they add to the motor mount to raise the engine slightly to accomodate this pan. Now I know, you may not be too excited about the idea of a standard 6 quart oil pan, but what I did was add a 3 quart Canton Accusump, a crankshaft scraper (which must be custom fit), and I added a good windage tray Milodon Diamond. However, your going to need to have the main caps align honed with the special windage tray ARP main cap studs in place. So when you have this work done, supply the machine shop the special ARP studs.
Most of the guys on this forum have purchased high performance crate motors of one variety or another. Also, where are you located?
Cheers!
-Mack
)? The ryan's chevy bible is good, but it does not have any of the real radical stuff that can be done. Let me see if I can answer a few of your questions though. Yes, the Ultima needs the short water pump and finding the right size oil pan was a bit of a challenge for me. The stock 6.5" depth GM oilpan is the only thing I was able to make work. I have a canton road race pan that's either 7" or 7.25" deep (I forget which), and I was never able to get this to work. However, I'm told that the factory have a spacer they add to the motor mount to raise the engine slightly to accomodate this pan. Now I know, you may not be too excited about the idea of a standard 6 quart oil pan, but what I did was add a 3 quart Canton Accusump, a crankshaft scraper (which must be custom fit), and I added a good windage tray Milodon Diamond. However, your going to need to have the main caps align honed with the special windage tray ARP main cap studs in place. So when you have this work done, supply the machine shop the special ARP studs. Most of the guys on this forum have purchased high performance crate motors of one variety or another. Also, where are you located?
Cheers!
-Mack
I've used a 5 Door trap sump, and road race central oilpump pickup. Moroso stuff. Also used a Edelbrock high flow aluminium water pump.
I built my own engine with the help an Expert.
Good fun and and it means you've built the hole car.
One word of warning, consult an expert to the parts combination you use.
Have fun
I built my own engine with the help an Expert.
Good fun and and it means you've built the hole car.
One word of warning, consult an expert to the parts combination you use.
Have fun
There's no better feeling than building your first motor and hearing it fire up for the first time! 
Even if it does piss off the neighbors 
Not to mention, didn't you learn an awfull lot while doing it? It gives you the ability to assess engine troubles quickly, and you have confidence in knowing that the work was done correctly! Finding a good mentor is a huge help. If your in the states, then there is a real good VHS video set on rebuilding engines that's excellent. I couldn't have selected the proper components, though, without the help of the manufacturers. Their an invaluable help at telling you what combination of parts will work. What's great about the Chevy, is that because every combination of part has been dynod, it makes it very easy to predict horsepower. This engine has to be one of the easiest to predict, as long as the engine's tuned properly. Every combination of parts has been dynod, and the manufacturers know what the engines will make. Trust me, they've all tried out (and reverse engineered) the competitors products too! If you know how much horsepower you want, and you have an idea about the displacement, and the compression ratio, then its simply a matter of asking the cylinder head manufacturers for advice. I got the most help from AFR in this respect. Though, if I had the money, then I might have spoken to Chapman. Now that I know how the stuff works, though, I've got bigger ambitions!
They will have to wait for the next life
Cheers!
-Mack
Even if it does piss off the neighbors Not to mention, didn't you learn an awfull lot while doing it? It gives you the ability to assess engine troubles quickly, and you have confidence in knowing that the work was done correctly! Finding a good mentor is a huge help. If your in the states, then there is a real good VHS video set on rebuilding engines that's excellent. I couldn't have selected the proper components, though, without the help of the manufacturers. Their an invaluable help at telling you what combination of parts will work. What's great about the Chevy, is that because every combination of part has been dynod, it makes it very easy to predict horsepower. This engine has to be one of the easiest to predict, as long as the engine's tuned properly. Every combination of parts has been dynod, and the manufacturers know what the engines will make. Trust me, they've all tried out (and reverse engineered) the competitors products too! If you know how much horsepower you want, and you have an idea about the displacement, and the compression ratio, then its simply a matter of asking the cylinder head manufacturers for advice. I got the most help from AFR in this respect. Though, if I had the money, then I might have spoken to Chapman. Now that I know how the stuff works, though, I've got bigger ambitions!
They will have to wait for the next life
Cheers!
-Mack
To answer some of the questions I live Near Lake George New York. I have some experience with Ford Windsor engines and have put in cams and roller lifters/rockers and ported my cylinder heads on the FF Cobra with good results. I would like 500 HP multipoint fuel injected with 10.? compression 93 octane is about all that is around. I have a friend that has built numerous engines and works in a machine shop (he doesnt know yet) so im sure he will prove invaluable. I have been looking for a good source for either new or remanufactured 4 bolt main blocks and have seen a wide range of prices. Hardcore sells a forged 383 reciprocating assembly that looks nice. I ordered 2 books on building Chevy small blocks (Lingenfelter and David Vizard) so I will do some home work first. Thanks for the replies.
Now I can be a little more help. Your lucky to live here in the states. Everyone and their GRANDMOTHERS have rebuilt chevy engines here! Just remember the distributor rotates the opposite direction on a chevy!The best videos I've seen on rebuilding Chevy engines are Rebuilding the Chevy Engine Vol.1, and Hot Rodding the Chevy Smallblock Vol.2. I got mine through Eastwood www.eastwoodco.com/ . They're the best learning tools I've seen! They take you through the complete strip down and rebuild process. They'll also show you how to inspect the machinist's work. Its a must have video for the novice. Also, when you have specific questions, then you might try the messege forum at www.chevytalk.com. Especially when it comes to the fuel injection stuff. I run 10.5:1 compression on 93 octane gas with a stack fuel injection. My motor is a "horsepower" motor with 500hp. When I say that, I mean that it develops more horsepower than torque. Its a 327 bored 30 over. In general, the 350 is a well balanced motor (i.e. equal torque and equal horsepower), and your stroker idea will have more torque than hp. There were a few different 500hp combos on Ryan's site. I think I saw a 383 with AFR 190 heads in the 500hp range. His site will give you a good start. 500hp with a 383 is a nice setup for the street btw.
Now, will this be a "saturday night special" or do you plan to take it to SCCA and Auto-X events? Remember, most of the American Chevy racing market is aimed at either circle track or towards the drag racers. So, keep this in mind whenever your doing your research. Some of this stuff is designed to hold up for 12 seconds, and some of it for 4 hours. There's a big price difference between the two. What I did was follow the philosophies of the circle track guys b/c I was wanting to do more of the SCCA roadcourse stuff. You may not be interested in this, though and want something more for the strip. Its good to decide your intention for the motor before you start. Let us know if you have any more questions.
Cheers!
-Mack
Now, will this be a "saturday night special" or do you plan to take it to SCCA and Auto-X events? Remember, most of the American Chevy racing market is aimed at either circle track or towards the drag racers. So, keep this in mind whenever your doing your research. Some of this stuff is designed to hold up for 12 seconds, and some of it for 4 hours. There's a big price difference between the two. What I did was follow the philosophies of the circle track guys b/c I was wanting to do more of the SCCA roadcourse stuff. You may not be interested in this, though and want something more for the strip. Its good to decide your intention for the motor before you start. Let us know if you have any more questions.
Cheers!
-Mack
351cobra said: To answer some of the questions I live Near Lake George New York. I have some experience with Ford Windsor engines and have put in cams and roller lifters/rockers and ported my cylinder heads on the FF Cobra with good results. I would like 500 HP multipoint fuel injected with 10.? compression 93 octane is about all that is around. I have a friend that has built numerous engines and works in a machine shop (he doesnt know yet) so im sure he will prove invaluable. I have been looking for a good source for either new or remanufactured 4 bolt main blocks and have seen a wide range of prices. Hardcore sells a forged 383 reciprocating assembly that looks nice. I ordered 2 books on building Chevy small blocks (Lingenfelter and David Vizard) so I will do some home work first. Thanks for the replies.
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