interesting 326 stroker build
 

This just popped up on my youtube feed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb8_9WWiq7s


I think it's an old episode but I had never seen it before. They got interesting results on the Dyno, Although the power they got wasn't too bad it really does illustrate why your much better off just putting your money into one of the larger bore blocks in my opinion.

I forgot how funny Lou is!! 400hp out of a stock head stroked 326 is nothing to turn your nose up at, especially in a street engine.

Well The heads were Butler ported stock heads and 400 would be ok, but it only made 360hp they stated they should be able to get 400 out of it with tuning which Im gonna call BS on.....

Actually, no. Initial dyno runs are rarely indicative of the final pulls after carb adjustments and timing changes. I’ve seen 50 horsepower increases with a jet and time change, especially if an engine was way too rich. Don’t forget our own Tom S. built a 301T based 383 that developed 478hp with small valve 350 heads. You can build a hard charging street Pontiac without resorting to a 400 or 455 block.

Would be interesting to know the cam specs.The intake and carbs did it no favor.Watch the video of the assm in slow motion and see how much bigger the head gasket is than the bore.The 383-301 had a heathy cam.Tom

Dittos, Tom. The P-65 is one of the more pathetic intakes produced by Edelbrock. I won’t post my opinion on the Edelbrock AFB/AVS clones. I think they would have gotten better results with a Performer RPM and a properly set up Q-jet.

2 500s dont equal a 750!Tom

No, but that is probably one of the reasons WHY they had such a mediocre initial run. My choice for duals would have been two 450 cfm Holleys or even two 450 cfm GENUINE Carter AFBs.

I would have used a pair of 625 early pontiac AFBs on a offy intake.Tom

my 383 had a solid roller 230-238 @50.156-164@200 with .405 and .415 lobe lift.Lot of cam IMO.Tom

Interesting that they rebuilt the 326. When I first got my 66 Tempest, I realized it cost the same amount to build up a 326 as it did to build a stroked 400-- so that's what I did.
On my uncle's advice, I kept the original block but I can't imagine why I'd build it into anything but a coffee table.

That show was sponsor driven, which probably explained their choice of intake manifold. Still, it was a fun show to watch and Lou was a good host. He's still on TV, on the Motor Trend channel - look for the Car Fix show on the weekends.

Stuart, Lou has to be one of the more jovial car show hosts ever. Too many of them barely crack a smile. Lou belly laughs!

Darth Bubba(Brad) bought the 383 350 based engine that Ace Brewer built a few years back. As I recall it produced nearly 500hp. As good 400 and 455 blocks become scarce, don’t be too quick to dismiss or throw away 326 and 350 blocks.

Tom, just curious was that cam choosen with street miles in mind?

Joe chose the cam after I gave him a wrong cam for the engine.I did not realize how aggressive it was until I looked at the 200 duration.The 50 duration would not bother me that much.I just started the same build but this time with a set of 303 RA V heads.When I get a handle on the lifters for a 301 block I will figure the cam.Tom

Maybe Tom has another dyno sheet. The one I have that he posted shows 478 HP @ 6000 RPM and stops there. So what would the peak have been if it was pulled higher?

Stan

Stan, WHY would you make a pull higher than 6,000 rpm with a street engine?

Getting back to Lou Santiago...I said earlier he was one of the hosts on the TV show Car Fix; well, I tuned in this morning and that's changed. The new hosts of the show are Jeremy Bumpus and Bryan Fuller, both who have appeared on various other car shows in the past. They have good resumes and seem to be excellent craftsmen, but the chemistry between the two will need some time to develop.

Lou has a YouTube channel now called GarageinsiderTV. There are only a few short videos posted on that channel so far and it looks pretty bare bones - he's in a big empty shed, the sound and video quality aren't the best, and he doesn't even have compressed air for tools. :)

If all you were going to do is turn the engine to 6000 RPM max. Why build an engine that makes peak HP at a higher RPM than that?

It would be interesting to hear if anyone else has turn their street engine higher than 6000 RPM.

Stan