496 BBC BUILD

[Adger Smith]

A couple of years ago I did a 540 for a boat that was similar to your build. Had to run on Marina pump gas and push the 32 ft. Scarab.
I ended up using a Comp Hyd roller. I think it was 232/236 112 in @ 108 and the lift was in the .550-.575 area. (can't remember the actual) It had a true 9.5-1 Compression. Ended up flat tops. I used a team G manifold and 850 marine Holley because they were already on the 502 that I upgraded. I used the CNC Brodix -2Plus. I even opted for the coated version of the head for Marine use. I did a little hand port/clean up on the CNC and changed the intake valve back cut angle. It made killer torque from 2800-4500. On our conservative dyno the peak HP was a little over 650. The nice thing about that build was the way it drove. It would idle down to 750-800 RPM in the marinas and no wake areas and then cruise @ 4,000 all day long. The owner ended up going to a steeper 4 blade prop (cup and pitch) because it would blow off the original prop as it got into the Tq curve at about 3200. It would carry the boat to 6200 RPM. The owner even commented that it used less gas than the older 502 combo in a day of running the lake. It had a bitchin' sound when at idle and light cruise. (Memories/Visions of Tubbs and Crockett floated through my head when testing it) :~)
I would bet something like that in a Chevelle or Camaro street rod would be a fun driver, esp with limited tire sizes.

[PWMAX]

New engine builder,

On a 509, with the Iron Eagle 308's, a bit more porting than a bowl blend, but not crazy, a comp 248-256 at .050, .647 hyd roller, on a 112, edelbrock Victor Jr, Dean Nickerson worked 830 carb, pump gas, 675hp and 640 tq. I would imagibe the 496 would make 650-660hp. Same heads on a 548, 8 more at .050, Dart intake, 950 cfm 4150, 713hp, and 705 tq. The 509 peaked about 6200, the 540 about 5900. Recently did a 496 with Patriot 320's, thats what he wanted, that made 745hp and 650 tq on pump gas, with a 264-272 at .050 solid roller. The heads weren't radicaly re-worked, but fully ported for the application.

How much power you looking to make?

Frank

[MileHighMan]

Every winter for the past 8 years I have the same customer who drops off his 496 for a "freshen-up".
Every winter I want him to try something different.
This year he say's he wants more HP.
He is considering changing the cam and heads along with a better intake.

His 496 engine currently.
Eagle 4340 rotating assembly.
SRP pistons with approx. 10.2 to 1 comp. ratio.
Howards cam with .620/.620 lift, dur. at .050 236/242,108 L/S.
Heads:Dart Iron Eagle 308 intake volume,2.25/1.88 valves,with a bowl blend,intake gasket match.
Intake: Edlebrock RPM with a 1 inch. spacer.
Carb: Quick Fuel flowed 850 DBL pumper.

Car 67 Chevelle with mini-tubs.
Weight approx. 3,600 lbs. with driver.
3.90 gear.
700 R4 with 3,200 stall.

Please keep in mind he is 67 years old and wants to run a hyd. roller cam and he want's to keep this on 92 pump gas.
Let's here your thoughts on what to change.

Thanks in advance.

Why not just stick a blower on it???...I have a buddy that did just that, with a 496 and damm near doubled his power. He drives it everywhere and the cool factor sticking through the hood is amazing. Good Luck!!!...Dan.

[new engine builder]

Thank's for all the reply's.
He bought a used Quick Fuel 1050 Dominator.
He is going to use a re-worked Edelbrock Victor intake.
The 315 AFR heads will also be used.
The cam he is going to run is a Lunati HR .625/.625,duration at .050 is 241/249.
He won't put it on the dyno but, I.M.O. it should be worth 50 HP over his old combo.

[jdavis]

Bigger still on the cam if its not paid for yet, good induction on it now but no time to use them. I ran a cam that size in my daily driven 355 for years without a problem with efi. I still say that he should call up Yank and have them build him an ss4000. With the lockup it wont matter what the stall is on the highway since it wont slip. If it gets snotty with the converter locked up just drop the gears a bit or unlock the converter it will soak up a lot of bucking and surging.

If the dominator is a 3 circuit buy the blocks to make it a 2 since its a driver. I have no idea what your carb tuning skills are, but you will need some knowledge to make it work right on the street. As has been said many times before the tune can make or break a combo.

Good luck to you, and please let us all know the results.

[Bolt]

I would still go with a bigger cam. The AFR 315 and intake will want it. You are feeding 500 cubes and have plenty of gear. At least think about something with around .250 duration @ .050 ad some lift at least something in the .665 zone on a 112 ls. The heads would be a waist with that small of a cam. You have plenty of gear and cubes for low end. A .250 dur cam on a 496 will have good idle characteristics.

[Troy Patterson]

Thank's for all the reply's.
He bought a used Quick Fuel 1050 Dominator.
He is going to use a re-worked Edelbrock Victor intake.
The 315 AFR heads will also be used.
The cam he is going to run is a Lunati HR .625/.625,duration at .050 is 241/249.
He won't put it on the dyno but, I.M.O. it should be worth 50 HP over his old combo.

Bigger still on the carb for that displacement. Thought it was a little ol' 1050.

Troy Patterson tmpcarbs.blogspot TMP Carbs TMPCarbs.net

[F1Fever]

Thank's for all the reply's.
He bought a used Quick Fuel 1050 Dominator.
He is going to use a re-worked Edelbrock Victor intake.
The 315 AFR heads will also be used.
The cam he is going to run is a Lunati HR .625/.625,duration at .050 is 241/249.
He won't put it on the dyno but, I.M.O. it should be worth 50 HP over his old combo.

I think what you have there is good myself. He is only going to be turning around 2500 rpm at 70 MPH if the converter locks up, less if he has tall tires (you said mini tubbed right?)

maybe some 4:10's would help too...

[69-CHVL]

I think he'll be fine so long as the cruise rpms are over 2000. I have a manual trans, and any less than 2000rpms for my 502 with a 248/254 110lsa SR cam was a little rough. 2000+ and it was all good.

[Bolt]

I think he would be better off with a smaller port head if he wants that small of a cam. The new AFR 290 might be a better choice wich by the way moves a lot more air than the 310 you had originally. The 315 moves air all the way up to .800 lift and you are not tapping into the heads potential. Using the 315 the engine wouldnt be a slouch by any means but on a build like you have I think the 290 would be a better fit the heads and cam would be properly matched. I would bet that if you built the same engine and put the 290 on it and then switched to the 315 the 290 engine would make more power through the entire RPM range of that cam.