306 with AFR 165s, need cam and rocker advice among other things

[cmb91LX]

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Hi guys, I need some advice. I just purchased a fresh 306 with AFR 165s on it. The only thing I know for sure is that the engine has cast crank, H-beam rods, and aluminum pistons and it was set up for a power adder, 8:0:1 compression. It also has a "B" cam in it.

Along with the engine, I have a set of #24 injectors, 65 MM TB, 73 MAF. A stock unported intake will top it all off.

OK, here are my questions:

1) I dont want the "B" cam in there. The car has an AOD with 373 gears and I may put a small converter in there. What is my best choice of camshafts for this combo? What rocker arms should go in place as well? Not looking for a drag car but something that is PEPPY to say the least.

2) The guy I am purchasing it from says I can change the head gaskets to raise the compression up to 9:0:1. Is this true and if so which gasket would I use?

3) I am purchasing this set up from one of my best friends for dirt cheap, but, in the last 6 months he has had a few problems with it. First, after installing the heads, he didnt blow them out good with compressed air and some aluminum shavings ended up getting stuck in the oil pump shaft and it locked the pump up. Then he changed it again and put a fu#$@ing Auto Zone cheap replacement pump shaft in there and it broke after about 6 months. The actual shaft broke in half. So could this have something to do with the cheap AutoZone piece or could it be some defect in the build of the short block? He is putting on a high volume pump and HD shaft before I put it in the carfor insurance.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? I have my own thoughts on this but I would definitely like to hear some others. Thanks in advance
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[90Notch]

I doubt a gasket change is going to give you a full point increase in cr. I would measure everything because if this guy is telling you that god only knows what you actually have. Use a Fel-Pro 1011 gasket.

Stock intake is killing you, first change that then dump the B303 and go with something smaller like crower 15510 since you have an AOD with 1.7s.

Forget the HV pump, throw a standard volume melling pump in there. I personally would tear entire motor down, clean everything and put back together. Sounds like some of the shavings are still in the motor. What did the shavings come from in the first place?

 

[runningmole]

Custom cam from Ed Curtis. I love mine. Nice lopey idle, pulls hard from idle to 6000. Excellent drivability in the city

www.flowtechinduction.com

 

[cmb91LX]

What did the shavings come from in the first place?

He says the shavings came from the AFR heads, that he should have blown them out with compressed air before he installed them. Maybe just some casting shavings he didnt clean out.

And the stock intake, I want to keep it on for now. I know its not the "right" thing to do , but this motor is just a temp(1/2 year) motor for the fox car.

With a cam change, would I need to change the lifters, pushrods, etc. to match the camshaft, or will the ones that are with the B cam work well?

 

[cmb91LX]

Anyone else have any input on this one? The more the merrier.

 

[DMAN302]

I'd want to look the bottom end over before droping her in..2x oil starvation is not a good thing.

 

[cmb91LX]

Got the engine last night, took off oil pan, the gasket on the shaft mount was broken/cracked. Pump filter looked good and the pump shaft itself was broken in two. Drained all oil through a shirt/filter and no shavings whatsoever in the oil. I expected for the gear on the bottom of the distributor to be in pieces but it was all there and what looked like a grain of salt appeared to have locked it up breaking the shaft. So the bottom end looks good, should I check anything else?

 

[DMAN302]

bearings???

 

[OWENMUSTANG]

can you get a stock 5.0 cam cheap? with that little compression and for just a summer ride. i'd opt for the stocker.

 

[90Notch]

"So the bottom end looks good, should I check anything else? "

Casting doesn't create shavings but the CNCng AFR does does. You better make damn sure there's nothing else in there or it'll be coming out again real soon. It's much easier to tear down and clean now then later. At a minimum ditch the oil pump and pickup and put a new stock replacement in.

As for cam the stock intake is really going to choke the heads plus 8:1 is going is not going to like the B303. I'm with the other guy look for a stock cam..should be able to get one cheap. No you won't have to replace lifters or pushrods and stock AFR springs should work with stock cam.

 

[cmb91LX]

OK, we replaced the pickup, tube, and all gaskets last night. After looking at the old pump real good, the determination was made that a part of the gasket from the filler tube/pump connection actually broke off and was lodged in the pump. I dont really want to put cash in a cam swap since it is not the "final" engine for the car. I know the factory intake will be a bottleneck but I dont want to change that either. I may just throw a 75-100 shot on there since the compression is so low.

So, 306, AFR 165s, B cam, forged pistons, 8:0:1, 24 LBs, 65 TB, 73 MAF, stock intake and exhaust.

There are still a few issues to address: rocker arms, torque converter, gears

Rockers , I was thinking 1.72 Cobra rockers, maybe

Converter, maybe 22-2500

Gears, More than likely 373s

Any input?