Cylinder Head Flow
PHR would like to especially thank Shaver Racing Engines for performing the cylinder head flow testing and head assembly for us. Shaver is a dealer for EQ cylinder heads, and offers the Vortec EQ Lightning heads in bare or assembled form with a variety of spring and valve packages. (We suggest you call 310-370-6941, or check out www.shaverengines.com, for more information.) Our heads were assembled with cost-effective Manley budget performance valves (1.94-inch intake and 1.50-inch exhaust), a three-angle valve job, and COMP Beehive springs and retainers. That's all. No additional clean-up or port work was performed. As you can see, flow values for the EQ are better than stock, yet still relatively modest. It just goes to show that for a street engine, the amount of flow is a secondary concern to the quality of flow. Other than a .025-inch mill job to up the compression, our heads were box-stock.
On The Flowbench
Tested At Shaver Racing test depression 28-in. H2O
| Lift | Intake | Exhaust |
| 0.100 | 60 | 54 |
| 0.200 | 117 | 102 |
| 0.300 | 173 | 134 |
| 0.400 | 216 | 152 |
| 0.500 | 225 | 162 |
| 0.600 | 232 | 169 |
| 0.700 | 237 | 172 |
Budget Vortec 350-Turnkey Crate Motor
Speed-O-Motive helped us build our motor and can build you a near replica of our budget Vortec 350-the only difference will be an upgrade to stainless steel roller rockers, a Pertronix Flame Thrower HEI, and a Holley 750 double-pumper. The price of $5,450 includes assembly, dyno tuning, and free shipping. By comparison, a little shopping will uncover more than a few crate engine packages that cost as much or more and don't deliver the goods like this little number. Keep in mind everything that you are getting, including the carburetor, dyno-tuning, and shipping costs. Figure in the whole package, and this combination is quite a performance value. To find out more about ordering a budget Vortec 350 like this, go to www.speedomotive.com, or call 626-869-0270.
Dyno Results
TESTED AT SPEED-O-MOTIVE
DTS ENGINE DYNO
| RPM | TQ | HP |
| 2,600 | 389 | 193 |
| 2,800 | 401 | 214 |
| 3,000 | 401 | 229 |
| 3,200 | 406 | 247 |
| 3,400 | 414 | 268 |
| 3,600 | 425 | 291 |
| 3,800 | 433 | 313 |
| 4,000 | 439 | 334 |
| 4,200 | 443 | 354 |
| 4,400 | 445 | 373 |
| 4,600 | 445 | 390 |
| 4,800 | 443 | 405 |
| 5,000 | 438 | 417 |
| 5,200 | 431 | 427 |
| 5,400 | 423 | 435 |
| 5,600 | 414 | 441 |
| 5,800 | 403 | 445 |
| 6,000 | 391 | 447 |
| 6,200 | 379 | 447 |
Before firing our overhauled 350 mill, the crankcase was filled with Royal Purple 10W30 synthetic motor oil. Royal Purple makes a variety of synthetic lubricants that we have always found to offer a great combination of reduced friction for power and longevity. | 
The engine fired without any undue drama, and Jake went to work with the base settings, adjusting the ignition timing at 34 degrees total timing by the end of the session. | 
After a few preliminary short pulls to check the mixture readings via a pair of wide-band Lambda sensors, we attempted some high-rpm pulls and were disappointed by a premature drop-off in the power curve. Jake suspected the ignition was falling off at high rpm, and replaced the HEI module in the Summit-sourced HEI with a Performance Distributors Dyna-Mod. |