I am going to build a hot 396 for the street. Anyone running a hot 396? And if so, care to give any details or advice? Hi guys, I am new here, but I have been restoring my 1969 Chevelle SS. Thanks

My advice would be to start with a 454 .Unless you have to have a 396 it costs the same to build other than aquiring a core.You cant beat cubes.

I agree 100%. There is no replacement for displacement. But I already have a 396 (3 of them, and 0 454's), and I have always wanted to see what a 396 can do. Everyone seems to forget about the 396/375, but I think a high rpm 396 could be pretty nasty. I will be the first to admit that a mild 396 is nothing to get excited about. But what abot a 396 with aluminum heads and a roller cam turning 6700?

For heads if you wan't aluminum I would run a smaller cross sectoin raised oval port head with a small chamber[100cc or less].brodix has some new oval port raised runner heads in smaller int. volume I think.Its all in the heads; ifyou can get 350 cfm or better on the intake with approx. 280 cc and match the rest of the components I'm thinking at least 600 hp.

I agree 100%. There is no replacement for displacement. But I already have a 396 (3 of them, and 0 454's), and I have always wanted to see what a 396 can do. Everyone seems to forget about the 396/375, but I think a high rpm 396 could be pretty nasty. I will be the first to admit that a mild 396 is nothing to get excited about. But what abot a 396 with aluminum heads and a roller cam turning 6700?

6700? Try 7500!!!! Now we are talking!

If 12.45 @ 107 MPH is hot for a 396 in your opinion,let me know..I will post a combo.

396/325 motor (10.25/1 CR c/w oval port heads), a solid roller cam and plenty of gear will put you in the 11's.

Now I'm getting into this.Let's sonic check the bores and go as big as we safely can.Keep the chamber small as discussed earlier and go for 101/2to 11/1. I'm thinking 250-260 dur. on 110 lca.

A few 396 combos in this thread: http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157285

You can use my combo for example: .060 bore, stock 290 oval ports with 2.06/1.72 valves, XE284 cam, Eddy RPM intake, Mallory HEI, 750 Holley v.s., 3000 stall, TH350 auto, 1 3/4 headers into dual 2.5 inch pipes with h pipe and Dynomax Ultraflows.....has a real nice lope at idle, no dyno numbers as of yet but it's very torquey and trust me it's no slouch off the line. :noway:

BTW welcome from another NC member.

Hey GRN69 ... I WOULD LOVE to have my green '69 396 with oval ports and 10.25 CR in even the 12's ... you really think a solid roller and gearing will do it?

I'm hoping presently a larger valves and flat tappet Hyd 240 & 246 will get me close.

We were running low 11's (Pro Brackets) in the late 70's with nothing more than that. All steel '67 Chevelle w/ full interior. 396 oval port motor. This was an ex-SSJA car. It did have mini tubs and used 14-32 slicks and 5.13 gears, this is equivalent to about a 4.56 and 28" tire. Thing is, today's tire technology is better, converters are better, suspension setups are better.

I don't see why you couldn't run 10's with a good setup

how much more do u have go befor you finsh restoring it

Guys here running over 10 to 1 compression with iron heads?

Not iron heads, but I run 10.4/1 with alum heads - and have ran it on 87 octane when I ran it out of gas. If I were to do a rebuild, I would step the CR up to the 11/1 to 11.5/1 range, especially with a hyd roller cam.

If you have a good early 396 block then consider putting a 4.00 or 4.25 crank in it and as others have said good roller cam and good heads FWIW

If you have a good early 396 block then consider putting a 4.00 or 4.25 crank in it and as others have said good roller cam and good heads FWIW

Yeah, a 4.25" stroke and a +.030 bore makes 454" :D

One of the members suggested a possibility of 600 hp. In your original post you said your building primarily a street car. 600 hp out of a 396 for street is a little high on expectations if you want the car to have any street manners I beleive. And good luck getting 600 HP to hook on the street.

I beleive the stroker is the way to go to get your CI's up and this will make you happy but not a high RPM motor. Stroking the motor should get you to 6000-6500 RPM. I would suggest aluminum heads of you have the ; and many guys on here can give you some great strip suggestions. Go aluminum on the heads if you have the budget for that. If not a small chabered head with flat top pitons on a cast iron oval port head you can do 10:1 on pump gas. A dual plane intake like an Edelbrock performer, a well tuned 750 cfm carb; 1 3/4-2" on the headers. For a cam something like Lunati;s VooDoo 60203 or maybe even 60204 for a hydraulic flat tappet...if not step up to hydraulic roller or even flat. Id go for 110 LSA to keep you torque curve on tap, duration something like 230/240 @ .050. Mid .500 lift. this with a 2800-3000 stall and a 3.73 rear gear will be a blast on the street and you should be respectable at the track. The suggestions I made are primarily for a street car with some limited track time..If your gonna be more track then go larger on the cam, carb, stall and gears. All too often guys build a strip motor and hate driving it on the street. JMO. Good luck and let the baord know what you eventually build and how it perfroms for you.

I believe I have the combo 30-A-Rider describes.
Solid roller 236/248 at .050
Iron oval port "truck" heads
Very streetable, cruises in OD with the converter locked at 1800.
Times in the Sig.

One of the members suggested a possibility of 600 hp. In your original post you said your building primarily a street car. 600 hp out of a 396 for street is a little high on expectations if you want the car to have any street manners I beleive. And good luck getting 600 HP to hook on the street.

I beleive the stroker is the way to go to get your CI's up and this will make you happy but not a high RPM motor. Stroking the motor should get you to 6000-6500 RPM. I would suggest aluminum heads of you have the ; and many guys on here can give you some great strip suggestions. Go aluminum on the heads if you have the budget for that. If not a small chabered head with flat top pitons on a cast iron oval port head you can do 10:1 on pump gas. A dual plane intake like an Edelbrock performer, a well tuned 750 cfm carb; 1 3/4-2" on the headers. For a cam something like Lunati;s VooDoo 60203 or maybe even 60204 for a hydraulic flat tappet...if not step up to hydraulic roller or even flat. Id go for 110 LSA to keep you torque curve on tap, duration something like 230/240 @ .050. Mid .500 lift. this with a 2800-3000 stall and a 3.73 rear gear will be a blast on the street and you should be respectable at the track. The suggestions I made are primarily for a street car with some limited track time..If your gonna be more track then go larger on the cam, carb, stall and gears. All too often guys build a strip motor and hate driving it on the street. JMO. Good luck and let the baord know what you eventually build and how it perfroms for you.


Excellent advice above .......definitely do the stoker and above ...I have a big cam high rpm 427 and its what I wanted not a friendly street motor .....I will be doing my number matching 396 with 4.25 crank hyd roller with stock intake etcetc for strong stock loooking engine :)

My 600 hp engine wae based on really good heads with the right port cross section.If I understood ,the engine was to be a fairly radical street eng. With a 100 over bore and stock stroke and the 350 cfm of int. flow that number should come in by 7000 rpm with the cam I mentioned earlier. We just built a sm. blk.421 sb2 headed street motor that made 700

if your putting a 4.00 or 4.25 crank in then what rods would you use?just curious

Keith Black makes a 396 piston with a relocated wrist pin hole for running a 4.00 stroke with I believe the stock 6.135 rods, not sure on the 4.250......

i did a little looking for a 4.25 crak for the 396 and came up wih nothing but if u find somthing let me know.

396's are like the 327's of the bigblock world. there's something magic about them. my god will they scream with the right setup!
the quickest street car i've ever been in was a 70 SS 396 with 11.5:1,big solid roller,RPM heads,Team G, 850 dbl pmpr,Super Comps,and 4.56's...M-21 shifted at 7200.
insane car,so fun.
TEN SECONDS!

I'm posting this only as a point of referance. A friend of mine, Al Scuito of Tuscon, bought a new 396 Camaro in 1967. It was the high HP engine for that year, which I'm assuming was a 425HP, solid lifter engine. With 4.88 gears, headers, slicks, slapper bars, 4 speed, and the divider removed from his castiron intake manifold, he ran 11.80's. Of course, a 67 weighed about 3300, but that should give you some idea of what the stock parts were capable of. (Plus, the air was a lot denser than it is now. That's why all the old cars ran good.)

The factory solid lifter cam was considered "streetable". I think duration on that cam was 242@.050". LDA 114*. 11:1 compression. Close that LDA to about 108, and you would have a good cam.

You may want to check this out. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330100516508&rd=1,1

I have personally seen and heard this motor and it is sweet. Bolt it in and go. This motor is at least 500 hp if not a little more. It should be bullet proof too with those heads.

Mark

Id call the guys at competition products (my favorite place to buy). Many of these guys dont just spew written info from a catalog..many of them have older cars they cruise and race...they live it just dont preach it from text like summit. they should be able to hook you up with all you need to stroke your engine, and if not Im sure they will point you to who can provide needed parts.

I don't see why you couldn't run 10's with a good setup
I would love to run high tens on motor. I also have a 15 lb bottle from my old ls1 camaro set up just in case. :D

I don't see why you couldn't run 10's with a good setup
I would love to run high tens on motor. I also have a 15 lb bottle from my old ls1 camaro set up just in case. :D

I'm going with a solid roller Comp XR 280R. I just ordered their endurex roller lifters for the street.

I hope to have it done by the end of this year or the first of next year. I am re-doing everything. It will be a street/strip car. Drag springs and shocks etc.

My 600 hp engine wae based on really good heads with the right port cross section.If I understood ,the engine was to be a fairly radical street eng. With a 100 over bore and stock stroke and the 350 cfm of int. flow that number should come in by 7000 rpm with the cam I mentioned earlier. We just built a sm. blk.421 sb2 headed street motor that made 700
Yes, it will be a pretty radical street engine, solid roller, 10.5, 4:11 gears etc. I am however stuck on the cylinder heads. I can't find the new brodix heads you were talking about. All I saw was their race-rite ovals. Trick flow has some ovals that look nice. AFR was going to start making some ovals a while back...265cc as cast and a 290 cc CNC version, but they pulled the heads off the website and when I called they said they were moving into another shop and they were working on a new small block design.

Hey GRN69 ... I WOULD LOVE to have my green '69 396 with oval ports and 10.25 CR in even the 12's ... you really think a solid roller and gearing will do it?

I'm hoping presently a larger valves and flat tappet Hyd 240 & 246 will get me close.
I ordered a solid roller for this motor. Comp cam's XR 280R 242 int. 246 ex. lift somewhere around .690. I will be using 1.8 roller rockers. I also ordered Comp's endure-x roller lifters for the street. I can't wait to hear how it sounds. I don't care about the radio...

I ordered a solid roller for this motor. Comp cam's XR 280R 242 int. 246 ex. lift somewhere around .690. I will be using 1.8 roller rockers. I also ordered Comp's endure-x roller lifters for the street. I can't wait to hear how it sounds. I don't care about the radio...

Your gross lift will be .677/.691 with 1.8's, but net lift after lash .659/.673. You should consider the Lunati Solid roller 60232:
Solid Roller; Rough idle, Good cam for street/strip applications in 396–427 cubic inch engines. Excellent mid range torque and horsepower. Needs 2800–3000 RPM stall speed converter, 10.1 compression ratio, headers and 3.90 rear gears.
Advertised Duration IN/EX: 273/279
Duration @ .050 IN/EX: 243/249
Gross Valve Lift IN/EX: .655"/.663"
LSA / ICL: 110/106
Valve Lash IN/EX: 018/018
RPM Range: 2600-6800

It is a solid billet roller with the everwear gear which is compatible with your stock distributor gear.

Why the comp roller lifters?

Call Brodix and ask about the head I mentioned.The cam mentioned in the last post would work well.

Call Brodix and ask about the head I mentioned.The cam mentioned in the last post would work well.


Yes call Brodix ...I not aware they have a new raised port version other than the Race Rite ovals .....I have RR ovals with CNC chambers with .630 lift 254/261 110 cam .those heads seems to lose flow after about .650 not sure how much value more lift than the head can handle is ......my 427 last dyno session was 611 hp it can be done .I would talk to Wolfplace on here about AFR's 305 heads he has used alot of Brodix RR and AFR 305 on engines he builds will give you some very good info .......also well connected at Brodix and AFR if something new etcetc

Your gross lift will be .677/.691 with 1.8's, but net lift after lash .659/.673. You should consider the Lunati Solid roller 60232:
Solid Roller; Rough idle, Good cam for street/strip applications in 396–427 cubic inch engines. Excellent mid range torque and horsepower. Needs 2800–3000 RPM stall speed converter, 10.1 compression ratio, headers and 3.90 rear gears.
Advertised Duration IN/EX: 273/279
Duration @ .050 IN/EX: 243/249
Gross Valve Lift IN/EX: .655"/.663"
LSA / ICL: 110/106
Valve Lash IN/EX: 018/018
RPM Range: 2600-6800

It is a solid billet roller with the everwear gear which is compatible with your stock distributor gear.

Why the comp roller lifters?
The Comp lifters are the new endure-x design that is made for extended street use.I have never run them, and don't know of anyone else who has. I also chose Comp because I have never had any trouble with their stuff. Has anyone ever had trouble?

Ok, the heads I was talking about earlier are Brodix heads modified by Hvh www.highveocityheads.com .They are a raised runner head with 285-290 cc intake volume and flow about 370 cfm on the intake. With the 396's bore even at .100 over I think you would have to keep the int. valve to no bigger than 2.19 to avoid shrouding and block clearance issues .Gm or Edelbrock oval port heads unless extensively modified won't make the power these will.Bmf, Afr,and others make great heads to but at 310 cc may be a little large. Ofcourse they could be modified .

I run the GMPP heads (290CC) on a 454 motor, I would think these would be a good choice for a 400" motor with a cam in the mid .600 lift range. Two things to make a 396 motor run correct. First - compression, you can never have too much. 11/1 and higher in any performance application. This is where the problem comes in with open chamber heads, 396 motors and high compression. There's not enough swept volume in the cylinder to build high compression with an open chamber without using a real large dome (.500" dome) piston. Second - you need to keep the ICL to 104-106ICL. Moving a cam back to 110-112 with a 396 motor will absolutely kill it.

I agree with GRN69CHV. The problem with a 396 and open chamber heads with 115+ CC chambers is to get enough compression you will have a .500"+ dome. I think the GMPP head or even the rolled over EDE with 100cc chambers would suite you fine. That cam, properly picked converter, rear gear, carb and depending on vehicle weight will get you real close to high 10's under the right conditions. I am real close to high 10's with my 396 with the smaller comp solid roller, 9.75:1 compression, GM iron ovals with the small valves, and bowl work, in a 3700 lb Chevelle.

Did you have the cam custom ground on a billet core? Not to scare you but my first go around with the comp off the shelf cam ended up with the lobes wearing a groove in them. Had to send it back and exchange it for a custom ground cam ground on a billet core. May have just been bad luck, but just thought I would warn you.

I agree with GRN69CHV. The problem with a 396 and open chamber heads with 115+ CC chambers is to get enough compression you will have a .500"+ dome. I think the GMPP head or even the rolled over EDE with 100cc chambers would suite you fine. That cam, properly picked converter, rear gear, carb and depending on vehicle weight will get you real close to high 10's under the right conditions. I am real close to high 10's with my 396 with the smaller comp solid roller, 9.75:1 compression, GM iron ovals with the small valves, and bowl work, in a 3700 lb Chevelle.

Did you have the cam custom ground on a billet core? Not to scare you but my first go around with the comp off the shelf cam ended up with the lobes wearing a groove in them. Had to send it back and exchange it for a custom ground cam ground on a billet core. May have just been bad luck, but just thought I would warn you.
The cam is an off the shelf cam - maybe I'll have better luck. Your setup is very similar to what mine will be, and I hope to have the performance you have. It looks like you really have dialed in your comb. How hard are you turning the motor?

You'll know if there is a problem if you start seeing little metal fillings in the tops of you heads. Just keep an eye on it, and if you get a full year of good run time on it just pull the intake and check it out. If it looks good you should be ok. I know others have not had these issues, so maybe there was just a problem with that particular core.

I am turning it to 6400. Unfortunately we just had a major oil pump issue on the freshen about a month ago, and wiped the main, and rod bearings out. Had to have a couple rods reworked, and the crank turned. Should be back together in a couple weeks and with better luck this time I hope.

Obviously a 454 or larger engine would be the way to go, but a 396 is what I got, and I have enojoyed seeing what we can get out of it. Take that 396 and go with it. You are doing some of the things on your build that I have thought about doing head wise, and with the larger cam. I hope you see 10's. Keep me posted.

Like I said earlier,the the oval port edelbrock heads are ok but dont expect to go fast without a lot of time with a grinder and a heliarc.The heads Ive already mentioned can be built for you with a small chamber so you dont have to run a large dome.About a 90 cc heart shaped chamber is what you want.Call these guys up [865 573 9151]

Like I said earlier,the the oval port edelbrock heads are ok but dont expect to go fast without a lot of time with a grinder and a heliarc.The heads Ive already mentioned can be built for you with a small chamber so you dont have to run a large dome.About a 90 cc heart shaped chamber is what you want.Call these guys up [865 573 9151]

What do they do to get the heads down to that chamber CC? Will the chamber be modified to accept a closed chamber piston since that is all that is offered off the shelf for a 396? How much does a pair of these heads run?

And yes there are much better heads out there than the EDE, or GMPP heads, but for a little street/strip 396 looking for low 11's or high 10's the cost may not be worth it. And, just look at what guys are doing with GM iron heads with maybe a $1000 investment if you already have the cores.

Obviously a 454 or larger engine would be the way to go, but a 396 is what I got, and I have enojoyed seeing what we can get out of it. Take that 396 and go with it. You are doing some of the things on your build that I have thought about doing head wise, and with the larger cam. I hope you see 10's. Keep me posted.[/QUOTE]

That's exactly how I feel. A larger engine will perform better, but a 396 is what I have. Besides, I think it's cool to be different. I have heard a lot of guys who were around in the 60's say a 396/375 was nasty high-rpm street motor, and I want to see what I can get out of it.

Have to understand something - everyone's definition of "hot" & "nasty" are different. Someone tells me they want a "hot" street/strip 396 based motor, I am thinking 11/1, maybe 11.5/1 CR, 250 ish solid roller, minimum 10" 3800 stall, preferably 8" 4000+ stall and 4.56+ gears.

The heads I'm talking about can be ordered with the chamber volume you want for the piston you want within reason.These heads are not cheap,probably around 4,000 bucks complete but they also will make way more power. If you want low 11's a set of cc oval factory heads with 2.19/1,88 valves with some modest porting will get it done . If you want to blow the doors off much bigger engines you gotta step up. It doesn't cost anything to give these people a call and discuss your engine.

Have to understand something - everyone's definition of "hot" & "nasty" are different. Someone tells me they want a "hot" street/strip 396 based motor, I am thinking 11/1, maybe 11.5/1 CR, 250 ish solid roller, minimum 10" 3800 stall, preferably 8" 4000+ stall and 4.56+ gears.
Here is what I am shooting for:
I will run the car on 93 octane gas only. No mixing race gas or anything like that.
For stall I'm shooting for 8-10" at 4000.
Gears - 4:10
The cam I have is a solid roller - Comp XR 280R
Victor Jr. intake

This is what I am building. I will drive the car short distances on the weekends, and only in dry dry weather. Th furthest I will drive the car is 2 hours away from home, which will be on a 4 lane or a country road. Most of the time I will just drive it around town, and find an open road to open it up. I will also make frequent trips to the drag strip, like at least once a month. The drag strip is 15 minutes from my house.

My definition of a hot street setup is a setup that runs on pump gas and can be driven around without the worry of overheating.

Ok, the heads I was talking about earlier are Brodix heads modified by Hvh www.highveocityheads.com .They are a raised runner head with 285-290 cc intake volume and flow about 370 cfm on the intake. With the 396's bore even at .100 over I think you would have to keep the int. valve to no bigger than 2.19 to avoid shrouding and block clearance issues .Gm or Edelbrock oval port heads unless extensively modified won't make the power these will.Bmf, Afr,and others make great heads to but at 310 cc may be a little large. Ofcourse they could be modified .
I went on this website, and could not find the heads you are speaking about. Do I need to call them? Is this design based on the race-rite head? Thanks for your help.

These are new castings. They might not be on their web site yet. I called them a few days ago to make sure they had them. I think someone used these heads on phr's engine master contest.Call them up; let me know what they say.

These are new castings. They might not be on their web site yet. I called them a few days ago to make sure they had them. I think someone used these heads on phr's engine master contest.Call them up; let me know what they say.
I called today. The guy I spoke with knew about the head, and said that would definitely be the head to go with. He was very friendly and answered every question I had. He said when I was ready he wanted to know everything about the car and engine, my intentions and driving habits, and he would design the ports around those specs. He also told me to send him my intake (victor jr.) so he could match the intake. He said there would be hand porting and CNC work done to the heads, and when I asked him would he put the heads on a flow bench he said absolutely...this sounds like a top notch shop. Custom cylinder heads made for my application! I want money NOW!!!!!!!!!!

I hope you build it then tell me how it turns out.