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GM Performance Parts 350ci/330HP Crate Motor Build

We Get More Power Out Of A GMPP Crate Motor With Goodies From Brodix, Lunati, And Speed-O-Motive.

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Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Engine Dyno
Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Engine Dyno

John Barkley, one of our associates here at Super Chevy, just recently did a little horse-trading and ended up with a fresh GM Performance Parts (GMPP) 350ci/330HP crate motor. He is an avid hot rodder and was a successful drag racer for many years (he even has a Wally in his trophy case from winning the Stock Eliminator class at the 1983 Winternationals). John is constantly building something, and his most recent project is a '66 Bel Air that could use some more power under the hood. He plans on using the car for cruising and light track duties. Even though the GMPP 330hp crate motor would motivate his land yacht of a car just fine, we would rather have the big ship run more like a small flat bottom drag boat.

We set John loose with the task of finding a solid upgrade for his engine that didn't require special machining or messing with the rotating assembly. He contacted Brodix for one of the company's top end kits, to take out the guesswork when it comes to finding components that work with each other. Brodix combines a set of the company's IK (Iron Killer) 180cc aluminum heads with a matching dual plane intake manifold, and all the little things like gaskets and hardware needed for the swap.

The heart of the Brodix top end kit are the heads; these feature ultra casting, 180cc intake ports, and 64cc combustion chambers that allow the use of several types of fuels. All these improvements over the stock heads are in place to increase the airflow. The more air the engine can ingest, the more power it can make. There are a bunch of options Brodix offers on these heads like 58-74cc CNC chambers, and just about anything else your deviant mind can think up, so keep that in mind when ordering. The Brodix kit comes with a dual plane intake big enough to support the heads, and for a small extra fee match ported as well.

  • Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Iron Killer Aluminum Heads Horsepower 1 Intake Manifold
    The main part of the top end combo is the IK (Iron Killer) 180cc aluminum heads and Horsepower 1 (HP 1) dual-plane intake manifold. The heads are the most budget-friendly in the Brodix line, cast from A-356 virgin aluminum alloy with 2.02 intake and 1.60 exhaust valves, normally with 64cc combustion chambers (ours were ordered with 60cc chambers to keep the compression up), phosphorous bronze valve guides, hardened valve seats, milled and drilled ends for accessories, and a straight spark plug angle. The HP 1 manifold has an operating range of idle-6,000 rpm, and the dual plane design will provide a good torque curve. John spent a little extra money to have Brodix match port the manifold to the heads for an unrestricted transition.
    Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Iron Killer Aluminum Heads Horsepower 1 Intake Manifold
    The main part of the top end combo is the IK (Iron Killer) 180cc aluminum heads and Horsep
  • Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Included Hardware
    Since the combo is a complete kit, you also get all the other stuff needed for the install like the tall cast aluminum valve covers (breather holes will need to be added), head bolts, washers, intake bolts, valve cover hardware, head gaskets, intake gaskets, exhaust gaskets, carburetor gaskets, valve cover gaskets,...
    Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Included Hardware
    Since the combo is a complete kit, you also get all the other stuff needed for the install
  • Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Bolts And Ngk Spark Plugs
    ...NGK spark plugs, and even a Brodix hat.

For the valvetrain, John went with components from Lunati's Voodoo line, most notability a solid roller cam. John has always used hydraulic cams in his street motors, but wanted to try a solid roller this time. The cam spec's out at 0.555-int./0.566 exh. lift, 261 int./267 exh. advertised duration, 231 int./237 exh. duration at 0.050, with a 110-degree lobe center. He coupled the cam with a set of vertical bar roller lifters and 1.5 ratio Voodoo aluminum roller rockers. John went with this combo to be safe, not knowing how much piston to valve clearance it was going to have with the GMPP stock pistons. During testing we found this cam to be too small, but more on that later.

To feed the new heads, one of Holley's 750cfm Ultra Double Pumper street/strip carbs was tasked with fuel delivery. It's a 4150 design, but has black anodized billet aluminum metering blocks and base plate, mechanical secondaries, and surprisingly enough, an electric choke-not something normally found on a double pumper. To provide the spark, a ready to run billet HEI distributor from MSD was called to action. Since firewall clearance is not an issue, going with the coil-in-cap design and modern electronics were a no brainer. To assemble all of John's goodies and tune the engine on the dyno, we enlisted the help of the Speed-O-Motive crew in Covina, California. Don't get us wrong, we made John get his hands dirty on this project, but Jeff Strech from Speed-O-Motive also got involved. It was like watching an NHRA pit crew ripping down a motor between runs.

FLOW CHART (CFM@28-INCHES H2O)
FOR THE IK (IRON KILLER) 180CC HEADS
Valve Size Lift 0.200 0.300 0.400 0.500 0.600
2.02 Intake 138 188 234 243 245
1.60 Exhaust 112 149 167 175 178

  • Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Lunati Valvetrain Parts
    All the valvetrain components were ordered from Lunati, and include the solid roller cam, lifters, 1.5 ratio roller rockers, full double-roller timing set, and a cam thrust button. The timing set features three different keyways (+/- 4-degrees) and Torrington thrust bearing. The cam thrust button (necessary with any roller cam) keeps the camshaft from walking forward in the block, for accurate timing and to prevent premature timing chain and distributor gear wear.
    Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Lunati Valvetrain Parts
    All the valvetrain components were ordered from Lunati, and include the solid roller cam,
  • Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Lunati Voodoo Cam
    For the cam, John stepped out of his normal routine and went with a solid roller instead of a hydraulic. He decided to play it safe and get himself a small Voodoo cam (part no. 60130) that has 0.555 int./0.566 exh. lift, advertised duration of 261 int./267 exh., and duration at 0.050 of 231 int./237 exh., with a 110-degree lobe center.
    Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Lunati Voodoo Cam
    For the cam, John stepped out of his normal routine and went with a solid roller instead o
  • Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Lunati Roller Lifters
    John also got a set of Lunati's vertical bar (tie-bar) roller lifters to ride on the cam. The lifters for John's engine are 0.300 inches taller for use in later model GM ('87-up) "roller" style blocks with taller lifter bores.
    Gm Performance Parts 350Ci 330Hp Crate Motor Build Lunati Roller Lifters
    John also got a set of Lunati's vertical bar (tie-bar) roller lifters to ride on the cam.
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BuzzLOL
 .. I disagree, 231/237 cam was plenty big and should have made around 425-450 HP with proper quench, compression ratio, and bigger 195cc - 210cc heads...

.. The bigger 243/251 cam will prolly seem soggy on the low and mid RPM end in a big '66 Bel Air with street rear end gears, and the small 180cc heads with bad quench distance will still excessively hold back high RPM power...
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