350 Build

I am building a 350 for my 93 Chevy pickup for the street/strip and I was just looking for some advice on the parts I have chosen. I am looking for around 400HP. Here are the list of parts I want to install:

Trick Flow 195cc 23 Degree Aluminum Cylinder Heads for Small Chevy
Trick Flow Cam and Lifter Kit for Small Chevy
Edelbrock Performer T.B.I Intake Manifold
Holley 670CFM Replacement Throttle Body
MSD Distributor and Ignition Coil
Timing Set

So far that is what I have come up with. The cylinder heads are a centerbolt style as is the intake manifold. Will this combination be safe to run on pump gas and such? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Byron  

What's the combustion chamber size on those heads? Is the cam from Trick Flow a flat tappet or a roller?

Also, what compression pistons are you putting in the shortblock? What rods are you using?

The problem with that Edelbrock TBI manifold is it's meant for the earlier trucks (88-91) that had the smaller TBI unit. 92-95 trucks had a bigger TBI from the factory. What you may have ot do is have the machine shop do some measureing and maybe open up the plenum holes to help out the bigger TBI.  

The heads have a 62CC combustion chamber. The camshaft is a flat tappet. I was going to install STD compression pistons and STD rods. Since this is my first build ever, I do not want to go too high on compression simply because I want to be able to run pump gas. Would it be easier to just use the stock intake and bolt on the new TBI then or should I go ahead and purchase a new intake? I haven't bought anything yet. is there a different choice for a TBI intake other than the Edelbrock product?  

The factory TBI manifold isn't a bad manifold. it's aluminum, and flows pretty good. Edelbrock is the only company I know of that makes a TBI manifold.

For what you want to do, reusing the stock TBI and intake manifold is the best choice. After the motor's int he truck and running, you can always check out www.turbocity.com , they have a bunch of stuff for GM TBI systems, including bigger TBI units.

Factory compression ratio in the '93 truck 350 was 9.0:1. I'm fairly certain the factory heads have 76cc combustion chambers. So, with the 62cc heads you're planning to gget, your compression ratio will go up to at least 9.5:1, probably closer to 10.0:1. Your best bet is to get a good set of aftermarket heads with 76cc or 72cc combustion chambers (the slight difference will only slightly raise compression)

If the rods in your original motor are ok, and you don't plan on abusing the engine once you have it re-installed, you can get away with having the factory rods reconditioned. I defintiely recommend though you invest in a set of good ARP rod bolts for the shop to install once they're done reconditioning them. Pistons are relatively cheap today, so plan on buying a new set anyway. Maybe look at having the engine bored out .030", then get a coresponding set of pistons and rings. Defintiely buy the best rings you can afford.  

Thank you for the advice on the TBI and such. Looks like I will be re-using the stock manifold and just upgrading the throttle body. With the heads you are suggesting, how much performance would I be sacrificing? I am looking for between 350-400HP. What would I need to do to achieve this? Would the 72cc heads, camshaft, and bigger TBI get me that far?  

Would the Holley T.B.I work for this as well?