Simviation Forums

Well, many of you guys know that I have a 1969 Camaro that I am fixing up; I've it for a couple years now.  My goal is to make a Super Sport clone out of it.

Well, it currently has a GM crate 350ci V8 motor in it with about 260hp and it really is not a performer.  The previous owner put this motor in it because it needed a new one and it was cheap.  It would make a good performance motor if I wanted to make one out of it but I want a big block V8 for this car and its a small block V8.

Anyway, the other day I got a phone call from one of my friends who told me that his engine builder had recently aquired a 396ci V8 that was built for high performance and was willing to sell it for a good price.  Although that doesn't seem like that big of a cubic inch change, it makes a lot of difference because these big blocks have A LOT more torque.  Well, I went and looked at it on Thursday and I liked what I saw.  I told the guy that I wanted to think about it for a couple days before I made a decision.  Today I decided that I did want it and I went and bought it.  

This motor is freshly rebuilt (has like 75 miles on it), and is a fast motor.  It has about 400hp and 450 ft/lbs of torque.  Best of all, it will run on 92 octane pump gas without any problem.  Even better, I got it for $1750 which is a heck of a price.

Anyway, this is going to make my car a much better driver.  I probably won't get it into the car until the end of summer-but I'll be able look at it in the garage until then.  

Once it gets here, I'll post some pictures of it so you can see it.

Congrats mate!

me thinks I'll be happy with the lil ole small block 289 that's in the mercury comet I'll be working on as soon as I get some more money...

sounds great, amazing price too. is it a GM performance crate 396 or some other make?

Nice one Richie. cant wait to see the pics.

sounds great, amazing price too. is it a GM performance crate 396 or some other make?

It's a 1966 engine block-so its an original 396.

lol, rustoleum orange?  ;D I despise that color orange!

[quote]lol, rustoleum orange?

lol, ok, as long as it isn't rustoleum colored...

The 289 on the comet I have is a pretty shade of pale yelllow

Well like I said, it won't be in anytime soon-but here are a couple pics I took tonight when I got it bolted to its engine stand just before I rolled it into the corner (its new home for the summer).  As you can see, its just basically an engine-there are none of the accessories on it right now (no carb, headers, distributer, water pump, ect...) but it will have all that stuff when it goes in in a few months.  Anyway, here it is:







Well, there it is.  That last pic is a shot of the valve covers on it-I really like the "Cal-Custom" design.  They are kind of plain but they look like something that someone would have put on it back in the 1960s.

Also, an interesting discovery about this motor is the "High Perf" stamp on it.  I think this motor might have originally been in a 1966 Chevelle SS-it has casting stamps that indicate a 360hp Chevelle motor originally.  Its not that imporant (its has about 400hp right now) but it would be cool if it is an original SS motor and not just some pickup motor.

wow thats urmmm, bright??

wow thats urmmm, bright??

The first 2 photos make it look extra bright because the of the camara flash (as you can see, the background is pretty dark).  THe last shot, of the valve cover, shows the actual color the best.

Well that's not too bad a color for an engine, albeit a little bright, but not too bad..

nice engine, what kind of transmission do you have in your camaro?

nice engine, what kind of transmission do you have in your camaro?

It has the stock T/H350 3-speed automatic transmission that it came with.  I plan on using that transmission with the new motor but I will have it gone through and fixed up so it can handle the stronger engine (original 396 cars used the stronger T/H400 automatic).

very nice