Some basics of my setup first:
Its a 10.1 cr 383 SBC, 0.534/0.537 lift cam that makes 18" vac at idle, Fastburn heads, dual plane intake and a quadrajet, 525 ft lb at 4700 rpm, 467 hp at 5400 rpm. I street drive the car as well as race it on autocross and road course events 15-20 times a year.
During it's first season, I noticed significant oil blow by coming out the breather on the pass side valve cover, the driver side VC has a PCV valve plumbed to the carb. I'm investigating cures ranging from a engine driven Vac pump setup to just a catch can with a breather. My main concern is capturing the escaping oil, but I'm trying to figure out if putting a complete crankcase evac setup on the car would be a worthwhile investment.
I just started reading about the vacuum pumps yesterday and a few things concern me. It appears that they are mainly used in drag race applications to free up a few horsepower and to help the rings seal to make a little more power. I also read that the pumps need a little bit of oil to go thru them to keep them lubed.
I'm not really trying to eek every last little bit of power out of the engine and it gets street driven regularly...will a vacuum pump survive under just regular driving...not getting rung out on ever single run like a drag race application? And is it worth the cost (like $750-1000) and the hassle of mounting one and trying to run a belt to it for my application?
Or should I just plumb in a catch can tot he pass side valve cover and call it good?
Now onto that part... Is there a way to adapt a -12 type fitting to my existing breather hole in my valve cover or is my only option to have a fitting welded to the valve cover somehow? I'm not opposed to modding them but if I didn't have to it would make this more of a home remedy type job.
Here are some engine pics for reference...as you can see there is a lot going on under there so space is at a premium.
I welcome any ideas from those with experience in this area.