kdailey4315

Hey all,
This is my first post. My father died about a month ago and left me his 87 IROC with a tired LB9 305. I want to totally restore this car, just shy of a frame off reto. Suspension, engine, everything. My goal is 300 rwhp but I live in the lovely smog controlled state of California. Does anyone on this board live in CA and have 300rwhp? If so, what kind of engine do you have and what do you have on it? I have a 5.7L bare block that I want to build I just don't know what to use to get my smog legal 300 hp. Any ifo would be great. This is a great resource and I look forward to using it.

leeperryracing

Hey bro, sorry about your dad and welcome to the site! 300rwhp from an emissions era car in Cali is gonna be a challenge...not saying it can't be done but in a state as **** about emissions as Cali, you got your work cut out for you. To get 300rwhp, that engine has to be making about 360-370 @ the crank...the emissions from an engine with that power is gonna be a little high, worse if not TUNED properly. I would suggest going fuel injection on your build up...it'll give you a lot more room where emissions and tuning is concerned(if the price of the kit is not a factor), good luck man!

adambros

iTrader: (2)

Hey man, welcome to the boards. You'll find the answer to all your questions here if you do alot digging and have a little patience . . .
It can be done. The BIG problem you will run into is tuning.
I recently had a hi-po street legal 350 SBC built that when all is said and done should put out close to 300hp rwhp.
The building and installing can be referred to as the easy and fun part. But don't for a moment think you can achieve your 300+hp goal without signifigant attention to the tuning of the motor.
Good Luck !

kdailey4315

Thanks for the info guys. I kinda realized that 300 rwhp is quite a lofty goal. I would love any input from fellow CA drivers. What kind of setup are you guys running, and how many ponies are you putting out? I'm just looking for some power to put all these mustangs and ricers away. How about 250-275 at the wheels?

leeperryracing

Yep, a somewhat mild 350 thats carefully built will easily muster 275rwhp. You'll want to focus your efforts into heads, cam, valve-train and induction. If you're the one to shop around for good deals on parts, you can build a kick *** 350 without holding up the brinks truck lol!

adambros

iTrader: (2)

The short list :
5.7L 350 SBC bored .030 over
TRW hyperutectic pistons @ 10.1:1
Hyd Roller Cam 218/224 @.05 112 LSA
Edelbrock Performer Aluminum Centerbolt heads
Edelbrock Performer Intake Manifold
Aluminum roller rockers
Turbo City High flow TBI Unit
75lb Big Block injectors @ 20psi
Edelbrock 3" TES Headers
High flow 3" CAT
3" Cat-back exhaust w/flowmaster

With my stock 55lb injectors and an 85% tune I recently put out 215rwhp on a "Mustang" dyno (which is quite odd when you look at BSFC formulas). I'm still tuning for the new 75lb injectors but I hope to be somewhere around that mark when all is said and done.
That brinks truck . . . yeah, it made a few stops around my way.

leeperryracing

Kdailey, I would say have a closer look at adambros's spec list, it is along the lines of what I was thinking about off the top of my head...with a combo like that you'll make decent power and it shouldn't be a pain in the *ss to pass emissions.

TA

iTrader: (1)

The goal is not all that tough, it will just be costly. My first inclination is to recommend a blower kit (Vortech type). The blower kit bolted on to a stock 5.7 TPI, you will be just above your goal. I don't know the figures for a 5.0, or if they are legal on a carb'd car, I think they are specific for only a few applications to be smog legal, but smog legal they are!

If you purpose build the motor for the blower (less compression, bigger blower pullys and a blower cam, better heads, better intake manifold, etc,) and do a targeted tune on the TPI, I would expect more in the area of 400RWHP. Money talks. This will probably require 15K to do it that way, you willl need a lot of help and good advice, and then you will nuke the tranny and rear end. Power corrupts your bank account!

Good Luck!

Troy
So Cal

adambros

iTrader: (2)

oh yeah, dont forget for 500 bucks you can get add a nitrous kit that is perfectly smog legal !

leeperryracing

For 15k, he could/can get a blown 383sb like mine...I have like almost 14k total in my motor and when I see corvettes and cobras, I don't even look twice.

Tremo

I'm thinking that if he wants HP, then the easiest way to do that without getting too radical with the cam and compression (which will then not pass smog) is with cubic inches. IMO he should start with a 383. Getting a 383 to put out 360 HP at the crank with some sort of fuel injection and a roller cam shouldn't be too hard. To pass the idle sniffer test, he'll need a cam without a lot of overlap, so something with a big LSA might work well. Doesn't Comp make a hyd roller with a 114 LSA?

kdailey4315

I like the idea of a blower on top of a stock 5.7. Can anyone tell me more about that? How about a supercharger?

1989GTATransAm

iTrader: (3)

I can think of maybe five 300+ rwhp cars here in SoCal. Kevin91Z is one with about 318RWHP and posts on the site. Take a look at the Southern California section of the this board.

I just redid my 1989GTA and hope to be above 300RWHP. Maybe 400 at the crank. Just now breaking in the rebuild. When I do that I will get a dyno tune. Allen

Streetiron85

There are a lot of cars in Ca that have that much power.
Sometimes you have to cheat a little bit. You may not have 300 rwhp at the time of the test, but you have 2 yrs to deal with that issue before the next one.
At least that's one of the options that I have in mind for when I finally get mine running.
In fact.... Who out there doesn't re-adjust their timing after leaving the smog station?
Strokers are one of the best ways to cheat that I know of.
What it all boils down to is, building an engine isn't for dummies, if you're smart you'll figure something out. It can be kind of frustrating finding out all the info, but TGO is a great resource for that. Do as many searches as you can stand. I was really surprised at some of the combos that guys had that passed smog.
You don't really need a CARB approved cam. It's possible to go quite a bit larger and still pass the sniffer test, and you won't fail the visual because of a cam or a stroker crank.

TA

iTrader: (1)

Follow these links. They have info on the Vortech and the Procharger kits for TPI Cars. They specify '88 and later because they are designed to be used with the serpentine belt setup of the '88 and later cars. If you tell the smog guy that you have an '88 engine in your car, it will be perfectly legal. (you have to tell him the engine is an '88, otherwise the CARB legality is wrong for your year car. Stupid, but VERY easy to get past if you tell him the engine is an '88).

Either of these kits will easily get you 300+ RWHP if bolted onto a 5.7 with a cat back. The intercooled versions will be closer to 400 RWHP. No hassle, decent gas mileage, and no worrying about if your car passes or not out the pipe after an engine buildup. It is possible to reach the goal naturally aspirated, as stated.

Good luck

Troy
So Cal

http://www.superchargersonline.com/p...r=V4GF218-060S

http://proficientperformance.com/Mer...&Store_Code=PP

Streetiron85

Just wondering... Wouldn't telling the smog guy that the engine is an '88 bring the smog ref into the picture, because it's an engine swap?
I'm pretty sure it would because I've always heard that any engine change from a later model calls for an inspection by a ref.