LS4GXP

iTrader: (2)

I bought a eagle forged kit from summit, came with forged rods, forged pistons, with a steel crank, $1500

all forged $1800+

non forged $600+

I was in your same shoes a few months ago. I had a free donor 96' block. Told myself $3000 budget. When the time came to order the bottem end i said to myself.....Do it right the first time so your not doing things twice. Off topic just for a second as an example.

I wanted a motorcycle (first one ever) so i said i dont need speed, anything will be fast for me. So instead of a new gixxer600 i bought a SV650s. plenty of power for me......2 months later.....I wish i went with the bigger bike. Point of that story is just dont make same mistake i did, Do things right the first time.

You have a second car it sounds like, unlike some other people your ahead of the game. IMO dont cheap out on the bottom end. Once your comfortable with that 350hp you can then add the extra 150 shot and not worry about pistons and rods. Get where am going with this? lol

Atilla has a bunch of builds for 400hp mark for 383's, check out his sticky threads, without double checking it am pretty sure theres alot of vortec builds, which are good cheap heads. https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...st-builds.html

When i started my "build list" i started with what heads i wanted to use, then chose the cam/intake combo. Ill end my rant with a good luck on the build you choose, but if you wait that extra few months to save a few more $$$$ you will be happier in the long run, i know i am right now.

And by the way am jelouse of both you colorado guys i lived in boulder, CO for 3.5 years when i was 13, soooo nice out there, i miss it.

327sleeper88

Id say build and engine around a good size cam.

aluminum heads will outperform iron ones because you can increase the compression ratio a full point. if the compression was the same, and the flow figures were the same, then cast iron heads might slightly better aluminum heads. but the Compression increase is worth more HP.

shoot for a compression ratio of at least 10:1. Colorado has thinner air, we can run a full point higher compression then a comparable engine at sea level. i have experience with high compression and NO detonation.


get an Eagle cast steel crank, scat 4340 forged rods(5.7" or 6"), and some dome top forged pistons.

MassD

iTrader: (1)

Like 327 said cast steel crank from eagle or scat dosnt matter. They run like 200 bucks. Then a good set of forged rods and pistions and you should come under the 830 dollar mark of the kit i said before. However those come preassembled with rings and all so it might be easier for a novice. You have to look at that to

MassD

iTrader: (1)

http://www.jegs.com/i/Eagle/356/B13455E/10002/-1

ASE doc

I never heard anyone answer the OP's question,"what is blueprinting?" Blueprinting is verifying tolerances in the rotating assembly. It's also known as "clearancing". Most machine shops charge an extra $75 -$100 for the service. You can do it yourself in several hours with alot of expensive tools. I prefer to let my machinist do it for me. If you start with quality peices, your machine shop bill, including bore and hone cyls(with torque plates), line hone, deck, cam bearings, and clearancing will run about $600. Not doing this will almost assure you of wasting alot of money on go fast parts that will end up scrap metal. Also, dont scrimp on the oil pump. For HP small block Chevy, Melling P/N 10555C is the pump.

MassD

iTrader: (1)

Dont waste money on machining an old block. Just buy tht 383 block for 600 bucks and call it a day

ASE doc

Even buying a premachined block, you need to have it checked and the rotating assembly clearanced to assure it wont have issues. Youre talking about buying a block from one supplier and a rotating assembly from another supplier you cant expect them to fit together precisely. Ive even purchased complete engine kits and found them to be way off on assembly. The advantage to buying quality parts and a premachined block is that it probably will require less machining. Still, dont skip the machine shop. Ive built more brutal small blocks than I can count. The ones that lived to the end of race season were the ones that went to the machine shop.
My 355 screamer was balanced at 6,000 rpm, because thats where its built to run. It was blueprinted to .0001 of an inch to eliminate any chance of a tight or loose bearing spinning or causing an oil pressure loss. Ive been driving this motor hard for 11 years and I took it out last night and pulled a 2-3 upshift at 7,000rpm. 50 -100 mph in 5 seconds. Oh yeah! I can run this motor this way and not sweat it because I spent a little extra money on good machine work.

ghostride4

well i always planned on having the block clearance done at a machine shop. at the moment i am looking into costs of getting it machined/ a few different kits, heads, stuff like that.

ASE doc

Cool beans. BTW. Select your machinist carefully. Dont go with the machine shop at your local auto parts store. If theyre like the ones Ive seen, theyre dirty and their machines are ancient and badlly worn. You wont get close tolerances on those machines no matter how you try.

You want to find the shop lined with race motors on pallets ready to go out the door. My machinist, Archie Somers in Vancouver, Wash, has rows of 355-360 small blocks with dyno tags attached that say: 720HP @ 7,800RPM you want the guy that builds these engines everyday doing your machine work. He'll also have valuable advice on what parts to use to acheive the power level youre after. You might want to go find this guy in your area now and talk to him about your plans. For one thing its extremely cool to visit that shop. Just looking at those brutal engines going together will make you feel alive.

torque_is_good

Sorry folks, new to this forum but not new to the game.

To the OP- is your heart set on building an engine from scratch and you absolutely must have 350WHP? (400 or so at the flywheel)

If so, then build and spend away

Or, is the goal to get a 350(ish) engine into the car?

If the latter, then have you checked the economy lately?

I'm all done with my 95 Z28 and have now picked up a 3rd gen and am debating just rebuilding/refreshing the 305 (I'm doing a budget restoration for resale) or dropping in a different engine. Around my area i've found already rebuilt motors for $700- $1,000 and some are 4 bolt and already have reworked heads and cam. I've found LT1's for well under $1,000 in good shape with the computer and harness. I even found one with a 4L60E and the tranny was rebuilt and it was $1200 for the entire combo including computer. Now a bolt on LT1 (long tube headers) 1.6 rr's with a tune would get you in the high 290's WHP and a cam change would get you right where you want to be and you're in for short dollars. You could then later on send the heads out when you need that extra 40-50 RWHP.

You could also try and find an LSx engine but they are still pricey

so, if you simply want to spend money and do the build yourself then pay no mind to me.

or, if you simply want more engine under the hood then heed my advice

good luck