Vega

Ok, youve heard it a million times but here's mine. Im considering swapping my 91' RS to a 350 or 383. Its my daily driver and will remain my daily driver. Im looking for as much power as i can get on a budget. Yes i know the whole "fast/cheap/reliable, pick one" saying but here's what i mean. Id like to rebuild a 350 re-using as many components as possible with the best output i can get. Im looking at using iron heads, most likely stock heads, want to bump compression to between 9.5 and 10, plan to run headers with true dual exhaust, preferably an x-pipe. Id love to build a 383 but i dont have a lot of money to work with and honestly im not looking for something rediculously fast, 350hp/400tq is about my goal. So i would like some info on what the best parts to look for are and how to go about this. I figure if i get a 350 and the rotating assembly needs replaced or mostly replaced then i'll just pony up for the 383 since it wouldnt be too much more anyway. My point of no return there is pistons and rods, if i have to replace all the pistons and rods then i figure i might as well go ahead and replace the crank with a stroker while im at it. The last bit i would like some info on is whether a gen 1 350 would be better or an LT1, i like the LT1s, i know they get better mileage, not sure how much better or worse they respond to upgrades than a typical 350, or how much more expensive they are to build or how much harder they are to swap.

Other things id really like to know about are:
Will my stock transmission work? Id prefer to not have to pull it and rebuild it or add anything to it, id like to run it as is if possible, if i were to pull it out of the car id want to just go the extra step and throw a 5-speed in.
And my rear end is certainly changing, its a peg-leg 2.70 or something like that something i think. Id like to know, are there any differential swaps i can do that are easy, straightforward swaps? And is it worth it to just swap to a 3.73 or 3.55 posi? Will the rear end hold up well? Should i be looking for a complete rear end swap?

Again id prefer to re-use as much as possible, so anything from my motor i can re-use, preferably re-use my transmission as it is without modifying it, and preferably swap my diff out for a posi-unit if the rear end is strong enough to be worth it.

Thanks! Looking forward to your feedback!

Vega

Guess i should have worded the title better, im really looking for some info and input on this. Id like to get all my ducks in a row before diving in, if i do this i want it to go as quickly and smoothly as possible as the car is my daily driver

thirdgenmattw

My opinions may be a bit unqualified since I'm a bit of a newb. But I'm planning nearly the same build on my 305 powered '87 RS. I hope I can help a bit.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...e-plan-my.html

That my first post about my build. Some of the other users' posts can be helpful to you.

Also, below is a list sent to me by 1gary. It has been helpful to me, in narrowing down my choices of engine combos.

http://www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com/combos1.html

A few things you should think about; for one, if you're going to get a used 350, it's going to need machine work. It's likely going to need an overbore, and the stock heads are more than likely to need a valvejob and guides. Now, just because you need to pull apart the block dosen't mean you should go with a stroker crank. The stock crank and rods are likely good enough. If you have to overbore it you will need pistons though. Also, if your heads need even a few hundreds worth in machine work, it might be better just to buy new ones. A cheap set of vortec heads will definately outperform stock heads.

http://sdparts.com/category/modified...cylinder-heads

Be aware that most stockish SBC heads aren't up to feeding a 383. It might not nessecarily make more power than a 350 with a proper top end built to suit. So if you don't also have the money to build a good top end for a 383...just think about it before you build.

Also, read the tech article on the main page about 'beefing up the 10 bolt'. It will enlighten you about keeping your stock rear. I'd also say forget about dual exhaust. It's going to be heavier, more expensive, and have less ground clearance than single exhaust. It's also not going to give you much if any performance advantage with a midle 350.

Hope this can help.

Vega

Thanks man! I'll be sure to check out those links. Yeah ive thought about machine work, not gonna lie it does kind of throw a wrench in my plans, i know machine work adds up quick and i already have a 455 i was considering building for a Cutlass project that would need all the same stuff anyway, so it does make me somewhat reconsider the plan. As far as the top end goes i was going to search for a good cheap short block with a roller cam setup and ebay a set of built ProComp heads. That being said i didnt consider the top end not being able to feed the extra cubes. Thanks for the input, ive got some brainsorming to do

Vega

Welp, its on. I went to check out a shortblock earlier today, got there, it looked okay, need a hot tank but other than that looks good, the guy said he was tired of it laying around and sold it to me for $20. Woot. Got it home, flipped it over, pulled the pan, its a 2-bolt motor, not a big problem for me as im not looking to make rediculous power with it, id be extremely pleased at 400hp and 450s about my limit, dont really wanna go higher than that. But with the pan off the bottom end and rotating assembly looks really nice, very clean and solid. I cant tell whether its a roller-cam motor or not, it didnt have the spider or heads when i got it, could anyone tell me how i could identify this without pulling the cam/lifters? I mean, i'll find out when i break the motor down anyway but was wondering if anyone might know how to ID it before hand.

So, plan is to break down the motor, get the block hot tanked, give it a light at-home honing, put everything back in with a rebuild kit, looking at aluminum ProComp heads on ebay, i read a 350 budget build in a magazine where they were very pleased with them and they have higher lift than Vortecs with slightly better flow and theyre aluminum, all for the same price, so thats what im looking for. If its a roller cam i'll re-use the lifters and look for an XE282HR or so from Comp Cam, maybe a Lunati. Im debating on keeping my TBI setup, the guy i bought the shortblock from has a TPI for sale for $50, should i jump on that? will it work with my TBI computer?

After this i might look into a 5-speed or 6-speed swap, i really want a manual transmission but im taking it a step at a time :-)