TheFool

It's been a while since I last logged in, but anyways, I'm starting engine repair college course soon and I plan on doing something with the engine. I want to get the best bang for the buck while still considering other components of my car such as transmission, driveshaft, rear end etc. I'm giving myself a budget of 2000 more or less. I'm not looking for a whole lot of power, but I figured since I'm tearing down a 350, why not consider a 383? but then again, I have a T5 transmission which I'm afraid won't hold up. I'm still very new to all this so have patience with me haha thank you

BumpaD82

IMHO if you undo the main caps on a old school SBC, 383+ it becomes !

With your budget look into a Vortec head setup on a cast crank (compromise), and a carefully selected cam, in a 383 setup ... Keep it under 6200 rpm to be safe and you'll be THRILLED ! with the results

Apeiron

If you need to replace the rotating assembly anyway, the cost to build a 383 is the same as to rebuild it as a 350.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

I'd always go 383 if you need new rotating assembly for a street car. Even for a drag car. Thats free cubes as its generally same price for parts, but most importantly its the torque you gain.

But since you dont seem to be shooting for high hp and high rpm, and with a t5 you may not need to go 383. Could save some money reusing stock crank. My buddy did a new piston package in his stock bottom L98 and with nice heads cam package went 12.2's with valve float issues. Bad springs in heads but if he had fixed that it would have been a mid higher 11 sec car

redneckjoe

383!

86LG4Bird

iTrader: (1)

$2000 is not a lot of money to do anything major.
I'd try to put a good chunk of it toward the top end of the motor, which is where the power is made, whether stock cube or stroker.
Please don't spend money on a cast aftermarket crank; they are all a downgrade from the stock crank. And a good forged rotating assembly will immediately blow your budget.
I'm running a completely stock bottom end in my Impala, except for ARP rod bolts and reconditioned stock rods, and reliably making over 500 hp for several years now, with the occasional nitrous hit which pushes it over 650 at the crank.
Chances are you won't get as lucky as I did with the shortblock and will need new pistons, but my bores were close enough on taper and roundness, that I needed only a hone to true them up and re-used the stock hyper pistons.
I did only what was required for a robust bottom end, and put the money into a great heads/cam package.
Just an example. I know I'm not the norm; for every person that does it this way, there are 10 others that build a stroker and never get the potential from it because they don't let it breathe with a good topend setup.

TheFool

Thank you to everyone who posted, but I'm still a bit stuck. Some great ideas nonetheless. Anyways, I'm a bit stuck because if I have to (and that's HAVE TO) replace the rotating assembly, the cost between rebuilding a 350 vs build a 383 will be equivalent, according to what some guys say here...but according to 86LG4Bird, there's is no point in building a 383 since I have a T5 anyways. Basically, my whole situation is I don't want to blow my transmission lol so let's just hope I won't have to replace my rotating assembly. I also forgot to mention that I also have to replace my pinion seal soon so I'd like to save a bit of $$ if possible. thank you.

DeltaElite121

Equally as much - a lot of people overbuild in general and apply their money in the wrong spots and still expect atypical results like yours. I had to ask myself if I wanted a 396 sbc or a really WELL built 355. I went with the 355 because I wanted to do it right and have an awesome motor instead of a built shortblock with a crap top-end.

Like you said, a stroker is pointless if you don't match the parts that are required to feed it more.

Work within your budget, and whatever you do end up doing - do it right the first time.

TheFool

I agree...which is why I'm leaning more towards just rebuilding the 350.

DeltaElite121

You don't need a stroker to go fast, it just makes it easier.. But then we get into the "what about a bigger motor than a 383"... And that's when you come to realize anything can be made fast with deep enough pockets. I think a 383 is a great idea if you have the income to support the build properly. Equally as much - a nice 434 sbc or a LS2 swap would also be cool. Just depends what you want, ultimately. Just play smart and you'll do just fine.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Money in the heads and valvetrain will take you farther and faster than a built bottom with mediocre top end

TheFool

Well then, I guess I'll be going for the rebuild. I will probably be going with a cheap rebuild kit, and use the rest of my $$ to repair the pinion seal and possibly a new clutch since my current clutch is starting to wear out....any reliable sites I could go to that sell fairly cheap rebuild kit??...or is that a bad route to take?

Apeiron

If you have to rebuild the bottom end anyway, then there's not much reason to not stroke it.

Anti-Venom

If the bottom end absolutely needs to be rebuilt, then by all means stroke it. By the time you pay for a stock crank to be ground and balanced, you could have bought a stroker crank.

If your transmission is a t-5, then baby it untill you can put a t-56 under there.

Speed costs money. You have to be honest with your wallet.

danziger

Even with the stock top-end, the stroker will be a more enjoyable street car.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Agreed, assuming his stock crank needs replaced. If not you can go pretty fast on stock crank and rods. 11 sec is definately doable

Not sure whats wrong with the bottom end, if it just needs polished and new bearings rings and hone then its cheaper to just refresh on stock parts

TheFool

So I guess I've decided to just rebuild the 350 with a mild rebuild kit and use the rest of the $$ I have left to repair the pinion seal on my rear end and replace the clutch in my transmission. In all honesty, the 350 is enough power for me right now. I'll probably just save the extra $$ I have left for an LS swap in the future.

cuisinartvette

Nothing wrong with that
If I can say this..have built a 350 too many ways and never happy....even with 500+. Now when you stroke it they start feeling like you think they should you got that extra torque the entire time thats what most are looking for.

If you werent gonna redo the 350 id do the stroker bottom end and upgrade heads when you can still driveable in the meantime.

Have fun

MMroc86

Good info here.

Glad your being honest with your budget & sticking with what you can afford, instead of over indulging...

I'm trying to decide what to do on my end as well. Tryna hit mid 11's & from what I'm reading here it looks like it can be had with a 350, so I think I'm going that route to....

TheFool

Thank you to everyone! I truly appreciate the insight since this is my very first car and kinda dove into the engine rebuilding lol The knowledge you guys give keeps me motivated I'll let you guys know how it goes! ...and also, before I forget, what are some reputable sites I could order my rebuild kit from?

wbstearns

i know this is not what you really want to hear but on a 2k budget i would buy a t56 and a good 4th gen axle and c5 rims and just do as little as is needed machine wise on the engine a hotcam and aluminum vette heads and i think you would be far happier with the results and yes depending on your region and new or used parts and luck on ebay and craigslist this could be well over the 2k budget but i have found c5 rims for $100, t56 for $800, 373 4th gen posi $300, vette heads $300, but im in Saint Louis somewhere else could be a lot different I also found a basket case 383 short block minus 3 pistons for $200 with a steel eagle crank so luck is a huge factor for shoestring budgets

TheFool

Wow! That's Great! That's pretty much what I'd like to go for in the future (but with an LS swap), but as of now, I'm just going to save the "little" money have right now and use to it to spruce up the parts on my car. I don't want to go too crazy with modifications right now...I still have to paint the car lol

wbstearns

if you are thinking ls swap then do that instead of putting money into the small block buy an ebay harness and you can pick up a 5.3 cheap ive seen them around here for less than $300 and you will be making more power than the 350 with better mpg and get the drivetrain done and drive the car ugly for a while dont do it halfway and then redo the drivetrain and risk messing up the paint job it just doesnt make sense at least not to me

TheFool

As much as I'd like to, I can't. I have such a short time during the semester to get my engine out, rebuild it, and getting back running again.

TheFool

So I finally got the engine and transmission out together as of yesterday. Boy, was I happy, since this was the first time I've done this hehe . Also have a picture of a friend's z28.

EDIT: Mine is a mess compared to his lol

TheFool

Sorry I haven't been updating, been real busy in my automotive class.
So I'm just about done with my engine and ready to throw it in next week. Come to find out my engine has been bored .030 over and it believe it was been rebuilt once before. I ported and polished the heads, got a double roller timings chain, and a 262/268 Lunati Cam shaft...I came across a little problem though. Well, this actually happened earlier when I first extracted the engine. So I was trying to detach the accessory brackets from the heads, but 2 were on so tight that I stripped the torx bolts. I managed to get them off with a pipe wrench, so that was good. anyways, could anyone help me out with the replacement torx bolts? or maybe a hex bolt that I could use in place of them? It would be much appreciated....and this is how my engine looks like now