i own an 89 z28 and the modified 305 is slowly dying with 170k miles+. I want to know what the biggest possible motor i could jam into that engine bay and still keep my accessories. I want to go bigger than a 350, i was thinking of something like a 454, but i am just not sure if i can get it in there. Anyone have some knowledge in this department? Whats the Biggest Engine youve ever seen stuffed into the bay of a thirdgen...

BTW This engine will be ramaired, then eventually twin turboed...

400, 454, 396, 383? Some one HELP!

 

Before you go off on having the biggest engine, think about how much money you are willing to drop on this project. Let everyone know what your budget is and you will get some realistic replies.

 

any bbc will have the same outter demensions so if a 454 will fit a 502 will and if a 502 will fit so will a lot of other bbcs

 

dude a 383 and a 400 are small blocks. the 383 is a 350

 

How much do you want to spend? Looking at exotic combinations here's what you can do.

Using a SBC you can easily drop in a 434.
BBC has 2 options. Short deck and tall deck blocks.

The most common short deck block is 540. Going to a tall deck you can get 632.

So the question is asked again, how much do you want to spend?

Dropping in a 500+ hp engine needs more than just the engine. Be prepared to change the rest of the driveline and stiffening up the rest of the chassis to take the extra power because the stock vehicle isn't designed for it.

 

I dont want to go Bigger than a 454. I am ready to buy an engine off of http://www.rebuilt-auto-engines.com the total cost of the engine combo im looking for is going to be approx. $3500. I know I will have to reinforce the chassis and frame with new suspension, and Tranny(6 speed), but i am just looking for basic dimensions to see if a fuel injected 454 or around there will fit into the engine bay. Im just looking to see What you guys have seen, or believe could be done. I have up to $5500 to spend on a complete driveline Makeover.

 

Yes, its possible to squeeze a big block in a 3rd gen (as Steven has already demonstrated). Now lets talk cash. So you are spending 3500 on just the engine. What comes with that $3500 combo? What kind of fuel injection are you going to run? Will the stock fuel system support the needs of your new engine? Is $2000 going to be enough to cover the cost of SFCs, driveshaft (maybe), torque arm, probably a new rear end cause a 10 bolt probably wont hold up to 500hp very long if you plan on launching decently. Not sure, but you may need to ditch the AC. You'll also need some headers that fit, and good headers arent cheap. Not trying to crush your dreams or anything, I'm just trying to show you its wayyyy easy to get in over your head here. I know I have.....lol. I dont even want to add up all my recipets I have so far....

 

As far as easiness......stick with a big small block.....383, 406, etc

For sheer fun while driving (and pain when doing routine maintenance) go big block. 454's are easy to find. If money is not a concern then how about GM Performance Parts new 572ci crate motor that I just saw on Horsepower TV a few weeks ago

 

hey jay i hate to burst your bubble but 550 probably aint gonna get you there
at least not a bb with any sort of power

if youd like to see a bb for sale go to the classifieds and look under aug 16th there is a 468 for sale
i know because its mine

good luck jimbo

 

keith black 502

 

If your wanting a injected BBC with a 6 speed you better be thinking $10,000+.
$3500 engine+$1500 injection sys+$2000 6 speed swap+$1000 exhaust sys+ $1500 new rear end+$500 misc= $10,000. After all that you'd still need to do all the chassis work like SFC's, TQ arm and LCA's.

Just to put in the BBC alone figure the exhaust and another $500 for brackets and misc stuff and that doesn't include the final cost of the engine.

Stick with the smallblock unless your really prepared to spend alot of money just to be different.

 

Different is the goal.

 

hey jayb did u even sit down and somewhat figure this out. u obviously dont know what ur in for if u r on a budget

 

You want different?

426 Hemi
426 Hemi in the back seat

3.8 twin turbo in the back seat using vw rear and trans and an adapter plate.

 

I said different. Not Exotic or Insane...but lol thats an interesting concept, except, I wouldnt Put Mopar, in a chevy. It Just dont work.

 

And yes ive thought this out. I just diddnt want to spend more than 5500 on the engine...I plan on putting near 20 Grand into this car.

 

i think you got the idea that in order to go fast you need a big engine, you want different? go the GN route in an f body, they have parts that will push those 3.8's up past 1000hp. if you said you want to go w/ twin turbo any way it will be easier w/ an engine that has aftermarket twin turbo setups available.you could probably keep it all under the original hood for the sleeper look. i belive the 3.8 has the sbc bolt pattern and can be found in more readily available turbo regals

 

jay i just lowered the price on my motor to 6000
intake to pan with mini starter and water
along with serpentine pulleys


you can email me at jimme25@hotmail.com
if youd like some pics
thanks jim

 

honestly, you should start with a 400ci sb. thats what i did. i bought a complete long block for $325. i'm bringing the block and heads to my friends machine shop on saturday. you can git a **** load of torque from these motors. i sat down with my friend the other night and told him what i what and how much i have to spend. the whole motor is going to cost around $2000. not to bad it you ask me.

 

And you're going to need every penny of it too. I think you need to get more realistic. Define how you want to use this car and what's a reasonable expectation. Then choose your engine and drivetrain accordingly. You've already decided you want a big block but I don't think you realize what it will cost and how limited you will be on when and where you can drive the car.

However, I will sell you my supercharged big block if you want it. I've been trying to sell it for some time now.

 

I think a rear engine thirgen would be sweet but It would have to be a V8.

even just a 350 would fly. get a custome convertable top for the hatch.

LS1, Cobra Rustang, pulls up next to you at a light. Drop the top and let them see an all chrome V8 in your hatch rocking back n fourth. They will **** themselfs.

That may be woth while to go AWD on too.

But its possiable withthe cash you are willing to spend. Espically if you just go 350. with the motor back there, you would not need anything bigger.

 

Gumby, Ive got to hand it to you. Thats a pretty damn interesing idea you got. Whether or not i could ever pull it off is another question, but you know that you've got a very imaginative head.
What other crazy ideas could you think of? I like the idea of the 350 in the back. I found a 350 twin turbo crate engine over at Nelson Racing Engines. http://www.nelsonracingengines.com That would fit this applicaition perfectly. I wonder if I could pull this off...

 

Why not the 925hp $17,200 632 BBC that is for sale in the Summit catalog? I don't know if that Hardcore Racing is any good, but that seems to be a pretty damn big engine in my opinion.

 

Two words...Street Legal
Another 2.....Weekend Diver

 

If it has to be street legal then you're going down a dead end trail. It might be helpful to look at your State government website and find environmental laws related to engine swaps. You'll find you are restricted from doing what you desire. However, you might be able to find an exception somewhere that allows you to license the car under a classification that exempts you from being emissions compliant.

 

Ive Never heard of this Before...Are there anylinks as to where i might find some information on these retrictions that you know about? I live in a part of ohio that has alot of antique cars and dragways. Our emissions laws i would bet are very leinient. did i spell that right?

 

you can do anything you want in ohio. only thing anyone will bug you about is if its too loud. I have 3 oil plants , 1 coal burning power plant and one nucular plant all in 2-25 miles of my house. be damed if they are gonna bug me about my cars tiny ammount of polution.

 

Starting at your State website you can search on items related to EPA standards (vehicle emissions) and vehicle licensing. It's not going to be layed out in an obvious fashion but the information is there. You can also call your State Patrol office because they are likely the legal entity that is required to enforce these things. I know when I called the State Patrol back home they had no time or intention of checking anything.

Air standards will be checked in areas now and then and those areas will usually be divided by governmental county. If the air quality meets a certain standard then there will be no emissions testing. If the air quality does not meet a certain standard then you will have emissions testing in your area. The same laws apply regardless of whether or not you have emissions checking. The difference is that you'll be easily caught in one area and not easily caught in another.

So whether you "can or can't" do anything you want (as Gumby suggests) is not the issue. It's whether you "will or won't" do what you want is the issue. If you're not in an area that requires regular emissions checking then you probably will not have to deal with the consequences of driving an illegal vehicle.

 

if there going to come and get me over my car polluting the air... their going to find a way to tag me anyway. So My motto is, If your going to do it. Do it all the way.

And its not like Ohio is California...

 

The nuclear plant doesn't emit any air pollution.

 

yea but it almost nuked us all, it got shut down cause acid was leaking and ate through 6 inches of an 8 in cap. and they just happened to notice it before it killed us all.

worst part is they plan to refire the dam thing. and again no one will ever notice anything wrong untill we almost die.

screw the EPA, I also live in a major trucking zone, fix them dam trucks pumping out black a$$ dirty disel smoke.

There is no way they will ever get that epa **** around here. No way there are gonna screw with my enjoyment while they let commercial industry poison the air.

and dont matter how big you build a motor, if its tuned right it will run and burn clean.

 

By "nuked" I think you mean blown up. A nuclear power plant doesn't blow like a bomb.

No, you aren't going to die from a leak at the plant. It would take a major catastrophie for you to die, plus you'd have to ignore all public warnings to evacuate the area, and then you'd likely die many years later from cancer.

Trucks are getting cleaner all the time. Engine manufactures have to burn "clean" these days and they are not allowed to spew black smoke everywhere. As the newer machines become more common the problem will grow smaller.

And it does matter how large the engine is. As the engine grows in size it becomes increasingly difficult to manage emissions output.

 

Im going with a 406 sbc bored 0.050 over, stroker. I am going to purchase it for $3057. The heads are ported, 218cc intake, 69cc Exhaust, Hedman Headers, and flowmaster 3 in NO CAT true dual exaust. I have found a rebuilt T56 6 speed Tranny for another 600. My thirdgen an 89 z/28, has been stripped down to the chassis. Where I am now cleaning it and rebuilding it. Ive added a 12 bolt Moser Rear with a 3.55 Posi Unit in the bellhousing. Its got four wheel Disc Brakes. I just purchased some extra thick sway bars that should handle the cornering of my 3,400 lb beast. i rebuilt the front end with the polygraphite performance package, and Have a dropped spindle and Eibach Lowering spring package on backorder. The performance shop down the street performance plus, is going to do all the sfc and tourque arm work. They are also going to reininforce the chassis before they add the sfc's somehow, I dont know how they do it.

Well...after allthat is finished, Back on goes the sub-body, and then on goes the refurbished bodypeices, that ive had stripped, smoothed and primered.
Then on Goes the Agressive Stance Body Kit, that widens the vehicles stance to about 80" i think and allows for larger rear and front tires.

This Camaro Is going to be BadAss...Im going to drive it for awhile, And then, Ill Probably Sell it and start my next project. My 77 Vette daily driver.

Hows That sound...

 

Sounds like a better way to go...much cheaper than a big block. BTW a 406 isn't a stroker, its a .030 over 400.
I hope you mean you have added a posi to the 12 bolt housing...it would be really tough to fit a posi in your bellhousing, esp with the clutch/flywheel/pressure plate/throwout bearing in there!
Good luck with your project!

 

im not a true gearhead...sorry for my mistakes...lol

 

Sounds like a much better idea than a big block. Good luck!