I keep going back and forth between a 383 stroker, and a BAD 350. This car will most likely be my daily driver, and I AM going to college in a year, so it can't cost TOO much. I want to replace my 305 TBI and 700R4, for a T56, and one of these engines. I plan on building it myself, mostly, so the simpler the better. I'd like to go fuel injected, if possible, but again I don't know much about engines and computers.
I'd like enough power to possible keep up with LS1's. If that'd be possible. I'm just....not sure anymore. Any help, comments, suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

A 383 isnt going to work as hard to make the same power, so it'll last longer. Thats how I look at it. Cubes are funny that way, dont need all the RPM's. Might get what you need with a totally streetable 350 though too.

What sorta power, or what ET's are you looking for? How much money ya got to burn?

 

I have the same problem. 350 or 383? I want to be able to drive it every day if I want too. And it would nice if it could get down into the 13s. What do you guys think

 

Dont need a 383 for 13's.

 

A nice 350 with 5.85" rods will work wonders on the street. I'm not a big fan of the 3.75" stroke for certain reasons, but I'm not going to stop you if you're heart is set on that setup.

Fuel injection and a roller cam are IMO a must. For simplicity, I'd go for a complete PN 99-103 MPFI setup from Holley.

But as madmax has already said, how much money do you have to burn? I can suggest a few magical setups that fit into different budget ranges.

 

Thanks, so what's the cost difference between a 13 second 350, and a 383? I know there are a lot of variables, but use your best guess, please. I'd like TPI for the 350, and probably, a 4-bbl carb for the 383. I'm getting a 350 from a '77 Monte Carlo, so I have that to work with. What all would need to be changed for each of these set-ups? I know I have a lot of questions, but I'm trying to gather as much info as I can. Oh, by the way, my budget consists, of paychecks from a part-time job. I'm only 17 guys! Thanks a bunch. I appreciate it.

 

Also, the car has to be legal, meaning emisions and such. Which would be the easiest to tune to fool emissions folk? Also, in order to pass an inspection, does the engine have to look stock? I was planning on going to a couple of police auctions, so could an LT1 be legal in our cars? Or would it have to be a thirdgen sbc? Thanks,

 

a mild 350 with a t-56 and a good rear end would be a nice combo.

 

I was maybe thinking about mild 383 with TPI, and T56. What kind of things would need to be done to the TPI to support a mild 383?

 

If you just want to get into the 13's, I wouldnt build a 383. It'll just cost more. Get a decent set of heads, a cam like the LT4 hotcam, port the intake base, should be well into the 13's. I dont know what heads might be on that 350 you are getting, but if its like any other late 70's heads, they arent very good. Thats why I mention some different heads for your setup.

If thats still out of your budget, you'll want to pick up one of the better factory 350 heads (the L98 iron heads arent too bad) and port them yourself. Then take them to a machine shop and have a valvejob done, and that should work ok too.

 

Thanks, I am trying to build a decent performing motor, that can be driven on a daily basis? Are you saying a 350 is better suited for those than a 383? I'm getting the motor on Sunday from my uncle, so I'll ask as much as I can about the motor. What kind of heads would flow good? I'm leaning towards TPI because isn't fuel injected more efficent? Can I get the TPI baseplate from Edelbrock that fits early model and aftermarket heads? And get a set of SLP runners? I'm still not sure as to which heads, and cam. Any suggestions? Again, this will be my daily driver. later

 

I think either a 383 or 350 will be fine for performance and daily driving, I just dont think you need to spend the extra money it will cost to build a 383 because you can get well into the 13's with a 350. 383 added costs come in the crank, rods (if you change them anyway), and pistons. The block also has to be clearanced for the crank (added time or money), might need a small base circle cam (more money), and the oil pan might not work either even with some hammering. Too much headache that you dont need to do IMO.

Just to give you an idea of the combo I am working on now:
350
10.3:1
ported L98 Vette aluminum heads
SLP 51010 cam (224/232, really too big for what you want)
TPI (stock except siamesed and ported base, 58mm TB and requisite plenum modification)
1 5/8" shorty headers
~3600# car

We just ran a 13.6@103 with it, and there is alot more in the car. The 60' was 2.189 I think, it was almost 2.2 seconds, and thats pathetic. Its also losing a bunch of time on the 1-2 shift, anywhere from a half second to 1.5 seconds. Still working on tuning it properly, and getting it to hook up. I think if you went with a LT4 cam or LT4 hotcam, decent heads, and the TPI, you could easily hit mid 13's, and with some time and tuning, might even see high 12's. Thats with a 350. I really dont think you need a 383.
TPI is maybe a little more fuel efficient than a properly tuned carb, but I dont think its enough to write home about. I went with it for a few reasons, and it looks sorta stock. A non computer carb would have stuck out like a sore thumb to the smog ***** where I live.

As for parts, I think if you port the stock base, it'll be fine. If you can spring the cash for an aftermarket base and runners, it cant hurt. Heads, thats really a tossup. Lots of people use AFR's with good results. They are kind of pricey though. The TFS heads seem to do well too. I cant recommend edelbrock, Ive had bad luck with their parts in the past. There are also canfields (not many people use them), Pro-Actions (kind of new on the market), and Dart. Its more what you can afford, and has the features you want. All of them work pretty well when chosen correctly for your combo. Any of them will outperform stock heads. Only other option is having the stock head ported or if you are really adventurous to do it yourself, but that takes time, knowledge, and more money. By the time you are done, you might have some ok flowing stock iron, for a little more than half the cost of some aftermarket heads. Chances are though, the heads on that 77 engine you are getting arent much good for performance. Just a guess, you'd need to post casting numbers here and hope someone like RB or 5 7 chimes in and tells you exactly how bad they are

Do a search for TRAXION, 85MikeTPI, Kevin91Z, and see what they have done with their combos. I think you might get some good ideas from that.

 

Hey thanks a lot! I'll take a look at those.

 

Well, my uncle came and brought the engine today. It's kinda rusted. He said it'd prob be fine, some water got into the engine. He said, just put some automatic tranny fliud on the pistons and such, and let it soak. It's probably be fine after that. Since I'm planning on rebuilding it from the gound up, maybe anyway, it's be ok. Also, are L98 heads any good? They're aluminum right? The stock heads on this '75 are mighty heavy. I guess they're supposed to be like that huh?

 

If you have stock 75 350 heads, throw them away. Do not even attempt to slow down on the way to the trash. You have no hope whatsoever of getting anything resembling performance from them. They are one of the main reasons for that engine's magnificent HP output: 170 HP. Less than alot of 305s.

L98 heads would be a far better choice. The ones from Corvette L98s are aluminum the ones from F cars are iron and weigh about the same as those boat anchors you have.

 

You can get the standard abrasives porting kit and do a basic port/polish job on the heads you get, it's not too hard just time consuming.

 

They suck that bad? Atleast I didn't have to pay anything for the motor. L98 aluminum heads are better? Can't I get those a little cheaper since someone might be selling them used? Will aluminum heads fit older style blocks? Are they any different to port?

 

Yes they really are that bad... Even my unported 305 heads are better than those. The aluminum L98's are decent heads and are pretty good once ported. You can get them used, they came on vette's, the iron ones were used on thirdgens. All SBC heads will fit on all SBC's, aluminum or iron. (as long as the valves aren't too big for the bore causing valve shrouding, or even worse contact) When you port them, material will come off much easier than iron since the metal is softer. You also need to keep your cutters lubed or it will start to chatter and you could ruin the cutter or get some gouges in the ports. Search for a thread by Sitting Bull about porting, it'll show you everything you need to do.

 

Thanks, So, I'd like to put TPI on this motor, so does the intake manifold bolt onto the heads, or the block? So, with some ported aluminum L98 Corvette heads, a ported TPI system, and a decent cam. Would that be enough to determine some estimated times? I'd like to keep up with LS1's. Anything you can recommend? I'd like some good MPG.

 

The manifold bolts onto the heads. I'm not sure what kind of power you would get from it, just a wild guess would be about 330ish hp, but like I said it's a wild guess I don't really know what L98's put out. Personally I would go with carb, but some people prefer to go tpi.

 

Alright thanks. I jsut got some of my early Christmas presents today: How to Build Max Performance Small Block Chevy's on a budget, and John Lingenfelter on Modifying Small Block Chevy engines. So, I think these will help me a lot. Also, would some other induction be better than TPI or a carb?

 

I'm not a fuel injection guy, but if you go that way the super ram is supposed to be good. If I were building it though, I would go carb (I prefer mechanical rather than computer controlled, and to think my major is computer technology... ) and put a holley 4150 750cfm for a manual setup and a 4160 750cfm for and auto setup. If you didn't know the 4150 has mechanical secondaries and te 4160 has vacumn secondaries. I've been thinking about getting the book " How to Build Max Performance Small Block Chevy's on a budget", what do you think of it? Is it a good book, or not really worth it?

 

When looking for heads check your local classifieds, trading post, or ebay. I just picked up a nice set of big valve aluminum dart heads for under $200 off ebay. And to rebuild that motor, Summit has a complete rebuild kit with different compressions. You can grab a complete 10:72:1 compression rebuild kit for $256. Hey I'm only 17 too. I built my motor for about $800-900 and it is kick-A**. That price is including getting it blue-printed and balanced and bored .30 over to a 355. Need anymore infor pm me. Keep it real!

 

I like the book. Personally, I prefer the one that John Lingenfelter wrote because it has stuff about fuel injection. The other one has a lot about carbs, and hardly anything about EFI. I think I'm leaning towards EFI, and I'm thinking of a 383 w/Superram. Is a Superram legal? Or is there any other EFI that's legal, other than TPI. Keep in mind, my car will be my daily driver, and it has to pass inspection too.

 

I would stay with the 350, but thats up to you, Ive been thinking about a nice 350 with the super ram on it.

 

I actually have some l98 iron heads, and the tpi set up off of my car.... a 88 Iroc 350 tpi.... not sure what you have decided to do, but i know my car was real real close to the 13's with everything stock but the exhaust, and i have 2.77 rear end