Ok, here's what you'll need (according to Desktop Dyno, not the "little boy" next door... I love how people are so damn quick to criticize. )

355 (350CID with .030 overbore) rebuild kit (pistons, pins, rings, gaskets, head and rod bolts, oil pump (hi-volume)

Wedge/Pocket Porting Heads/Large Valves
-Look for DartII Or Sportsman II heads to fill this application.
Int. 2.02" Exh. 1.60"

Compression Ratio of 9.5:1

a 750 CFM carb

Good Dual Plane intake manifold

Small Tube Headders/Muflers

High Performance street roller cam
.441/.465 lobe center of 108* with retro-fit lifters

31 degrees of initial timing.

Total output is 424 ft/lb of TQ @ 4500RPM and 421HP @ 6500RPM
The TQ band never drops below 364 from 2000-6000RPM, which will make for a nice street machine.

I would definitly opt for stonger connecting rods as well.
400HP without nitrous.

With Nitrous the shopping list changes, and becomes much more expensive.

Eagle I-Beam Rods, Forged Pistons, 9.0:1 compression ratio and less timing. A hi-volume oil pump is a must.

I'm not going to tel you what to run. I hear good and bad on all parts of each argument, especially carbs and spark plug wires.Use your judgement and your budget as your guides for selecting the other parts.

Get a summit, jegs and northern autoparts catalog, they're all free online and pick the parts from those catalogs. Spend the $4.95 and get a PAW performance engine catalog too.

 

well, kevinL im going with the 355 so i can get reasonable gas mileage and for better reliabiltiy. a 383 just seems to be more money and more maintenance. dont worry ill build a 383 sometime just not right now. this is my first engine to build so im gonna start with a 355. 86bird thx for the info.......i cant decide if i want to use nitrous or not. i got a really good deal on the kit..i guess i should build the motor for nitrous and then decide if i want to use it or not. what do u think?

 

I AM IN SCHOOL STILL (7 YEARS) WHEN I STARTED I WAS IN YOUR SITUATION FRESH CLEAN 350 4 BOLT MAIN. I WANTED POWER AND RELIABILITY. I TALKED TO EVERYONE I KNEW. I BUILT THE 355 AND SPENT ABOUT 2900 TO GET IT GOIN...AND I WAS EXTREMLY DISAPOINTED. I TORE IT APART AND SCRAPED ALMOST ALL THE PARTS AND BUILT THE 383...NOW I AM SATISFIED. IT TOOK ME LESS $ TO DO IT TOO TOTAL 2400 PARTS AND ALL ME AND MY FRIENDS LABOR. I WISH I COULD BE THERE TO HELP YOU BUILD THIS ENGINE BUT I AM BOGGED DOWN WITH FINALS. LIKE I SAID BEFORE BUILD THE REAL ENGINE. IN THE LONG RUN YOULL BE AHEAD IN TQ, HP AND THE MOST IMPORTANT NUMBER OF ALL CURRENTCY. IF YOU WANT THE REAL BUILD SHEET EMAIL ME I AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO HELP YOU OUT. SEE YA ON THE STREET BROTHER

 

yea kevinL if you could send me the build sheet i would appreciate it. i talked to my mechanic today and he said there is no way of me gettin around spending 5 grand on a fast/dependable motor. i mean yea i want to lay on it and beat everyone on the track...but i also need to travel 2 hours from college on the weekends and be able to drive it home from the track. i really dont want to spend more than 3000 on the engine and labor. i know the tranny will need beefing up and the rear...ill do that a little later. my email addy is bassplayer103@hotmail.com just put something about 383 in the title....cuz i filter a lot of mail. thanks.
-Ryan-

 

I'd personally stay away from nitrous on a street car. It's a good way to get in a lot of trouble fast, especialy without beefing the tranny and rear. Just my 2 cents.

 

he's a kid in school, what he needs is bang for the buck.

383s are great, but the machine work costs $$$$$. a 400 delivers all the torque of a 383 and a few more cubic inches ... for less money.

i found an engine builder in washington state (heve to find the info again), who would sell me a .030 over 400 short block with arp rod bolts and hypereutectic pistons (flat top or dish, i'm going to go with the dish) for 795.00 with a 100.00 core charge. figure another 100.00 for shipping and you've got a grand in it.

the vortec heads modified for higher lift cams are around 650.00 a set from scroggins dickey.

with the right cam, induction and exhaust, that combination will easily make 400+hp and 450+ lbs ft torque and be reliable as hell .... all for less than 2500.00. i think the guy who earlier said you could only have two of the three: power, reliability and low cost was wrong. i don't think you can beat it.

years ago, i took a stock 400 dish piston short block, bolted on a set of 350/300hp heads that had been shaved .040, put a competition cams 268h economy cam in it with a weiand intake single plane intake, a carter thermo quad carb and a recurved gm hei ignition and ran 13.80s all day in a '70 chevelle with a turbo 350 trans, 3.31 gears and shifting at 5700 rpm.

i switched to an engle .510 lift, .310 duration solid lifter cam on a 100 degree center and an 850 double pumper holley and ran 12.40s with no other changes. it ran 11.70s with an nos 250hp nitrous unit ... all on regular grand am street radials and through the mufflers.

the vortec heads are much better than those 350/300 heads i used, and cam technology is much improved, too. there is a lot more there than what i got back in the day.

i think the smartest thing he could do is go with a 400.

 

he's a kid in school, what he needs is bang for the buck.

383s are great, but the machine work costs $$$$$. a 400 delivers all the torque of a 383 and a few more cubic inches ... for less money.

i found an engine builder in washington state (heve to find the info again), who would sell me a .030 over 400 short block with arp rod bolts and hypereutectic pistons (flat top or dish, i'm going to go with the dish) for 795.00 with a 100.00 core charge. figure another 100.00 for shipping and you've got a grand in it.

the vortec heads modified for higher lift cams are around 650.00 a set from scroggins dickey.

with the right cam, induction and exhaust, that combination will easily make 400+hp and 450+ lbs ft torque and be reliable as hell .... all for less than 2500.00. i think the guy who earlier said you could only have two of the three: power, reliability and low cost was wrong. i don't think you can beat it.

years ago, i took a stock 400 dish piston short block, bolted on a set of 350/300hp heads that had been shaved .040, put a competition cams 268h economy cam in it with a weiand intake single plane intake, a carter thermo quad carb and a recurved gm hei ignition and ran 13.80s all day in a '70 chevelle with a turbo 350 trans, 3.31 gears and shifting at 5700 rpm.

i switched to an engle .510 lift, .310 duration solid lifter cam on a 100 degree center and an 850 double pumper holley and ran 12.40s with no other changes. it ran 11.70s with an nos 250hp nitrous unit ... all on regular grand am street radials and through the mufflers.

the vortec heads are much better than those 350/300 heads i used, and cam technology is much improved, too. there is a lot more there than what i got back in the day.

i think the smartest thing he could do is go with a 400.

 

oops ... that engle cam was on a 110 degree center, not 100 degree.

 

Seanof30306,
Could you get me some info on this guy? I'm in the search for a cheap 400 short block also.
Thanks,
-Kyle

 

if your after 400horse, and 415 lb ft of torque. a fairly budget 350 will get you there without any problems. will be dependable, as reliable as a 400horse small block gets, and well... fuel economy's not that great but the other two are achieved.

don't need any real fancy parts, dont' need stroker cranks, but if your planning on using nitrous i'd suggest a forged crank and pistons.

the plan is simple to get there.
Zero deck the block, flattop pistons(forged), X rods, i went with a 4130 crank, but a gm steel one will fit the bill. ballance it all. Xe274 cam, 1.5 roller rockers, vortec heads, valve job, and bowl work, performer rpm intake, 1" spacer and 750 vac sec holley. 1.75" headers. and you've got your 400horse/415lb foot small block that's tame enough to drive around and have fun with. tweak the suspension up, get a good trans and converter behind it, and you'll get to low 12's through the exhaust.

i know.. cause that's how mine is. from oil pan to carb, the motor ran 3300bucks. i'd consider that a budget minded build.

 

sweet. where did you order your parts from? also where did you get the core........was it new or junkyard or what? thx.