well this is the same **** u hear all the time but here it goes one more time

I have recently got me a new job makin about 1000 a month but all I the bills I pay is a 70 dollar phone bill and gas. so i got a little to play with, i aint rich by no means but, here to my thread point.... i drive to my girls house alot and its 21 miles from my door to hers i go there and back on mondays and there and back wedsdays an fridays maybe a few more times A WEEK!!! so i put alot of miles on my 86 iroc and the 305 tpi is on its way to meet its faith here soon i fell... but i want to start me a motor project so when the 305 dies i can replace it... here the catch i want to build something that will eat up imports and mustangs and stock ls1 and lt1's... just all around pretty good on the street so i am guessing 400 or more hp??? i want to go t56 but i think im gonna stick with the auto for a bit the go with the t56.. but i want a motor that will last me on the road and get decent gas mileage (i dont exspect much with todays gas prices but it whould help) and i dont want 2 build no 6+ thousand dollar motor either but i want a fast one to eat up some **** and want it to stand up to everyday driving??? got any ideas?? i was thinking about building a 383 but i dont know how that will hold up 2 driving everyday??? but what i want is all opioins on a potent combonation to drop into my 1986 irocz thanks
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ohh i forgot i plan on doing suspenion mods first before i put any power to what the body cant handle im just lookin for ideas on a garage product to start on

 

i plan in doing suspention mods first... sub frame connector and more before i add and power to it... i just lookin for ideas for a garage project to workin on until my 305 gives up

 

i would just go with a 355, with a good cam and head combo, u could do that for probably 3k or less i would think

 

a 355 is a lt1 and ls1 aluminuim block right??? i thinking about sticking with my tpi system hows that sound to yall????

 

then the thought of a BBC still run through my brain... how whould it hold up to everday driving?? i know it want get as good gas mileage as a small block but is it that much of a diffrence also is it worth it to have a big block

 

a 350 bored .030 over is a 355. it's your car but i wouldn't ever own a bb. i've seen a third gen with a 396 and it didn't look fun to work on, and i'm sure it wasn't too fun to make it fit in there. i'm building either a 400hp motor which is going to cost me about 5 grand or i'm building a 450hp motor with is going to cost me about 6,700. so if you're looking for power in the 400's then it's going to cost some cash. 2 or 3 years ago i built a 355 it had about 300hp and it costed me around 3,000 give or take i don't really remember. but this time i'm buying a complete ready to run motor because if i just build it myself it'll cost more. why spend more plus the labor why i can just buy it all ready to go? so maybe check out jegs for a complete motor of your taste and i'd go with that.

 

Not to mention that a BBC would most likely not be streetable.

 

One man's defination of unstreetable is another's defination of mild. A "streetable" BBC is not that hard to accomplish. And if fuel economy isn't a major consideration, it's probably the easiest way to acheive the power goal.

When you do it, you might as well do the whole thing, engine and transmission. If you build a 400+ HP motor, you're going to have to build the transmission, so rather than pour money into the auto which you're never going to get back, put it into the T56.

As for the engine to go with, "streetable" and "power" go hand-in-hand with LT1 and LS1. You could install an LT1/T56 with upgrades to the LT1 to get the HP # probably for less money than any other option, and it would have the street manners and economy that you're not going to get with any option other than LS1.

Hopefully your realize that the stock rear isn't going to stay happy very long. Better add a couple grand to the budget for a 12-bolt.

 

for some reason when i see a 406 i get a good feeling in my stomach i cant explain??? you know the pros and cons of building a 400 sbc up are?? also i have always heard/read that a 400 sbc is a long stroke motor thats mostly found in trucks becuz it makes tons of torque is this true?? i whouldn't mind having one... just askin around opening up my options

 

Factory stock 400 SBCs are about as honked up as the factory could get. 50 more cubes than the "other" big SBC with 10 fewer horses as-delivered. Low compression, short rods, horrible heads, 4-bolt-main blocks more prone to break than 2-bolt mains, etc., etc., etc.

Now, when the hot rodder gets ahold of them...

Start with a 2-bolt main block, have splayed 4-bolt main caps (aftermarket) installed (this will require align boring). 5.7" rods, flat-top pistons, most any head other than the stock heads with appropriate chamber size for streetable compression and with steam holes drilled. New steel cranks are very affordable these days, much better than any factory cast iron crank. Basic SBC performance cam, induction, exhaust - you've got yourself one good long-lasting runner that is physically no bigger than the 305 that's coming out.

Warning: Don't try this with a stock TPI. You did say "decent gas mileage", so you, and only you, will have to decide whether your basic carb set-up will yield "decent" enough mileage, or if major (and expensive) EFI upgrades (can you say "Miniram"?) are in order.

 

i undestand that a carb is less expensive but on the other hand not as good on gas mileage, but how much worse is it than TPI? is it worth the extra money for fuel injection??

 

The break-even point for EFI would probably be several years, assuming 5-10k miles per year.

Of course, if gas prices continue to rise. . .