Well my first post on this forum about time i guess

Ok so recently picked up a 92 camaro and have everything together except a motor set up.(ford 9" 35 spline axles, powerglide set up for 1600 hp max, etc etc....)

I am shooting for a car that is going to be in the 8's and at least wanting 850 to the wheels, worst part im going to have to do this on pump gas. As this will be a street car, but will be a weekend strip car only driven in the summer. Car will be pretty light also fiberglass doors, front clip, hatch, carbon fiber driveshaft, etc.......So maybe 3000 pounds with a big block?

I searched and searched about a big block swap and it seems kind of a pain with the headers and everything i know there are some solutions, but still nothing to easy. I was wondering weather or not a tell deck block such as a 632 bbc would fit under a 4" cowl hood. For people who have done this swap do the valve covers hit the hood when closed, also with a proper intake and carb set up would it fit under a 4" cowl hood? Problem is your only allowed 4 inches above the hood in Pa.

That is one option i also have thought about possibly going with a 454 procharged engine or also a 350 with a procharger. Not sure if a stock block would hold this though. According to procharger the big block will with no problem and the small block probly wont hold up as well. Also not sure if on a big block with a procharger if i can get everything to fit under a 4" cowl hood. The sbc option would make 850 to the wheels and that would be the lowest hp option out of the three. But i am really looking for big hp with as much reliability as possible, i really would rather not have to freshen the motor up every winter.......

So im confused as to which route i should go any suggestions from people who have done any set up's such as there would be greatly greatly appreciated.

 

Stock block SBC will not handle that kind of power. 400rwhp is roughly the limit. BBC is quite a bit stronger though.

 

You can also use block fil and whatnot.
An aftermarket block might be in order, but if you're going to an aftermarket tall deck BBC, then obviously you won't have any troubles with the block being the weak point.

I think stephen87IROC uses a 540 BBC, not sure if that's in the tall deck variety, but I remember him mentioning fitting a tall deck before. Maybe try to search for that thread, or PM him. I forget the size of his cowl hood.
http://www.hardtail.com/

 

The 540 is a short deck block. I can punch it out to 565. Bigger than that (572, 632 etc) and it's better to use a tall deck block with a 4.5" stroke. There isn't a single factory component on/in my engine. Well ok, I still run a factory alternator but that's it. Everything else is aftermarket. At my power level, factory parts don't last long.

Using a tall deck block brings in all sorts of clearance problems. The heads and rocker covers will be .400 farther away from the deck. This doesn't increase the total height of the engine very much but it's normally a tight fit into a third gen to begin with. Headers will be the hardest. My heads have raised ports which makes fitting headers hard enough. Add a taller deck and all off the shelf headers become useless. Custom built headers should be around $1500.

The reason I have a cowl and scoop on my car is to cover the tunnel ram. I have my engine dropped down as low as it can go already. A single carb intake and drop base air filter can fit under a stock hood.