engine options are as followed: 283, 327, or a 350...you tell me which one to use and what its gonna take to make it easily hit 8k rpm...lightened crank pistons and rods, what else??? thanks!

 

Max rpm is set by the camshaft selection. The rest of the rotating assembly and valve train will need to be upgraded to handle those rpms.

What cam do you intend to use and why do you want to go to 8000 rpm?

Engine size doesn't mean too much any more. I run a 540 with 1/4" longer rods and spin the engine to 7400. Of course nothing about my engine is factory either.

 

283? Why not a 302 instead?

It'll be easiest with a 3 inch crank, simply because you'll have the least amount of weight flinging around. But strictly speaking 8000 can be hit with anything, even a 400. All it takes is good bearings and a good balance job. The longer the stroke, the larger the crank counter weights, the better the balance needed.

Also you'll need a lot of valvetrain work. Mechanical lifters, stiff valve springs, and roller rockers at the bare minimum.

 

You don't need "lightweight"... you need bulletproof-strong. Like Stephen said, displacement doesn't make much difference... all those myths about the 302s and 327s are just that... myths. Theres nothing they can do that a bigger 350, 383, or 400 can't. You just need the right heads and camshaft to do it. You'll need one that will make power up there. It takes alot more than good balancing to make it survive 8000rpm too.

The drawback is its going to be that with a cam like that, the motor is going to hide its ***** in its purse untill about 4000-4500rpms, then its going to really wake up. Its NOT going to be a very street-friendly engine by any means.

What you'll be looking at for specs (based on a 350ci here):

- Solid Flat/Solid Roller camshaft duration in the 250-260* @ .050 range
- ^ Matching valve springs and pushrods
- Cylinder heads in the 210-220cc intake range
- Single plane intake manifold
- VERY good ignition system, MSD dissy and 6AL minimum
- Full length headers 1-3/4" tubes and 3" collectors (Hooker makes these)
- Mechanical secondary carb 750-800cfm
- Aftermarket forged steel crank, billet steel rods, forged pistons (the more you spend here, the better)
- ARP hardware in the rods and main caps
- Billet flywheel and scattershield if its a manual transmission

 

why do u want to fling a motor to 8k? r u wanting to do this on a regular basis? r u racing this thing on a circle track or something? and everything the guys above are saying is true. and something to spin to 8k safely and for extended amounts of time is gonna be $$$. its also gonna cause more wear and tear.

 

to me i enjoy hearing a motor gettin the **** revved out of it...i suppose i could settle with 7000k maybe 6500k idk...i just want somethin that screams..it'd be a street machine...so what are some good cheap heads for doin that? world products?...so what do i really need forged internals for ..should i be fine with just forged pistons maybe? im not sure..thank you for all your help

 

Stop hanging around the imports with their high reving 4 cylinder engines. They rev that high because that's the only way they can produce enough power. A V8 can produce a lot of low rpm torque and doesn't need to scream at those high rpms on the street.

The high rpms are for a reason. A camshaft is being used to achieve as much power as possible and it can only be done at high rpm where more work can be done quicker. Road course cars run around for hours at those high rpms because it gets them around the track faster. Drag racers peak briefly at those rpms because it gets them down the track quicker. A V8 street car would barely need to go above 4000 rpm. Even though a factory camshaft allows the engine to go around 5000-5500 rpm, a street car rarely sees those rpms except on WOT shifts.

To build an engine to maintain 8000 rpm or even short bursts on a dragstrip, a complete forged bottom end would be needed as well as a bulletproof valvetrain and stiff springs to prevent valve float. I'd say $20,000 would be a good start to make a SBC survive for a while. It's not just the nickle and dime stuff but the entire package required to do it.

Stay in the real world and use a real world engine. Leave the racing engines on the race tracks.

 

i built my turbo motor to rev safe to arround 8000.
now can someone help me design a setup similar to the prostock truck motors. i want to hit 10,500 rpm safley oh for about 25 passes max then i want to rebuld it.
ill need cfe heads with 500 cfm of flow on the intake.
358 ". motor honda rods and mains.
calies ultra light crank.
aluminum rods and superlight 14:1 forged pistons
and a cam with arround 302 durr at .050 and arround 1" of valve lift.
thanks

 

all kidding aside
build a 400 sbc do a .030 over bore.
install a egale forged 350 crank. some bearing spacers
make a 377" sb.
you will need a good cam with at least 270 int and 280 exh dur at .050
plan on at least 12.5:1 more would be better.
a 5500 converter, a ton a rear gear.
and you better get either a afr227 head or a world or dart 230 cc intake runner.use a 6"rod and some good forged pistons.
you will be more than happy.,and you should be able to build the entire setup for about 10,000.

 

Looking through the Comp Cams catalog, I see 2 SBC cams capable of reaching 10,000 and 5 capable of reaching 8000. Most have a grind more than what's in my BBC. The smallest cam starts to build power at 4500 rpm. Most start to make power at 6000. Not exactly what you would consider a street cam.

 

wow...okay...prices like that scare me...i just want somethin fast...somethin that i can drive on the street with not much problem and take the strip once in a while..say i go with a stroker..383... would it be hard to achieve over 400 and with a little more torque? and what would it take? thanks for all the input

 

You can make something that revs to 6500-7000 for not too much, that's really all you need. My SAAB revs to 6.5K and it's a 4 banger, but that's all it needs to rip apart most things on the street. Torque is the name of the game for the street, for a performance V8 you'd probably want something with really good midrange torque that starts to drop about 1500-2000 before max revs.

 

would vortech heads be worth the time? do they make good power compared to world heads?

 

i would tell you not to do a 383 the extra machine work will not be worth it over jsut building a 400 sb. the extra bore size is able to make a ton more power and still get som killer tq.
just do a basic 406. .030 over. use som mild port work on the heads, go for a 6" rod instaead of the stock 400s 5.567 rods.
get a good forged piston. arround 10.5:1
and a good 750 dp carb or a good 850 dp.
just the money you will save trying to get a 350 block machined to hold the 400 crank will save you enough for some other parts.

 

where do i find a 400? and what heads?

 

I found a whole long block on craigslist list for $100. Just look around, it's not hard to get a SBC of any size. You can bolt any Gen I SBC head to them.

 

you cant just bolt any heads to them u have to have them drilled for steam holes....and 400 blocks arnt super common....ull spend the extra money buying a 400 block over a 350 block that u would in the lil bit of machining on the 350 block to clearance it.....just stick with the proven 383 its better for the streets then the 377

 

I run a 350 with vortec heads and a comp xr288 cam with the 982 conical spring kit. makes ok low end power and screams up to about 7K. 2 years of street driving and only a couple broken pushrods for carnage, one being a freak thing the other being an overlooked poly lock. the bottom end is stock btw but its a newer truck motor that has the powdered metal rods and hypereutectic pistons in it from the factory

 

brando...have you had it to the track?..what kind of power do u think you're making?

 

why pay good money to mod a 350 block when a 400 block is already made for the stroke. makes no sense. and world or dart just released a economy 400 sbc block. i beieve its arround 800 bucks and all it needs is your tq plate hone to your pistons. add a forged 3.75 crank a 6"rod and a good set of srp pistons. and you would have a hell of a bottom end. id say get a cam with adv durr arround 250s and get a 3500 stall . would make a mean street strip runner.

the cam in my 355 that i drive in my s10 is a 274 286 durr at .050 and .645 lift solid roller on a 106 center. the converter is a 5500 stall and the gear is a 5.67. with a 225 shot on top of that. yes its my street car too.

 

I have a 350 vortec with a xr282 cam. It will spin to 6,500 but really loses power over 6,000. 426hp 432 lbs on an engine dyno. All it really has is mild porting on the heads, flat top pistons, a holley 3310 carb, and all balanced.

Ray Poppel, the guy that helped me build my bottom end has a chevy love that has a nice 355, that revs to 9,000 and makes 722 hp to the tires. It idles at 4,500 and he is always having valvetrain issues with it. He easily has $10,000 in the engine alone. Honestly I think his carbs are worth more then my whole engine.

 

I will say... My TPI used to die out around 5500ish... Just revving to 6500 with my new motor seemed alittle scary. Now i touch 7k every so often, and its quite an experience. Especially when you have a passenger that is used to their SUV or ecobox...

J.

 

What year's of trucks were those rods and pistons in? and what good are powdered rods? and what vortec heads are the best for power??

 

Even at the drag strip, TQ and power under the curve rule...

I'd rather have a 500hp 406 that makes peak power at 5800rpm and has mountains of TQ everywhere than a 302 that makes the same 500hp at 7800rpm and has no bottom end. Big difference in streetability for a 2400rpm converter and 3.23 gears compared to a 5500rpm converter and 4.88 gears.

Keep in mind the valvetrain to survive 8000rpm is not going to be cheap nor will it be maintenance free. Rotating assembly would also be expensive and have to be machined and clearance to perfection or you will go "ee boom" at high revs.

 

paul, what do you have done to the motor in your car? 11.44 would work for me..fill me in! thanks

 

Mild 350 + 150hp nitrous on street tires

1990 Vette L98 short block
Lingenfelter ported L98 heads
Accel 219/219 roller cam 1.6 roller rockers
Performer RPM qjet intake
Arizona speed headers, 3." mufflex exhaust

Suspension work, 12 bolt rear, level 10 700R4

 

what did you run w/o the nitrous and what are your rearend gears?

 

The car runs 12.5 at 113mph on the motor.

3.42 gears - actually too high, should really have 3.08's...

 

forged and blanced internals. a solid cam. single plane intake.

 

Nobody puts a 400 crank in a 350 block any more.That was back in the '70's
Just buy an off the shelf Scat / Eagle 3.75 stroke crank with 350 mains.Cheap

Minimal grinding you can do yourself for rod clearance by the pan rail

Full rebuild; 350 v 383, the only cost difference is the stroker crank.
Factor in a regrind on your old crank and the difference in price is closer.

 

a ford 2.3l 4 cyl will spin 8500 factory... lol i've done it..

 

Want to hit 8000 RPM? Get an sb2 like the ARCA guys run. 800hp and will go to 8000 RPM