I know that theres threads on here about this but i cant find ne thing useful. pretty much i want to know how to build a 355. im not rolling in money so i wanna keep the tbi on there for now. i just need a list of parts and need to know what else i need to do with the motor.

 

are you kidding? There's got to be a thousand threads about rebuilding a 350. There's nothing unique about a 355 except that it's a .030 over 350. The TBI forum is full of 350-swap threads that will give you the swap info you need, and this forum, along with the whole internet, a million magazines, and a half million books can guide you step by step through a 350 rebuild.

 

Basic 350 Vortec motors are good platforms, Get a good running engine and do a freshen up with a decent cam and you are already ahead of the game. 96-99 chevy trucks had them.

 

This is an excellent idea.

If it ends up having issues, rebuild it then. But otherwise save your engine building for a 383. Good, running roller cam 350's are all over the place, and it will cost a lot moe to build one than to buy a running one.

To build a 383 you will replace all the 350's bottom end parts for stroker parts (you can reuse the rods if you really want, but most dont) and you get the same fun stuff of building an engine, and you've built an engine that you cant just go buy a running pullout version of it. You will need to grind on the oil pan rails a little (not a big deal, they've been doing it for 30 years now) and it would be a good idea to get some H-beam rods for cam clearance reasons, but you can just get a roller small base circle cam and use teh factory rods if you want. But small base circle cams may not work with the factory roller hardware... you'd probably be better off being safe and just going with the h-beam rods.

Just be sure to learn about quench, compression ratios, and you can even use the same heads/cam you will have in your hypothetical Vortec truck pullout engine.

If you can find a running pullout, put a cheap used factory cam, like an LT4 hotcam in it. if you find one that has a spun rod bearing, just build a 383.

My beef with building 350s (I did it, wouldnt do it again) is that you spend a lot of money and you dont get as much hp per $$$ as you do with a 383. You will get outrun by stock 2010 Mustang/Camaro v6 cars and stuff like a 2012 Hyundai Genesis etc, all the LS1 swap guys are LONG gone way past you, and there's just not much you can do to a 350 to beat that. There are limits to how big you can make your cam for a street car, and the only other option is some really expensive hyper efficient aluminum heads like AFR 180s or 195's (vortec pattern). You don't want to spend all taht time and money building a 350 and having guys in bolt on LT1's and LS1 cars outrunning you after it's all said and done. Building a 383 can get you within spitting distance of the newer cars, and later upgrades to it can get you way past the stock LS1 cars.

Vortec heads arent perfect for 383's, and actually the same cam and heads and intake on a 383 as a 350 will make right about the same horsepower. But the larger displacement makes more torque, so you can sacrifice more torque for a larger cam and that will amke you more power. So you can even reuse the Vortecs, pick a big XR282 cam and it will probably top out around 5500-6000 RPMs, sound lumpy, and one day when you move onto aluminum heads, some nice AFR's will give it a huge kick in the pants boost in power and you'll be even farther ahead than you were already!

Just be sure to build a GOOD exhaust system for it. A good exhaust gives you more return on your investment for EVERY SINGLE MOD/UPGRADE you make. It will make EVERYTHING work better.

Also, be sure to consider an LS1 swap. it costs a lot, but the more you invest in your 350 or 383, the more money you could have spent on an LS1. you get better street manners, better gas mileage, and way more power with one. You can find a truck 5.3 for $500 or less and those made 300hp stock and had aluminum heads. You will need to convert the accessories and exhaust and intake to car versions, so that takes away from some of the savings, but it's an option to consider. You can probably get it all done for between $2500 and $4000 if you dont go overboard with it. I'd take the same route as with the Vortec 350 -> put a decent cam in it and let the good times roll!

Another option to consider is an LT1 350. They have a LOT of potential with just a cam swap and a tune and exhaust and they have an excellent fuel injection system that's way better than any TPi and it's included for free! Just make sure you get the harness and computer with it! For $500-$1000 you can find a running LT1 pullout. For another $300 you can do an LT4 hotcam swap, and you can have a car pulling 350-400fwhp, enough to hang with stock and mild LS1 cars. That range is about 105-115 mph in the quarter mile in our cars I believe, depending on where your car falls in the weight range. Definitely very respectable numbers that dont break the bank. And the LT1 bolts right up to your 700r4 or T5 or T56, but if you have an auto you will need to make sure the TV cable adapter is on the throttle body and for you you will need to get a TPI car throttle and transmission cable. But engine mounts line up, transmission mounts line up, etc etc. So none of the conversion cost hassles of the LS1.

But if you want more than that, you may be better off staying Gen I or going LS. The LT1's have that pesky optispark, though. you may need new accessories too. But it's still a decent budget option. If you want 450+hp one in the mid term future, I think an LT1 is aw aste of time. It's better to go with a Gen I engine or a Gen III engine for L98+ a notch horsepower levels, or 450hp and up levels, just because I think in the long run you'll get more for your money that way.

http://www.amazon.com/Rebuild-Small-...d_bxgy_b_img_c

The book + video are excellent resources to help you visualize what's going on.

 

tap it .030 if your that concerned. lt1 cam, 1.6 roller tips with the vortec heads. get a carb intake and get yourself a tbi adapter and your damn near golden

 

Good Info-

I'm still trying to decide myself between building a 383- or ls1 pullout for my Iroc

 

imho you have a lot of learning to do before you go lsx

 

^ So many small things the costs add up quick! Like others said, gen-I sbc, vortec is the way to go. Those are 96+ motors in trucks, good flowing heads and roller cam ready