I posted this on the tpi board but received very minimal help. Dont think anyone understood what I was trying to do. I want to slowly purchase the parts to build a nice and stout 350 that will work well with a tpi intake. Are you guys familiar with Car Craft magazine? Well they sometimes do builds where they have a list of the parts they used. Heads, pistons (with size), ring kit, crank, bearings, bolt part numbers and so on. I want a list like that for a 350 that will work well with a tpi and make approx 350 hp. My dad has recently retired from Caterpillar where he overhauled diesels all day. If I can get him the parts he can put it together for me and show me how at the same time. Thanks

 

If you just want a 350hp, just buy one that's already built. A 350hp would be just a budget 355(bored .030 over 350). You won't save much $$ if you build it yourself and you will save a lot of time if you just buy one and it comes with warranty as well. Any reputable engine builder in your are will know what you need. Well, I know I didn't answer your question but I'll research it for you when I have a few minutes behind my computer.

 

dont mean to sound like an ***, but if you get a summit or jegs catalog you can make you own list.

 

not only that, that's what you pay somebody to do if you don't want to do it urself

 

I built my 350 but there are some really important considerations, first, there are so many different levels of the same components and depending on how much you want to spend will dictate which level you can get. Are you building this for the fun and satisfaction of doing it with your father or are you trying to save money? I would probably buy a motor that you like that needs a rebuild (Chatfields etc) and just have machine work done on the block, heads, and crank. Then decide what cam, pistons, valves, etc that you want and go from there.

 

I have a catalog but wouldnt know where to start. What pistons go with what rod and then what crank...what kinds of heads would I use. How do I make sure the heads and cam will work well with a TPI?... Theres gotta be someone with a tried an true design combination that makes a good 350-400 hp.

 

I think for that hp goal the stock rods and crank will be fine. so save your money there. I used Probe forgd flat tops in my 355, they were a good price and with a 65cc head I would have had 10.1 compression.

 

it would be best to get a rebuild engine kit

but inorder to get your part numbers you have to know a few things your block has to get done first to figure out your clearances

like if your gonna linebore the mains and stuff first thing to do is get a bare block ready to figure your bore, and clearances, are you going to use stock rods and stock crank or go aftermarket


you can usally get an engine Kit in 2 ways pistons rings gaskets bearings freeze plugs and all soft parts

or a rotating engine kit with crank rods and pistons with rings gaskets bearings n stuff. for a stout motor go with forged i beam or h beam rods, steel crank and forged pistons or hypertectic or what ever its spelled thats already balanced than all you have to is like i said get your block ready than assemble.

 

350 HP TPI engine:

Trick Flow 180cc or 195cc heads
ZZ4 camshaft or Comp XFI268HR-113 camshaft
Dyno Don 1 3/4" headers and y-pipe
Any 3" cat-back exhaust, such as Magnaflow or Hooker
Edelbrock TPI intake manifold
Accel or AS&M or SLP runners

That should get you 350+ horsepower at the flywheel, and about 280 at the wheels. That's a low 13 seconds in the 1/4 mile at the track.

 

Go to Barnes & Knoble, or Boarders Books and find a book on engine building and read it. That is the best advise I ever got.

 

My new engine is sitting in the garage waitting to see if Hell actually will freeze over this winter.
What I did was purchase back issues of Chevy High Performance magazines and put my engine together on paper first. It absolutely would've been cheaper to buy a prebuilt unit, but I had my specific reasons for doing things the difficult route. (in other words i spent 2x az much az I shulda). It's more important to know what rpm you want your most power to show up at. I wanted a IROC that can run roundy-round at Infinion's road course and still be tightly consistant for the track's Wed night drags (where I've pulled off over a dozen trophies this season and last.
Those magazines are some of the BEST RESEARCH Materials. Nitro

 

Were any of our suggestions helpful or do you need more specific input????

I did put mine together as a TPI 355 torque monster that is kind/gentle on the fuel mileage rather than a horsepower king..... Nitro-Nicky

 

<-horsepower king

oh thats right my car doesnt run

 

Sheeuuooot Travis, my IROC can beat your IROC driving in reverse; rod knock and awl......!

 

Well Neagan....kind of an kind of not. So first things first I should get a block. A 350 obviously. Where would be the best place to obtain one?. Should it be one piece or two piece rear main seal? 2 bolt or 4 bolt main? Im gonna start this one step at a time, and gonna need your guys help if you dont mind. Thanks.

 

Hmmmm; you really do need to start completely from scratch. There's nothing wrong with that; and I was at that spot two years ago. I spent the first year doing nothing but research and designing the drivetrain and car in a notebook. Then it took the next year to get the dang thing built and I still havn't planted it between the front fenders.

I don't think there's a real or a fair way to actually answer your question; it's just to broad, with way to many variables involved. Kevin gave you the basic meat & potato answer to what you asked after and he's dead nuts on with the name brand parts he quoted for you. If you need to see the full picture from the engine block up; please consider what I mentioned about buying a bunch of back issues of Chevy High Performance off of Ebay; you'll refer back to them time and time again. The magazine's Tech Guru, Kevin, is one of the best GM mechanical engineers in the nation. He runs the dyno shop for the Flowmaster corp and I see him and his son Doug down at our local Sears Point/Infinion Raceway.

Do you really want to spend 5-6 grand doing this peace-meal? You can buy one that's killer off the used parts board for wayyyy-*** cheaper. Plus, if you do put together a 350hp/450tq engine you'll need to replace the rest of the drivetrain and most of the suspension as the factory stuff will fall into bits and pieces. I ain't tryin to discourage you, but you havn't covered why it is that you want to build it from scratch: price? budget? Ego?

What most of us have had to ask; besides if we want to put $10 grand in a car GM made to be disposable after 100k miles and will only be worth $3500-$6500 when finished, is if your goal is torque up to what level/fuel mileage/smog/driveability/budget/resale in 5 years or keeper?

What specifically do you want the car to do afterwards? All purpose, street, street & strip, autocross, silent but deadly? Regular fuel, mid-test, premium only? Will it be an in town only ride or something to haul butt across the Nevada desert in? Do you want some thumper sounding cam at idle or don't mind a bit of vibration or noise? Where's the cruising rpm needed? How about what type of transmission: lightning quick powerglide or long-legged overdrive? What type of rpm will you absolutely have to have? ( I picked 6300 to 6500 and mine's built to tolerate 7,000rpm, with a 2900 stall, autocross-strip use AND the Nevada Silver State Classic with tri-yearly high speed runs up into Idaho in comfort).

Then there's specific area's such as: It must look completely factory, down to the look of factory TPI or the opposite look of high-tech/chrome/aluminum/magazine centerfold worthy/etc. How about what your comfort level is with computer tuning or the need to dyno. Are you willing to change/replace the camshaft after 60,000 miles or does it need to be bullet proof to 200,000 miles.

Oh, I also have a subscription to Car Craft magazine because of the great 'how-to' articles, but NOTHING compares to the aforementioned rag. I've got the past 3 years of monthly issues and constantly refer back to once covered articles; especially the Tech pages.

I'm sure I probably gave you way to much information, but if you happen to be on a fairly restrictive budget~ you'll not want to have to purchase the same part twice or end up broke with a car that needs replacing.

Personally, I'd never build a 3rd Gen car unless I was absolutely sure I was going to love it and drive it for a hella-long time. Most people on this board probably don't need much more than 250hp and are fine with a good quality rebuild to the factory 220hp. Then there's some of us who need 30 foot flames exiting out the duel exhaust..... Nitro-Nicky

 

I dont know where to get a block in your area, but you absolutely want a late-model one-piece seal, roller-cam block. The roller camshafts are more expensive, but dyno tests in the magazines have proven over and over you can get more power and better driveability with a smaller roller cam than a larger flat-tappet cam. You also only need a 2-bolt main, unless you plan to spin it over 6000 rpms, and/or use nitrous or a blower. Most TPI engines wont go over 5500 rpms.

 

You should also be aware that it will cost about equal to do a 350/355 and a 383

 

Not with a TPI engine it doesnt. A 383 requires MORE air than a TPI can give it. You will need extensive and expensive porting to your intake, as we have done in SoCal for our 350 TPI's, to support a 383's requirements. Otherwise you will end up with a 383 engine that makes the same power as a 350, gets worse gas mileage, and wears out the rear tires too fast.

383's work great for carbs and LT1's and other short runner intakes because those intakes dont provide the torque that a TPI does. A 383 and a TPI intake just produces massive amounts of uncontrollable torque. It sounds like fun, but its not.

 

My Bad; forgot about his TPI specific statement- Nitro

 

Question for you Kevin; on my replacement 355 TPI engine that's eventually going into my IROC-
I spent a lot of time getting the heads, intake, plenum, etc ported but have yet to hang it on a dyno. I did a lot of searching on our site for actual information on what the difference should be over just the stock TPI and factory injectors. Are you aware of what the increase in air flow will actually support??
I installed the mega ported plenum only on my tired factory L98 and noticed the engine started breathing up to about the 6300rpm level before going flat. I'm sure my factory tach is off but it was a strong improvement. This is my first attempt at modifying fuel injection. (My engine builder usually does circle track carb builds and thought I should get about 340-360hp).

Since you mentioned attempts at supporting a 383, it peaks my interest. I'm always wanting to learn more about this platform. Nitro-Nicky

 

rv1890
Senior Member

I've been hoping that you'd send out a post that describes more of what you actually want to build. There are people on our North Cali board that know their engine stuff inside out and I'm hoping to tag along and learn from their replies. Hopefully you wern't put off by too much information or that we missed some of the specifics you still need the basics on. I love these cars and I'm excited for you that you've got help in putting the final powerplant parts all together. So please let us know watcher thoughts on all this are for now. Sincerely, Nitro

 

Well no...i wasnt put off. i was expecting it to be a lot of work and cost quite a few bucks. I just figured that I could buy a block, a rotating assembly, and heads slowly. You know putting a little money aside for my toy and buying a piece a time and then slowly putting it together. Now that I look at it i think im in over my head. I know how to work on cars. I install all my bolt ons and no one other than me has touched my car in 3 years. but when it comes to head size, cam duration, pushrod length, etc. i have no idea where to start. My engine runs great now, but I want a replacement for when it goes out. The more i research it the more its beginning to sound like its better off buying a crate. Id rather pay someone the money to build me a stout motor rather than buying one of those Gm crates for 290 hp that start at 1700 bucks. Anyone got anything for me?

 

What do you really want to have your hot rod do, in the big picture plan? Nitro

 

The plenum isnt the problem, its the size and length of the runners. Long runners mean more torque, short runners mean more horsepower. I think your tach is off because I highly doubt a ported stock plenum would provide a 1000 rpm increase. The most I ever got with AS&M large tube runners was 4800 rpms at peak horsepower.