im beginning the process of building my 350 out of a 91 camaro im looking to be making between 500 and 550 horse power.

THE QUESTIONS
what will have to be done to the block to handle this horse power
and will the stock bottom end of the engine handle the power.

also how fast will i blow my 700r4 tranny lol

thanks,
john

 

What setup do you plan to go with for 500HP? But assuming you have the setup that can make that kind of power..

The block itself should be able to handle what you want. It wouldn't be a terrible idea to get some new main caps or get the ones you have converted to 4-bolt or splayed caps (I'm not sure which is the better option, but I'm sure others do know. My block is a stock 4-bolt). Use ARP main cap bolts or, better yet, a stud kit.

The stock bottom end will not handle it. You'll need to rebuild it. Again, use ARP bolts/studs wherever possible and get some good parts for the rotating assembly. For the numbers you want, I'd recommend some good forged pistons, an aftermarket crank, and some forged rods. GM Powdered Metal rods should be able to hold to about what you're looking at, but I'd ere to the safe side of things.

The stock 700R4 will be toast in no time. My engine, when tuned, should be making somewhere in the neighborhood of 400hp+. Its not even tuned yet, so its down on power from where it can be, and my 700R4 hates it. By no means is my motor a torque monster either, I didn't build it for max torque. There are places that sell rebuilt 700R4's that can handle a ton of power though. Pro-Built Automatic is one that comes to mind. There's a shop around my area that is very well known for making bullet-proof transmissions. If I stay with an auto next season for some reason, they are getting my money to give me a good trans.

 

$ you'd better plan on a rear end upgrade $

 

granted your not drag racing every weekend, your rear end can take quite a bit of abuse. im making between 400-450 horse and still have a 10 bolt. its holding up fine. as far as the tranny goes, those 700r4's are pretty wimpy stock. you may want to consider a th400 with that much horsepower.

 

thanks for all the info guys, is their anything else i need to do to make my car handle this horsepower, i am installing subframes and a 6 point cage but im talking driveline and engine.

500 HP set up...

well to be honest its not all that hard or expensive to make the 500 its making the car handle the horsepower.
first off im ditching the TPI set up and going with a carb, most people will think im crazy for doing this but im a big fan of carbs and i hate computer systems.

holly carb
edelbrock intake
pretty insane cam
and trick flow heads

now on top of that their is some other modifications i have to make to convert to a carb but thats the main performance parts.

my buddys uncle has the same set up on a 350 and he was make 525 hp+ with a nice exhaust and a few other minor things but they moved 2 years ago and i cant get ahold of him to ask him what i have to do.

 

I'd re-consider the TFS heads, they're nice but I like the Brodix T1's better.

500 flywheel HP on pump gas, 11.5:1 CR 383. Made 515hp/565TQ

4 bolt 2 piece seal block
Eagle 4340 crank
Eagle 4340 I beam rods, 6"
Forged Venolia pistons
AFR CNC 195 heads
Comp 236/242 HR cam
RPM air gap intake
Worked Holley 650, flowed 830cfm.

Block was squared and zero decked, internally balanced and blueprinted. Put it in a buddy's nova with 1 3/4" longtubes, dual 2 1/2" exhaust, TH400 w/3500 stall, 8.5" 10 bolt with 4.10's. Runs consistend 11.40's on street tires and he drives it to work whenever it isn't raining

 

A few weeks ago I took my Track 1's off in favor for AFR 210's. They're all covered in oil and wrapped up right now....

500+ hp isn't a small number by any means. First and foremost, make sure this isn't a pipe dream, as many are.

Next, realize how much $$$ it takes to get a RELIABLE engine/transmission/rear end that can do those kind of numbers.

Thirdly, and most importantly, define a budget.

 

Why?

 

Low lift flow.

 

Got a flow sheet you can post? I'd like to compare it to a set of customers heads I just did. What kind of flowbench was it on?

 

I do, but I don't. Pay for shipping both ways and I'll send you my Track 1's. Or you can buy me a scanner.