Hello,

Ted in Albuquerque, NM here. I have $3,500 that's going into my 1986 Iroc Z-28. As it currently sits I have very low compression in my #8 cylinder that I think is a bad ring. The 350 block and and heads came from a 88 Suburban and were reworked back in 2002. It is .030 over with a mild isky cam, flat top pistons. Stock 700r4 trans has to be reved up to engage reverse. Stock rear end. 1 and 5/8" primary hedmann shortys, 3" mandrel bend cat back. Stock mass air TPI.

I want to fix the motor and tranny. I want to keep it TPI mass airflow. It is a street car that I drive to work 5 days a week 20 minutes each way and a little on the weekends.

Right now I'm thiking I should rebuild the motor again .040 over and stay with the standard stroke or would I be able to get it to a 3.75" stroke?

I would really love a t5 swap more than anything. I am so tired of automatics. Would I be able to afford a t5 swap or should I just rebuild the 700r4?

I'm thinking of Buying some used SLP runners and porting the plenum/base or should I just leave it stock and look to upgrade at a later time?

I have access to a lift through a friend of mine but I tip him for the space and his time when he helps me. I don't want to go over the maximum $3,500 budget.

Please chime.

Ted.

 

Summit is a good place to start with the engine. You can add the items you want into the cart and get what you want for the price you want. If your rebuilding why not get a fresh new stroker kit for around $800 or so and build from there.

 

Figure that a T5 swap should actually come in slightly cheaper than having your 700R-4 rebuilt. Budget $1,000 to that. That leaves you $2500. Your stock Mass Air sensor is too restrictive, but Granatelli makes a deal to let you use larger LSx or Mustang sensors. I'd budget probably $500 for that, leaving you $2,000.
For that, you could still do a Vortec-headed 383, or an AFR180-headed 355.
They'll both require you to take it easy on the T5, with the 383 being the better match to the long-runner TPI.

 

Ok is there an alternative to doing the mass air swap (like going speed density)? I had planned to get a F.I.R.S.T (FFI) fuel injection system but I wouldn't have the money for that until next year.

I have been looking at the 385 stroker kits from Summit. My best bet would be the Hyperteuctic pistons right?

How much extra would it cost me to do a AFR headed 385?

I don't drive too crazy but like it to have some power when I want it. Can I build the t5 up a bit or is there any other options (t56) in that price range?

If there was a Thirdgen bible Atila would have his own book and I would read it every day. Thanks for the help.

Ted

 

Here is some links that you can read and get some ideas.

http://www.superchevy.com/technical/...kit/index.html

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...evy/index.html

http://www.hotrod.com/projectbuild/h...ild/index.html

http://www.airflowresearch.com/index.php?cPath=24

Check out your local junkyards and see what they charge for the t5 and t56. It can change by a lot from one region to another. You will also need to budget the flywheel, clutch and pressure plate.

Is the transmission you have now in bad shape or do you just need a shift kit? You may also need a stall converter too if you swap the cam.

 

Heres my take on it. $3500 doesn't really go all that far unfortunately when you add up all the odds and ends. The primary objective is to get the car going again since you depend on it for transportation. The motor you could go a few ways. You could try and find a lower mileage used motor that would save a few bucks plus most junk yards offer some sort of warranty. You could get your motor rebuilt ide figure on setting aside $1500 but you should call around and get local estimates. However for about that same price you could get a bran new older style non roller 350 long block. Personally I wouldnt go 383. Not only do i think it may be a bit much on your budget but TPI will limit what it can do in its stock form so although you'll pick up a some drive line destroying torque top HP gains will be minimal. Take a look around at dyno results for 383s topped with stock TPI intakes youll see what i mean. If you were going to go to a 383 throughout working over the intake would be a must otherwise I would say it would not be a practical thing to do.

Now lets talk about the drive line. Would it be cheaper to swap to a t-5 vs having the 700r4 rebuilt? Probably but were comparing apples and oranges comparing a rebuilt 700r4 vs a 100,000 mile plus t-5 swap. Compare swapping in a used 700r4 vs a used t-5 or a rebuilt t-5 vs a rebuilt 700r4 or even cost per expected lifespan in miles and youll see cost is definitely in the 700r4s favor. Also as you mentioned this is your means of transportation a properly maintained rebuilt 700r4 should hold up nicely (behind a 350) as well as make the rear axles life a little easier as we all know there not exactly bulletproof either. Swapping in a used t-5 however is a forgone conclusion as either it will fail due to the fact it is a light duty transmission being pushed beyond its limits or the fact that its probably already got its fair share of miles on it before you even swap it in, in addition to the fact its now being overloaded on top of it. Going to stick shift is possable but the t-5 is not the trans I would do it with and its not likely going to happen on this budget.

Really in the end although this is the boring solution this problem either get a new 350 or have yours rebuilt then have the 700r4 rebuilt (by a shop that has experience with 700r4s! This is important as the 700r4 is a beast all its own). It may be a good opportunity to get some budget heads but more info is needed to determine whats best for you. As far as the intake is concerned porting the stock base with aftermarket runners is your best bang for your buck. I think when you get done with rebuilding the motor and trans with possibly new heads instead of rebuilding your current heads with even used aftermarket runners your going to be comming up on your 3500 budget.

I figure:

$1500 motor
$600-1000 trans

Were already up to $2500 worst case scenario leaving only $1000 left to cover new heads if you wanted to go that way used runners all the odds and ends like the fluids alone will end up costing a pretty penny when you figure in trans fluid antifreeze oil and filters (remember there will be multiple oil changes on the new or rebuilt motor).

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...st-builds.html

That has the most impressive TPI motor I've ever seen in it. But honestly I think it would grenade a T5 really quickly.

AFR heads on a 383 would be more then "some power" it would be incredible power with proper parts selection.

 

don't waste your money changing the stock maf. I run a stock maf and make close to 500hp. I made a 3.5 maf and found very little gain on the dyno, and went back to the stock maf. i would first start off by either looking on the boards for a fresh 350 or 355, you can see them go from anywhere from 800-1500. If it were me I would rebuilt the 700r4 and make that work correctly. They can be built to handle a good amount of power, and still have the capability to get you 20 mpg or more. A good website for 700r4 rebuild kits is probuilt.com. After that I would give it a good tune up, and possibly a new rear gear either 3.42 or 3.73 your choice and a higher stall converter, maybe 2500ish stall with the lockup feature. I think everything that I mentioned would get you in that 3500 ballpark price

 

Thanks for the input guys. What i'm leaning towards is...

Rebuilding my 700r4 $,1000, upgrading the TPI system with a FIRST (FFI) $1,000.

So the new questions is with about $2,500 (including machine work) what 350 or 383 rotating assembly/head combination should I go with to match that intake/trans? I don't want to roll more than a 2k stall? I'll be doing some research on this but as always any thought are appreciated.

I will just have to make the total budget about $5,000 - $5,500.

Ted

 

For $3500 you could build a budget 383 engine easy. I have found Summit to be the best prices for me. Heere is what I just through together to show you it could be done and still have a powerhouse.

Heads: $1464.95

Stroker Kit: $737.95

Cam: $288.95

Lifters: 297.95

Leaves $710.20 to spend on machine work and the small things like oil pump, timing chain, thrust button, dress up kit, plug wires, new cap, new filters and oil.

The other things like new intake you could wait to install. It's best to build and take care of the things I listed above first and then go from there. You could save even more money by going with a flat tappet cam and lifters.