okay I have a 350 from a t400 and I was wandering since it is said to only have 160hp whats the difference in other year models of 350 is it as simple as replacing parts and it would be the same affect for example lets engine A has 160(mine) engine b has 250 both are carb 350s just of different years if I put the same cam on both would they both gain 30 hp (not saying all cams just for sake of example). pretty much Im asking a very detailed question thats if I was to stip them both and build them both with the same parts would they give about the same hp (I know each motor is different like A=400 B= 398) I wanna be able to take to the track every once in a while but still be able to drive it on the road thanks for looking

 

Not sure what a "t400" is; but...

Any 350 can produce the same HP as any otehr 350, given the right parts. The HP output is a function of the compression (controlled by the pistons and the heads), and the induction system (heads, cam, intake, and exhaust).

This is not like imports; where you buy a different air cleaner duct and the box says "20 HP", and a fart-can muffler where the box says "15 HP", and all such as that, and add them up, and add that to whatever the stock HP was, and then tell all your friends you have "385 HP"; even though your car ran mid-17s off the showroom floor, and after all that, it runs,,, .... ,,, high 17s. This is a REAL engine, so we don't talk about "adding" HP like THOSE people do. We stick with reality around here.

On top of that, different engines are "rated" by different methods, depending on age and how they were sold. For example, the "ratings" (I put the word in quotes because it's so meaningless) system changed in about 72 from marketing-based to measurement-based; IDENTICAL engines lost about 30-40% of their "rating", INSTANTLY. Then, you can take an engine that was "rated" at 160 HP when it came in a vehicle (say, a 76 Chevy truck 350 2-barrel), and you can walk into your local Chevy dealership TODAY and buy the IDENTICAL SAME engine, part # for part #, and it will be "rated" at "260 HP". THen of course you can buy rebuilt ones from any number of sources with all sorts of random claims; a "400 HP" engine off of eBay for example, might MEASURE more like 275 by the time it's in a vehicle.

Then of course there's the matter of the difference between engine HP and wheel HP. THere's no "conversion", because every car is different; but normally, about 20-25% of an engine's output disappears before it reaches the wheels.

If you strip down that 165 HP 350 and machine it well, and put good pistons, good heads, a well-matched cam, and free-flowing exhaust and intake on it, you could EASILY get 400-450 HP. If you do what most people do, which is to totally skimp on the machine work and go with the cheeeeepest parts possible and "almost" duplicate some "400 HP" magazine build, you might get 320 HP.

God, and the devil, are both in the details. They are NOT in the "ratings".

Tell us exactly what you have (casting # of the heads, specifically), and a budget, and a goal, and what car you want to put it in (weight, converter, & gears especially); and we'll be able to give a much better guesstimate of whether what you have will get you where you want to go, or what ELSE it will take, or how close you can get.

 

350s all have the same bore(4.00) and stroke(3.48), so any one can make the same power as any other with the same build. As sofakingdom says, an engine build begins with the block, crank, rods and pistons. Then heads cam and intake. A strong running motor is one where all parts are matched to each other for maximum benefit. Bolt ons on a stock motor are kind of a joke. Big cams in a stock motor are a disaster.

 

okay the right code on the front on the engine I think the engine vin V07706cmj the left side one is 16k478576 I dont exactly have a budget Ill be buying and applying peice by peice I realy dont wanna spend more than 2000 on performance and its a 5 speed not sure on gearing.. I would like 300 maybe 350 hp not looking for 400 not right now anyways.and On a z28 84 non t top camaro

 

I think you missed the point.

Don't worry about the "codes" or "identifying" where that block came from or any of that. It doesn't matter. EVERY PIECE that makes one 350 different from another, GOES INTO THE GARBAGE during the course of a rebuild. What that engine WAS, has no bearing whatsoever on what it WILL BECOME. You can take the parts you will re-use (block, crank, rods) from the lowliest smogger turd, and turn it into a fire-breathing monster; and just as easily, take a motor "from a Vette" and render it as gutless as ... a Vette. The ONLY component that you are would be likely to keep that has any bearing on HP, is the heads, if you have those; and the block "codes" won't tell you what they are, because by that VIN (the 16K... number is part of the VIN of the car it came out of), that motor is from the 70s, therefore AT LEAST 30 years old, and is about 99.9999% certain NOT to be original ANYWAY. It's most likely ALREADY a mix-&-match of parts NOT RELATED TO whatever it started out its life as.

All blocks are basically equal. It's WHAT YOU PUT INSIDE AND ON TOP OF THEM that matters.

$2000 is not a realistic budget for building a motor that's any better than stock, if you have to pay somebody else to do any significant part of the work. What costs money in a rebuild, is the labor; parts are cheeep, but LABOR piles up QUICK. THe cheeeeepest part of all is the core. If that's all you have to spend, consider buying a "replacement" grade one already built, from a reputable source. It's cheeeeper th buy one that way than to have a specific one put through the process; the requirement of accounting for that specific one throughout its prep, costs more than just taking a bunch of anonymous blocks and running them all through the same steps without paying any attention to which one is which. That "core", i.e. the worn-out motor that all the wear parts are getting replaced in, is the CHEEEEEPEST part of the whole ordeal; you'll likely save money by selling it and buying an already-done one. You might even want to look at the cheeeeep BRAND NEW GM ones; won't make 300 HP, but they'll fit in your budget.

 

Where are you located? I have a 350 shortblock that will make that kind of horsepower with vortec heads.

 

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