I just bought this 1986 camaro iroc z/28.. been lookin around for one of these of so long and finally found one at a good price. now for mods. should i stay with the stock 305 tpi? Is it a good block to mod? can power be made just as easliy with this insted of the 350? And is the 350 stroker worth the money. The engine would be N/A with full bolt ons for both. what da ya think?

 

honestly it seems if you're going to build an engine out to it's full ability or even just one horsepower per cube, you will alwayz make 50 more horsepower with a 350 than a 305, but you already have a 305, and granted 350 blocks are easy to find you just have to go with how much you can afford. putting a 350 carb motor with a 383 crank is going to be expensive, also including that if you get a bare block or even an junkyard motor you will still have to get a decent set of heads and have them ported... 305 performance parts are more expensive than 350 just because 350 is going to get you 50 more horses in the end... and 350's are easy to get, so basically if you are ok with making around 350-400 horses you could probably get that out of the 305 fairly cheap, but if you want more it will be a lot cheaper to make with a 350... i have both a 350 and a 305 and have been going thru the same debate... and i just picked up a 350, am rebuilding my 305 and selling it or trading for parts, if i was you, i would pull the 305, slap a set of new rings in it, and some new bearings, have it cleaned, and sell it for 400 or so as a rebuilt motor, then you can drop the extra cash into a 350

 

from what ive hurd so far at this sight.. the Ls1 seems the way to go. i was also thinking about the route.. seems like it has alot of potential if you want my

 

Ummm, I'm still fairly new to the TPI scene, but in my experience, since when has building a 383 been expensive???? It's friggin' CHEAP to build one! There are sooooooooooo many companies making 383 kits it's ridiculous! What makes the cost of ANY engine build go up is your expectations! If you want it N/A, you can spend easily under 1G for a complete 383 kit....crank, rods, pistons, and have enough left over for rod/main bearings, and rings. If you plan to squeeze a big shot of nitrous, or plan on using boost, well, that's where the cost begins to go up. You'll have to spend more cash for forged internals.

Believe me, if you've got a 350 block apart, you can EASILY build a 383 over a 350/355 for literally, just a few bucks more!