Hi Guys,
Looking to beef up the motor in my '85 Trans AM from an 87 TPI 350chev crate 290hp, and wanted to know if this combination would work well together and give me the power i want.
Transmission is a t700r with stage 2 shift kit built to handle 700hp, stock TQ converter.

I'm lookin to get the following parts to get the gains i want:

383 Stroker kit off ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-CHEV-350-...3A1%7C294%3A50

AFR 1040 heads complete from thunderracing.com
63-08-466-8Comp Cams XFI Camshaft, 218 / 224, .570 / .565 113 LSA
and a complete Holley Stealth RAM kit with 36lbs injectors

Have I left anything out that i will need (other than gasket/rebuild kit) or anything which will conflict or not work with what i have/want?

 

500 hp where? flywheel or wheels?

 

would prefer rear wheels but flywheel will do

 

flywheel maybe possible w/ that setup.

 

thats probably a 475-500hp at flywheel combination. as for parts selection sounds about right to me.

 

hope you dont plan to use your stock rearend w/ that setup.

 

What changes would I need to make t0 get me to 550 flywheel?

I should note the car is not for drags or strip, just for street with the odd 1/4.
I was hoping to keep the converter as close to stock as possible but after reading up on them a bit i might be happy going as high as 2500.

What gears would recommend for rear end?
And I'm assuming I'll need something considerably stronger?

 

Need a much bigger cam for 500 flywheel hp with the above parts

I'd run atleast a 3000 converter with a setup like that

 

more i read this the more, *orr* is correct i didnt look at the cam specs closely that is pretty tiny.

don't go any wider than 112 lsa and you want duration in the 240* area to be making that kind of power. lift in the high .500s low 600s. if you realy want that extra 50 hp (its going to make the difference between what i'd consider a nasty street build to a barely streetable at all build) to get the extra 50.

you'll need a camshaft capable of turning higher rpms than what you selected, probably around 6500 rpm peak power. as for a manifold you would be better suited with the mini ram

as for a converter you need to pick one that matches your rpm range. best bet is to call edge or vigilante and tell them your specs, they will set up whats best for you, my opinion is you will need at least a 3000 stall more like 3500.

with the cam in the above ranges i afformentioned

 

I want the car to be very streetable tho.
Its my daily driver, I just want it to have more grunt if I ever need it to.
Its life lives between 1000-3000rpm, and if i put the foot down currently i'll only let it get to 4500 before i bump it into next gear.

Thats why a stall converter seems like a waste to me. If the engine is going to live most of its life in low rpms, then a high stall is just going to heat the **** up out of my transmission and overheat.(as far as my knowledge goes, is this correct?)

I picked that cam because of the descriptions for them on thunderracing.com it stated it was the most aggressive i could go without the need to use a different torque converter, and had a very strong mid range which is what i think i need.

What rear end ratio would you suggest for it?
I do go on long drives at about 65-70mph for 200miles or so at a time, so it needs to be able to handle that.

 

Let me clear some issues up here.

You can go bigger on the cam and still be very very driveable and streetable for a daily driver... but that definition of daily driver depends on your personal preferences of what you want in a car. I could easily daily drive my car. It was very driveable however it was a 500hp car. Sounded wicked, loped crazy but was driveable. Some people would have called it a race car, but to some its daily driver.

The tune will have a great effect on the manners of the car. Better the tune, the better driveability is. The best combinations for large hp but driveability are large cubic inch motors with good flowing heads, but milder cams. Corvette guys love building 406-434 motors with good heads like AFR 210's or 195 comp ports, but they throw in some mild 230 degree cams.

Its all good tho since those inches will make massive power but be very tame on the street. Refined for a corvette owner, boring for a fbody guy generally.

A good sized cam for a 383 with a daily driver in mind would be something like AI's 226/234 cam on a 110 lsa. Even the XFI 280 cam which is 230/236 on a 113 would be a nice choice but will require good valve springs. Comps less aggressive 230/236 XE282 on either a 110-112 lsa would also be a very potent cam in a good headed 383. Easily 370+whp which is getting into the 450-480 crank hp range. 400whp is generally considered 480-500 crank hp, depending. I was at 400whp with a 230/245 cam on a 109 lsa. Some consider that cam aggressive and too much for a driver but it drove well ONCE the tune was nailed down. Took alitle effort but a big cam like that can be made to drive well.
But from your posts I'd probly jump down a size. Wishmaster87Iroc on here has a nice grind on his 383 that runs almost the same as my larger cammed 383. His was a Cammotion custom grind that I think was a 226/232 or similar on a 112-113.

Anything in that area tho will be a great daily driver cam with a 383 and HSR.


As far as torque converters go, keep the lockup feature on it and you can go as high as you want. My 3600 drove like stock once it locked up on the highway. Around town it was tight enough to drive like my old 2800 stall, and as long as you keep your tranny cooler connected to the rad, your golden. It wont heat up at all.

For long trips on the highway, the car wont feel any different than bone stock but crack that throttle and it will rip open the pavement. Thats the beauty of 700r4 with lockup. You can have a high stall speed with no harmful heating effects due to keeping it locked up.

3000 is nice for a daily driver 383 with a 220's duration cam. But its all relative to the engine combo. there are different converter specs for different engines and user goals. Tell a converter company you want a converter for a driver, so it has to be tight and keep lockup, but when I get on it, i want it to loosen up and give me somewhere in the 3000-3200 rpm stall range. You'll be happy with it

 

Orr is very knowledgable he has helped me out in the past w/ some engine build issues i've had.

for a rear gear prolly wont go higher than a 3.73. as Orr said the tune is the key, especially for a DD. may want to beef up the rear as well, i dont think a stock GM rear will take kind of power.