Hello, I have an 87 ta with a stock 350tpi and a stock 700r4, I'm looking to have around 400hp, how much would it cost me, I just need to have an idea to start saving money. Rigth now I don't really have a budget. What parts would be the best for rebuild engine? Thanx

 

Hi, 400 flywheel hp is very doable but 400 rear wheel hp will be very tough on a 350. A 383 stroker will make 400 rear wheel horsepower a lot easier. What is your intended use for car, daily driver, street warrior or dedicated drag strip? This will affect cost and what parts you will want to pair together.

I'm thinking about upgrading my 350 to that power level but pick parts that allow an easy upgrade to 383 stroker in the future. Most of the stock GM parts and drivetrain won't survive 400 hp so you will be upgrading transmission, drivetrain and suspension no matter if you go strong 350 or 383. You are going about it the right way with first determining prices and what parts are needed. This will allow you to upgrade in stages as money come in.

Below is a quick comparison between a strong 350 and 383 stroker. For cost involved some people will say to ditch fuel injection and go carburetor. Others say swap in a newer LS1 engine. There are a lot of great posts on here about these types of upgrades so do some searching. Let us know what other questions you have.

Strong 350
-$800 upgrade transmission, $1000 aftermarket intake, $1000 aluminum heads, $1000 upgrade rear end, $300 larger fuel injectors, $600 headers, $700 larger catback exhaust, $90 adjustable fuel pressure regulator, $300 performance cam, $700 custom tuned prom and dyno testing, $600 upgrade suspension

$7,100


Stroker 383 - differences in bold

-$800 upgrade transmission, $1000 aftermarket intake, $1000 aluminum heads, $2400 new rear end, $300 larger fuel injectors, $600 headers, $700 larger catback exhaust, $90 adjustable fuel pressure regulator, $300 performance cam, $700 custom tuned prom and dyno testing, $900 upgrade suspension, $800 stroker rotating assembly, $500 engine block machine work

$10,100

 

I would like 2 stay with the 350 n upgrade. Its going to be a daily driver, but I want to beef it up. What parts do you guys recommend. First of all I'm going to be buying parts by parts then when I have all the parts ill do the rebuild engine and add all the parts

 

heads.. cam.. intake.. very simple..

There are alot of choices, how much you want to spend? Like black dog said do you want 400 rear wheel HP or at the crank?

Stock intake and 400hp at the wheel is probly not gonna happen without boost

 

Is this car going to be your daily driver once it's upgraded or do you need to drive it daily right away? Also do you want 400hp just to say you have that much or are you more concerned about building car towards intended usage? Since it will be a daily driver, you would want a car that has a smooth idle, power in street rpm ranges and good torque.

The style of intake you currently have on your car (tuned port injection, TPI) is really good on the street as it makes a lot of midrange torque. The stock intake is very restrictive and chokes the 350 out at 4,500 rpm. It was only designed for a 305 and never sized properly for a 350. The intake is split into three parts, top part is plenum, middle are long tube runners (LTR) and bottom is manifold base. The stock plenum and base flow a decent amount of air with some porting work. The stock LTR's are too small in diameter and too long in length to support high levels of power and rmp's.

Many people like to swipe the LTR's for biggers ones. AS&M make probably the best since they are siamesed to help raise rpm range while also increasing power. They are $400 a pair. Links below.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c...ed=0CA0QrQIwAA
http://www.cis.udel.edu/~davis/z28/buildup/runners/

Companies do sell larger plenum, base, and throttle body (TPIS ,eddelbrock) but price adds up quick with all these parts. I think that if you are going to keep LTR style intake and want max flow/power. It would be cost effective to get the FIRST injections TPI system. It's 1,000 and includes plenum, LTR's, base and throttle body vs $1,200 of similar parts from TPIS.
http://www.firstfuelinjection.com/products.htm

Other people prefer intakes that make more HP and higher rpm's while sacrificing torque. They argue that torque loss isn't that great since TPI makes too much of it at lower rpms. Of these the holley stealth ram (HSR) seems the favorite. Unit costs around $1,100. Here are some good articles to read.
http://www.gmhightechperformance.com...roc/index.html
http://www.compcams.com/community/ar...?ID=1737510521
http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=85238

Some intakes need high rpms to make their power. You should look to keep max rpm under 6,000-6,300 so that your stock engine internals (crank, rods, pistons) are safe. Otherwise you will have to upgrade them. Keeping rpms under this level will also allow you to use your stock 3.27 gears and stall converter. I believe that your 87 has a 9 bolt borg warner rear end. Parts are harder and more expensive to come buy that the more typical 10 bolt 7.5" rear end. Factory 9 bolts are rated a little tougher than 10 bolts Since our rear ends are small (7.5"diameter), excessive torque kills them. An aluminum rear end cover would be good. Check out below links on 9 bolts. 9 or 10 bolts can only be built up to handle 400 hp. After that bigger rears ends are needed that cost $2,400. You should be fine with stock rear end and a few upgrades.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/faq-...now-about.html
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c...ed=0CBYQrQIwAA

Stock auto transmission can handle around 300-350hp. Some people have success with stock at higher power levels while others fail. If you are not drag racing or running drag tires, you will be fine. Would be good idea to add a transmission cooler if you don't have one.

Good cylinder heads can help you make lots of power. I don't think it is worth spending any money on machining stock heads. Chevy vortec iron heads flow good for price but you need vortec style intake manifold base which costs you another $200. At that point makes sense to get aluminum heads at around $1,100 a pair. Brodix, PHS, Trick Flow and summit brand are popular. AFR's flow best but cost most at $1,500.

To make power over 300hp you will need an aftermarket cam. There are many cam companies and also some performance cams from gm (LT1, ZZ4, etc). You should pick one that has good idle (not lopey) and power range that is matched to your intake and usage. Your engine has a hydraulic roller cam and replacement like ZZ4 would cost around $100 while more aggresive one from comp cam would be $300. A cam duration of less than 270 or would give you stock like idle and rpm usage. You may want to check to see what is the most aggressive cam you can run without needing to tune your computer. You can still make more power with these cams and may be satisfied. Your car has mass air flow system (MAF) which responds better to engine changes before needing a custom computer tune.
http://www.compperformancegroupstore...ode=RLERCAMXFI

Exhaust is restrictive on stock cars. People like the Hooker shorty style headers. Dynodon is a member here who makes great headers and he is somewhere in Cali. Both would come with a well made y-pipe. Next you need larger exhaust from the catalytic converter back to muffler. You can buy kits with everything or have a custom shop do it. Look to get a 3"or 3.5" single exhaust system. That will be enough for your intended power levels.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Hooker/520/2055/10002/-1

 

wow great post thanks for all the info im in same boat