what do u think about my Engine combo

388 (4.060 - 3.750)
Eagle Forged 4340 Steel Crankshaft
Eagle ESP H-Beam Connecting Rods
Dart Iron Eagle Platinum Cylinder Heads(230cc intake runners, 64cc, intake valve 2.08, 1.60 exaust)
Ross Racing Forged Pistons (http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=ROS%2D99570&autoview=sku)
this cam...(http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=CCA%2D12%2D460%2D8&autoview=sku)
Super Victor Intake Manifold
850 cfm Mighty Demon V-Series Carburetor
MSD SB/BB-Chevy Ignition Kit


this is what i plan on putting to gether what do yall think??? what kind of numbers do you think this combo will put out with a 200 shot of N20?? im goin for 700rwhp. can this combo do that??

Don't want to bust your bubble but it won't do it without 300+ of hose.

You can look for around 400 rwhp on motor.

what do u mean 300+ of hose??? is there something i can change for more horsepower?

what do u mean 300+ of hose??? is there something i can change for more horsepower?

He is saying you will need to spray more than a 300 shot to get those kinds of numbers.

ok well what can i change or add to get a lil more power to it?

I don't know a whole lot, but I would think you could go higher on the compression with aluminum heads and that will help a lot. Also get a good port job on them. The 230cc runner is good. Obviously to only use a 200 shot you would need around 475 to 500 on motor so you will need a larger carb or even dual carbs and a lot bigger cam, maybe even a solid roller.

i dont have tha cash for aluminum heads. what does porting the heads do? what carb would u recomend? or dual carbs? anything else?

alum head.....more compression, ported heads, buy a 434............shaffiroff has a good one pretty cheap

http://www.shafiroff.com/sportsman/434_685.asp

ummmmmm.....on a buget here. trin to stay under about 5 or 6 grand..and thats a little over.

ummmmmm.....on a buget here. trin to stay under about 5 or 6 grand..and thats a little over.

honestly....the parts you stated aren't going to come together for 5-6 grand. If anything they will cost more than that engine.

Maybe look at racingjunk.com or somewhere like that.........the iron heads are going to hold you back big time....I would also start out with a 400 block.

and don't forget all the little stuff bolts/gaskets/shipping etc. that adds up in the long run.......I feel like your asking alot out of a 388. a 406 would be a better starting point, and the bigger the better

Do your homework.....I stayed up all last night ppppppulling a new motor out and putting the old one back in, all over a $5 mistake on something I overlooked and now it doesen't fit. Not to mention a spent about 6 hours welding all down the drain b/c I overlooked something

i dont have tha cash for aluminum heads. what does porting the heads do? what carb would u recomend? or dual carbs? anything else?

You are asking a lot of your combo then if you don't have the cash. Since you are on a tight budget you need to find components that work well together and compliment each other. For that I would go to one of the supporting vendors and get a H/C package from them, 500 rwhp is not going to be attainable on a budget 388 no matter how you slice it and your cast iron heads will hold you back a lot IMO. Build a solid motor that can handle a lot of N2O if you want to get there.

P.S. I would also go solid roller, not hydraulic.

ok. so whats a good rwhp goal for this combo?i wish i could go a lil bigger but i have to work with what iv got. im trin to get this car in the 10's. its a 88 camaro. do u think it could do that?

Have you already bought all the parts? If not, then I would do a big block swap :) They can easily fit in those cars and you could run 10's all motor on a good set-up. If you have already got the parts then I think you should be somewhere around 400-415 rwhp (depending on a lot of variables). I would then concentrate on suspension. Suspension will be a big deal. If you can get your car to dead hook you can throw nitrous on top of your motor and be in the 10's.

ok. so whats a good rwhp goal for this combo?i wish i could go a lil bigger but i have to work with what iv got. im trin to get this car in the 10's. its a 88 camaro. do u think it could do that?

400rwhp is a very reasonable goal for that motor. As to getting into the 10's, spray and pray...

If you want cheap HP, get a 454 out of a truck and do a heads/cam/intake swap on it. Top it off with a good carb and you can make some power.

so 400rwhp, 300 shot of n20, good traction.......10s, 11s,?????possible

so 400rwhp, 300 shot of n20, good traction.......10s, 11s,?????possible

If you can get 700hp to the ground with good traction I think you can run 9's depending on weight, gears, and tranny. I'm not really big into drag racing or nitrous though so you would have to ask someone else.

You will still most likely end up way over budget.

i know im probly goin over buget. as far as trans,,,goin to be a race prepared 700r4 by CPT and 3.73 gears

james,
I have a much different opinion from most on the best way to archive low
11s/high 10s. You don't need NOs and all the expensive parts. A good engine
combination and a great chassis is what I like. On a tight budget, flat top 355
in a 3000 car will get you there when you get the 60ft time where it needs
to be (1.45 - 1.50).

Are you planning on driving on the street?

yea this is goin to be a street/strip car. i wanna be able to run with anything on tha street and KILL imports and mustangs.

yea this is goin to be a street/strip car. i wanna be able to run with anything on tha street and KILL imports and mustangs.

That's going to be your problem. Like he was just saying, a well set up car and a good motor combination will get you some very consistent and low times at the track. The trade off is streetability. If you want a car that is at home on the street and still runs in the 10's, you need to make raw power. Nitrous is probably the easiest way assuming you drivetrain can handle it.

for the rwhp that you want you are going to have to triple your budget

There is a big problem building something that will run with anything on
the street. People will hang a plate on a 9 second race car and drive
it on the street. Others will take a good running combination and spray
the heck out of it. Still others set up with forced induction. Trying to
compete at that level on a budget is foolish. I would forget about being
the fastest in the area; build a realistic combination with in your budget.

well run with everything around here. i guess i should have mentioned that. the fastest thing around here is a mustang 5.0 runnin 12s.

well run with everything around here. i guess i should have mentioned that. the fastest thing around here is a mustang 5.0 runnin 12s.

So what you have will be fine. 400rwhp and some spray should cover it.

ummm,,,if i make 550fwhp, how much of that will make it to the wheels?

Auto with what rear end? Depending on converter and all that, probably around 430 or so. Auto's don't put down really good dyno numbers so don't get hung up on them. Track is a better indicator. You may only put down 425 and it won't sounds impressive as 600, but when you beat them by 10 cars they'll know ;)

what kinda track times will 450rwhp get in a 88 camaro, 700r4, and 3.73s in the rear?

what kinda track times will 450rwhp get in a 88 camaro, 700r4, and 3.73s in the rear?

low 11's or better in a good set-up car

ok, lets say i put most of the same parts in a 400 block, then what kinda numbers expect??

You can expect a little better numbers. Not too familiar with the 400 block and what you can do to it, but my engine builder actually runs a 377 which is a 400 block with a 3.48 crank. He says he loves it, a real screamer.

u think 500rwhp is possible with a 400 block.....i found this one for cheap....

http://competitionproducts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BLK400B6

Like I said I don't know a lot about the 400 block. The only way to do anything bigger would be to get a 3.875 or 4 inch crank and I don't know what if any problems there would be. 4.185x4.0 would be 440 and .030 over would be 445. At the least you could run a 413 with stoke stroke. All of which would make more power, but you would need some serious heads to get there. You would defintely be closer with a stroked 400 if it's possible.

Edit: Did a little checking and you can get a 4.0 stroke crank for use with a 6.0 rod if you wanted to make a big cube small block.

http://competitionproducts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=10710040PK3

will these heads cut it?

4.185-3.875......whats that bore and stroke come out to be?

You aren't going to get there with cast iron heads. Can't run enough compression.

426 and 432 .030 over

If you like Dart then go for the Pro1 230's and get them ported. You can also run a Brodix Track 1 head. If you don't have anything to start with you can even get a 15, 16, or 18 degree head.

its not that a like dart its just they have huge intake runners and big valves. i thought that would be a good thing. i saw a 72 Nova in a mag running a forged 383 with tha same heads and a 250 shot of n2o runnin 9's. and i dont want tha compression to be that high because its also goin to be a daily driver. im goin for about 10.1!!!!!

Maybe someone else can chime in here, but compression and pump gas is relative to a few things. 10:1 on cast iron heads I don't think will work out too well. I could be wrong, but I had an Olds 403 and I remember trying to keep it under 9.5, closer to 9. I understand there are other things like DCR to consider, but I thought that just the cast iron itself was a problem with holding in the heat causing it to be more prone to detonation. Maybe someone will chime in who knows for sure.

10.1 SCR or DCR??

I would shop ebay for a set of decent heads or racing junk. You can get some real nice heads for cheap if you shop around.

I would stay away from a factory 400 block. If you notice all the big inch SBC's are built on an aftermarket block, and for good reason. The factory 400 blocks are just a crack waiting to happen.

You can also tap you heads for reverse cooling and run a little higher compression as long as the cam is right. I think you could get away with ~12.5: SCR as long as the DCR comes in at or below 9.0:1 with aluminum heads.

umm, well an aftermarket 400 block runs in tha thousands so back to tha 383.i will be happy with 450rwhp. i think thats possible. i remember Hot Rod mag. did a buget 383 and it made like 520fwhp. im sure with a lil bigger cam and better heads than they used i can push it up to 560flhp. i think that would get 450rwhp. what do yall think?

umm, well an aftermarket 400 block runs in tha thousands so back to tha 383.i will be happy with 450rwhp. i think thats possible. i remember Hot Rod mag. did a buget 383 and it made like 520fwhp. im sure with a lil bigger cam and better heads than they used i can push it up to 560flhp. i think that would get 450rwhp. what do yall think?

So that's what you should probably do. Find a magazine article where they built a killer mouse motor and just copy it.

As far as heads are concerned:

http://competitionproducts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=11720040PK3

The price difference over those Iron Eagles is negligible compared to the power potential.

are tha alumium heads that much better?

are tha alumium heads that much better?

It's not even so much that aluminum heads are better (I think there is a lot of arguing on that subject) it's that those heads are so much better than the Iron Eagles.

The heads are where your power is at. With the right set of heads (matched to the right cam of course) any engine can make good power. And for the most part there are only 2 ways to make big power with a naturally aspirated engine; displacement, and RPM. You can turn the thing to 8000+ rpm to make the power you want, or you can just build a 434. Either way you choose to do it, make sure you put a set of heads on the motor that will be able to feed those power levels.

That's just my opinion, I'm sure someone with a greater level of experience can help you more.