Ok I know this has probably been gone over 100 times but I used the search feature and got tired of reading after PAGE 24 the first time and PAGE 17 on the second search and the information available has overwhelmed me.

I have been soo wrapped up in my '99 Z that I have neglected the 'ol '91 Z

Soo the decision I made was to go with a 383.....with the Holley Stealth Ram.
I am going to put this into motion on either my next paycheck, or the one afterwards....

I havent worked out the specifics, which is where I woud like you guys to help(those who have experience with the HSR setup...especially if you have a 383...oohhh please somebody has to have a 383/HSR'd 3rd gen)

I want to move the powerband up, I dont really like the TPI's low end preference and would like for it to peak at around 5500-6000 if its not too much trouble, then 5200-5500 would be OK.(Actually I want to be shifting around there...so the peak COULD be a little lower...)

Now, my first choice for heads were the vortecs, but thats was quickly "X"d out...since I want to go with the Stealth Ram.(for top end..)

Before I can decide on my cam, I need to know what heads Im going to go with...

I dont really want to have to shell out $1250(or whatever) for some AFRs.....what else is there that can meet my goals? Something cheaper, but almost equal in performance.

I would like to run at minimum mid 12's[crosses fingers], with potential for better(Houston, TX...pretty much sea level)

I heard world makes good products but which ones would be good for a street/strip 383 with the HSR? I would like to run a cam that peaks around 5500 if I can.

Would getting say...some aluminum corvette heads and having them P&P'd do the trick or are they not enough? I really dont know what else is out there, or how well any of this stuff performs as I am new to TPI cars & how they respond to mods...

I am going tomorrow(actually, today technically...4 AM now) to get a quote on the machine work and get the ball rolling on the short block.

I plan on running probably the Eagle ESP cast crank(Got a better idea anyone?)
forged pistons (probably JE or similar quality)(floating pin)
clevite77....
bushed Eagle SIR rods
HP oil pump(not sure on brand there)
ARP rod/main bolts
Im going to stick with 9:1 CR unless you guys think its too conservative(I dont really use 93 octane...just on the weekends...weekdays its 87 all the way, and plus that leave a little bit more room for forced induction later )

Thats all I've really come up with...Im still shopping around for maybe a cheap all forged rotating assembly, or a better/cheaper combo for the Rot. ***. but will probably just make it with the stuff listed...the only reason Im going forged rods and pistons is eventually I will spray it but not anytime soon at all.

BTW the car is pretty much completely stock(I just got it a couple months ago gimme a break )

It has an aluminum radiator/HP water pump, 180 stat, and the fan switch mod to take care of the cooling, other than that everything is original except for the perishables(belt, PCV, oil filter,fuel filter, etc)
Accel plug wires, K &N filters and a TB foil. THATS IT

I am also going to need it to be tuned once I get everything put together and I know that is a WHOLE 'nother topic....

What size injectors do you guys recommend? 26#?

SO basically what I need to know is what combo of heads/cam with the Holley Stealth Ram can put down very impressive numbers with a 383 and timeslips to back it up?(easy mid 12s with more left in it if I ever decided to swap to a bigger cam)

All this assuming I get the suspension tweaked out afterwards. Im going to go with a 12/9 bolt...contemplating which...plus the darn tranny is gonna need to attention then too

I will probably go with 3.42 or 3.23 gears.....I would like a combo that works best with 3.42's (A4) But 3.23 is OK as long as it performs at the track with whatever combo that would warrant 3.23's, and have equal or better results.

Sooo many aspects to this its insane!
If some guys could jump in here an edumacate me I be much oblidged

I know what I want, but I have a blank on which heads to get with the amount of $$ Im talking about. Under 1K for some good heads would be great.

Once you guys can recommend some good heads for a decent price, then I can say what kind of cam Im thinking of and we can go from there...Im not scared of big cam numbers but I also know bigger isnt always better.

Does the HSR like split duration cams like TPI?

And THANKS to whoever actually reads this babble! I really appreciate it and Im gonna need some adice for the next couple months as this goes along. I'll have the short block ready in 2-3 weeks depending on how my hours look at work

Then Im dealing with the tough part.

EDIT: I got to thinking about it(1 hour later ) and what kind of power could I be looking at with the AFR 195's? or should I go bigger? With something like a 220/230 and a tad over .500" lift? 114 LSA
I got to thinking and theres no sense NOT doing it now, since its going to apart I might as well, right? Uness theres a more cost-effective way to achieve the same results.....

 

You need to budget some cash for tranny upgrades, it will give up the ghost if it is a stocker. Try this thread for some ideas:

http://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/show...hreadid=250638

And this site specifically:

http://www.stealthram.com/

 

Get world products or Dart heads.. 2.08/1.60.. Aluminum.. 200cc Intake is all I would recommend. Nothing over a 58mm TB.. Depends if you like the highway or not would be if I went with 3.42's or 3.73's mostly a street/strip car.. 3.73's all day long.. daily driver but with attitude... 3.42's.. with the 700r-4 your not going to be buzzing your engine bad at all at 70mph..26# should be enough for a 383.. Unless she makes gobs (450+) of power for some reason.. then bump to 32#'s.. Subframe connectors are a good idea...

 

I would buy a used set of AFR heads and put my own stuff on it. That way I can be sure of the quality and if it works. Stock AFR goes to 550 lift. See cam in my sig. That is a custom grind for a speed shop. I would say that I made about 525 HP since I got 411 at the wheels and I have an A4 with 3600 stall and 3.73 gears. Yes, I am running a 383 with the HSR and that was with shorty headers too.

 

Aklim: is that cam pretty tame for your setup? I mean is it pretty streetable & have a good idle? Lope?

 

why don't you try over at www.stealthram.com where all of the HSR guys hang out at? plus you can look at my personal site and look over what i used for my 383 HSR setup http://www.fl-thirdgen.org/mrr23

 

In the first link, Matt87GTA has spent a TON of money on that motor. If he is not going to spend $1250 on AFR, he is definetly not going to spend the $2200 Matt paid for his fully ported 227 Brodix heads.

If you are planning on making so big number and tuning the car I would say go for the 30# or even 36# injectors so you will not have to upgrade later down the road. Also do you want it internally balanced or external, so you need to decide on a 6" or 5.7" rod. With heads it is all on what power you want to make. If this is a fun car then go for the larger ports like a 200+. If not then go for the 190-195.

 

i love world castings motown 22o lite heads.there about 1200,but they are very good heads

 

Well this will be a daily driver...even though my 99 is really my Daily Driver, but I just want the 91 to be geared towards being a DD as well.

I have been thinking of the AFRs but I havent decided yet if I want to spend the extra $. I know it will be money well spent.......but Im still wondering if I can get away with something cheaper that I can have P&P'd and have close to the same results.

is 230/236 .510/.510 114 too much for a street 383 with an HSR setup? I would like a decent lope to it but nothing too noticable....and I would like for it to shift around 5500 with a hp peak around there

I like top end motors, but I dont want to spin this one too high...nothing over 6500. Will a 230/236 peak too high? or would a 224/228 be about right with the HSR?

 

gawd those are good numbers.(to me) Any track times?

btw your sig isnt showing....could you post your mods? Thanks.

I finally have gotten around to this project and am going back down to the shop tomorrow to talk with the shop owner to figure out what we are going to do and to work out the specifics.

Should I go with 5.7 rod or 6.0? Is it more expensive either way?(not the rods but the big picture..) Which is better in you guys' opinions? I'd like to have it internally balanced but what do you guys think?


Also, what is a good price for used AFRs? And what do you think I could expect from ported aluminum L98's with 2.02's instead, with your setup Aklim?

I was offered a deal on some alum. L98s by the shop owner so I could get those and swap in the AFRs when I can afford them and then sell the L98s....


Thanks a BUNCH guys

BTW has anyone been tuned by "1bad91z" over at thirdgen.org? I think his name was Matt or something. I met him in person at a car meet and he said he knows his stuff when tuning later thirdgens....just wondering if there is any truth to that.

And is there something Im forgetting? I think I've pretty much covered everything..

 

Well right now its going to be a really mismatched setup because I still have stock manifolds, intake, plenum, runners, TB(airfoil only) and stock converter.

The only thing I've added since I first posted was the 3.73s...

I want to eventually swap in some good heads so when I do that the extra cubes will be worth it IMO.

Im more setting this up for the long term picture...

I could go with a 350 and really nice heads but then I'd pretty much be at the limits of how much power I can make save for swapping in a bigger cam, plus the 383 will help me retain some of the torque Im going to lose when swapping to the HSR & I can run a bigger cam...

I think Im just going to take that guy up on those aluminum L98s and have them ported and get some AFRs or similar later then sell the L98s for whatever I can get for them...

Im going to have to take off the TPI later to swap on the HSR anyways....so I might get them(better heads) then but probably not...

My only concern is which cam to use that wont run like crap until I get the HSR.

Any suggestions?

Just something that will work ok with the stock TPI, ported, and stock manifolds with 3.73s but will open up once I get the headers/HSR/58 mm TB/converter....I can swap in another cam once I get some nicer heads though...

What cam would work well with the 383 & the HSR, 3.73s, ported TPI & ported aluminum L98s with the stock converter? Im going to try to get flow numbers once I get ahold of the L98s.

Thanks!

Im leaving right now to go talk with the shop owner....wish me luck!

 

Well I talked to the guy and he seemed very reluctant to want to fool with the TPI since the last two he worked on should have been putting down 500+ at the crank and he ended up with a lot less and had hell getting it tuned right. Old school engine builders.

He really knows his stuff but when it comes to fuel injected cars hes not 100% on top of things. He was trying to talk me into swapping to a carb setup & 450 to the wheels with the same amount of money.

I kept telling him I wanted to keep the darn fuel injection but he wanted me to buy a friggin Holley fuel injection setup($1700+!) lol

No way. Then he kept trying to talk me into a 350 which is ok I guess but I know what I want lol.

So now I've got to find somewhere else I can go or just have him build the engine(hes good at that though) and just put that darn thing in myself. May as well since I can dump the saved money into the transmission, which I need anyways if Im going to be making any kind of power...

I hate it when I run into a really cool older guy thats been building engines for years and they are stuck on carbs. Knows his stuff but not my stuff...good customer service too but just too pushy on the carb thing...lol I cant swap in a carb on a '91 and expect to pass emissions
He even went so far as to say buy an older car to mod which would be emissions exempt. Lol I have about $6K in my '91 Im not selling it at a loss.

Back to square one. Man I was hoping to put down a deposit and get the ball rolling...

 

You are aware that the HSR won't pass a visual emissions inspection, right?

 

Wait, you are going to do all of this with stock manifolds and the like? Get headers, you'll be very happy with the gains. Especially when you start to do internal work and it really begins to pay off.

 

Yeah, but Im not going to swap the HSR til later, by then Im going to have to register it out of state(Arkansas) which doesnt require and inspection sticker.

Yeah I to gains after headers when you have a cam & heads. Probably will do some shorties or mids at the same time as the HSR.