434...are you talking about a conventional sbc car or a 4th gen camaro? if its old school style, then have you considered a BBC? If it is a 4th gen, what about forced induction or nitrous?

 

I want to build a 1st gen (69 Z). I haven't considered a big block. I've always been partial to a small block, but would be open to suggestions. I just figured with the added weight it would take more money to make it go as fast... Correct me if I'm wrong....I know BBC are more expensive to build...but how much more??

 

To get to the power level you are talking about a big block will be cheaper. Find yourseld a stock 502 block. YOur going to want to stroke it up to a 540, and put some good heads on it. A brodix -4 or -5 head would work well for you with a nice solid roller. The big thing on a big block is to use the lightest valvetrain components you can afford! Where small blocks don't generaly drop valves, a big block can if you dont keep it light at high rpm's. It's going to be expensive, but it will make some power, and it will sound like a prostock car.

I get some parts from Bill Mitchell every once and a while, here is a link to his complete engine selection. I don't know how good his engines are, but it looks like he will give a 2 year 24,000 mile warranty on some of them. He does have some nice sounding engines though.

http://shop.theengineshop.com/dr/v2/...P=0&CACHE_ID=0

Good luck
Ray

 

FYI

Dart Little Chief

2 port volumes available 275cc and 315cc

Asymmetrical spread port intake ports, symmetrical exhaust ports.
11' intake valve angle. 34cc chambers. Accepts 2.25" intake valves.

Requires special block, shaft rockers and special cam grind. Cast intake available for Holley Dominator carburetor.

Price $10500/pr complete fully ported and flowed

 

sign me up! :-)


anyway, I guess I need to pay more attention, I didn't realize this was for a 1st gen. You may consider a big block. depending on what you wanna do, it may be cheaper to go "10s"

 

The dart LC was never intended for a small bore small block. You will need 4.1 inches or better to take advantage of it.

And for the 10k head setup you can buy a 540 crate motor with better than 600 HP. If you are more straight-line than autocross, the BBC is definitely your ticket.

Mike

 

I've had a hard enough time trying to find an early model 350 4 bolt, much less a 454, etc. I'm sure I can find one if I look hard enough. I would build a 468 with stock crank and a good set of rods if I went that route though. 10s would be easy with a mild 468 with good heads/cam. I'm just skeptical about clearances and ease of maintenance with the big block taking up that much of the engine bay. I like being about to get to things easy, especially changing plugs and such....But I could do it....



BTW, a guy is giving me a T350. He doesn't know if it's any good or not, but I can have it built. Will it handle the 468 or do I have to run a T400? I plan on foot braking the car, no transbrake here...

 

A well built TH350 will defintiely handle the 468 in a 1st Gen. A friend of mine has an 82 Berlinetta with a 468/350 combo weighing in at about 3800# with him in it. That includes the cage, stereo and nitrous system. It was an iron headed engine back then with ported GM castings (990s I think). He was going 10.90s NA and a second quicker on the spray with 3.73s. He put some AFRs on and it dropped a half second his first day out on N2O.

Personally, I'm going with a TH400 since my car will weigh well over 2 tons.

 

383 or 434(383 I would do) but hey a 5.7 rod 406 aint no joke either( If you can get a 400 block). With some 23* Pro-Action 235 heads, solid roller, 12 to 1 comp, pump gas, Victor manifold and a good 900 CFM demon will go 10's in a 3500 lb car, all day.


David

 

it was asked before but no answer. how much money have you budgeted for the build?

you'd be a fool to build a small bore motor when you have the choice of the larger. much easier to make the power on the big bore motors. in the range of 650 hp is a cake walk with a 23º head and when built correctly will be plenty streetable.

JB

 

Thanks for the input Dave ole buddy ole pal...

Jeff, I haven't really set a budget. My goal it to put a 1st gen in the 10s on pump gas N/A so whatever that takes. I just wanted to know if a 383 would do it with ease. I want the motor to last, but I don't want to spend 2k more building a 434 if it's not necessary...

 

turning low ETs is about car setup.
weight, gearing, suspension and tuning are the key. with a well setup and lightweight car you can go 10's without a whole lot of power. there are a number of first gen cars in the Super Pro class turning 9's with a little better than 600hp at the flywheel, all steel bodies, weighing in at some 3400-3500 lbs and wearing 13-inch tires. again, setup.
don't dwell so much on hp for a quick car. i'm not suggesting that more doesn't help, just that getting the combination right will meet your goals with the least amount of spenditure. the 383 will do it but I would personally build a large bore motor, even if only a 373. then you just need to put together the rest of the package. choosing the displacement is the easiest part.

JB

 

You're absolutely right about car setup Jeff. I plan to cut no corners on all the aformentioned details. That being said, I would assume that choosing displacement is the easy part. I'm sure a 383 would yeild 10s with ease given the right setup. I don't have the car yet, and I have something in my mind about buying the block first. So, I was trying to establish which block to buy. I know I could buy a rotating assembly or a set of heads, but being an engineer/project manager it's hard for me to buy windows for a building without the foundation/structure in place. I guess it's just preference of how I want to purchase the parts and in what order. If you know of anyone that has a good early model 350 4 bolt for sale please let me know.

Cheers

 

I know this if off topic, but what about an LS1 block instead of an early model? It's lighter and stronger right??? Is it more expensive to build???

 

quite a bit more expensive actually. check out cams, lifters and the other hardware for the ls engines. it's a relatively young market so it'll take some time for the prices to come down and don't expect them to be on the level of a 1st gen engine, won't happen.
your biggest bang for the buck is to either buy a BBC crate motor or build a strong small block and spray it. either way, for your goals, a 383 will be a cheap and easy way to the 10's. i was running low 9's with a normally aspirated 385 six years ago. again, we go back to car setup. if you can get the power to the ground efficiently, you can go 10's without a lot of power.

i may be able to help you with a motor if you're interested. i come across deals all the time.

JB