alright, i found out that the engine in our chevelle is a 283 and not a 327 like we thought. so, we have scrapped that engine and stumbled upon a 87 350 truck motor that we are going to build. so, i want a solid 375-400 hp on the motor. ?'s are as followed.....

1. will a Scat nodular Iron crank hold up? (dont trust ANY of the stock parts on this engine)
2. will scat 4340 forged I-beam rods with ARP cap screws be okay? should i get pressed or floating pin?
3. should i get forged/powerforged/hypereutectic pistons? keep in mind that this engine will be at its MAX at 400 hp. it will never get more than that, it is going to be a cruiser,and will not have any power adders or N20.

thanks guys.

 

This is a four bolt 350 you found, correct? First thing I would do is find a highly recommended engine builder in your area. Make sure that this block is what you need. They will be able to help you in deciding what you need or don't need. Speaking from experience, make a list of EXACTLY what your end result is going to be. Don't flip-flop on your ideas midway through the project.

 

Without any power adders, I would think hypereutectic pistons would be fine. Of course, if you had the extra money forged certainly be nice! My friend has a Chevelle with a 350 that has hypereutectic pistons. Probably makes at least 400 hp, and he has a 100 hp shot of nitrous on top of that.

 

To make that much HP you'll probably be in the range of 5800-6000 RPMs for peak HP, shifting around 6400. Cast crank will work fine, assuming you're just drag racing where you don't hold high RPMs for very long. Your rods are overkill, actually. Stock rods with ARP WaveLoc rod bolts will do just fine. The bolts are the weak link- not the rods themselves. I'd do floating pins, but not because pressed pins will fail- I like the ability to change my own pistons without a trip to the machine shop is a nice thing to have.

Machining everything perfectly will be the real telling factor. Stock and near-stock parts, machined and assembled with care will easily be able to handle your goals.

Note about pistons- I've beat the snot outta Keith Black hypereutectic pistons for the last few years in several motors. They are REALLY good pistons for not a lot of bucks. The key to making them live is to FOLLOW DIRECTIONS on top ring end gap!!! They take MUCH wider gaps than a set of stock cast pistons. It's not the rings that determine the proper end gap- it's the PISTONS. I run a gap of .033" on my blown ~475HP 383 which sounds HUGE (and it is) but it works FANTASTIC with these pistons. On a n/a motor you'll still be around .026" (still much larger than stock cast pistons would use). I used to believe that smaller gaps were better. I have since changed my opinion. Despite the large gap there is almost NO blow-by and you won't lock the rings in their bores if you overheat things from time to time (exteded WOT or running into some detonation). In fact, I now build ALL by KB Hypereutectic motors with .033" top ring gap just in case I want to throw some nitrous at it later or encounter some detonation.

 

the crank will work as long as you get a one piece rear seal crank.
the rods you want will be fine.
hypereutectic pistons will be all that you will need.
as far as wrist pins are concerned, pressed will be fine, floating are just for quick piston removal without a press.
and don't forget, that 1987 block has a roller cam.