A buddy of mine's dad is considering selling his 69 camaro he wants to keep the engine, a 350, to put into his truck. What fairly inexpensive engine would be good for it? I am mabye thinking, if i buy it, a GMPP crate motor. Any suggestions? I want a Small block w/ about 350 to 450 HP.

 

I like bigger small blocks. Last 2 I built were 400s. Torque is king. If you can build your own, try to find a 400 block and roll your own. If you can't find a 400, buy a good 350 block and put a stroker crank in it to make it a 383. Parts are easily available to build 383s for cheap, not much more than it would take to build a 350. If you aren't up for rolling your own, buy an assembled 383 short block and stick some good heads on it. But definitely build the biggest engine you can afford.


With a very streetable 224* cam and good heads, you'll make >375 hp easy, and a crapload of torque. Torque makes a car fun to drive on the street. You can just tap the throttle and smoke the hides. If you want to get serious, bolt in a cam with 230-236* and the correct supporting parts, especially deep gears, and you will have a 400-450 hp engine that can still be street driven.... but you better have stock in an oil company.

 

there's a big cost difference between 350 hp and 450 hp SBCs...
If the funds are limited....i would just buy a 350 HO GM crate engine and add an entry level nitrous kit...your engine will be fairly mild and have plenty of power on the street and then when you need that little extra...you just fire up that nitrous kit....also...the rest of the car wont need to be modified like the rear or trans...

If you don't wanna mess with nitrous...then just invest in a 383 crate motor...make sure it has aftermarket aluminium heads and a medium camshaft (230ish)...but you will need to get a matched tranny and converter AND the proper rear gears....

good luck

 

Something from this page would probably suit you very well.

 

That site is EXPENSIVE !!!!!!!!

CHECK EBAY....

http://motors.search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZarracingunl

http://motors.search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZaandnengines

and also check your local machine shops and see what they can do for you....some of the larger shops usually have parts in stock which usually mean lower costs for them and then in turn...lower cost for you....

Heavy

 

You get what you pay for.

 

is the 350 numbers matching??? Hope not.


When I bought my 69 I had the 383 or current LS2 in mind. I dont have the technical knowlege you guys have but that was the plan at the time...

Check out GM parts direct if you know the parts numbers

www.gmpartsdirect.com

 

I think a vortec headed 350 with a perf. rpm and a xe 268 would be up there with what your looking for. pretty inexpensive too.