First off, I did search but didn't find what I wanted . I am just trying to set up a plan for my future rebuild. Please offer your suggestions as to what compression ratio I should run. I am looking for SAFETY. I know a blower car can only be so safe, but I want it as safe as possible. My mods are most likely going to be

Hooker LT Headers
Y Pipe (not sure what kind)
Hooker Cat-back
Forged pistons
Forged rods
Forged crank
MAYBE bored to 355
I'll have to get a bigger fuel pump
42# injectors (maybe a tad bigger)

Please offer suggestions as to what kind of stuff I should buy, and mainly what kind of compression I should run. As always thanks a lot fellows...I really appreciate all of your feedback

Stephen

 

Stephen: a lot depends on your budget. Your questions cover a lot of ground, so before I go off on a tangent, it would help to know what you have in mind in terms of use of the car, budget, what you will be doing yourself vs. farming out, etc. As far as what I can answer without knowing more, assuming you will be running pump fuel, you should build a motor with a CR in the 8.0-8.5:1 range.

Rich Krause

 

You are just the guy I was hoping would jump in here . I'll do my best to answer your questions. First things first.
Usage: Daily driver (for the most part, depending on how much I have to put into the car I will possibly be getting a beater)
I would like to run it at the track every now and again.

I will be doing NONE of the work. Some of the somewhat basic stuff a buddy of mine will do very cheap for me. More complicated stuff will have to be done by someone else . My IDEAL goal and this may be a little optimistic, is to have 450-500 RWHP. And have that hp as safely as possible. If I HAVE to set a budget for things. Let's say 5k including install. Cheaper than that would be great. I will be using (or planning) on using my S-Trim. I am considering the 224/236 cam. The boring to 355 I figured possibly doing just b/c a machine shop can do it quite easily and cheaply. Thanks a ton RSKRAUSE. Feel free to ramble away : . I look foward to hearing what you have to say. I will keep close tabs on this thread so just post any questions you have for me.

Stephen

 

rskrause, where are ya???

 

Stephen: you need decent, but not top-of-the-line stuff for the power level you are aiming for. A key is to "tune" the blower properly. Use a relatively small cam with high lift and a wide LSA. Pulley up the SC to provide the desired boost in the 5,500rpm range. That's way you will see useful boost as low as 2-2,500rpm. The low rpm setup will keep the stress on the parts low, especially with the "heavy duty" blower type pistons you should use. I am partial to the JE "Extreme Duty" inverted dome design. Very strong, but heavy. In the range of nearly 500gms without rings.

The Eagle H-beam rod is a good choice. If you want to spend a little more, the Lunati Pro-Mod is a nice rod.

Lunati, Callies, and Scat all make nice cranks in a variety of types to suit your budget. The Callies "Stealth" is a nice choice, but the others are equally good. However, to meet your budget, you might want to use one of the Scat "cast steel" cranks. These will save a few hundred dollars over a forged crank and be plenty strong for what you have in mind.

You won't need a very fancy fuel system for what you are contemplating. I used a 255lph intank, Kenne Bell "Boost-a-Pump" with stock lines and regulator to make over 700rwhp on my previous setup. I'd do the same again and buy the Acceleronics low impedance injector driver to allow the use of large injectors. With this, the stock PCM will be fine with appropriate tuning.

Rich Krause

 

BTW: as long as you are getting a new rotating assy, there is no reson not to do a stroker (383). Essentially the same cost, IOW ="FREE" HP.

Rich Krause

 

rskrause and aggie z28 I really really appreciate y'alls suggestions. So I am correct in assuming that a machine shop wouldn't charge any more to bore it out to 383. Also, if I did so the pistons, crank, and rods wouldn't be any more for that size motor??? Also, reliability (with a safe tune) wouldn't be any less with the 383?? Thanks again guys. Rich, you are the man

 

150 bucks for 28 cubic inches isn't bad . Would internals be about the same price as well?? Thanks a lot.

 

Rich always give very good suggestions and so does Brook. When I did my rebuild, I read all that Rich had posted as well. Brook's suggestions are very good too, but just beware cause he may suggest a Z-trim supercharger or a T100 turbo and you may end up with an easy 8 sec trailer queen!

But seriously, one thing I do add is that you should always keep a mind set of building a system that you want, and don't think of throwing expensive parts together. Rich and Brook's suggestions are always about making the whole package work really well together not about putting in the biggest and most expensive this and that.

If you can afford it, I would highly suggest having a good engine builder do the whole short block for you. They usually have 20 years of building strong engine so why not take advantage of their magic and expertise. This was what I did even though we have a mechanic shop for over 15 years.

I did a fully forged 396 at 9.25cr and am really happy at the result. ( street tune 611rwhp 608 ftlbs ) My strategy was to overbuild the engine, which should hold easily 15#, but only running it at 11# tuned to be really safe. Doing it at 8-8.5cr will give you an extra safety that you wanted.

Good luck

 

Thanks a lot for the reply man. I do have one question though. If I took my motor to an engine already bored and just gave the pistons, rods, crank, and cam as well as all the gaskets and other misc parts...how much am I looking for them to basically reassemble it?? thanks again Camaro_SS/R and everyone who has replied

 

Camaro_SS/R just gave you some very good advice. Assembling a short block is not expensive. The machining, balancing (and parts) are where most of the cost lies. So what you are saying is a bit off the mark. A box of parts cannot be properly assembled into a good high performance motor without a lot of additional work. As Camaro_SS/R suggested, you are best off dealing with a good engine builder for the whole package. Let them buy the parts as well. They will make a few $$$ on the parts, and will therefore like you more. In addition, they will be responsible for being sure everything fits together. As a for instance, the last motor I had built, the builder went through four different sets of rods before we found a set we liked. Due to his relationship with the suppliers, the first three sets were returned at no cost to me.

Even more importantly, if a responsible engine shop supplies the parts, they will take responsibility for a failure. Though the parts are warranted by the manufacturer, there is no usually warranty on this type of engine as a total assembly. If a part you supply fails, the whole teardown/rebuild process is on your ticket even if it fails the first time out. Yes, if you can convince the manufacurer of the part that failed first that this is indeed what happened, you may get a new part. But that is just a fraction of the cost. You will not be reimbursed for labor and parts secondarily damaged. A good shop will work with you though. Most will absorb the whole cost if there is an immediate failure. If it occurs a little later, they will at the least cover the labor. It will depend on the details, but most won't just leave you out in the cold if they supplied the parts and did the assembly.

I have more experience than many with motors. But typically I leave the short block assembly to the shop that does the machining. Then bolting up the accessories and assembling the heads and installing them finishes the job. If you don't have tools and knowledge to do this, leave the whole thing to someone who does including supplying the parts.

Just IMHO.

Rich Krause

 

Another vote for letting a reputable engine builder do the short block. I just installed my new 385 and had #1 & #2 rods hitting the pan. My builder gave me back $750 for the hassle of me having to pull the pan off and clearance it which I thought was fair and also any reputable builder will stand behind there work beacause it leads to more business. I think I only paid $600 extra for him to assemble the short block and he also put on the heads after porting.

 

Thanks guys. When I do the rebuild I will definitely take it to a well known shop, and from you said Rich I think it would be better for me to get the parts through them as well. Thanks again to all who have replied.