hey guys, cant seem to find an EXACT thread of what im looking for so here goes...

Im dbating on doing a 355 or a 383 for my 94 lt1

only problem is im extremely town as to what i want to do because if i go 383 i want to run all motor, but the 355 i would want to boost it (turbo)

my question is which would be a more reliable set up, im assuming the 383 since the boost wouldnt be hitting the car as hard?

also is there a write up on what parts to buy for each set up, im kinda looking to buy stuff here and there but i get the run around a lot from people who think they know what they are talking about...

i saw a package at advanced induction for a 383 kit, forged internals (only way i would go anyway), for 2600 pretty much...Is that a good price for everything, or is it cheaper to go little by little


355 i know the basic assembly as to what to get, im trying to keep cost in mind as well


urghhh its so hard to decide, id love to say all motor, but i love the sound and power of a turbo...
any advice guys please!!!!

 

Go 383 NA, and there is always spray if you wanna keep it handy. I think you will have less trouble getting it all together with the 383. Your going to need more fab work with the turbo.

 

Well, I love my all motor 383...It was originally an LPE 383, which has since had the LPE LT1 heads re-ported by E.B. Porting and a wee bit bigger, but small by most standards, Joe Overton cam...The shortblock was built with a Callies crank, Oliver billet steel 5.85" rods and JE pistons and has been together untouched since 1995...The damn thing is an anvil. I like the 383 because, if you design it right, you can build an extremely fun, fast, and reliable set up that you don't have to rev to the moon...I go 11.30s all day long and get 20 mpg on the highway...You are smart to go all forged on the bottom end, just use quality components...I've seen that Victory Racing sells Callies stuff in their shortblocks...I have always subscribed to the "overbuilt" philosophy which probably explains why my motor is getting faster even at 12 years old...

--Alan

 

yeah i was aiming more towards the 383 cause i really want to say im all motor, but that turbo talks to me...lol

yes, i beleive in doing it once!!! i dont want t o have to play with it too much justcause i dont have the time/budget for it, my goal is to have the car for next year, and within this summers end have at least the motor done, then throughout the winter do my suspension and such and be ready for spring with a vengeance....


i had already pretty much set my mind on my cam, the gm847. from what i understand its a really good cam for bolt ons and such, but once you do motor work its a complete animal...

anyone have any opnions on the a.i. 383 kit?

also i heard you can do ls7 or ls2 rockers or something??? im not to sure i remember briefly glancing at something about that???

 

I had the option to go either for my recent motor, but I chose 355 because I wanted balance in performance, MPG, build costs and streetabilty across the board. The 383 will cost a good bit more to do right, most will say you need after market ported heads and additional block clearancing.

Most claim that both produce similar HP but the 383 clearly can make more rear wheel torque. I have no regrets in my current setup, it is wicked fast. Write down the money you would need to spend either way and let that be the deciding factor. Also decide what amount of RWHP you are gunning for. It is super easy to build a 420 RWHP 355 or 383.

 

I really think you would be happy with either I went 355 and dont regret it at all I havent tracked mine but it does dyno 398 hp but like one of the last guys said the torque will be a little lower than the 383 mine around 370. I will give a firm yes on the gm847 I have it and I love it good all around cam.

 

My opinion is go 355. For the money that is a tough setup to beat. My buddies 383 actually doesn't run any better than his 350 did. It is all about parts selection as well!!!
Spend the same amount on the 355 as the 383 and have only the best parts for that turbo. Just my .02

 

then he has some seriously mismatched parts

 

I'm having a good time with my 355. I enjoy revving to the moon.. an LT1 at close to 7k rpm sounds nasty

 

Your questions and concepts do not make sense to me. There is a world of difference between a 355 and a turbo and an NA 383. Do you want a turbo or an NA combo? Decide that first. 383 v. 355 is really a very trivial difference. Toss a coin on that one. Minor differences in performance, no difference in reliability, no significant difference in cost (unless you plan to re-use your stock crank and rods for the 355).

Rich

 

I'm with Rich... you are talking apples and oranges. First you have to decide what you want and what your budget is. I can tell you that reliability has nothing to do with 383 vs. 355. It has to do with what parts are used and quality of the builder.

that being said, the HP differance between 2 identical engines, 1 being a 355 and 1 being a 383 is minimal. Yes you will see some but its not worth banging you head in for months over... Pick one and get to work.

If you want a turbo then go for it. If you want NA then again do it. You have to decide that before you decide on cubes...

 

I do believe he does. The cam was a baby cam for the 350 and not even that when you add a couple more cubes. The compression may not be what he thinks as well.

 

well the reason i wanted to boost the 355 is becuase i heard something about the stroke being longer so the boost wouldnt affect it as much than it would a 383 or something...im probably completely wrong, but most likely im going with the n/a 383....Im going to get that package from AI and then get a set of either L.E. heads or some AFR's depending on the budget, I heard LE heads can be even further ported than what they already are, so I beleive I have to look into that

 

396

 

part of the problem with going more cubes is the bigger you go the more air you need. You need better and better heads/top end as you go bigger. IMO I have not seen a great deal of heads to support a 396 with the air it needs to run that good...imo

I'll take a 355 with good heads and cam over a 396 with a stock head any day of the week and twice on sunday