CamaroZ28,
Need some advice and I know their is some experience here to help me out. I have a 94' Z28 that I bought. It was purple and I've color changed it to black, not that that matters for this post but, just some history. Since I bought the car early last year it had a tick. It kept getting worst and the oil pressure kept dropping. I checked the oil filter and it has glitter. So, two days ago I finally bought a donor motor. Its an LT1 out of a trans am. I want at least 400 to 450hp or whatever it will take to keep up with a new stock SS. So far the motor is at my grandpas. There is a machine shop a mile down the road that will be doing the honing and turning. I'm planing on keeping the stock crank and rods. I'm going to up grade the pistons. The donor motor has aluminium heads my motor has steel. I want the heads ported and polished along with the stock intake polished and port matched.So my question what cam kit is the best for my goals and what pistons should i get. Also, im planning on running some nitrous within the next year and a half.

Also Im right with using the aluminuim heads. I think I am, my grandpa thinks ill melt them or something.

 

first of all, if it's worth building it's worth building fully not half ***.. power is addicting, so go with a forged crank and forged rods, is this a manual application or a auto? i have lt4 patriot heads which are aluminum and have sprayed a boat load of nitrous through them and have never had a problem, i live in Florida 100 degree weather with ac, my engine is still running between 180-200 degrees. there are so many options you can go with browse the forum. A properly built 383 will walk a camaro ss, that is one of the slower cars that you will race lol.

 

Your car has aluminum heads from the factory....unless it isn't from an Fbody.

You can build your car to beat a new SS...you'll need about 400 rear wheel horsepower. 400 at the wheels means roughly 480hp at the crank which can be done several ways. Ported heads, good cam, different rockers great tune...all the ancillary bolt ons. You can also get there with nitrous and a 125 shot. You can build a stroker engine as well...

The real issue is going to be how to get that power to the ground. The stock rear in our cars seems to be made of cheese and will break a ring gear when over powered. This can be cured with a 12 bolt rear from somebody like Strange or Moser. The stock suspension shows a propensity towards wheel hop which can be cured with tubular control arms and relocation plates. I'm just mentioning this so you realize going faster isn't just horsepower...

 

lol that video was cool. If that was my car id be showing that video off to all my buddies lol.

I was planning on the 383 but i read theres more power to be gained with heads and a cam. And, i think my grandpa is just old school. Im a believer in aluminum heads I just wanted to make sure.

And, the car is an auto. Ive read that the stock crank and rods will hold up. So i was planing on keeping them. My immediate budget is 2k. So its kinda one or the other for me unless I wait a couple more months. Im in the middle of building a house so i have sneak off bits of money at a time.

 

My car has cast iron heads. I guess it already has had a engine swap. There a lot of evidence of it being wrenched on. Ive only had it for a year or two. No, telling what has been done to it. And, yes i do need to start adding up the other parts that will be needed. Today im tearing down the donor motor and dropping it off at the machine shop. the orginal plan was to build a storker but i read ill get way more out of heads and cam.....

 

If you're planning a 383 then your stock crank won't work. You need a different stroke...3.75"...to get to 383 and you stock crank allows a 3.48" stroke.

Your Grandpa might be old school but GM used aluminum heads in the 60's and I'm sure they were used before that...

If you want to build on a 2K budget, forget building a stroker. Call Lloyd Elliot and talk to him. he'll port your heads, either recommend a cam or supply one. You can get a good tune by mail from PCM4Less.com although a dyno tune will extract the most from the setup. Add in headers and 1.6 ratio roller rockers and you'll have a solid performer...

 

You'll need solid head work to get the most out of either a stock displacement or a stroker engine....

 

http://elliottsportworks.com/

 

There are many people running 500HP at the flywheel on totally stock LT1 internals. The crank and rods are fine for that power level.

 

Yea that's what I'm banking on. I'm among for the local machine shop to do the head work.

 

Most newer cars these days making 4-450hp use cast crank,rods,and pistons if I'm not mistaking the 2009-2015 camaros use cast internals..

What I'm trying to figure out why can't set of stage 2 heads custom bullet cam lt headers full exhaust boltons tune and 3.73's can't run with let alone beat a stock camaro ss ??

 

Hopefully your "local machine shop" knows the LT1 heads as well as Lloyd Elliott or Advanced Induction. They will also provide a matching cam, reflecting their work on the heads, and your wants in terms of performance and driveability.

 

There's no way they would know the heads as well... But I'm sure with a little luck I can get it with in the ball park. And, that's if the price/risk is worth it. I haven't been quoted a price but I'm looking to save at least 50-60 % by using the local machine shop and doing the work my self. Now if I get there and that's not the case I'll definitely have to reevaluate my plan.

 

That's what I've been wanting to hear lol... I want something drive able. You know atleast every other weekend or something and not be the least bit worried when rolling up to a newer ride. An old car is alright but if it runs with or beats the modern big brother then it's legit.

 

If they don't have a verifiable track record with the LT1, you may be setting yourself up for major disappointment. You will have a much better chance of meeting your performance goals with the aforementioned experts than a shop that cranks out rebuilds of all types all day long.