Can I get a little advice on building a 396 for a 97 Z?
I'm looking for good power with day to day reliability, and leaving the AC on for the wife and kids. The car will go to the track a few times a year....drag race and road race, mostly be street driven, but does not need to be a daily driver.
What kind of rwhp can I expect? with what cam choices? How much $$ can I expect to spend? ANY advice from somebody that's done this will be greatly appreciated.........I haven't built an F-body, or any car since my '77 TA in 1988!

 

To build a stock Long block in to a 396 look to spend $4-6K on the motor all said and done. Thats if you already have LOng Tubes, suspension, and all the other suporting modss. Lots of cam choices, some great custom ones. Does the car have to pass smog? Is it a six speed? What other mods does it have?

 

car is a 6 speed and does not have to pass any inspections. The only mods are pulleys, fresh air box, cat-backs, and some pc editing.

 

contact brian at www.adperformance.com for the best price on rotating assemblys. i like the 5.85 rods (as opposed to 6") with the 3.875 (396) crank. the rod/stroke ratio is lower w/ the 5.85 rods, but the compression height of the pistons will be greater as will overall piston height. this will keep the pistons from rocking around at BDC as much as the pistons for the 6" rods, which will extend the life of the rings. the best stroker combination i have seen as far as durability goes is the 3.75" stroke (383 crank) w/ 5.7 rods. a close second as far as durability is the 3.75" stroke w/ 6" rods.

you need to talk to either Lloyd Elliott or Phil at advanced induction for heads/cam choices.

 

IMO you should set a HP/TQ goal that you want. Then you can select parts that will be based on that goal. This question is asked alot, so I would do a search first and see what others are making with certain set-ups and go from there. Or if you are having a professional builder assemble everything, work with them to get what you want.

 

email me and we can talk one on one about this so i can give you my thoughts. i own a well known machine shop and have a very nice 396 in my 94 ta
amean94ta@verizon.net i may not get back to you for 24hrs as i dont know how long i will be here