Well, I blew a head gasket at the track today, and it's just time to build a shortblock for the car. Time to get serious. My roomate goes to a high performance school, is about to start his high-performance engine building class in a few weeks, so the timeline is I have to have everything to him in 6 weeks. He can do everything I need but the splayed 4-bolt setup, so here are my questions/concerns:

- Motor would get a 250 shot max. Most likely more towards a 200 shot on a normal day. N/A performance needs to go up quite a bit though.

- Going w/ a straight 4-bolt LT1 block. Where to get one, normal going rate, etc. Baxter held 1000RWHP w/ one, and I won't be running near that, so I'm not worried there vs. a splayed setup

- Crank. I'm on an Eagle budget, but I've heard the cost of the Mallory just to balance one out can end up getting to the point of buying a better crank. I'm going for a 396 here, though I'm willing to go used.

- Rods. Eagle H-beams are in my budget, or something of similar price. Used is also an option.

- Pistons. SRP forged or something similar. Most likely 11:1 compression ratio. Pump N/A, race gas on spray.

- Is a Canton pan w/ high volume oil pump worth it? Or should I just stick w/ the stock pan and a stock-style pump?

- Rings/bearings/head gaskets....any suggestions?

- Cam. Obviously my CC306 will feel a lot smaller in a 396. I want a cam that feels as big as my current cam. Already have oversized valves in the heads, and will have them very slightly milled. Will upgrade from stock lifters to Comp R's, already have the non-SA Pro Mag 1.6 rockers. Ported stock heads. Will be port matching the intake, and upgrading from a stock TB to a 58mm. Any cam suggestions? Will still be a 3.73 geared stick car, reprogramed stock PCM setup. I'd like to take the motor up to 6800-7000 like I do now as well.

- Main caps? Any good suggestions on what to do there??

- Will upgrade to ARP head studds, ARP bolts for all the shortblock stuff.

Goals: I'm not a dyno-queen kind of guy. But I'd basically like to see 410-430 RWHP N/A, and at least 625 RWHP on the bottle. IMO that's fairly realistic. Fuel system/driveline should already be up to the task, so I'm okay there.

Any tips/hints/suggestion from people who have spent the money doing this would be greatly appreciated. I want a good bang for my buck, and I don't want to build a cheapy budget build I'll regret later. I want a setup I can count on.

 

You have a PM.

 

If your on a budget i wouldn't go to all the work that a 396 takes when you can build a 383 for alot less and come close in hp.

But some just want a 396 and i understand it would be cool...but kind of hard to do on a budget.

 

If I ran an Eagle crank (as an example), a 396 wouldn't cost me a penny more than running a 355/383. The machine work will be free, which is where the extra cost is. The cranks retail for the same money, and rods/pistons for each are similar money too. So I might as well go big if it isn't going to cost me more.

Nick, you have a PM back. Thanks for contacting me.

 

Then go for it dude. If i got the machining free i know i would!

 

Save the hassle and go with a 383 if you are dead set on a stroker. Personally I like the 355s when staying with stock castings due to rpm capability of a max ported stock casting. A 383 will want to peak around 6100rpm and 355s are closer to 6400rpm on the same intake port.

Look into the SCAT I-beams with the cap screws.

I would be apprehensive of running anything but a nitrous piston when a 250 shot is mentioned. Go custom Ross or JE (not SRP).

Combo of the two. Canton pan, stock volume pump. High pressure pumps are OK but high volume can drain the pan relatively quickly. Make sure you get a pan with a built in windage tray since it gets tricky with longer strokes to keep it mounted to the mains.

Rings, ask your builder. Make sure they are gapped a little bigger though when running a shot that big. Bearings, the Clevite 77H seem to be popular. As for head gaskets, I am unsure when it comes to nitrous use if there is a difference.

Go custom. I can't stress this enough, you will get exactly what you want and it really doesn't cost much more in the end.

ARP stuff is great, just make sure you get the head studs to seal correctly. I know of a few cases lately where that's been an issue.

Given the right combo, you should be able to do that. I made 413rwhp SAE with a 35 spline 9" with a 3.5" steel driveshaft going through a 56lb (each) set of wheels. However, it took awhile to get it dialed in and get the combo to work well with everything else. Next in line is the LT1/EFI converted Super Vic which will help not only top end but pick up the mid range considerably.

Just spend the money where it makes power and build a bottom end that is realistic. Valvetrain and heads are where the power is, and don't build a bottom end good for 1500hp if you only plan to make 750.


EDIT: The added machine work isn't your only concern with the longer stroke. You will start to get into a piston with an aweful thin compression height for running a big shot of nitrous and keep the compression reasonable. Also, that added stroke clearancing will run into the water jacket in some cases where the 383 stroke wouldn't have. I know your friend is in a class but for how close this is likely to get to the water jacket I would be alot more comfortable giving the extra clearance. The 396 isn't going to get you anything other than bragging rights and a lower powerband. More cubes will bring that hp peak rpm down even further and if you want to have a 6800-6900 shift point you will probably need to throw a cam on the big side at it so it will carry out that rpm.

 

Sorry to say I have nothing to add here other than the fact that TQdrivenws6 has brought up some points that make a lot of sense, and having read many a post would not take his suggestions lightly. Good luck with your project, and may the HP to dollar gods be kind to you.